Transportation Mazatlán and Concordia México

The transportation system in México is excellent, and taking buses is my favorite way to move around the city and surrounding countryside. Not many are in pristine condition, and some are in pretty tough shape, but it's more interesting by far than taking a cab or pulmonia, an open air, golf cart-type conveyance. Drivers here do not seem to have the same Kamikaze Pilot mentality when driving so it's a bit tamer riding in Mazatlán buses than in some other cities. Many have a cross or crucifix dangling in the front window, and many have named their bus. Information that I get from other people here may or may not be correct, and it's impossible for me to check for accuracy but it makes for interesting stories. I've been told that many individual buses are purchased as a business by the drivers which explains the individualized decor and names.

Yesterday we went to the central bus station where both elite and regular buses board passengers going to various Méxican cities and villages. Finding our way there was a contest in itself, but we are getting very good at figuring out the bus system, with some hilarious mishaps along the way. After finding the right terminal building for the small town of Concordia, about 40 kilometers from here, we boarded and watched the driver and other passengers. One pays the fare on the bus with this particular system, a less-fancy bus than the other larger Greyhound types. The drivers stopped at almost every corner, or so it seemed, boarding new passengers. Occasionally vendors got on, selling candy which they placed in laps and then returned for payment. We and many others just gave them back. Other vendors selling roast corn, sweet rolls and lottery tickets boarded, sold their wares, and then debarked several blocks beyond where they first got on. It took us 45 minutes just to get out of the city. Absolutely no other gringos on the bus. Where we noticed?? Women with children without fail were helped by other passengers, total strangers, who held the children or helped the family get settled.

The colonial town of Concordia was beastly hot and many residents walked around carrying black umbrellas to ward off the sun's rays. The church in the Plaza, reportedly to be one of the oldest in the country. unfortunately was locked. We didn't stay long and returned along the same route. The landscape is dry and dusty during this season, but there were patches of land that looked like orchards, green havens among the yellow, dry soil. Cacti sprouted from the hills along the highway. The trip takes about an hour and a half each way and costs the princely sum of $2.00.

After several more mishaps on the city buses, created by language difficulties, we arrived in the Zona Dorada and had a great meal of a rack of ribs. We have been eating almost all Méxican food, but this was impossible to resist and the food was excellent.

I wonder what today will bring?!