The life of a bus rider in Huancayo

Huancayo is a big city in the heart of the Peruvian Andes. What it lacks in ruins and visual history, it more than makes up for in the amount of buses. I have never seen so many buses in my life. Riding the buses here are an adventure all to themselves. They are actually mini-buses - Toyota minivans that are gutted and modified to maximize the amount of passengers. Within the city they cost $0.17 and between cities, like Vancouver to Burnaby, costs $0.35 - $0.40. While a longer trek (1 1/2 - 2 hours), like Vancouver to Abbotsford or Chilliwak costs $1.00. Sometimes, no matter how cheap the bus is, it just isn´t worth it.

For starters, the buses, like everything else in Peru, is made for, well, Peruvians. Which means I don´t fit. If I get a seat, I have to put my legs up to my chest. If I don´t get a seat I have to stand, which means I have to bend over at my waist. Not the most comfortable, especially when it´s the 30-45 min bus rides to go volunteer. It´s actually worse for everybody else as my butt is right up against their face. I am sure I am not making any friends that way. Luckily for me, most people will actually offer their seat to me. I don´t know if they are expecting payment for it, but I think they just want to show this gringo how amiable they are and make sure I enjoy their city.

A lot of the people on the bus, especially in the morning, are on their way to the market. So, with them is various foods, like potato sacks full of beans and corn and potatoes which get shoved in my face. Or 5 gallon buckets of milk which spill on my clothes and bag. But, my favourite is the buckets of raw meat and chopped up animal parts which I love to smell and look at first thing in the morning. It´s all part of the experience, right??

Getting on and off the bus is the adventure part. As soon as you have one foot on (or off), the bus starts to take off. Sometimes it won´t even stop and you have to jump on, making sure your timing is good. There is no such thing as a full bus here. No matter how many people are crammed in there, it will never be full. A Toyota minivan will have 17 small seats, but will hold 25-30 people - in a minivan!!!!!

The other fun part is you actually never know where the bus is really going. The sign on the bus will tell you the neighborhood it is going to. But the route it takes and where it goes once it reaches the neigbourhood is totally up to the driver. Sometimes the driver wants to stop off at his house for a minute, or pick up some food. But, no matter where you are, there is always a bus coming down the road and they will stop whereever you flag them down or ask them to let you off.

Despite all my complaints, I will still flag a bus down tomorrow morning and enjoy the crazy bus experience here.