Epic Chicken Bus Ride

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We arranged to couch surf with a Slovakian guy who lived on the Caribbean coast so we headed to the bus terminal to catch a bus to Colon. Once in Colon we had to wait an hour or so for a chicken bus to Daniel's house. There was a big line, I chatted with a local a bit which paid off when we got on the bus. It was like a Walmart stampede on black Friday, people pushing shoving and running to the bus. We didn't have a chance because we had our packs on and our hands were full of groceries as there wasn't a store near Daniel's place so we had to bring food with us. We couldn't hardly walk on the bus, the guy I had chatted with saved us a seat but it was nearly impossible to get our stuff there. Dan got stuck at the back of the bus standing and I sat with our packs in the isle. It was another miserable chicken bus ride.



Much to my delight we crossed the canal, it was awesome to actually cross it and see a different part of the canal. Eventually we arrived at Daniel's house, he was there to unlock the gate and I was so relieved that we had finally arrived. He showed us our room and then around the property. It was amazing, there was a cliff right on the ocean, the sun was setting and it was beautiful. Then we walked down to his private beach. Wow, how lucky are we I thought!



Daniel was preparing to open up a hostel at this location. There was a woman from Germany there working thru workaway. She was very happy to have new people around and she and I got along quite well. Daniel had a friend visiting and helping him as well. He was quite a character, upbeat and funny. We spent most of our time just relaxing over a couple days, it was really nice.



On Tuesday we walked to the nearest village where they were celebrating Carnival. We saw a bridge that had given way and the replacement bridge next to it that caved while they were constructing it. People still drove on the old bridge but only cars could go on it so the buses would park on the other side and people would have to walk there to catch the bus. Pretty sad really that the 2nd bridge collapsed as well.



Carnival here was a small little party but interesting. They tied up some young man to a pole and there was dancing in the street. We enjoyed our time and it was a rare look into this local communities celebration. They talked us into posing for a photo with the guy tied to the pole. Sadly I didn't have my camera so I don't have the photo. There were people in miss-matched shoes, I don't know why but like I said interesting.



The next morning we waited for the bus to come by in front of Daniel's house and when it did it was packed, barely room for us to step on with our packs. Dan got gum on the bottom of his guitar bag and this was the beginning of our epic chicken bus ride. The windows near where we were standing didn't open, it was hot and I was starting to feel nauseous because of the curvy road. Just as I was thinking I really shouldn't feel this sick two bodies behind me someone started puking on the floor which made the people who were already touching me on all sides inch closer to avoid getting vomit on them. When we got to the canal which you cross on a one lane bridge there was a long line. When we are finally going over the canal the driver shifts and there is a terrible sound. The conductor and the driver exchange worried looks, he tries again and it sounds even worse. He shuts the bus off and tightropes it out the door to the front of the bus. You see there is no extra room on the side of the bus, just a very narrow strip of concrete. I look out the window and directly to my right is one of the locks which is now starting to open and water is beginning to come through. The part of the bridge in front of a lock behind us swivels open to let a ship through and I start to become a little nervous. After 5 minutes or so they tell us to evacuate out the rear exit door. It takes a while, we are packed in like sardines. Dan grabs our packs and the driver tells him to leave them. He looks at me and says I'm staying on the bus. I promptly say see ya and exit the bus last. Thankfully upon exiting we were lead to a walkway that had ample space to walk safely across the bridge. A huge truck came and towed the bus with Dan and the driver on it off the bridge.



Meanwhile traffic is totally backed up on both sides. We were nearly to Colon so they had a new bus to take us almost immediately although when we got on it seemed even more crowded than before. They actually took some part off the broke down bus and put it on our bus, we dropped a guy off at a junkyard on the way to the station. I guess they don't mess around when it comes to fixing the buses quickly. My guess is the drive shaft actually dropped out the bottom of the bus.



We had a flight to Peru the next day so I was very happy that they got things figured out quickly because if we hadn't been able to get back to Panama City it would have been a nightmare. As I look back it's nice to have this story I guess but at the time it all seemed surreal. I will never forget that last day in Panama!

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