Take Me Home, Campo Roads

Two words: Dejame aquí. If you plan on riding in a carro público or a guagua at any time while in the Dominican Republic, these words will be your saving grace in getting off at your desired stop (not an official stop, hence the importance of yelling with confidence LEAVE ME HERE). You may now have a slew of questions: What is a carro público? How do you pronounce guagua? How would I rate Caribe Tours? First off, I must say that public transportation is both widespread and affordable in the Dominican Republic and is used by hundreds of thousands of people everyday. It is useful to have a few phrases handy in Spanish, and to have a general idea of the cost of fares so as not to pay extra pesos than necessary. I should also include that the city of Santo Domingo does have formal public transportation such as the city bus system and the metro, though other forms of less “formal” transportation, such as the carro público and the guagua, have more extensive ranges and much more regular availability (both of these forms of transportation are regulated, though the conditions the vehicle in which one is moved from one place to another can be a gamble).

So continuing with the question of a carro público, it is a “public taxi,” almost always the size of a small passenger car. The cars can be seen driving down most main roads in all different states of being: without windows, missing handles, and potentially correctly reading dashboard with the gas gauge stuck perpetually on Empty and the car speed stuck on 0mph, despite flying through the streets. The car fits six passengers plus a driver, two in the front seat next to the driver, and four in the back, with all manners of squishing coming into play, and costs roughly 30 pesos. Personal space is non-existent. 

This quickly leads to our next form of transportation, the guagua (pronounced gwah gwah, or wah wah), additionally a roughly 50-peso ride, though I can’t really state a nationally estimated price, as distance is the determining factor. I suppose the guagua rides I’m typically taking are around 50 pesos. The guagua is more of a large van/small bus that varies in size, color, and capacity. Capacity is also largely dictated by the ability of the cobrador, or fare collector, who hangs out of the open van door yelling to passersby on foot, and is trying to get the maximum number of passengers to crowd into the bus. For both these rides, you must yell out when you want to be let off, which you either know by site and familiarity or by asking riders around you where a nearby land mark is. You are almost always guaranteed to listen to some bumping music either coming from the bus or a fellow passenger’s personal cellphone ,and will potentially be offered part of someone’s snack (compartiendo at its truest). Guagua rides near my community are often accompanied by chickens, specifically roosters, that are somehow contained in bags with their scruffy little heads popping out and seen staring around with their beady eyes. In case anyone was wondering, I’m still not a fan of birds. Definitely not a fan.

In addition to these smaller forms of transportation, there are also widespread networks of large buses that travel throughout the country. From the capital to my site, there is a roughly six hour bus ride, though it is outfitted with air conditioning and even the occasional Wifi, and it’s a great opportunity to catch up with friends if traveling with other PCVs, or meet some new people that may actually live in the same pueblo or province as you. Many a time have the guagua rides from the capital to my site consisted of HOURS of talking, with some respites with the occasional nap. Now that I sound like a spokeswoman for Caribe Tours, here are some of the funniest transportationsituations I’ve seen:

- Carro público in Santo Domingo that was more or less missing the floor boards and was using a wrench for the door handle in the back seat

- Guagua, also in the capital, that had two roller blading teens holding onto the back of the bus while it was heading down a main and incredibly busy road (if ONLY I had a photo)

- Caribe Tours bus broke down on my first trip with the bus line for three hours on the side of the highway, and we had some great views of the mountains, or even just last week when I split some delicious garlicky casabe and had the usual insightful (and often dramatic) bus conversations with my fellow PCVs

My specific barrio is mostly paved roads, though some parts are not yet paved.

 

Crowded guagua ride to the next pueblo. There were A LOT of people crowding in for the market day,  and all of the fold down seats installed in the aisles.

Caribe Tours style bus, though this one did not have as long of a route (cannot complain about the comfort).

(Title credits also go to the timeless John Denver.)