Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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i rode the bus to mulege...
i found myself in san diego friday
without a car to get home to mulege
so...i deceided to ride the bus...first time
i had someone drive me to the border and
exchanged money at the last exit
$12.5 pesos to one dollar
the border gate is a 200 yards walk
walked directly to the taxis
told the taxi driver i wanted to get to
the BIG bus station
no problem...
price was $150 pesos
there are ALOT of bus companies in mexico
around 10...i was surprized
the buses go EVERYWHERE
the bus station is a BIG place
lots of people and ACTION
i was the ONLY "gringo" there
walked to the ABC bus counter
bought a ticket to mulege
price was $1317 pesos
i had a 2 hour wait so i bought lunch
at a little restruant in the station
$75 pesos...pretty good
used their internet...
$10 pesos for a half hour
bathrooms are clean but cost 4 pesos
(bring 1 pesos with you)  
bus left at 4pm
we arrived in mulege 17 hours later
we drove ALL night
the bus was not cold but cooler
it was a BUMPY ride
the bus was very clean
i watched 4 movies ALL in english
(spanish sub-titles)
ALOT of stops
lots of bathrooms and food
at the stops
i slept alot
i was tired
my cocinera was at the
mulege bus station to pick me up
and drive me home
it was so easy...
but...
i woulld WAY rather drive
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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where does the bus stop, and for how long at each place? is food included in the price?
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13048
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I like the night bus better because it stops less and ya dont have to get out for military check points. It stops in the major towns but skips some
smaller ones at night. Longer stops for food at Ensenada, San Quintin, El Rosario & GN...time enough to grab something...food is extra.
I bring a good book, I-pod, new mix, ear plugs for noisy wheels and chatty passengers...put a bandana over my eyes...curl up with a little blankie and
make the best of it....and presto...you are there in the morning with only a bus hangover.
You can also put on extra boxes down below or fishing gear whatever.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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rode the overnight from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido back in '91. probably glad it was at night because the place we stopped to eat seemed to be
built into the side of the mountain and we were lookjng out over the tops of the trees from the road.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Mood: Optimistic
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Buses are always an adventure! I've had a couple 'eventful' trips in Baja and mainland Mexico.
I'd like to share one with you..I wrote the following about a bus ride I took from Mulege to the border. October 2008. It was quite the ride. 
The Bus
Back in September I took the ABC bus from Mulege to Tijuana.
It was scheduled to leave at 6:30 and I only had to wait until 7:30 for it to show up. (I figured I saved lots of dinero by missing an hour at Jungle
Jims cantina.)
I was assigned a seat next to a window, which I liked. There are 2 seats side by side.. Cushy seats much like an airliner...reclining with armrests
too. Per advice from those had gone before me, I had brought my own down pillow and fleece blanket. (The AC works very well...brrrr)
I took my seat with the seat next to me stayed empty for some time.
The bus began it's journey north...and the 2 nice Mexican ladies directly behind me talked of things of the day. Nice idle chatter of nothing and
everything.
The coach was about half full to start, but quickly filled as we drove north. Remember, this was September in Baja and it was hotter than the Gates of
Hell...yet the AC was so cold I was elated I had my warm fleece blanket and pillow with me.
We made the regular stops at Sta. Rosalia..dropping off a few, picking up more...and roared off up the Baja Road. The driver was very skillful and
there was no quick braking or swaying in the turns.
We rolled on..the senoras behind me talking about one of the son's and his new wife...at least from what I overheard...but then it MAY have been a
daughter and the lazy hombre who talked her into marriage.
The whole trip from Mulege to Tijuana was going to take 16 hours and it cost me $1100 pesos. I was traveling fairly light and only had my laptop
w/case and one small bag...plus my pillow and bedroll.
I am tall..about 6'2" ...and sport a 'couple' extra pounds... and had stretched out onto the adjoining empty seat a bit to accommodate my frame. It
was quite comfy. Until the next stop when a youngish senorita came aboard, walked down the aisle looking at her stub and the numbers above the seat
pairs. She had the aisle seat next to me. I hastily moved my laptop elsewhere and motioned her to sit, which she did.
The bus rumbled on into the night...it was now about 11 pm. One of the movies we had already watched was Daffy Duck destroys Godzilla and The Giant
Moth..I think. A classic for sure. The senorita next to me had now pulled most of my warm fleece blanket over her...leaving me shivering into my
pillow. The ladies behind were now discussing something about relatives in Guaymas.
I somehow managed to ram some metal seat lever into my rectum as I was squirming to ease my old back injury. That made me jolt back against the young
lady next to me, who awoke thinking most likely that the Old Gringo was groping her. This got everyone's attention on the bus away from the Dracula
movie and onto me...sigh. I managed to allay the senorita's fears and offered her my soft down pillow to go with the warm fleece blanket.
