Bridget Over Travelled Waters

I’m not entirely sure what possessed me to opt for a three day bus trip over a flight. I lie, it was purely money. I had more time than it, so a lengthy road journey seemed like simply an adventure for my future self to brag about it. I didn’t consider that it would mean giving up personal hygiene for seventy-two hours.

Being the only gringa on the bus from Buenos Aires to Lima, this made me special, and any special person deserves special treatment. The Peruvians and Argentines on the bus ensured the little lonely blonde girl was sufficiently hydrated and prayed for (the trip began with a bus-wide prayer, which instilled me with much confidence for the remainder of the journey). One lovely lady distributed some Bible passages for all the bus, and apologised to me for not having any in German, my native tongue. I assured her I’m Australian and speak English, she responded by showing me the Austria page in her world atlas (because she had it with her) with its official language being German. Testing my limited Spanish skills, I managed to convey where I am actually from (thanking the fact that kangaroo is so easy to mime, and the word in Spanish is canguro).

Although lengthy, smelly and occasionally scary, the bus ride was one of the best things I’ve done. It was the only time during my stay in South America where I was completely surrounded by native Spanish speakers with no option of slipping into English (or German…), and I got to experience some true South American hospitality. I felt communally adopted by the other passengers – like I was their daughter (collectively, if that’s even possible) and they wanted to make sure I arrived in Lima safely, without getting immediately robbed and/or sold into slavery upon my arrival. One guy even bought me ice cream at one of our stops. Sometimes it’s good to be a novelty.