What time does this bus leave again...?

After the Galapagos, almost everyone flew back to Miami. (Two girls actually went on to Lima, where they met up with their parents to go camping around Machu Pichu). I decided I would roam around Ecuador for two weeks, whether I was by myself or not. That is how I found myself on a nine-hour bus ride from the largest city, Guayaquil, to the capital, Quito. I wanted to take the 4:15am bus, so I could sleep half the time.

On the web, it says the buses leave every hour, 15 minutes after the hour. When I called their office, they said the buses leave closer to 30 minutes after, and when I got the bus terminal, the ticket-agent said it was leaving at 4:45.

OK, so waiting 20 minutes on a bus with a tv and a bathroom is no big deal, right? And there were only 5 people on the bus, sweet! But no. 4:45 rolls around, no driver. 5:00 am, the driver gets on and then right back off. 5:15, a huge group of people get on (urgh). 5:20, one lady who was at the bus station at 4am starts making a fuss. 5:25, the bus driver starts getting dressed in his uniform. 5:30, we start to idle out. Turns out everyone who bought a ticket was told ¨the bus is leaving in 15 minutes,¨ no matter what time you bought the ticket. 5:40, the bus stops in a fricking intersection for another group of passengers. Complainer lady starts up again.

And yes, while there was a bathroom, it did not work. Everytime the bus stopped and the driver´s assistant yelled ¨5 minutes here,¨I grabbed my backpack, ran for a bathroom, paid my 25 cents and went as quick as I could.

Except for those two minor inconveniences, it I´m glad I took the bus instead of flew. For one, it was soooooooooo much cheaper. Two, the scenery in the mountains was simply beautiful. I didn´t get motion sickness, as people said I would, and I was able to sleep, as people said I wouldn´t. And despite leaving more than one hour later than planned, I was able to make my connecting bus to Mindo.