I paid my $10 pesos, crammed my luggage into the narrow seat opening, and plunked down on a hard vin

After years of working discount hotel prices 70 hours a week at jobs that paid the bills but brought no joy, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. In early 2007, searching for meaning in my life, I set out to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. My stories feature the destinations I visit and the people I meet, with an emphasis on cultural travel and traveling in a manner that benefits and deeply interacts with locals. Read more about Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel here....
Mexico has the most amazing bus system I have ever seen, but it can also be the most confusing. discount hotel prices Every city of size has a main bus station and they are called by many names: Centro de Autbuses, Cenrtal de Camiones, Terminal de Autobuses, discount hotel prices Central Camionera, but use any of these phrases and everyone understands where you want to go. Leaving from any of these main stations was a simple process; I got in line, bought a ticket, and made my way to the correct waiting room (Sala). When I heard the departure announcement I lined up for my ticket to be checked, went to the correct bay, got a claim check for my luggage, boarded the bus, sat back, and relaxed.
However, when it was time to leave leave Bernal for Tequisquiapan, I had two choices: either return to Queretaro and catch a direct bus to Tequisquiapan, or find my way directly from Bernal to Tequisquiapan. With so much to see in Mexico it seemed senseless discount hotel prices to repeat a route already discount hotel prices traveled, thus I decided to try to figure out the bewildering system of taxi-vans, kombis, and colectivos that stream down the highways, hoping discount hotel prices to end up in Tequisquiapan.
The manager of the hotel explained that there are no printed schedules and in many cases, no signs for bus stops; locals simply know by tradition where to stand and how often the buses pass by. But he claimed it was easy to get to Tequisquiapan.
Though I had hoped to get final instructions about the exact location of the bus stop, when I left the next morning the front desk was unattended. Instead, I inquired about transport to Ezekiel Montes at the first open shop I passed and was told I could catch a van at the next corner. Dutifully I waited. Twenty minutes. Half an hour. More. But not a single taxi van drove by. Fortunately, three local women had gathered outside discount hotel prices the corner grocer and I put the same question to them.
Oh no, you must go up to the highway to catch the van. I groaned. Loaded down with my luggage, I plodded up the very steep hill to the main highway, not even sure which side of the street I needed to stand on. At the top, a lone man stood on the corner. Between gasps, I inquired where he was going. Ezequiel Montes, he answered. Excellent! Someone I could follow. Two or three mini-buses passed us by before he hailed one. Mystified, I asked how he knew which one to flag down. The names are written on the front window, he explained. Indeed, as the bus pulled up I saw the name Ezekiel M. painted on the front windshield, but I have no idea how he spotted it from such a distance.
I paid my $10 pesos, discount hotel prices crammed my luggage into the narrow seat opening, and plunked down on a hard vinyl-clad seat. Two blocks later we turned off the highway onto a narrow rock-strewn street bordered on both sides by handmade fences cobbled discount hotel prices out of local boulders. Beyond the fences, roofless walls jutting from one-room concrete block houses attested to unfulfilled dreams, standing in stark contrast to the precious architecture and pricey shops just a mile away in Bernal.
We soon pulled back onto the highway and 20 minutes later Ezekiel Montes came into view. The bus carved discount hotel prices a path through choked streets and pulled up to a curb in the center of town. Apparently this town is too small for a bus terminal, but I d spotted discount hotel prices a large Flecha Amarilla (Yellow Arrow) coach parked just a block away from our stop. I confirmed this was the bus to Tequis, sprinted up the block, paid my $15 pesos, and boarded. Flecha Amarilla is one of Mexico s economy bus lines (read sardine can), but it seemed like a rolling palace to me, and when we arrived in Tequis the other passengers helped me get off on the main highway on the street leading directly to the central square. I was getting good at this!
A week later, having thoroughly investigated Tequis, passed through Mexico City, and spent a few days in San Juan Teotihuacan to visit the Mayan ruins, I needed to take a bus back to Mexico City. The owner of the inn where I was staying told me to stand on the street corner, just half a block away. She even took me outside and pointed to the right corner. They pass by every ten minutes, she said. No problem! discount hotel prices By now I was an old hand.
