The Bus Auction
3:31:00 PM
Don’t get me wrong, Colombia is a beautiful and majestic country with several amazing aspects. There are just some things there that are so backwards in logic and make no sense to me. One of these is their bus system. This is from last year in Colombia.
First off, let me premise this with a few things: all buses in Colombia are negotiable – no matter how legitimate the company looks; once you enter a bus station, representatives from the companies spot you, immediately talk to you, and try to get you to their company. Now it’s all fun and games until you have to catch a bus at 6am or 8am. I’m not much for mornings, as many of you know, and especially not very friendly before my coffee (also known as “Pre-coffee Andreas”). So you can just imagine me that early in the morning, coffee less, disoriented, and being mauled by bus companies.
I believe we were in Cartagena and on our way to Medellin. At this point a friend and I had been 4 weeks in Ecuador and 2+ weeks in Colombia, so we were a bit sick of the antics – we just wanted the first bus back. Well, we were unable to get a straight answer from which bus was leaving (they’re always leaving “right now”). We manage to narrow it down to two guys and one was about to leave, and the other was leaving in 10 minutes (we’ll call them “Now” and “Later”). This scene then turned to ridiculousness. They both start haggling down – “Now” saying a price then “Later” lowering that and so on. This goes on for a good amount of time until they’re at about the same price (“as low as they can go”). We figure this is the end of the debacle and it’s up to us to decide now. Never make an assumption in South America. “Now” leaves for a second and comes back with 2 Gatorade bottles to sweeten the deal. We ponder it a bit. Then “Later” leaves and comes back with two Gatorade bottles and chips. We ask “Now” if he has a counter offer and he refuses to play the game anymore. So, of course, we award “Later” with the privilege of taking us after his hard effort and lack of pride. Never thought I would get bribed to ride a bus … only in Colombia.
First off, let me premise this with a few things: all buses in Colombia are negotiable – no matter how legitimate the company looks; once you enter a bus station, representatives from the companies spot you, immediately talk to you, and try to get you to their company. Now it’s all fun and games until you have to catch a bus at 6am or 8am. I’m not much for mornings, as many of you know, and especially not very friendly before my coffee (also known as “Pre-coffee Andreas”). So you can just imagine me that early in the morning, coffee less, disoriented, and being mauled by bus companies.
I believe we were in Cartagena and on our way to Medellin. At this point a friend and I had been 4 weeks in Ecuador and 2+ weeks in Colombia, so we were a bit sick of the antics – we just wanted the first bus back. Well, we were unable to get a straight answer from which bus was leaving (they’re always leaving “right now”). We manage to narrow it down to two guys and one was about to leave, and the other was leaving in 10 minutes (we’ll call them “Now” and “Later”). This scene then turned to ridiculousness. They both start haggling down – “Now” saying a price then “Later” lowering that and so on. This goes on for a good amount of time until they’re at about the same price (“as low as they can go”). We figure this is the end of the debacle and it’s up to us to decide now. Never make an assumption in South America. “Now” leaves for a second and comes back with 2 Gatorade bottles to sweeten the deal. We ponder it a bit. Then “Later” leaves and comes back with two Gatorade bottles and chips. We ask “Now” if he has a counter offer and he refuses to play the game anymore. So, of course, we award “Later” with the privilege of taking us after his hard effort and lack of pride. Never thought I would get bribed to ride a bus … only in Colombia.
|
Post a Comment