Tackling the bus system in Latin America

I have been on buses from Nicaragua to the end of the Pan-American Highway in Chile. I have crossed the Andean mountain range, the Atacama Desert, the entire length of Costa Rica and several bays by ferry on buses.

The quality of bus can be predicted by the length of the voyage and the level of development of the country. For example, my friend traveled half the length of Bolivia in a school bus. The only solution offered for those who wished to relieve themselves, was a muddy hillside directly next to the bus.

My favorite bus system would be that in Chile, where for overnight journeys, the bus assistant offers hot coffee and cookies to the passengers. These of course are equipped with onboard bathroom, reclining chairs and television screens, and stop every meal time at a rest stop along the highway.

The quality of the bus line cannot always overcome the elements, however. On a 6-hour return bus ride to the capital of Chile, our inattentive driver struck and killed a horse that was dawdling along the side of the road. Not even my last-seat window was spared the splatter of debris that came with the crash. With a spider-webbed front windshield, their solution was to drop us off at a Sheetz-style roadside rest stop to wait for the next two hourly buses to pack us in.

But sometimes quality is not measured by solely by a comfortable interior. Even though I will never again ride one, the diablos rojos, or “red devils” as the lovely people of Panama have termed their city buses, are my favorite. These buses are simple U.S. government issued school buses – with a twist. Each driver has carefully created a graffiti work of art out of the plain canvas of the iron monsters. The destinations can be found above the windshield tagged in multi-colored neons for your gazing pleasure, along with whichever favorite quote or image the driver chooses to include. The downside: they have a bad reputation of exploding. In a traumatic incident last year, about 39 passengers were killed when a bus caught on fire and the emergency escapes failed to open. This bus was survived by many a sibling, all of whom continue to reach maximum capacity at rush house.

My advice: choose wisely.

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