Perfect Timing

Today I had to leave Frank's, something I really hate doing especially because of the dreaded 3 (or more) hour bus ride.  Well today I decided to leave a little earlier than normal because the buses in the afternoon tend to get a little sporadic.  I hopped on a bus that was heading to Managua and enjoyed the nice breeze and semi-cooler weather as we left the mountains and headed south.  The ride didn't seemed like it was going pretty quickly, but I was caught off guard when I looked at a roadsign to see where we were and realized that we'd be arriving at the Boaco junction in a couple minutes.  It took just about 50 minutes to get there and this trip usually takes an hour and 15 minutes! 

I got off the bus I waited a couple minutes there and hoped that I would be able to catch an earlier bus than anticipated now that I was there about 30 minutes before the one I had hoped to catch.  Well, sure enough, a Boaco bus pulled up and I got on that one.  Unfortunately I didn't get a seat right away like the previous one, but I squeezed through the crowd and a man offered to hold my flowers (that were in a nalgene water bottle) while I put my backpack in the overhead rack. 

Not more than 20 minutes passed by of me holding onto a bar and balancing my bottle of flowers before an older man offered me his seat as he was going to get off soon.  I was very thankful for that and I could also then enjoy the bag of mango strips that I had just bought.  This bus also got us back to Boaco on time and my total trip time was 2 hours and 15 minutes.  This is extremely unusual because of the inconsistent schedule of Boaco buses, especially in the afternoons, and even more on Sundays.

From Boaco to the junction to go north, the bus ride is 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Then once I'm there, I have to wait for a bus going north to Esteli or Matagalpa (both pass through Frank's site) and those pass by about every 15 minutes (lucky for him!).  Then from the junction to Frank's site, it's about an hour and 15 minutes again.  So, if you hit it right and don't have to wait for a bus, you can make it there in 2 1/2 hours.  Getting back to Boaco is usually a little longer because I usually have to wait at the junction for about 30 minutes (and sometimes an hour!).  I usually give myself 3 hours for the trip so today was a miracle.  I called Frank at the junction to tell him I was already there and he was surprised and then I called him when I got home to share the record-breaking news.  Incredible!  I guess I'll have to try catching that bus more often!