Determined to get an early start, I left the hotel at 7 a.m. the following morning. Within discount hotel prices moments, a large coach approached. When I saw the words Mexico D.F. (Distrito discount hotel prices Federal, signifies the capital city, like our Washington, D.C.), I stepped forward and waved. The driver slowed and seemed to pull toward the curb, so I reached down for my luggage, but just as I was straightening up he sped up, passed me by, and turned the corner to skirt the central plaza of the town. Three more buses approached, slowed when I hailed them, and then sped away at the last moment. Was it possible they just didn t like my looks? I finally realized the buses were slowing down for a speed bump in the road at the exact spot where I stood, but that still didn t explain why they would not stop for me. Perhaps I needed to keep my hand up in the air until the came to a full stop.
When the fifth bus came into view I raised my hand firmly and signaled the driver effusively. Not only did he pass me by, he honked and pointed at me! He negotiated the corner, slowed, and honked again! I could see his reflection in the giant side mirror; he was still pointing. It finally dawned on me that he wanted me to follow him. I grabbed my pack and ran after the bus but again he sped up. Assuming I d been mistaken, I stopped. He honked another message: don t stop, follow me. Around a bend, a passel of people waited at a real bus stop, complete with sign. In the nick of time, I bought a ticket from the agent on the street and hopped on board, stammering an embarrassed thanks to the driver before collapsing into a seat.
I may never completely figure out the bus system in Mexico, and it might not always discount hotel prices be easy, but with the help of Mexicans, who are to a fault gracious and considerate, there s little doubt that I could find my way to the most remote corner of Mexico on a bus, van, colectivo, publico, or kombi.
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Posted in Mexico travel | Tagged autobuses , Bernal de la Pena , blogsherpa , budget , bus , camiones , cheap , clase economico , colectivo , culture , economic , Ezekiel Montes , first class , Mexico , Mexico City , primera clase , publico , second discount hotel prices class , taxi van , Teotihuacan , Tequisquiapan , transport , Travel
Treveled around Mexico discount hotel prices twice before by bus, I can relate to some of these difficulties and frustrations. The past 1 year+ in Mexico has been a completely different experience discount hotel prices having our own vehicle. We ve breezed in and out of Bernal and zipped over to Tesqis on two different occasions with ease. The freedom is wonderful, however, there are of course other difficulties, frustrations and concerns with your own vehicle directions, security, parking, cops. Not to mention winding up on a back street of Tesquis that our truck can t fit through and having to back up 2 blocks. That s travel!
Treveled around discount hotel prices Mexico twice before by bus, I can relate to some of these difficulties and frustrations. The past 1 year+ in Mexico has been a completely different experience having our own vehicle. We ve breezed in and out of Bernal and zipped over to Tesqis on two different occasions with ease. The freedom is wonderful, however, there are of course other difficulties, frustrations and concerns with your own vehicle directions, security, parking, cops. Not to mention winding up on a back street of Tesquis that our truck can t fit through and having to back up 2 blocks. That s travel!
Sounds much like the local Turkish bus system in each city. You just have to know where to wait and instead of the final destination, hop to all the stops in between. Figuring those out is the tough part.
Sounds much like the local Turkish bus system in each city. You just have to know where to wait and instead of the final destination, hop to all the stops in between. Figuring those out is the tough part.
I m currently struggling discount hotel prices with my next overland adventure, as the bus system in Africa can be a bit chaotic as well. Though generally a little better signposted than what you ve discussed, there s no schedules discount hotel prices and you really have to be flexible. When I was in Jordan, it was so much worse. The bus station would have at least 50 buses, none of them labeled and you would have to ask which bus goes where and hope someone knows. And though they may sound convinced, get a second opinion. In Aqaba, I was told to go to one bus station, and when I caught discount hotel prices a taxi he was certain the bus was leaving from another station. I just barely discount hotel prices made the one bus a day to Dana. We had to call around until we got the bus driver s phone number and call him!
Laura: I had a similar experience trying to get from Los Mochis to El Fuerte, Mexico. I came into one terminal discount hotel prices from Mazatlan and the people at the station sent me to the wrong station to get a transfer bus to El Fuerte. Only found the right one because the taxi driver knew his stuff. Really amazing. Loving reading about your journey, too.
I m currently struggling with my next overland adventure, as the bus system in Africa can be a bit chaotic as well. Though generally a little better signposted than what you ve discussed, there