The ladies behind were now talking about me.
The bus stops at the El Rosario bus stop and cafe in the middle of the night...quite a few people get off to have a snack or coffee. Looks very dark
out there. Might even be some night fog. Not hungry or thirsty, I stayed put..as did the bundled-up sleeping senorita and the 2 ladies behind me. At
least the talk had moved from me back to thier family issues.
We get underway after the 20 minute stop and then I realize I should have taken the bus stop's restroom opportunity. Ah, but this bus has a bathroom!
But..shoot.. I had to wake the young lady to get past her. The blanket was firmly wrapped around her and she had a little problem getting free to let
me by. The bus was now rocketing along at a pretty good clip, now taking some sharp turns, and I had to grab the overhead lockers to make my way
aft...that's the rear, you know.
I knew I was getting closer to the bathroom because of the increasing smells wafting out of the blackness..whew. There were some green looking people
sitting back there, and I thought.."These poor people are being punished for some reason. Why else would they be assigned seats next to this
stinkpot?"
I open the door and squeeze inside..holding my breath...and somehow manage to shut the door behind me...had to slam it shut to make it latch. I had
turned on the light, but quickly turned it off again...not a pretty sight, I can assure you. Luckily my business was to be done standing.
The bus was now really taking some sharp turns and the motion made me brace myself with both arms and hands outstretched to the narrow walls of the
black dungeon..bathroom. Even braced as I was, I still got jostled a bit from side to side and then flung forward when the bus braked. I am fairly
sure I had been making contact into the toilet and not the sink. I tried to listen to water sounds, but the ladies talking back in the coach
interferred with my hearing ability, which is not good to start with in these noisy quarters.
I finished my business, zipping up, and turned to grasp the door latch...which was stuck.... and refused to open. Carumba! Now what the hell? I pushed
and pulled and pounded, but nada..stuck..stuck in a stinking toilet and we're going to crash and I will be dead and covered with
..and then the door opens, thanks to a kind senor who I must have woke up with the pounding.
I weave my way back to the warmly-covered sleeping senorita who looks to be drooling into my pillow. The ladies are now talking about me again.Some
other passengers are glaring at the ladies in a not-so-friendly way.
The night drags on as we slowly come off the mountains and race towards San Quentin, then make more fast miles towards Ensenada...almost dawn now. A
brief stop, then on the tollroad towards Tijuana. Ladies go back to talking family..I feel like I know them all by now. Other busfolks nearby are not
too happy with the gossipers.
We pull into the Tijuana bus terminal...about 16 hours after leaving Mulege..and me without a minute of sleep. Nor did the 2 ladies behind sleep. They
were still talking. As the bus stopped and everything shut down, it got a little more quiet inside the bus..the lull just before everyone stands up
and starts collecting baggage from the overheads and below the seats.
I stood up..turned around and faced the 2 ladies who were still chattering away. (I had learned a bit of slang some years back from my housekeeper,
Carmen, who has a terrific sense of humor.) So standing facing the senoras, I made yapping motions with both hands..forefinger tapping thumb..and said
with a grin, "Weedy, weedy, weedy." That brought laughs and clapping from the other passengers. The ladies were laughing a bit, too.
Carmen had told me that it meant ...'what people do when they gossip a lot.'
Ah..buses. Did I ever tell you about the time when my bus rolled and I was taken off the relief bus at gunpoint ...oh, I did?
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8085
Registered: 11-26-2002
Location: Bat Cave
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Mood: Sling time!
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in 1985 i was on a Flying Sams trip to Kino Bay via Hermosillo with 2 dentists and a translator on board my old Mooney when it blew a wiper ring then
the no. 3 jug went south and we hugged the 4 lane with puckered bunz while watching my oil pressure which went from 75 lbs to less than 10 as we
luckilly made it into the pattern at MMHO before having to do a forced landing with a fully siezed motor.
plane was grounded on the spot and my 3 pax got rides on other sams planes.
so - i had to take the CHICKEN BUS from Hermosillo to nogales son and walk across to ge another Luxury Blue Line bus to phx.
the 5 hour ride from HMO to OLS was a tortuous one and i hope NEVER to ride a frickin bus again. I wanted to get the train but i missed it and would
have had to spend the night - the trains are nice! the one from OLS to HMO and south to mazatlan is no longer running pax tho. too bad, you could get
sleeper cars for cheap!
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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the bus driver will "drop" you anywhere on the highway...
lots of people got off here and there
you just walk to the front, ask, and he pulls over
i woke up once in the night when the driver called "BATHROOMS"!!!
and the bus was parked on a concrete slab in a
walled compound somewhere near san quintin
fueling from a BIG 2000 gallon tank
another bathroom break
coffee available (none for me at 1am)
the opening to get in and out of
the "compound" was really tight
it looked like we would NEVER fit thru to get out
we squeezed thru
lots of snoring on the bus
the "girls" were the higher picthed noise and
the "boys" were the baratones
everyone snored...
