La Bomba de Tiempo

La Bomba de Tiempo is a weekly performance of a 17-piece drum group that plays every Monday at Konex, a large industrial-looking cultural centre in the city. I had been meaning to check it out for weeks, as this is one of those things that everyone who goes raves about. Since the party is very early (by Argentina standards) on a Monday, my schedule usually gets in the way. So I was incredibly happy to find out that they were performing on a Saturday night for a special 8th birthday performance.

Now bear in mind that everything in Buenos Aires starts late. It was the single hardest thing to adjust to, living here. Don’t think about making a dinner reservation before 9pm. Clubs don’t open until 2am. After-parties start at 8am. Even a fifteenth birthday shindig (even bigger than sweet sixteen’s in the US and 21st’s back home) will go on until 5 or 6 in the morning. Within that context, it was quite normal then to set off for a show where the gates open at midnight and the band starts at 1:30am.

So there we stood outside on a freezing night waiting for the gates to open. Naturally we rushed straight for the bar in an attempt to warm up for what we thought would be an open air performance. Luckily, because of the weather, they were performing inside, with old warehouse vibes. It was thankfully much warmer here, especially when it packed out with people, foreigners and locals alike, with a whole range of different characters of all shapes, ages, and persuasion.

The cold and the wait was worth it when the band took to the stage and the rhythms started emanating from the drums. There is something about a drum beat that just manifests itself in your body and makes you move along to it. Together with the sheer energy and joy radiating from the band, the crowd started moving and jumping to the music. The whole centre-front section of the crowd turned into a giant mosh-pit at various times, conjuring up memories of a few concerts of my youth (ha!) when I was more likely to be in the thick of it than on the outside. For now, I was content to watch, moving instead with the heaving crowd along the outskirts of the madness, moving to the beat, but not risking injury.

The experience was so visceral, it is difficult to describe in words. I have taken part in a few drumming circles in the past, they are very popular back home as team-building or ice-breaking exercises. This experience though was like a drumming circle on steroids, thanks to the immense talent of the group, and the fun that the members themselves seem to have, which is infectious. The beat seemed to stay with me long after the music stopped, making me want to get my hands on a drum.

When the music stopped at 3am, the friend I was there with and I left, both tired from a week of teaching, and not in the best health. We should have guessed by the fact that people were still hanging around that it wasn’t over. Turns out we missed the second half. Oh well, luckily this is a weekly event, which I’m sure I’ll catch again.

So You Want to Teach English Abroad (Part 2)

Continuing on from last week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip, once you’ve answered the first broad questions about where you want to go and for how long you want to be there, it’s time to dig a little deeper to find out which approach is going to suit you best.

The next questions to ask yourself are:

1. Who do you want to teach?

This is a pretty major question to consider that will help you make up your mind. For me, I knew I definitively did not want to be teaching kids in a school. The majority of fixed programmes offer specifically school jobs, with the option of primary or secondary school. This makes sense as these jobs provide the greatest stability, have set dates and fixed hours. These contracts are thus much easier to set up and communicate to potential teachers.

If you want to teach adults, generally you are looking at a much more flexible schedule, as companies tailor their courses to suit them, and there tends to be a fair amount of chopping and changing as these students have demanding schedules. You are likely to be working for a language institute that is then sending you out to various companies, and there are many variables, and a fluctuating schedule and paycheque. Although you can certainly get a school job in Latin America, and you can go independently to South Korea and other Asian countries and teach adults, your decision may come down to what you want to get out of your experience.

Which brings me to:

2. What do you want to get out of teaching abroad?

To break it down quite simply: If you’re looking to save money, go to South Korea, Saudi Arabia, China or Japan (Taiwan is also a good option. Most of the South-East and Eastern Asian countries pay well, but there is some variation across the countries. Remember to look not just at your salary but the cost of living as well, as this greatly influences how much your paycheque will stretch). In addition, keep an eye out for certain programs – I know Georgia was running a government sponsored programme a while back that was fairly lucrative salary wise.

