Why I LOVE Travel Days

For many travelers, the idea of spending an entire day on a bus when you could take a quick flight seems like a waste of time; but for me, the days spent traveling between destinations are some of my favorite. First off it’s EASY! With the right amount of research (usually dug up on some blog), travel days CAN BE (not always) very low stress and almost ALWAYS cheap. It’s essentially a day where nothing else is planned (money saver in itself!), and all you have to do is sit there…for hours…sometimes overnight…which in my book, is $aving on a hostel! If I can take an overnight bus somewhere, you better believe i’m on it…generally they are air-conditioned (truly a luxury), include some kind of snack/meal, and are cheaper or equivalent to a hostel… it’s a essentially a 2 for 1 deal!

Lately however, MegHan and I haven’t had much need for an overnight bus, which means we have the options of flying (too expensive), air-conditioned shuttles (still too expensive), or local buses…which is generally where we end up. I must say, navigating the local bus systems are a bit challenging, but at the same time that makes it an adventure! This is where the research comes in; my first choice is to find a blog from a traveler who has done the trip recently; they generally break it down step by step; and when you don’t speak the language, step by step directions are a LIFESAVER!

Travel days generally start EARLY; sometimes before the sun comes up, which if you know me, is a part of my personal nightmare. However, once you peel yourself out of your bunk and wipe the sleep from your eyes, the rest is easy, all you need are your directions, a cup of bitter hostel coffee (if you’re lucky), A LOT of patience, a fun travel partner (might even be yourself!), and an open mind…and maybe some sunscreen. Again, just to be clear, you need A LOT OF PATIENCE; bus stations tend to be disorganized; you may miss a bus, you may not have a seat on bus, and you are likely to not have AC (and if you see a bus pull up with the windows closed, get excited!). And let me tell you, when you have no AC, 88% humidity, and its 85 degrees outside, you will probably be thinking, “Why the fuck did I not spend the extra $15 for the AC shuttle?” And in this moment is when you need the patience and the ability to appreciate the fact that you have immersed yourself in the culture: aside from a hand full of backpackers like yourself, the rest of the people on the bus are locals. Locals going to or from work, kids coming home from school; and while you are sweating from what seems like very pore of your body, just remember that this is often a part of their daily routine, and for the most part they are HAPPY. They are not complaining, they are not sulking, they are not rushing, they are modeling the patience I know I can learn from…And thats about the time that I bust out my hand held fan and hope that it is able to take the edge off of my meltdown AKA “sweat down”.

Generally, getting from point A to point B is never a direct; it might require two buses, a water taxi, another bus, and a lovely walk to the hostel; which is why I say travel days are an adventure and a challenge, and usually much more rewarding. Did I also mention cheaper? For example, tomorrow, Meghan and I are traveling from Boquete, a mountain town, to Bocas del Toro. the beach. This will require two buses, a water taxi, and i’m sure a walk. We can take a nice AC shuttle from one hostel to the next for $30 each; however, if we take the local buses it will only cost about $15 each…which is about our nightly budget for hostels… you do the math. Sure it will take a couple extra hours, and a lot of sweat, but it will also be a great story! I’m sure we will struggle to explain in Spanish where we are going, but our ATTEMPT at the language will be enthusiastically appreciated; we will probably have a fun game of peek-a-boo with the baby sitting next to us, and perhaps we will develop a crush on the bus driver who’s multi-tasking skills (driving, changing money, directing traffic), for some reason is just plain, “HOT!” Perhaps along the way we may almost miss a bus requiring an adventurous taxi ride that makes us appreciate being alive…No matter what, traveling like a local, with the locals, experiencing the culture, and taking in the scenery a long the way are all experiences you are unlikely to get on an air-conditioned flight, which is why i LOVE travel days…and for a little cheese factor: Remember, “Its not the destination, it’s the journey.” The hot, sweaty, long journey…