Home to La Masica

1. July 2009 by Fortunato Velasquez.

My Peace Corps E-Zone Coordinator told me last night that I could leave La Ceiba this morning, that the political situation appeared to have calmed down somewhat.  I took a taxi to the bus terminal about 10AM and climbed aboard an express busito bound for La Masica.  A busito is a modern, air-conditioned 15-20 passenger mini-bus, as opposed to the larger, cheaper yellow “chicken” buses used by most commute passengers.  The chicken buses are essentially old, used, converted American school buses pressed into commuter service.  As soon as the busito reached the first bridge out of town across the Rio Danto we came to a dead stop.  A large crowd of yelling demonstrators had blocked the roadway and the vehicular bridge traffic in both directions came to a halt.  Our busito driver promptly plunged the bus down a dirt road to the water where he drove against the shallow current passing taxis and other cars stuck in the sand trying to also cross to the other side.  We, however, made it.  It was like something out of Indiana Jones.  We emerged under the bridge on the other side of the river and made it up to the pavement, got back on the highway and made it home.  Our normally 30 minute trip took us 2 hours.  If I had taken a “chicken” bus I would still be in La Ceiba tonight.  When I got home I discovered that a workman who had been painting my room when I left stole my digital camera while I was gone for 5 days.  He actually stole it the first day I left.  No pictures for a while.

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