on the bus to Rama

11/02/15

The bus is full as we leave Managua. I had come in from San Juan del Sur in the morning. The slow bus was just leaving. I needed to use the washroom after my 3 hour journey so I did not attempt to catch it. The express bus was leaving in 3 hours. I settled in with a book, ate snacks and watched people. Coming into Managua, the bus conductor had asked me where I was going to. I said: the Mayoreas bus station. He said: I will get you a trustworthy taxi driver.

Managua taxi drivers have a bad reputation. Managua itself has a bad reputation. I keep hearing horror stories but so far my luck has held.

Before we reach the bus station Remon Huembres, the bus stops and the conductor motions for me to get off. Here is the taxista for you, he says. You can trust him. I am put in the taxi and driven to my destination. On the way, he regales me with more horror stories, then takes me on a back road because, he says, there is a hole in the main road. Now I am mildly nervous but he takes out his IDs and hands them to me. The other guy in the front seat keeps nodding and smiling. He says I can always make a complaint to the bus company which p0roves that he is reliable. Right. Like I know the name of the bus company or the bus driver and when I am lying there bleeding and robbed, that will be the first thing I do.

So we get to the Las Maoreas with no trouble and eventually I get on the bus to Rama. It is a 5 hour trip and so I settle in again for the duration. The road is smooth, the scenery is beautiful, first - green trees and then, brown severe mountains and bluffs. And then there are the vendors. At each village we stop at, the women and girls come on the bus with their wares: drinks in plastic bags, corn cobs, fruit, tortillas with different toppings, the candy, the gum. They stay on for a couple of kilometres and then get off. Most entertaining are the male vendors. With them, there is a sales pitch. They stand at the front of the bus and tell of the marvelous properties of their products. One is selling key chains and bracelets. Another is selling a soap that cures dandruff, foot odour and skin infections. He also has a cream that gets rid of pain, all kinds of pain. He gives the example of when you are lying in bed at night next to your beloved and suddenly you get this awful pain. You reach for the magic cream and suddenly your pain is gone. If you buy the soap and the magic cream, a present for you. A sheet of vitamin B complex supplements. Good for all your ills. My neighbour buys a cream. I smell the green gel. It smells like wintergreen.