Bus Rides in Peru

I think we have been on enough buses now since our time in Peru to say a few words on the subject. First of all, there is a CLEAR distinction between the buses in Peru and the buses in Chile and this was quite evident upon our first excursion on a Peruvian bus. Purchasing a ticket and getting to the bus staion all seems relavtively similar to Chile (although you have to pay a 'terminal use fee' in Peru of 1 sole before leaving), but the bussing experience in general is quite different.
The buses in Peru are in much worse disrepair than those in Chile...on one ride our arm rest fell through to the seat behind us when we put it up. Luckily, the man sitting behind us was a good sport, as it constantly fell down hitting him in the knee...I can also say I'm sorry in Spanish, which helped de-escalate the situation. Another interesting feature is the toilet or lack there of. Now, I don't like bus toilets on a VIP posh style bus even if the seats are lined with fur (though that would be super un-hygenic), but I do like knowing that if there is an emergency on a 17-20 hour ride, that I have some place to sort myself out. And yes, they do tell you that your bus ride will be between 17-20 hours or 8-12 hours etc...just to give them a bit of a cushoin. On one such bus ride, there was no toilet available and that was horrific. Perhaps the mind knows that there is no toilet available rendering the bladder vulnerable and weak to its' torments, as it only takes a few moments of realizing there is no toilet for me to have that all too familiar sensation in my gooch (that's New Zealand speak for bladder)...and it ain't a good sensation!
Another difference you find in Peruvian buses is with the sheer number of stops along the way to your final destination...we're talking dozens and each one has some new adventure waiting for you. It could be the local pastry man selling some pancreas crushing sweet breads, or the DVD salesman offering an example of his Disney classic cartoons DVD with riveting titles such as The Ugly Duckling and The Three Little Pigs, or the local obsese women selling carbohydrates in a bag, but the best is when you stop at the random "police station" where the "officers" help themselves to searching random bags and taking whatever they render "illegal."
Blankets and pillows are few and far between, but Al and I always carry our personal sleeping bags so this does not pose such a problem for us. Food is a bit of misnomer really, as sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't. Either way, having your own food is best (as we discussed in 'How to pack for an overnight bus ride'), as you will get a ham and cheese on white bread half sandwich and/or sugary biscuits and sweet drinks. There is rarely if ever air conditioning or heating, but you can open and close the windows and pull or push the curtain shades to block the sun accordingly and this helps to regulate the temperature.
So now that I have told you some of the main differences between the buses in Chile and Peru, I am going to contradict myself entirely when I tell you about our ride to Cusco from Arequipa on an 8-11 hour joy ride through the mountains. It all started when we got to the bus station 1 hour early, my fault entirely, but I like to be there with plenty of time. I can tell you that on one of our bus rides we had to change buses enroute to our final destination, but we weren't told that we actually had to change bus stations as well. I chose the later connecting bus and I am glad I did, as about 15 minutes before our bus was to leave, I thought it would be a good idea to check in...and that is when we found out that we had to race across town in a taxi to the other bus station...we made it in time, but it does pay to get to the station early...at least in my humble opinion...alright ALEX!
I digress...So we were sitting in the station waiting for our bus when we were told to bring our luggage to a separate part of the station where they check you in and put it onto a trolley to load the bus later. This is not common practice, as you usually just bring your bags up to the side and throw them in yourself. Then, we got into the cue, checked in and got to our seats. We were thrilled, as we had front row second class seats, the best in the world of second class. I guess you could say it is like the $5 item at the dollar shop...we splurged. So we got ourselves all organized and set up for our sleepless 8-11 hour journey, when the bus assistant came to get us and usher us downstairs to the first class cabin. I swear I thought I got my Spanish all wrong and had to ask the poor man to repeat himself twice before I realized that we were in fact being led down to the heaven part of the bus, where all the travellers except for us sit and eat ambrosia and recline in sleeper seats that are not only wider than your second class seat, but actually recline totally flat mimicing an actual bed.
And as if that weren't enough, the bus assistant then comes around with a hot meal and beverage to give us. It was some kind of meat balls with rice and one thin slice of sweet potato, but it beats a ham and cheese on white bread half sandwich any day. After that he came around to give us special cocoa leaf tea to help with acclimitization. The first class room is also temperature regulated, you get clean blankets and they play a movie with English subtitles...wow. So this is how the other travellers live...well I want to say white people, as those were the only faces we saw, but that really isn't fair! Now, I want to tell all of you that we like to ride in second class to really get the feel of the people and the culture and be a part of Peru on a different level, but honestly we are skint and have to purchase the class we can afford.
And who came up with this 'class system' of seating? How degrading, as if we are less than those in first class. I mean, we may not bathe every single day and we may wear the exact same unwashed outfits 3-5 days in a row, but does that make us any less of a person than our first class counterparts? I suppose it does say something that despite the fact that we were allowed in the first class cabin, we were sat in the furthest most seats all the way in the back sequestered next to the baggage overload that would not fit in the undercarriage...hmmm...either way, we aren't complaining one bit and we would take first class in the back of the bus any day over front row second class seats. We have come along way baby...we have made it!