If money is not your main goal, then decide what cultural experience you’re looking for. Perhaps you want to spend a summer in Spain or Italy, teaching at summer camps with a language focus. Maybe you want to learn Spanish or Portuguese and make your decision based on that. You could choose your destination based on the region you’d like to travel after your contract is up, or while you are on vacation. Or perhaps you’re like me, and you make your decision based on what culture and lifestyle you’d most like to experience.

There is no wrong or right answer here. It all comes down to what your primary goal is in moving abroad, and what cultural experience appeals to you most.

3. What kind of cultural and linguistic experience are you looking for?

This brings us to the third question. Based on your answer to question 2, the other thing to consider is how you want to interact in your new country. I will say upfront that this is a broad generalization and I know plenty of exceptions. But generally speaking, when you go through a company that organises orientation, especially if you find yourself in a country that is vastly different to your own, you are more likely to socialise within the group of expats that went over with you. When you are more independent and already forced out of your comfort zone, you are more likely to have a more immersive experience.

Of course, this is very generalised, and perhaps highly biased, and depends entirely on the individual person. And, naturally the country you find yourself in. When a culture is more similar to your own, and the language more familiar and easier to learn, you are of course much more likely to make local friends. If you are living in a place that is culturally and linguistically miles apart from your own, you are going to learn lots of interesting new things, but immersing yourself in the new culture and mixing in with the locals is going to be much harder and take greater commitment.

Hopefully taking a good look at these questions helps you narrow down your decision about where to go. Next week I’ll link to some great resources that can help you research your potential destinations, and their teaching potential, and find you your ideal job.

MALBA: An Afternoon of Art

At long last I made it to MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires), one of the most important art museums in Latin America. I had been putting off the visit in order to go on a Wednesday when entrance is half-price, but eventually realised that my schedule doesn’t allow this, and I’m perfectly happy to spend 50 pesos to see a great collection of art.

This museum is dedicated exclusively to 20th century Latin American art, and boasts an impressive permanent collection as well as changing exhibitions. The building itself, purpose-built to house and grow this collection, is a piece of art as well. It is a modern, in a city full of old-world French architecture, juxtaposing big concrete blocks on the outside with huge windows to one side, creating a very light and airy space on the inside.

 There is a permanent collection on the first floor, with artworks ordered from early modern and avant-garde movements, to surrealism and contemporary and conceptual art. The stand-out (for me anyway) is Frida Kahlo’s “Self-Portrait with a monkey and a parrot”. It was particularly special for me to view this and Diego Rivera’s “Portrait of Ramón Gómez de la Serna”, since I’m currently reading Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna, which revolves partly around the lives of these two great painters and exceptionally larger-than-life personalities. It has also stirred many memories of Mexico, so I’m finding it an incredibly evocative and nostalgic read.

On the second floor there is currently an extremely striking exhibition of Mario Testino’s photography, titled “In Your Face”. While I was familiar with his work, as a famed fashion and celebrity photographer, I had not known he was from Peru. Also of interest is the exhibition on the lowest floor, named “The Opposite of Magic” which, curated by Argentinian artist, explores the problematic relationship between art and science in contemporary society. This is a thought-provoking exhibit, and comes from the point of view that while both professions don’t occupy a space with huge recognition in society, the position of scientists is even lower than that of artists, presumably in a Latin American society.

My time spent wandering around the museum also prompted some thought on the role of cameras in museums (and travelling in general). My feeling is that people are more concerned with recording their experiences than actually experiencing where they are. Ironic, since I’m also guilty of snapping away, but I tend to get poor quality shots (or good ones thanks to my camera rather than the time I’ve taken to set up the shot) because I’m very aware of not living through my lens. As much as I want the photos as a reminder of the experience, I don’t want to worry about this at the expense of fully appreciating and being present where I am. Something that is very difficult to balance. I will say that my enjoyment of museums certainly decreases on busy days when hordes of people are snapping away, taking art selfies, and constantly making me feel like I’m in the way of their shot of the art.

Complaints aside, this is museum is well worth its price, and most definitely worth a visit. Find more information about the permanent collection and upcoming exhibitions on MALBA’s website here.

