Hee hee you can't pee

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I hung my head out the bus window, suddenly no longer able to cope with the smell. We had stopped to pick up passengers in Siguen and in that brief moment several women had boarded the bus and were selling hot corn, cooked trout and chips, clothes, lollies, chicken and strange coloured liquid in clear plastic bags. Minus the goldfish.

I had to pull my head in as a man slammed a ladder against the side of the bus and began to fling an assortment of objects onto the roof. Guttering, metal chairs, buckets and bags were hauled up and tied down (I think).

Outside there was a clump of people pushing and shoving to get themselves and their belongings on board. Already crammed with people standing and kids laying in the aisle I couldn´t see how anymore could fit. But they did.

Impatiently people started to bang on the windows and yell..Vamos Vamos. Let´s go. Let´s go. Finally we pulled away amidst a cloud of smoke and dust, people still running after the bus trying to sell stuff through the windows.

It was a 13 hour trip and there was no toilet on board. We stopped only to pick up passengers and everytime the inhabitants of the bus would angrily bang on the windows. Vamos. Vamos. At one point almost all the woman got off the bus, hitched up their skirts and peed beside the road. In full view. I asked to do the same but was refused. It was offensive to the locals for a gringa to drop her dacks.

I had to wait until the terminal which was another 10 minutes away. Micala had seized an earlier opportunity to pee at a ladies house but because it was quite far away the bus tired of waiting and drove off. I scrambled down the aisle yelling for them to stop and eventually red in the face from running she caught up with us.

At the terminal no one got off so I had to push and shove my way down the aisle. I was confronted by two women in the front seat who told me I couldn´t get off as the bus was leaving. I pleaded with the bus driver for just a two minute stop. He fussed and fumed but eventually let me off.

I sprinted for the toilet, thrusting the 50c into the hand of the paper lady. In under two minutes I was back on the bus only to be abused by the two fat ladies and called a something or other gringa.

I made my way to the back of the bus, stepping on children and further reducing my popularity. I considered challenging the two fat ladies to a fist fight but they were tough, their hands strong from years of manual labour and I was pretty sure they would take me down.

There was nothing for it but to embrace the smell of unwashed bodies, cold chips and trout and screaming children and cram myself back in my seat for another 5 hours to Cusco.

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Comments

[Lawrence]

hehe
Maybe it should be called Pee-ru :)

[anonymous]

Oh Bolivian transport, how I miss it so. I can imagine you doing it upside down, going from Argentinian buses to Bolivia would of sent you into bit of shock! Aggghh your bringing up so many memories for me! :p xox