Public transportation options can be somewhat limited when traveling to and from much of Nicaragua outside of the major metropolitan areas (such as they are). For example, if you wish to go to the municipal capital of Las Sabanas from the department capital of Madriz, you may take one of eight busses that depart daily for Las Sabanas or Cusmapa. You will be fighting for a spot on one of these busses with everyone that wishes to get to any location between Somoto and that bus’s final destination. Normally packed to the limit (and sometimes even defying what would appear to be physically possible), a bus may be in even greater demand if the bus before is not running. In such instances, passengers end up overflowing, hanging out of doors, off of the sides, and up onto the luggage rack. For, after all, it is better to find any spot at all than to wait – the next bus, if it comes, will most likely be equally crowded, if it comes at all.
So if, one day, you find yourself riding on top of the retired school bus rather than inside it on your way to a rural Nicaraguan community, you might just start to look at the world around you a little differently.
First, you might notice how the air seems fresh and clean. Your bus is one of the few vehicles on the road, and while it might be an ecological nightmare in itself, it cannot spew out sufficient fumes to fill the air with the level of pollution created by heavy traffic and manufacturing.
Being much higher up, you might be able to see beyond the dense shrubbery growing beside the winding dirt road. You might notice the humble homes down in the valleys that you had previously not been able to see, and begin to realize how tenaciously humans strive to populate a land, even in the absence of access to basic resources such as electricity and potable water. You might gaze upon the patchwork mountainside fields and marvel at how the farmers have successfully cultivated corn, beans, tomatoes, and other crops on such steep inclines. Then, you might wonder how these people transport their crops to market, access essential supplies (Then again, what is actually essential? That which we may think we absolutely must have may be seen as an optional or luxury item to others.), or receive medical attention in the event of an emergency without roads or vehicles.
Having a clearer view of the world around you than you would had you been inside the hot, cramped vehicle, you might also become aware of how much is growing and thriving around you, even beside this dusty trail. Flowers wave as you pass by. Iridescent butterflies flit in and out of the shadows cast by trees heavily laden with fruit, while birds in a riot of colors soar and swoop above. As the altitude increases, you will notice that oaks and pine trees begin to replace the more tropical varieties of trees. Just make sure to tear your eyes away from the beauty around you every once in a while; if you fail to watch where you are going, you may not duck in time to avoid being struck in the face by the occasional tree branch hanging low over the road.
And, after an hour, despite being a bit dusty and sunburned, you might find that you enjoyed the trip immensely more than you might have, had you found a seat or a few inches of standing room.
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