 

El Rosedal

Since Winter has most definitively arrived, as the soaking clothes currently drying in my room can attest to, after getting drenched for the third time in a week, I needed a flashback to sunnier times. Enclosed in the beautiful park system in Palermo, is El Rosedal, the rose garden. This beautiful garden, with its well-maintained beds of roses in all colours, mosaic-tiled terrace, collection of statues and sculptures, shady pergolas, and peaceful lake with flocks of ducks floating past the pedal boats available for hire, is a hotspot for locals and tourists alike looking to enjoy a sunny day in the city. Surrounding the garden is a traffic-free ring-road packed with runners, walkers, rollerskaters and cyclists, since people need to counter-act the delicious food and sweets on offer here with a healthy dose of exercise (which reminds me, I need to pick up this activity before I roll home). For the more sedentary, there are also free concerts and shows in the surrounding parks, plus plenty of space to simply plant yourself for a picnic, some mate, and a lazy afternoon of reading and relaxing.

So You Want to Teach English Abroad (Part 1)

You’ve decided you want to teach English abroad, but now what? To help you figure out how to go about embarking on the TEFL journey, I am going impart a little wisdom from my own experience and from the experiences of friends who have gone down different routes.

As I mentioned here, there are two broad ways of going about securing a TEFL job abroad. Through an organisation, like EPIK, Teach Away and so forth, or independently. The one you choose depends largely on where you’re going and what you want out of the experience. Here are some major factors to consider.

1. Where are you going?

If you’re going to Asia, particularly South Korea, or the Middle East (Saudi Arabia has become a much more prominent destination for teaching thanks to the lucrative salaries they offer), there are many programs on offer that will help you find a job and provide a lot of support. In places like Latin America, there are very few, if any, similar organisations, and the ones that do exist are much less comprehensive in their support, or they are aimed at short-term volunteers rather than people looking for paid positions.

Here are some examples of programs with good reputations:

OVC – I have friends currently in Thailand who had a good experience with this company, and were able to help out with last-minute arrangements quickly and efficiently.

EPIK – This is probably the biggest and most reputable company placing people in Korea. The majority of people I know in Korea went via Epik, and the feedback seems to be mainly positive.

Teachers Latin America – I did my TEFL course through Teachers Latin America, and my great TEFL instructor, Guy, provided me with ongoing support while I was in Mexico, helping me to find a place to stay, and pointing me in the direction of jobs. Because there is not as much money this side of the world, don’t expect your accommodation and flights to be taken care of, but contacting an organisation like this will put you in touch with a good network of jobs and fellow teachers. Teachers Latin America is a particularly useful resource if you are looking for school level jobs. In addition, while they service the whole of Latin America and can provide you with information across the region, their main focus is on Mexico.

2. How long you are you planning on working?

If you go through an organisation, or are working at a school, you will be required to sign a contract, usually for one year. If you’re planning on going for a shorter time, you’re better off finding more temporary contract work. That being said, institutes are growing weary of the high turnover of fickle teachers that leave without warning. Committing to a certain period of time, usually one teaching year (which in my side of the world runs from March/April to November/December), will mean employers are more willing to give you hours. That said, there’s more flexibility with your travel dates.

3. Do you value flexibility or stability more?

In a nutshell, going through a program offers you stability with little flexibility and vice versa for the independent route.

When you go with a company like EPIK, they provide you with all the information beforehand, help you with the visa process, organise an orientation in your new country, which is a great way to meet other foreigners and fellow teachers and ease yourself into your new culture, provide you with accommodation (not all programs do, but there is usually some degree of support in this regard), place you in a job and should (in theory) be supporting you throughout the year if you have any issues.

Going independently you need to figure this all out yourself. This is not as daunting as it sounds, thanks to the wonders of the internet. But there is a great deal of uncertainty and instability involved, especially since 9 times out of 10 you are moving abroad without a guaranteed job, and your success often depends on how quickly you can find work and get off the ground. It can be daunting but definitely ups the adventure stakes.

The major bonus, for me anyway, in going independently is the flexibility it gives you. You can change if you’re not happy, you can move, you can find other work and give it all up etc. You are not tied to a contract, and thus have far more flexibility.

