Ruta

This is the most common interior design style for a Ruta.

So the Ruta is a special thing to me because I've spent about an hour and a half a day, every weekday, for the last four weeks trying out all different kinds on my way to and from language school as well as any other time I travel in the city.

Whether it is copious amounts of crocheted fringe around the front windshield and rear view mirror or little statuettes of the Virgin Mary, the buses and drivers all have individual personalities. Sometimes your driver will be the race car - swervy - honking constantly kind, which is so incredibly loud you wonder if it will make the person in front go deaf, or if in fact the horn is somehow turned backward so it blasts the people inside the bus more. Sometimes the drivers chat with people at every stop and leave you wondering if you're really going to get where you're going today. The buses, for their part communicate differently too, some roar loudly a up the hill, others protest and bounce like you're on a dirt road. Some really are comfortable, quiet and clean, but I'm still not sure how to tell which ones those are as they're approaching you at 30 mph.

At 4 1/2 pesos (a little less than 50 cents), they're certainly economical and most drivers will cram on as many people as possible, while spending as little time at each stop as possible. This means that as you enter, you pay quickly and get out of the way. Generally this goes off without a hitch, but earlier last week I only had a 100 peso bill and in my apprehension to get out of the way, I told the driver that this was the smallest bill I had in response to his question, when in actuality, he had asked me where I was going. It also means that I have mastered getting off the bus in flip flops without it actually stopping.

I don't have any more school, so the Ruta stop will not be my first destination in the morning anymore, but I have a feeling I have plenty of interesting experiences with public transportation ahead of me!

A view of the 24th Military Base (Cuernavaca's Base) from
the backseat of the Ruta.