Travelling – Day One

Got off the boat quite easily and said bye to Alberto which was sad. A 40 minute wait for a taxi which was okay as I wasn't in a rush, my bus didn't leave until 2:15. I had wanted to take the train but the schedule didn't work out. I had forgotten how awful taking the Greyhound in America is. I get to the terminal and its in the middle of nowhere - it looks like Beirut. There are a few seats and a Cindy Crawford infomercial blaring out of a single TV. I mean blaring. There is no way you can read, think, anything. All you can focus on is the rare melons in Cindy's skin cream.

They sell water in a vending machine, it's out of order. Ack.  Someone else on the cruise mentioned the same time problem with the train and said they were taking a shuttle to Vancouver. Who knew that was an option? I don't really know what that even is but will look into it next time.
I'm remembering the first time I took the Greyhound in America with the chain smoking mental patients still in their hospital gear and people eating buckets of fried chicken and tossing the garbage everywhere. This is better than that.
I had hoped to get to the bus early but I lost track of time at a local Starbucks. When I got back I ran to buy a sandwich and a water and take my luggage out of the locker - jammed. Would not open. Fun. Called maintenance to get my bags and I'm wondering by this time if I will even manage to catch the damn bus. I get my luggage and race to the end of the line, the very last. Still, I got on.
Now a 4 hour trip to Vancouver. They large man beside me is doing Sudoku or something, whatever you call it when you have to move your arm every 10 seconds and jam it into the rib cage of the person sitting next to you. I forget the name now.
Will try and sleep.

Happy day! This is really turning out well. A few people got off last stop and I got a seat to myself! Plus when I got on they weren't Nazis about the baggage allowance, they didn't even weigh them! Everything is coming up Adam!
I wonder if I'll be able to upgrade to a sleeper car in Vancouver. When I was planning this trip, saving $200 sounded good. Now that I'm here, sitting upright for 19 hours beside someone sounds less good.

Life is funny. We're stopping in Coquitlam, B.C. on the way to Vancouver. My friend Christine moved to Coquitlam when I was 14 and in high school. It seemed like the other side of the world at the time, I never guessed I would one day be passing through. Similarly I went to Victoria with my friend Sarah 3 years ago and we went to the world's tallest totem poll. During our bus tour of Victoria the other day, we drove past the world's tallest totem poll and stopped for a picture. If you had told me at the time I would be back in that spot three years later I would have smacked your face. Now on the VIA cross-country train departing Vancouver.

When I got to the VIA desk, my luck ran out a little. No sleeper cars available at the discount rate, they would charge me the $83 change fee if there was, the only car available is $600, stuff like that. So it’s upright Adam for tonight. I really wasn’t thinking when I booked this of my state of mind, after a week-long cruise and being away for ten days, of course I would want the bed. Anyway, it’s a moo point. You know, a cow’s opinion.

They car is so old there is ashtrays built into every seat handle. There is no Wi-Fi, but there is outlets for computers. How is it I can get Wi-Fi on a boat in Mexico, but not here. How is it I can get Wi-Fi on the Greyhound bus to the train station, but not here. Are we in the third world?

They do dispense water here, it’s via this piping system that Noah built just before the ark so it tastes like a bat died in it. I’m going to keep a sample and have it tested later. Also you can only fill these little tiny one sip paper cups, so if you want to fill your water bottle you need to fill 300 paper cups and every time the water shoots out like Niagara Falls and drenches you, your hand, your clothes. Good times. I guess it’s in lieu of a shower, which is not on offer.

Will watch a little TV on my computer while my IPod charges, then will go explore.

Oh, also the intercom in here doesn’t work, it keeps cutting out. So it’s like “For your safety, it is very important that you *crackle, crackle, crackle* and don’t forget to never *crackle, crackle, crackle*. Thank you!”