Bus rides abroad have been a little cramped, hot, and occasionally uncomfortable. On the plus side bonding always happens. Whether it be finding the right snack to eat or taking unflattering pictures to pass the time, those bus rides are memories worth a lifetime.
Each month we arrive in the country together as a squad of 26. From our arrival point, we split off into our 4 teams and travel to our ministry sites. Some teams are lucky and get to stay in the arrival city. However, other teams have hours or days of travel. At the end of the month, we all meet back up together and travel onto the next country. Every travel day is filled with adventures, ministry, and unforgettable memories.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Buses series is going to welcome you into the realities of travel days with Peace of Freedom. Our last month was in Lima, Peru but as the end of the month approached we had to travel to Cusco, Peru. Having to say goodbye to our Venezuelan family who lived with us and our ministry host was difficult. Jada ordered an Uber to get us to the bus terminal. The Uber arrived in a location that wasn’t accurate. Jada and I decided to take a brisk walk to find the Uber. Several minutes later we ended up having to cancel the Uber and find a new one.
After settling into the bus terminal we split into groups. Some people went to grab snacks while others stayed back to watch the bags. Typically on travel days, we end up with a mound of big packs and day packs. We are all aware of our individual bags and each other’s bags. For the first time EVER we didn’t leave enough people to watch the bags. Hannah Grace noticed a strange man wandering closely to our stuff. Within the blink of an eye, one of the daypacks went missing. She jumped up and ran to the doorway. The security guard followed her out of the door to look for a suspicious person. A street vendor was yelling and pointing at a taxi on the street. The security guard bolted towards the taxi and held the door open to retrieve the daypack.
From this point on the security guard kept a close eye on us Gringas. He realized we were like baby ducks who needed a mama duck to waddle after. Team More Amor warned us of the crappy bus and curvy route we would be taking. We feared to board a sketchy bus with a broken bathroom. Instead, we had a fancy bus with a functioning bathroom and a curvy route.
On previous travel days at least one person has gotten motion sickness. I was determined I would not be the one to get motion sickness during month 3. The Lord had different plans and I got sick not once but twice on the same bus. I was relieved when we finally made it to Cusco and didn’t have to travel for another 2 days. When it came time to head to the bus terminal we had to get 4 taxis. Most of us arrived at the bus terminal and realized 1 taxi had gotten lost. Once we all arrived at the bus terminal we met the 2 other teams to head to Bolivia.
When we boarded the bus we found out we would be making 2 different stops (Puno & Copacabana) and there would be optional guided tours. The bus attendant allowed us to sign up for breakfast before the first stop or stay on the bus and sleep. Initially, I chose breakfast but started to rethink my decision when he announced the next morning it would be a 20-minute walk. My foggy morning brain mistook 20 meters for 20 minutes. Our next destination after Puno was the border crossing. Typically our group of 26 can make it through border crossings in a matter of a few minutes. However, the Bolivian border crossing was an eye-opening experience. Americans are required to pay a $160 entrance fee/Visa. (fun fact: you can only pay with NEW-CRISP $20 bills) This stems from (reciprocation). We also had to have our passport, a copy of our passport, a copy of a credit card/bank statement, itinerary, exit tickets, letter of entry, and place of housing. This experience led to a smudge of understanding what it’s like to not get across a border so easily. After 4 hours we finally all had our visas and headed to grab a quick bite to eat in Copacabana. When we got on the bus for our final descent to La Paz we learned there would be a mini detour. The bus was going to have to cross the lake on a ferry. Since it was going to take longer for the bus to get across we took a quick boat ride and explored some of the snack shops and street vendors.
The main plan was to do a church camp in the Cobija and then come to Santa Cruz to do an assortment of ministries. When we got to La Paz we had to find a connecting bus to the Cobija. Unfortunately, the bus was going to take 35-60 hours. It wasn’t logical to go to Cobija so instead, we came directly to Santa Cruz. On the bus, an attendant yelled Banos (bathroom in Spanish). Hannah Beth and Mallory got off to use the bano. Within a matter of seconds, the bus starts moving. We are yelling at the bus attendant that not everyone is on and to stop. He didn’t care and said that Hannah Beth and Mallory could just meet us at the next terminal. They finally ran fast enough to catch the bus and get on before getting to the terminal. Every stop I feared leaving someone else behind. Our first bus left the terminal 2 hours late which put us behind schedule. Because of this, we missed our connecting bus. One of the bus company employees ran us outside to catch 2 taxis. It was like a real-life Fast and Furious ride. One of the taxi drivers yelled for the bus to pull over. This was so helpful because we were able to catch the bus and load on the side of the road.
In the past 4 months, we have dealt with our fair share of public transportation. We have gotten really good at the routine of getting, on sitting down and letting our minds run wild. In the beginning, it was just another travel day. Now I think about how I’m on the verge of mental collapse and something of minor inconvenience will happen… Today’s the daaaaay!
