Unlike Indy, Puebla has abundant public transit. Like Indy, riding it is an adventure, but for different reasons. The people here are gracious and helpful to visitors, but the bus drivers mostly are like Chicago's were in the '60s and may still be: Their job is to drive the bus, NOT to make you feel comfortable and safe. The streets here mostly are paved in stone, so the ride is pretty rough. Olga's daughter, Olga Elisa, tried to convince me not to ride the bus because the drivers take off like a shot before you've even paid the fare, let alone sat down.
But so far, I've had no real problems with the buses, just my most embarrassing moment so far: When I got on the 44 bus yesterday morning, i dropped my cinco pesos (about 40 cents) into the driver's cup of tea!! He was very nice about it and wouldn't even take a few pesos for a replacement.
When I got off the bus, I very confidently strode down the street. Uh-huh, the wrong way. So I asked a local woman, and either she misdirected me or I misunderstood, probably the latter. Anyway, off I went again . . . and in a minute, here she came, rushing up behind me to tell me of my error and walk me all the way to the school! But the Geography Fairy wasn't done with me yet: At lunchtime, I was the last out of the baño (the ladies' loo), and there was no one to walk with. So off (course, of course) I went. This time, I knew quickly that I'd screwed up, so I ducked into a hotel lobby and got help getting back on course.
After class, instead of going to the Zocalo with my guia, Lenny, I went to two beautiful churches in Puebla and then to Cholula, all with about a dozen other students (and one's darling toddler daughter, Yodi), a bus driver and a guide. The first church, La Iglesia de San Francisco, is phenomenally beautiful. My photos can't do it justice, partially because flash photos are banned, but there are really good ones online. Because the fiesta de San Francisco was last week, there still were pink and silver mylar balloons floating in the sanctuary. The silver ones were star-shaped. Oddly enough, they didn't seem greatly out of place amid the gilded decor.
To be continued . . .
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