Once you’ve answered these questions, you should have a better idea of which route appeals to you. Each way has its advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately you need to choose which one suits your personality and matches what you want to get out of the experience.

Look out for part 2 of this series next week, which will take an in-depth look at the different job experiences, and the different cultural experiences. Part 3 will explore the various resources at your disposal to help you find information and jobs.

Weird and Wonderful Free Weekend Activities

Casa Rosada forming the backdrop to the show

A great display of talent on the guitar

The Feria stretching down Av. de Mayo

The tents of Polo Circo

Circus Time!

I’ve mentioned many times that there is always something to do in Buenos Aires on the weekends (and pretty much everyday of the week). More than that, there are always loads of free activities, usually sponsored by the city.

This weekend was no exception, as I set off on two different and fun activities to wind down after a busy week with many late nights, birthday festivities, girl’s night, getting caught in torrential rain twice, and a lot of work.

On Saturday, the Feria de Mataderos that I’d been to a few weeks ago took place downtown on Avenida de Mayo. This meant more space for the handicrafts fair, and a bigger and more diverse crowd. We arrived in the late afternoon so didn’t catch any of the horsemanship displays I’d seen advertised, but we did manage to catch one of the many musical acts celebrating folk culture. It was great to wander this market again, and to witness a great trio of guitarists, one of whom was only a little boy of maybe twelve or so, playing against the backdrop of the Casa Rosada lit up in the late afternoon sun.

This was topped off by snacks and a drink at a very interesting old bar in the downtown area, with slow but personal service, and a truly entertaining crowd of tipsy older local folks, presumably coming from the Feria as well.

Sunday was reserved for reliving a bit of everyone’s childhoods at Polo Circo. Polo Circo is an annual festival taking place over 10 days, celebrating circus acts, both local and international.

The great thing about Polo Circo is that all the local acts are free, while the international acts are not, although they are not unreasonably priced. At one of the free acts in Parque Patricios I found myself among hordes of children and their parents, feeling ever so slightly out-of-place! But I blended in, munching happily on caramelised popcorn, listening to a great jazz band to ease the queue into the circus tent. The show itself, two clowns balancing great trapeze acts and comedy hit the spot, combining enough silly clown humour to entertain the kids (and by extension the adults, because nothing is as infectious as children’s laughter), and freak out those of us who have horror movie-induced clown phobias, but also showing off enough skill to wow kids and adults alike.

It was an unusual way to spend an afternoon but a highly enjoyable one. I think these initiatives by the city are a fantastic way of getting locals and foreigners out and about into different neighbourhoods to enjoy what the city and its people have to offer. It is wonderful to see how many people do take advantage of this every weekend.

La Boca

La Boca, literally translated means “the mouth”, is a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires situated at the mouth of the river. It is a port-side working class barrio, home to La Bombonera, the stadium of Boca Juniors, arguably one of the most famous football clubs in the world, as well as El Caminito (“the little walkway”), one of the most iconic streets in Buenos Aires.

I’d heard a lot of negative reviews of La Boca leading up to my visit. Many people complain that Caminito is a tourist trap, and people are warned not to leave the main tourist area because the neighbourhood is not safe. To deal with the safety issue first, walking from the bus to Caminito, having gotten off a stop or two too early, it was pretty obvious that this really is a poor neighbourhood, in comparison to Palermo and Recoleta and the like. That being said, it’s not a slum, and certainly not the poorest area of the city, comparatively speaking. But it’s solidly working class, and like anywhere in the world where there is inequality, it’s probably best not to flash your wealth around here. All the stories I’ve heard of people running into trouble have the same root cause of people wandering where they probably shouldn’t and whipping out their fancy cameras and phones. You wouldn’t do this in a bad neighbourhood back home, so don’t do it here either.

As for the touristy argument, let me just give you my experience of this neighbourhood.

