Take a Ride

Take a Ride
One of my favorite experiences in Mexico has been the public transport bus system. Not everyone in Mexico can afford cars and most don’t really need them so almost everyone uses the buses daily. There doesn’t seem to be the stigma surrounding public transit in Mexico that there is in the states. People from all walks of life pile onto buses. You see businessmen, laborers, school kids, families, and of course Gringos. They visit, nap, maybe have a beer, or just stare out the window, myself, I like to people watch. When you ride a bus down here it gives you a snapshot of the local day to day life and is a sociology project on wheels. It is kind of like a microcosm and no one has their guard up, no expectations just another day in the life. Most Gringos are tempted to use taxis because it is easier, they can get to exactly where they want to go, and it can usually be accomplished with very little English. I much prefer the buses where you are not so insulated. I find it interesting that most Gringos that come to Mexico don’t really seem to want to experience Mexico, they seem to want to experience the US in Mexico. They want their Starbucks, Walmart and Burger King and people that speak English. You can tell places that the Gringos frequent because it looks like another strip mall from the US. I am not sure why they want to come here if they want all the garbage from the US. Anyway, back to the bus system, I was overwhelmed at first. There is no set schedule and no numbers on the buses just writing on the windows that may or may not be legible. The wording might be smudged or in a local shorthand like La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is written La next to the figure of a cross and we let more than one bus go by before we figured it out. Some of the drivers speak English but most do not. How do you know which one to get on? How do you know where to get off? At first it made my head spin and my heart race. I used up tons of data on my phone tracking the path of the bus I was on making sure I was on the right bus and getting off on the right stop. Now I know that buses run all the time and if you get off at a busy bus stop just find the man with the clipboard. He is usually multilingual and will take you by the hand and get you on the bus you need. These men with the clipboards work for tips and they are amazing scurrying around, flagging buses down, shuttling people to and fro keeping track of all the people waiting and where they need to go. It took us a while to figure out what the crazy men with the clipboards were all about…they are lifesavers. If you get off in the wrong place, cross the street and catch the next bus back to where you came from and start over, it’s just a few coins and a whole lot of fun. After all, down here you are on this side of the wall and there’s a whole lot less fuss about the small stuff. If you find yourself in Mexico trying to use the bus for the first time, go to a busy bus stop and look for the man with the clipboard and he will get you pointed in the right direction and be sure and give him a few coins for his troubles.
The next hurtle that you need to overcome is the buses themselves. OSHA does NOT have a presence in Mexico and there does not seem to be any safety or quality standards for keeping a bus on the road. Basically, if it starts up and makes it from point A to point B it can be on the road. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to get on the buses around here. Many of the buses rolling into the bus stops seemed sketchy at best, and some I am sure are barely held together by twine, wire and maybe a little prayer. They squeak, squeal, rattle and rumble to a stop, if they even come to a complete stop, sometimes they are just rolling stops. Windows might be broken out of them; bumpers seem to be optional and if present often carry the remnants of whatever was once on a corner taken too sharp. We have been on buses where you can see the road below through holes in the floor and another bus where every warning light on the dash was lit up and blinking. We once saw a bus whose back bumper sported a tree trunk. Somehow the bus encountered a tree and became wedged so firmly between the frame and the bumper that the most obvious course of action was to cut the bus free of the tree and leave the trunk wedged where it was. Despite apparent sketchiness of the appearance of the buses, they have lots of heart and we have always reached our destination and have never been stranded.
