Imagine a bus from the late 2000s
Imagine a bus from the late 2000s, a nice one with ac, personalized lighting, USB charging, and a big screen TV in front that plays dvds. The kind of bus you’d want to be in to drive across the country.
Now imagine the worst dirt road you’ve ever seen — a single lane trail washed out in the tight switchbacks, impossibly steep in places as it weaves out of the Intag Valley. Now imagine a brave and noble driver packing that bus to the gills and driving it up that road into the Andes.
Add pounding mariachi music or perhaps raging gun battles from the C-level American action movie playing on the TV.
Also, on occasion, there are busses or other large trucks coming from the other direction. The two drivers negotiate how to get by each other without sending one or both off the impending cliff. This may involve our bus backing down the hill to a slight widening in the road. I’m not sure as I had my eyes clamped shut.
The bus doesn’t stop, other than to let people on and off at random country roads, or once when a little boy needed to pee and his mom took him off for a moment.
An old man gets on the bus, walks the length but can’t find a seat. On his way back to the front I notice he’s got a handsaw tied to his backpack, the end of the blade sticking out. The cover has come loose and the saw’s sharp tip is swinging back and forth over the mothers and their sleeping babies.
One of the mothers fends off a chihuahua puppy as it tries to chew her little girl’s nose and chubby hand.
We finally reach pavement and momentum is throwing us all side to side as the bus races through the turns. Several of us hold the sawblade while others shout at the man to stop. He turns around to see what the commotion is, which does not help things. It’s hilarious though no one is laughing.
Outside the windows the density of the cloud forest is otherworldly. It’s impossible to photograph. Even the two lenses in my head aren’t enough to comprehend what they’re seeing, let alone the single lens in my phone.
I will miss this place and its wonderful people. I feel so honored to have had the experience of being here.