Caminito’s acclaim comes from its famously colourful rows of houses lining cobbled streets. There is a beautiful charm here, as the modest houses in the heart of hard times were painted bright colours, offering a cheery facade to the world. The main attraction area is incredibly well maintained, and lined with restaurants and tango shows, trinket shops and many vendors aimed at tourists. There is an element of cheesiness, but more overwhelmingly there is a liveliness here that I would describe as genuine. While the picturesque colourfulness is concentrated along Caminito, it extends into the rest of the neighbourhood as well, although with less concentration and less vendors.

A bit of digging into the history of the area explains its aesthetics. The late 19th- and early 20th century saw a massive influx of immigrants, so vital to Argentina’s history, with a particularly large Italian contingent settling near the port of La Boca. As the inhabitants were not well off and working at the docks, they would use left-over paint from the shipyard to paint the front of their houses, resulting in the rainbow-coloured houses. In addition, they would use scraps from the shipyard to build the actual houses, resulting in an eclectic mix of corrugated metal, old wood and other scraps.

Pictures/sculptures on the wall illustrating the working class nature of this area.

A building next to the docks.

The dock side

From the river side, looking out at the port.

Old tram tracks at the edge of what is considered the main tourist area.

Not only is this barrio an important reminder of the city’s immigrant history, it is also central to the history of tango. Tango emerged out of the lower classes of the society, as a dance that was typically between sailors and prostitutes. This style was in fact looked down by high society, because of its lower class associations and its rather scandalously intimate nature, danced as it was by “wanton women” and their suitors. It was not until many years later when it travelled to France and the rest of Europe where it gained popularity in high society, that the upper classes in Argentina started to reconsider the dance, and eventually tango permeated Argentinian hight society as well. The huge prevalence of tango related paraphernalia found along Caminito serves as a good reminder of the working class origins of tango.

The cheerfully bright houses in contrast to the more rough and monotonous docks and the realities of the barrio reminded me of both Mexico and home. There is a similarity with the bright array of colours of houses and buildings in Mexico, as well as the same sharp contrast between cheerful colour and circumstance. It also brought to mind the colour and vibrancy of a township I worked in in the Western Cape, although perhaps less in terms of the same degree of colour, and more a vibrancy of life and music. Without trying to reduce the hardships of a working class life, or romanticising these areas, I do think there is a hopefulness and animation, and I guess vibrancy of life, in these areas that is too often written out of narratives of poverty.

So for me, the vivid colours and thriving tourist industry in La Boca is not a tackiness aimed at tourists, but rather a homage to this barrio’s rich history. It deserves its place as an iconic destination in Buenos Aires, and I would definitively recommend giving it a visit.

 

Teaching Tip: Choosing Your Schedule

There are some lessons about teaching EFL that you learn only after you’ve been thrown into the deep end. Here is an important lesson that I learned the hard way in Mexico, and have applied with much more success in Argentina. Plan your schedule. Think before you accept classes.

In a nutshell, always ask where the class is, and then look it up on the map, don’t take the institute’s word for how long it’s going to take to get there.

Ask yourself, how does this fit into my schedule, and how does it affect my ability to schedule other classes?

Important here to consider is the actual cost of transport, but also the opportunity cost. If you spend a day travelling from one end of the city to another, you lose out on pay as few companies will compensate your travel costs, and believe me they add up, no matter how cheap an individual journey is. More importantly, the hours you spend travelling are hours you are not working. There is no point spending more time in a day on transport than actually teaching. You will end up tired and poor.

Commuting is incredibly tiring, and incredibly unproductive, especially if you’re like me and can’t read or work on the bus or metro for fear of turning slightly green. Plus, 8 times out of 10, you have to stand on the subway or bus and can’t work anyway.

The reality of this kind of EFL teaching, where you go to companies to teach in-house, is that travelling is inevitable. But with enough sense and foresight, you can arrange your schedule to maximise your time and money. Arrange your classes in clusters (or what we call block hours) with as little travel and time in between as possible. Always think about how a new class will fit in with your schedule and how convenient it is for you to get to the class, given the location of your other classes and your home.

If you’ve arrived in a country at the right time and have done your homework you should be in a position where you can turn classes down in favour of other ones. Don’t feel like you have to accept a class that is going to take 3 hours of travel time a day, there will be other classes.

Bottom line: don’t blindly accept classes without considering your overall schedule.

