The Worse Bus Ride! The end to safari day 2

This bus ride was possibly the worst bus ride I have had thus far in Africa. I think it was just the situations and the difference in people on this bus but here it goes…

Annie, Casey, Jayme, and I got on the bus in good moods ready to be back home. Jayme and I were separated from Casey and Annie early on in the bus ride. First off, the bus had no seats left so we were standing for the ride and there were a lot of people in the aisle so we were tightly squeezed into the bus. Not even 10 minutes into the bus ride, I felt something on my left foot and when I figured out what it was I was NOT a happy camper. I was getting pissed on. I looked at Jayme who was also looking confused until I mouthed what was happening. Her face showed the same annoyance. It was happening to her too just on the opposite foot. It was hard to be completely mad because we discovered it was a little girl who we are guessing just couldn’t hold it anymore and so the dad turned her toward the aisle to go. So I guess I didn’t get too mad because it was a little girl I was more annoyed at the dad than anything. Yet we are only at the beginning of the story lol. After the girl was done, the dad handed her off to someone else who happened to be behind me, which resulted in the little girl holding on to my pants for a large portion of the bus ride. Yet as I stood there, I felt something on my other foot. I look down and I see that one of the patrons is spitting seeds of a fruit on my foot. I look at him and he just shrugs. Needless to say, the cleanliness of buses here are very low! People just put trash on the floor even if someone is standing there!

The guy finally finished and there was some peace. But the next issue was the bus kept stopping and putting more people on the bus. We are already really full and they were squeezing us even more. I think they were complaining in Chichewa (native language) that we (Jayme and I) weren’t moving any farther back because the conductor of the bus climbed over the chairs and took us and shoved us as far back as he could to the back of the bus. So now Jayme and I are standing next together (which at least was a plus…it’s better to lean against someone you know rather than a stranger for 4-5 hours). We are both not in the best of moods and trying to be positive I say, “ you know I know we both don’t feel good but at least we are standing by each other and we have your iPod to help”. Just then they turned on the radio (which is always blaring) and we happened to be right under the speaker! LOL . It was hilarious how it happened right after I said that. We turned off the iPod because there was no way to hear it with the radio on. That’s where we stood for basically the entire bus ride. About an hour away from Lilongwe, Jayme was able to get a seat and I stood. By this point, I was determined to see if I could stand the entire way. There was one gentleman aboard who asked if I wanted to sit because I was trying to stretch my legs (they were asleep). About 30 minutes away, I got a seat and I sat which felt nice (so I almost did it). We arrived in Lilongwe tired and separated from our group (which had been seated in the front of the bus early on in the ride). Getting off the bus is always a challenge especially because we are white. We get bombarded by taxi drivers who literally follow you around.

Needless to say after much adversity and some crazy taxi driving, we arrived at home safe and sound with some interesting stories, as you can see!  Hope you all are doing well! Miss you guys!