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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bartender at Sharky's just got back from bus trip from TJ to Duarngo; 37 hors each way, only 1 stop to eat and no food or water on bus. Yikes!
Bob Durrell
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akmaxx
Nomad
Posts: 334
Registered: 10-29-2008
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Ahh the bus
1994 - Anchorage - Seattle - San Diego - bus from airport to San Ysidro trolley - stop at Barnes and Noble for a guide to Baja (hmmm, Mulege sounds
nice) - step off the trolley - walk across border to bus station in plaza - ticket to Ensenada - pleasant surprise no chickens on bus - Ensenada
debauchery- night bus to Mulege with movies, cards, and a ballena or two - wake up in Mulege.
Fast forward 16 years..............Fly to LTO and zip back to my home at el Faro.
Thank you Aguilar, ABC, or whichever bus company brought me to Mulege.
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Mexray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1016
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: California Delta
Member Is Offline
Mood: Baja Time
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Haven't done the bus thing...
...but we did take the '1st class' train from Matazlan up to Enpalme (Guaymas) in the early 90's...it was a rather cheap way to travel, only about $35
each, as I remember...
The train was scheduled to leave Mazatlan at 9:00 PM - think we got away by 10:30 or so...as we sat in the station, we saw several freight trains
heading north, with many 'hitch hikers' aboard, on their way to the border, I suspect...
There was lots of track maintenance in progress - replacement of the old wood RR ties with new concrete types - and so progress north was at a much
reduced speed in several places...
The train consisted of old US Pullman coaches from the 30's and 40's, I'd guess...our seats, as luck would have it, were right above a diesel
generator that hung from the coach frame, that provided power for the lights, Air Conditioning, etc...
This old diesel genny must have been as old as the coach, as it's 'thumping' began to get louder and louder as we progressed north...Then we could
feed the vibrations as it appeared the old contraption was trying to throw a rod!
At each stop during the night, in between the taco vendors running the aisles, disturbing the passengers, we could see some of the train crew looking
at 'our' vibrating friend - seemingly trying to decide if it was time to euthanize the poor machine!
We had to settle in and 'enjoy' that rod-knocking machine the whole trip - they finally shut er' down when we arrived at Enpalme!
We visited with friends in Guaymas for a few days, and then the four of us returned on the train back down to Mazatlan - that was a better trip,
during the daylight hours, as we'd replenished our ice chests with plenty of 'liquids' to see us through our travels - Party, Party!
Ray
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13197
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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I took the bus myself 3 weeks ago...... I walked across the border into TJ, beared right after the turnstile, walked 5 min. to the bus stop where you
can catch ABC or Aguila - the ticket counter is right there. Pay in dollars or pesos. There are separate services to Ensenada and then another bus
onwards, but they sell you to full ticket right there - and one bus waits for the other. They certainly have cut back on their schedule however, there
were half the number of options as a year ago. Sign of the times, I suppose.
I also rode at night and Les picked me up in Vizcaino. I slept most of the night (I can sleep through noise, bumps, ANYTHING, if I am tired enough
:lol but I
did meet a couple in the morning, in Guerreo Negro (good coffee joint there) who had gone to States for an emergency and they were returning to their
boat - they were very nice, now I can't remember names or details, I must've been groggy still from the dream sleeping on the omnibus
Now, I once took a bus from Rio de Janiero all the way to Belem (city at the moputh of the Amazon) - 3 days of trees trees and more trees. At one
point, we had to take a boat across a river along the way due to a fallen bridge. The other people took the same boat in the opposite direction when
we got to the north shore. I remember being upset that there was a COCA COLA sign in the middle of the jungle.
I have lots of bus stories - but that is enough for today 
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BooJumMan
Senior Nomad
Posts: 897
Registered: 8-11-2007
Location: San Diego
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I really enjoyed my bus ride from El Rosario to the border. We had to wait probably 4-5 hours though for a bus to come through. The first one passed
us by. Finally got one right before dark. Had movies the whole way in English, nice cool AC and was pleasant.
We got dropped off in TJ at about 2 am. I wasn't too stoked on that only cause I just don't trust the night in general. The guy at the counter said we
could walk to the border in 5 minutes. We did, which wasn't probably the best idea at the time but made it safely.
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jkruk
Nomad
Posts: 132
Registered: 9-21-2007
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BUS
Bob how does one get a tourist card using the bus? Stop there at the crossing? Going to try a new experienc. Do you know of a schrdule , departure
times?
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