The Circus is in Town

Last weekend we took our first weekend trip to Mar del Plata. It is a beach town about 5 or 6 hours away from Buenos Aires. We took a bus to the train station and followed the crowds to our train. When we boarded the train, I was pretty certain that the previous passengers had been circus animals. After passing the bathroom, on the way to the seats, I made the decision to hold it all night.

It was a little after 11PM and the train did not have any lights on. The seat numbers were above the seats but it was impossible to see them. People had out cell phones and mini-flashlights to find their seats and they would call out numbers down the train car. The seats were bench style like the kind you would find on a school bus. Not only did they look like school bus seats but felt like them too, thanks to the springs. It brought back memories.

For some reason, I was enjoying the whole thing and I felt like I was on some adventure. It seemed like a scenario set up by a travel show.

The train began to move out of the station and people started clapping, so I joined in. After about ten minutes the lights came on (well some of them), then people really cheered. We just laughed. Once we were moving the seats started bouncing up and down thanks to the springs. In addition to the up and down motion, there was plenty of rocking side to side as well that made us bump into each other.

Through the night we attempted to find various ways to get comfortable and get a little sleep. The train was scheduled to arrive around 5AM. I kept waiting for other people to turn out their lights and go to sleep but most never did. I have no idea when these people are getting their sleep. They stayed up all night talking. The men in front of us were whispering into each other's ears like little schoolgirls and cracking themselves up. One woman was talking on her cell phone at around 4AM. I was so perplexed. It was just idle chit-chat. Who did she have to call at that time of day? Why was the person on the other end of the line awake at that hour? Why didn't any of the other passengers think this was unusual? Why was my butt the only one asleep on this train? Needless to say, we were not well-rested at the end of the journey.

To be fair, the return train was much more comfortable. (The ride to the beach is just a more entertaining story.) It was called the SuperPullman. It played movies the whole ride, had a sitting area at the front of the car, and comfortable reclining chairs.