I’m not going to lie to you these travel days brought out the literal worst in me. When you’re supposed to have a 50 hour bus ride and it turns into 65 hours of travel with no real food, bathrooms or water you kind of hit a point of no return. We took our first 25 hour bus on the 18th , got to the first station at 10am then waited for 10 hours until we could get on another 19 hour bus ride, we hopped on at 10pm the night of the 19th and rode through the night, arrived to the border at 7:30am the 20th where we waited 4 hours in a long bus line to cross the border and where I also got hit with altitude sickness from the pit of hell, (throwing up in a bus toilet filled with the smell of other people’s poop really will humble you), then they locked our bus bathroom… why I literally don’t know and so I had to pay 50 cents to go throw up in a disgusting poop filled hole in the ground, 50 cents may not seem like much but when you only get $5 a day to budget and you have to pee alllllll the time it really adds up! And I know you may be thinking oh you paid so you get to use a nice bathroom…NOOOOOOO!! Welcome to international travel. Everywhere around the world you have to pay to use a hole in the ground, or a bowl, an unflushable, no toilet paper, disgusting fly invested public bathroom hole bowl thing. EVERYWHERE. It’s honestly been the end of all patience I have in me. The bane of my existence is paying for disgusting public bathrooms. Have you ever seen that show snapped? I feel like one of those ladies sometimes.
ANYWAYS. So, we finally get up to the building to do border crossing. Which side note people in Bolivia sprint across the border with TVs, mattresses, huge bags of food strapped to their backs any and everything and just book it, I mean everyone grannies included and it is truly comical.
SOOOO, we got there and waited for our visas for 2-3 hours. All the while not realizing our bus was LEAVING us!! With my pillow and nalgeen still on board we said goodbye to some of our things haha. Which jokes on them for taking my nalgeen because that thing literally had fungus so hope their stomach is strong. Once we realized our bus driver was a jerk and left us. And all you super sanctified folk may be thinking oh maybe he didn’t realize he left you… no he did. The border control literally yelled at him and said YOU HAVE TO WAIT ON THEM, but that dude could not be bothered and he just rolled on out. So, We scrambled for what to do to get to where we were trying to go to, because we weren’t at a bus station. So after an hour or 2 of bargaining we found a sketchy van. Strapped all our stuff to the roof, crammed in one on top of the other and hit the road for 4 hours. About an hour and a half into the ride I had to pee…imagine. And I mean pain in your bladder pee ain’t no leg crossing helping this. And on top of that the roads of Bolivia are just desolate desert, I mean tombstone desert, no bushes to hide behind. So there I was bare booty out in the open road in broad daylight and open land peeing haha!! Cars were honking, pee was all over my shoes and I was just like what’s a girl to do. So, then we finally make it to the other bus station.
I had to pee again. Hahah and the bathroom cost!!! But we had no money and no way to go. I offered my kidney, my first born but that lady was not budging. So, We try to negotiate with the bus line that left us to get our money back or a free ride to our final destination. They say no but end up helping us find another bus. She finds another bus and tells us we have to leave right away!!
So there we are running through the bus station with all of our bags. And remember the altitude is super high here so we are all about to have an asthma attack. I dropped my bag it ripped, but we finally made it on!!!
With the heat blazing and no water or food we finally just sat in our seats. Finally after 4 hours of riding we made it!!!! We got to the final bus station! Kissed the ground and tried to contact our hosts for the month. End of the story we are here safe and sound and we made it!
Moral of the story in the moment things seem like such a big deal and so annoying at the moment. But now looking back like I literally would never wish that on anyone and would never ever do it again, but it really wasn’t the end of the world and we made it out. I mean yes I definitely lost my cool multiple times, I snapped at my team multiple times, I had an attitude from satan himself haha I blame that on being hangry though but still, I had a completely empty tank, I cried and cursed like a sailor (sorry Memaw hahah) but now looking back I’m like why did I react so dramatically? Like yea it was really hard but also I made it through it. Even the hardest things in life you can make it through them. There’s always an end to the hard things. When I was about to rip someone’s head off one day I messaged my Memaw and my family and vented. And said I don’t know what to do. I know the Bible says not to complain, and the joy of the lord is your strength and to have patience, but I physically can’t be nice anymore haha. I can’t do it. And that’s when Memaw told me to praise and worship and talk to the Holy Spirit. Peace comes from praise. I told a girl on my team and she said fall back into the Holy Spirit. He’s always behind you so when you feel you have no strength left fall back into him and let him be your strength and carry you.
And I was like shoot that’s a good word. Cause I’m not trying to be a crabby woman in every hard situation you know I’m trying to be calm as a cucumber and react exactly how Jesus would. And so fall back is my new thing. Whenever I feel like I’m on the verge of loosing all my patience, whenever every person is on my every single nerve I’m going to stop take a deep breath and fall back on Holy Spirit.
You should try it too! You go to pick up your ungrateful kids from school and they are rude to you instead of popping off at the mouth on them fall back into the patience of Holy Spirit, whenever your co worker does that one thing that drives you up the actual wall fall back into the grace of Holy Spirit, whenever your stressed about finances fall back into the generosity of Holy Spirit.
So let’s all fall back a little more, stop letting the flesh win (talking to my own self) and never ever travel the entirety of South America in a bus. That is all. Peace!
Liv