Salsa Lessons with a Side of Tango and a Touch of Intimacy

After intending to go to Friday night salsa classes for a month, I finally made it there this weekend. 50 pesos gets you into the venue – in a cultural centre in Palermo Soho – and access to all the lessons of the night, the dance floor, bar and restaurant (well tables around the dance floor that you can order some food from). A friend and I went to learn salsa, and randomly ended up running into someone who we had met earlier in the week at a closed door restaurant (who incidentally is also South African. Well technically Zimbabwean but lives in SA. Close enough), and another British girl. This meant we had a nice fun crowd, which was good since we had no idea how the evening was supposed to work.

The music started pumping, and people flocked to the floor and formed lines behind a row of very enthusiastic instructors. Our clue that the class was starting. It started with what basically resembled a zumba class at the gym, with everyone copying the instructors through some basic fun moves, and some loosening up – turns out, I’m good at learning steps but not so comfortable shaking what my momma gave me on request!

Breaking up into groups – complete beginners and those with more experience – the class started. It was taught in a really fun way, with the guys lining up on one side and girls on the other to learn the steps, and then pairing up to practice. We had to change partners every song, which makes it an excellent way to meet people. The lessons attract all sorts of interesting people, both locals and many foreigners, and I ended up dancing with people from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Ireland, France and more. The instructors frequently stopped us to teach us more complicated moves or to correct what we were doing and reinforce the timing. It was so much fun and a surprisingly good workout, as we left the dance floor an hour later, a lot more tired and sweaty and ready for a beer at the bar.

Feeling very social, we hung around having a chat and a beer, watching people practice their moves on the dancefloor. Then, after a tango demonstration, I was excited to find out that a tango class was starting. Of course everyone was keen to join in and learn Argentina’s most iconic dance.

Tango is much more difficult than salsa. Not least because the steps and timing are more complicated, but partner work here is very important. With the same concept as salsa, having to continuously swap partners, I figured out that the ease of the dance is definitely dependent on who you dance with. The class ended with most of us having achieved a competent grasp of the basic step (I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was mastered). This is definitely a style that is going to take many lessons to get the hang of.

Hanging out at a table afterwards, watching everyone take to the dance floor, I was approached by a very insistent (and very short) Argentinian man. Despite my protests that I couldn’t dance tango beyond the basic step I had just learnt, he dragged me onto the dance floor to begin two excruciatingly awkward rounds of the dance floor. Tango is an extremely intimate dance, making it very difficult to dance with a stranger if you have any issues being super close to someone you don’t know from a bar of soap. Even more so when that someone is a little bit too into the dance and the intimacy and gets a little bit more close than the dance requires. When after the second dance he put his head on my chest, I reached my limit and ran off, before he could grab my hand for a third dance.

Later, sitting and enjoying the dancers, I was approached by an old man we had been watching all evening. He must have been well into his 70s or even 80s and looked a little bit too close to death to be dancing, but that wasn’t stopping him dancing with all the old girls. When he came to stand over me wanting a dance, my brain started whirring to find excuses (I can’t dance! I’m too tired! I have a disease!). Luckily I was saved by a (much younger) guy who cut in and asked me dance.

This gentleman (who is nameless because I can’t recall if we even exchanged names) was very good at tango. He gave me the greatest lesson of the night. He told me that the steps aren’t important. The woman, in tango, doesn’t have to do anything but let go and be guided, to feel the music and the weight and let your body tell you where you need to go. I cannot even explain the accuracy of this advice, when lo and behold, after letting go, and letting him simply guide me, I was actually dancing tango. Perhaps not with the flair and fancy footwork of someone with experience, but tango none-the-less.

I feel like there is probably a valuable life lesson in that, particularly for someone like me who doesn’t not easily just ‘let go’. Or perhaps the lesson is simply that the only person who makes mistakes in tango is the man. Pick which one works for you…

This is definitely going to become a Friday night regular spot until I master both salsa and tango. Should you be in Buenos Aires and want to join, check out La Viruta. In addition to salsa and tango, they also teach rock (basically swing), folklore and bachata. It’s an incredibly fun way to spend a Friday evening, and 50 pesos for two dance lessons is a bargain.

