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The bus is community living to the 5th exponent. More intimate than living in an AirBnb with a host who also lives in the space. The bus converts into a community space, a co-living space especially in overnight bus drives covering about 502 miles, from one well-known city to another.
And yet once we start the ride, we seem to find all of these little beautiful hidden towns… or even better yet, nature. Real nature, little pieces of hope and mother earth in healthy form. Untouched, unbothered, living and existing with trees and sunrise. Sundown. Sunrise. Birds. Animals, mostly cows here in Brazil. And my favorite sight, little or big bodies of water.
But yes, the bus is a community center, where there are no walls or deeply-designed private spaces except for the bathroom and the pilot cabin. Can bus drivers be pilots?
I think they can. There are many more car accidents than plane accidents. I remember hearing about a girl from Harvard who died from a bus ride coming back from one Northeastern town to another. I think her name was Angela, she died along with others in an accident. I remember my classmate was very sad, she was very close to her. And so, bus drivers accomplish a harder task of delivering many people “home” from one destination to another. Higher risk, lower pay. So every time we arrive from an overnight trip, I thank the universe, the driver. Once you are on these narrow tracks, in the mountains, the desert, or even the highways, the distance is close enough to give you a heart attack. You will know, the universe had something to do with this.
This was no coincidence.
I could hear a man talking, laughing while he stood in the middle aisle.
A mother’s voice letting their children know they cannot eat the snack they want until later because we just ate dinner.
They stopped us at a little food buffet two hours before, it is very common for the bus driver to make a food stop especially on long rides. The best part is these bus drivers know the spots, good local food, as much as you want, for a good price. I hope they give the bus drivers a free meal–or at least a discount, because they bring people in!
Oh yes, and make sure you sit in your assigned seat. Some people don’t care, but the ones that do will have you moved by the bus driver! That’s what happened to us on this trip. Pay attention when you buy your tickets, you don’t want to end up sitting near the bathroom. Trust me. This is our third bus ride in brazil. We paid R$ 119.99, per person. That’s about US$23.25.
It took us from Recife (“reef,” one of the bigger towns in the northeast of Brazil, wow so much to say about this town) to Salvador. We were actually supposed to go to Aracaju, but we missed that bus this morning. This bus actually goes all the way to Sao Paulo! It also stops at Aracaju, but instead we are going further to Salvador da Bahia, and then taking a taxi to a town slightly more north, Imbassaí.
much love, more soon.
Sonia <3
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