Friday night/ Saturday morning I boarded a Balut (name of the company) bus for my 1st ever cross-country bus ride in Argentina. There was an important pastor's meeting in Oran, Salta, Argentina & unfortunately my STL SUV refuses to start. Well, actually, sometimes it starts, but lately, not so much. I did not want to take the chance that it would not start in Oran when I needed to come back again. So, I did the next best thing - I bought a round trip bus ticket.
This in itself was no small feat. I had never bought a bus ticket here in Argentina before and there are maaaaaany options. Most people here do not have a car, and many who do, well, they don't want to risk taking it too far out of town. Many of the fine people here do a remarkable job of keeping very old cars running. I kid you not, there are some amazing but old cars on the road here. Most are very old Citroen's from France, but you can find a lot of old Ford Falcons still driving around town as well. I have no idea what they do for parts, but they have figured it out.
Anyways, most people travel by bus here. So, when I went to the bus terminal it was a zoo. There were people everywhere, long lines to buy tickets for all of the different companies, loads of vendors selling everything from food & drinks to souvenirs, and of course all the buses - they were pulling in, loading and unloading, etc - and all this makes for a LOT of noise.
The ticket agents sit in offices behind glass walls with only a tiny hole to pass money and tickets through and another by which to speak to them. I already have a hard time hearing clearly anyway (I suppose all those reports about how loud rock music damages your hearing do have validity, plus, throw in a love for fireworks, most anything load & that explodes - maybe that is why I love my kids so much? hummm? - Anyways, I don't hear so clearly) so it was extremely difficult to talk to the man behind the counter and buy a ticket, but I did it. As I was walking home though, I started reading it and realized that some of the info on the ticket was not right and/or missing. Never having traveled by bus here before, this made me very nervous. Had I just wasted my money? Could I get a refund? Would I have to take a different bus and miss the meeting?
I started praying for God to help me get through it all. As I was walking along, I just "happened" to come across a tiny little hole-in-the-wall, Balut bus company office. It was perfect! Well lite, quiet (I was the only customer), and with very bright and well trained staff (the young guy at the bus terminal seemed annoyed that I did not know what I was doing and he had to be the one to deal with me : ). The current agent was easy to understand, figured out the problems right away, put the new info in the computer and I was on my way home before I knew it.
I spent all the time I could with the fam before leaving at about 11 pm. I walked into the heart of downtown (El Centro) where everything stays open late and worked to catch up on line as fast as I could. Then I caught a taxi to the terminal and nervously waited for my bus. I got hit up for money from a few people "trying to get home to _____," fill in the blank. Of course I gave them a little because I always feel bad for people and who knows, they might be telling the truth. I got hit up by several vendors as well, but I stood strong. I was nervous about this and so I was going to fast and pray, just to make sure, all the way there. : )
The buses don't have numbers, they have signs stating their destination in the front window. You have to know what you are looking for because they don't list ALL their stops on the route, only the last one. Thankfully I knew my NW Argentina geography and got on the right bus.
You are assigned a seat. It kind of surprised me since everything else is so free-flowing. And people were a little particular about sitting in the seat they were assigned. I had no idea how to read it on my ticket since they used a word for it I had never seen. But, thankfully, people were quick to help any of us rookies get to our proper seat.
It was a big, beautiful, tall, double-decker bus. My seat was # 3 so I was upstairs and right up at the front window. Not so great on the trip to Oran since it was during the night, but an awesome view on the way home in the late afternoon. My seat was next to a sweet older gentleman who's family put him on the bus and gave him instructions and reassurance. He smelled a little rough, so I supposed that he could no longer take care of himself. The trip was pretty uneventful, but I don't sleep well sitting up. At least the seats were nice and cushy, not like the hard plastic seats of a city bus, and they could lean back a little.
As the trip wore on, a fear began to set in - they never announced a stop. You just had to "know which town it was" on your own. With each stop I would listen as people would ask each other, "Is is this town, or is it that town?" Those who knew would help out, but there was never an announcement, a sign, etc. And since it was pitch black out, it was very hard to tell where you were. I was a little alarmed and thought, my stop is one of the last, in the deep of night. Who am I going to ask if it is the right stop when everyone is sleeping!? And besides, the bus driver is not messing around. He is trying to keep a tight schedule. They are in and out of each station as fast as possible. And then I thought, "Oh no! What if I am the one asleep and go right past my destination? Will I get in trouble? Will I be able to catch a bus back to the right town in time for the meeting?" Sigh.
God is good though. He had prompted me to take along the GPS. Why would I do that? I am riding a bus after all and not driving? But, I followed God's leading and packed it. Was I ever glad! I pulled it out and figured out where I was. Then I figured out about what time we would get to Oran. From there I set 2 alarms to be sure I would wake up in time and not miss the stop. : )
I did wake up. I did verify with the GPS that I was in the right place. I did not have to wake anyone up or annoy the driver. - ALWAYS listen to God's leading! Follow it or be dumb, and mess yourself over.
I got into town just fine, got a taxi and got the pastor's meeting. It went really well and was awesome to meet some of these great men of God busting tail, out there all alone in some places. We exchanged contact info and I hope to see then again and minister along side of them in the future.
It was awesome to get back home in one piece and know that I had done it. The test run was over. I am now much more confident to do it again - and at much larger distances.
God bless you all - Remember...Listen to God. Follow God's Leading. Always -
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