Bus Travel in Argentina

Long haul bus travel is not the most comfortable way to travel. I’ve done my fair share of long trips, with the most memorably long ones being the 15 hour journey from Cape Town to East London, a 17 hour bus trip between Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca to Mexico City, and a 25 hour bus trip in Egypt to Dahab in the Sinai Province. So after comparing the price between flights and busses between Buenos Aires and Mendoza, I was quite happy to take the 14 hour bus trip over the 2 hour flight if it meant saving some cash.

Before leaving I had heard only good things about bus travel in Argentina. There is an extensive internal system of routes with a range of companies to use for each location, and a variety of options with regard to the level of luxury. I booked the fancier option going there, but the cheaper seats for the return journey, more out of curiosity about the comparison than the price difference, which is surprisingly minimal.

My journey started from Retiro station. I had read horror stories about people missing the bus here due to the chaos of the station, so I arrived prepared. Travelling on the first night of the start of a long weekend, the station was an absolute madhouse. There are over 70 gates with buses leaving continuously. One of my students assured me that this situation is even worse on Easter weekend, where her bus was delayed by two hours because of the sheer number of people and buses.

On arrival you are given a range of possible departure gates and have to wait for your particular journey to show up on the screens to find your exact gate. When my bus had not come up 5 minutes before departure time, I started to panic, with the stories of people missing their busses due to no notifications swirling around in my head. I made for the information stand, but I had to go from gate 50, to gate 1, among a mass of people. At 1 minute to 7pm (the time I was supposed to leave), I realised that if I went all the way to information, I would miss my bus entirely should it arrive. I managed to find a security guard who advised me to go upstairs to the ticket offices and ask there. Panicking at the thought of even more wasted time, I turned to go upstairs, and as I did, my bus was announced and up it came on the screen. Cue a mad dash to the other side of the terminal, weaving my (too large) suitcase in between the crowds, muttering “lo siento” and “permiso” left right and center to the people I was bashing into. I hurtled into the queue for my bus just as they started boarding, crisis averted, and feeling red-faced, as much from my unnecessary panic as from my sprint.

On board, I was highly impressed. Having booked the semi-cama option, I had a big leather seat, that reclines way more than a normal bus, (although there is one option up on some trips for a seat that reclines completely), with loads of leg-room. The service was impressive, with a bus equivalent of a flight attendant serving sweets to start, and later bringing dinner – not amazing, but decent for a bus, including a hot meal – and drinks – starting with wine or cooldrinks and ending with tea, coffee and whisky. This was followed the next morning by a basic breakfast of cookies and crackers and much needed hot coffee. After dinner a movie was played and I was impressed at the fact that the sound was at a normal level (in contrast to all previous bus trips where action movies are played at full blast all through the night), and was switched off after one movie so everyone could sleep. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say I had an amazing night’s sleep, I did manage to sleep fairly comfortable, very grateful for the blanket and pillow provided, as the aircon in the bus is set to a fairly arctic temperature.

My trip back was slightly less comfortable in the basic option option. Here the service is the same with regard to dinner and drinks, but is not as comfortable. The seat reclines a bit (less than the other option), the seats are also smaller and not as plush or spacious, although there is more leg room than in cattle class in a plane. I was spoilt on the first trip by having a single seat, with no one next to me. This time I was less lucky. I had the interesting experience of having a very chatty woman next to me who just wanted to chat away in Spanish. When I finally managed to put my earphones in and close my eyes, I was shaken awake again. Turns out, she wanted to show me a picture of her dog on her phone. Needless to say, I was not impressed.

All in all, I was very impressed with Flechabus, the company I used. The entire process from booking, to boarding, loading and reclaiming your luggage, was efficient and easy. I would say it is worth paying the minimal extra for the slightly fancier service, if not just because of the added space. Bear in mind these seats get booked up in advance, whereas the cheap option is usually available at the last minute. That being said, the basic option is still much more comfortable than many other busses I’ve been on, plus the actual service onboard is exactly the same as the fancier option.