The day I saved $12.50

March 5th, 2010: After 12 hours of rolling my backpack around the bus terminal and people watching, I ended up not being able to get a ticket out of the bus station for Santa Elena. This was not because of the Mafia...just me being picky about getting an earlier bus and my inability to purchase a bus ticket in time. Not wanting to stay in Cuidad Guyana for the night, feeling it would have be a wasted day, I went along with this older woman on a bus who told me I could transfer 4 hours away in a town on the way to my final destination.

Getting dropped off on a dimly lit street in Tumeremo...at midnight. I sat on the streets joining the other 20 or so people also waiting for a bus to Santa Elena. Some individuals made the sidewalk their beds as others joined in on my 12:00am English class that lasted until about 430am. Buses would come through the town along with the drunks originating from some unknown location but neither would stop, some going faster than others. Thinking that I was never going to leave this town, the taxis started showing up circling us with their wrecks, trying to legally stealing from us charging outrageous rates to get us to our destinations. I had an advantage because I had all night, now becoming all morning and was not willing to pay the $12.50 more to go by cab than by bus.

Around 4:30am a jeep passed through town stopping when someone waved him down. Two people jumped into the car as others made a dash for the windows as if there was a natural disaster and he was issuing food. Beating them with my speed by 0.0002 seconds, I was pointed out giving me permission to enter his vehicle, hitching a ride for the same price as a bus...saving me $12.50. Finally after around 23 hours, I was on my way to Santa Elena.

Please note that the saving $12 was not just to save money but to not let money separate me from those I was with for the evening who didnt have it. I did not want to be the american with the money to just pay myself out of a bad situation when most of those I was with couldnt.