When 12 Becomes 24
A chance to surrender …
Overnight buses in South America are actually usually a great way to travel. Cheap and the bus itself is super comfortable (aside from the odd cockroach roaming around … or in my case inviting itself onto my seat).
This last journey provided an extra opportunity for practice though.
Arbs & me beginning our journey with excitement.
Practicing patience.
Practicing surrendering.
Practicing acceptance.
I mean - when your bus is at a standstill for nearly 9 hours, what else can you do?
The funniest part was that when I first noticed the bus wasn’t moving, I thought we were at a rest stop. I saw people going in and out of the bus and seeing as it was 6am (and we were scheduled to arrive an hour prior) I thought okay, I might as well stretch my legs and get a coffee since we’re a bit delayed.
I exit the bus to realize that I’m in the middle of the highway between a mountain and a river. There’s no coffee and we’ve actually been stopped for 4 hours already.
We exit the bus to investigate what is going on. Arbs’ sweater says it perfectly: “I know everything happens for a reason, but what the f**k?”
I was so glad to be travelling with a friend and having someone to share this experience with. After a few laughs we decided to investigate, going for a walk through the long line of traffic … other buses, trucks, motorbikes, everything, even a little tuk tuk food truck selling plantains. Okay let’s get some, this might be awhile. It’s our turn to order and we learn that they’ve run out. Right before we got to the front of the line.
Okay no problem, popcorn instead? Sure, let’s get some popcorn for this show.
(Seriously - popcorn is always available on highways in Peru. I don't know why.)
I guess we could have got plantains if I spent more time getting in line and less time documenting the experience. Oh well.
Another few hours of waiting … wondering, thinking about everything I had planned for the day that I wouldn’t be able to get to.
An Emily that is hungry, hot, wishing for coffee and trying to let go of her to-do list.
At 9:30 AM we finally start moving. THANK YOU UNIVERSE!
Oh, but no. We only moved forward a few metres. Then we actually started going b a c k w a r d s. Oooooook. More patience needed.
It’s okay, everything’s okay.
At 10:30, the bus finally starts moving again at a reasonable pace. I thought we might all erupt into applause, but no. Everyone else had already accepted the situation and didn’t seem phased whether we were moving or not. This stuck with me.
I felt a small applause on the inside though nonetheless.
By 11:30 I still hadn’t had a coffee. Many of you will know how serious that is for me. We did drive by a coffee shop that my eyes stuck with a little too long from this bus window …
You know things are getting serious when this is the coffee I was wishing we’d stop for.
Here’s hoping for a smooth journey for the next 4 hours and 16 minutes.
And if not, the capacity to accept, surrender and be patient.
**
Adding on …
The scheduled 12 hour bus ride took 24. It was not 4 hours and 16 minutes to go from the last checkpoint as Google may have suggested. We got by on almonds and some very sweet cookies found at a side of the road rest stop. Along with some very sweet coffee (pre-sweetened, we had no choice in the matter) that made my stomach upset.
The lessons:
Accept (that things don’t always go as planned. You have control only over your own actions, not over outcomes)
Surrender (the need to know how or when something will happen. Trust that it will unfold as needed)
Be patient (because you can choose to stress or choose to accept. One will be much more enjoyable than the other)
Also, now I know I can ride a bus for 24 hours when needed.