Sometimes age and wisdom beats youth and beauty
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2008
1
12
61
Trip End
Apr 01, 2009
Popayan,
Colombia
Monday, November 10, 2008
The 5 hour journey back from San
Agustin was absolute hell - probably the worst public bus journey ever
- and made the trip there seem a delight by comparison.
The 24
seater bus was already full by the time it arrived an hour late (there
are only 4 buses a day) and of the dozen or so locals and backpackers
waiting I was the only one with a ticket already - and therefore a
reserved seat. Some poor unfortunate was hoiked off the back seat and
I was installed instead. Bear in mind that Colombian buses have 6
seats across the back instead of the usual 5 and you begin to see how
little leg and elbow room there was. Also bear in mind that it is
impossible for a male (and the other 5 were all male) not to use twice
his body width as personal leg room and you can see I was like a cork
in bottle. Everyone else had to stand, squat or perch and cast envious
glances in my direction. After 2 hours I'd have gladly swapped. At
least this time I wasn't desperate for a pee, though.
From
now on I'll ignore the road less travelled and steer clear of off the
beaten track and stick to the trans America highway. And I'll wait
till San Agustin becomes the new Machu Picchu and accessible by air for
my next visit. An amazing place in a stunningly beautiful landscape.
It was worth it.
I'm going to nurse my blistered feet back in Popayan for a couple of days at least.
Another
thing about Colombian buses - they usually have a Christian motif on
them somewhere. Robert Powell in Jesus of Nazareth mode is hugely
popular. I hope he gets royalties.