As you get on the bus you appreciate that each driver must have the discretion to decorate their space as they see fit. Every bus we have been on has at least one pair of fuzzy dice hanging and a rosary and often several images of the Virgin Mary sometimes right next to the Playboy bunny symbol. Every mirror has fuzzy fluff encircling it that matches the fuzzy dice. Some have lights hooked up to their speaker system so there are lights (usually blue) flashing to the beat of the music playing which at night makes you feel like you are on a party bus. There might be mini pinata decorations or dreamcatchers with feathers hanging. The other thing you will see on may buses is a 5-gallon bucket with a seat top. This is reserved for family, friends, or girlfriends who will ride along to keep the driver company. It is kind of nice to see sons and daughters riding along with their dad hanging out and passing time. Some drivers even live on their bus. We saw a bus in Mazatlán where the driver had converted a luggage area into a sleeping space. The door of it was open, we could see the bed roll, pillow, mirror and some shelves with food and toiletries. Like I said, the drivers may or may not know English. Some will notice that deer in the headlights look on your face and will try to help you get off at the right spot however, just because there is a bus stop on their route, it does not mean that they will stop so you have to pay attention. If no one is standing their and no one on the bus has asked to stop then they keep going. Some drivers will stop for anyone anywhere along their route who gives them the wave to let the driver know they want a ride. Just because you are not at a bus stop does not mean that you can’t flag down a bus and catch a ride. There are no hard and fast rules just like there are no limits to how many people the driver can put on his bus. One bus was so full that the driver made space for me up on his dashboard. The only rule that we know of is that he needs to be able to close his door. If he can’t close his door then people on the bus will squeeze more tightly if they can or that last person must step off and usually by then the bus is on the move so don’t be that last person on a crowded bus.
Most of the time the buses aren’t that crowded, and it is fun to watch the interplay of the people as they get on and off the bus. The social structure of their society becomes very evident. Older women seem to hold the highest position and young men the lowest at least when it comes to riding the bus. The front four seats are often the last to fill. They are reserved for the elderly and the disabled or young moms with several children. As the bus begins to fill up, it is the young men that give up their seats first to older individuals or to ladies. Children typically do not occupy their own seat and are usually held. If the bus is very full (too full to shuffle people around) and an young mom gets on with small children it is common to see people in seats offer to hold her children and or her packages or she may just deposit her children onto the laps of those with seats. No one objects, not even the kids. I frequently have had young men offer up their seat to me or hold my bags, even me, a Gringo is afforded respect. I am always thankful because the Mexican people are aware of the political climate in the US and they are aware that the media grinds away at them daily casting their people and their culture in a negative light and still these young men will offer up their seat to me. It is humbling. The other fascinating riders that frequent the bus system are the poor. Poor people that have talent are allowed to ride the buses if they provide entertainment. They may sing, play a musical instrument, or tell a story. If you like what you hear you share a few coins with them. Some are truly remarkable. A bus ride with entertainment all for less than a dollar
The last hurtle to overcome is the drive itself. I swear to God some of the drivers could give Mario Andretti a run for his money. They weave in and out of traffic, down into ditches to avoid the speed bumps (which are everywhere), around stopped vehicles (as it seems to be ok to stop on a road if you need to) as they race from stop to stop. There are times when they are driving down the laterals that buildings, or other buses and trucks are so close you can touch them. This is not even an exaggeration. It is no wonder there are tree trunks imbedded in bumpers. When standing on a bus you must always hang on and I have noticed and adopted “the stance” that provides maximum stability. Everybody does it, weird things that my PT eye picked up on. Feet shoulder width apart with one foot slightly forward and the other turned outward gives you optimal ability to react to sudden changes is motion. A word of caution here, if you are prone to motion sickness, the bus experience is probably not for you as it will challenge your vestibular system in all 3 planes. Care should be taken to avoid the seats in the very back of the bus. The people that occupy those seats are frequently airborne when going over the speed bumps and there was more than once that I wished I knew a local chiropractor because it felt like I needed an adjustment after riding in the back seats. They are kind of fun though because the laborers will gravitate to the back of the bus at the end of the day drinking a few beers and shooting the breeze on the ride home. The buses usually wind through business as well as residential districts. You really get a feel of how the locals live. If you really want the full experience go on the same route twice, once in the morning and then again around sunset. You will see an entirely different world. They get up and get their work done early in the day, then siesta in the heat of the afternoon and then in the evening, it all about families and socializing. They have their evening meal which is usually prepared and served outside in front of their casa and then everyone begins wandering the neighborhood visiting with each other. People might take out instruments and sing and dance or just jam. It is a beautiful sight to watch the culture come alive as the sun goes down. Such a bright, vibrant, musical, loud culture but you won’t see that from your resort window. So if you ever find yourself in Mexico and you are trying to figure out what to do, take a ride, it will be the best dollar you have ever spent and I guarantee the Mexico that you see from that bus window will be nothing like the Mexico that you have seen driveled out of your US television screen. If you are ever in Mexico don’t be afraid to take a ride, you will be glad you did.