Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

...or: Mototaxis, Buses, and Colectivas

.

Every Sunday morning, I embark on an hour long journey to church - and then after 3 hours of teaching kids, I have another hour of return travel to look forward to ;-). Needless to say, sometimes I come home from church quite tired.

.

The following series of pictures display the different modes of travel I take to get to/from church. I first start by walking about a mile to the bus stop (on mornings when I'm in a hurry, I sometimes take a bus there).

.

This longer distance bus takes me to the town where the church is. The ride is usually 45 minutes, and unfortunately, the leg room is often less than comfy for me - another reminder of how I stand out ;-).

.

In the picture below are mototaxis lined up waiting for passengers. Not so long ago, these were bicycles pulling carts (bicitaxis) - but now they have upgraded to motorcycles, often building the motorcycle right into the cart.

I take a mototaxi from the city center to the church, about a mile away. This is the lovely view from inside the mototaxi :-).

After church, I have to walk a few blocks before I spot another mototaxi to take me back 'downtown'. This is a typical street that I walk down.

If a bus isn't on hand when I get downtown, I take a colectiva - which is faster, but a little more expensive.

A colectiva is a taxi that has a set destination, and you keep picking people up along the way until it's full. At first I was adverse to taking them, but I am getting used to it :-).

And, then after another walk or short bus ride, I'm back home and getting ready for another week. Hurray! :-)