THE POO BUS

What should have been a relatively smooth 18hr bus ride to Mendoza, the heart of wine country, ended up being 'one of those nights' and forever known to Kim and I as the poo bus.

It all began innocently enough wth the obligatory bottle of wine keeping us entertained during the afternoon. Things started getting a little more exciting during the second bottle when the bus attendant (trolley dolly) invited me to sit in the drivers cabin and smoke cigarettes out the window! After a while, having convinced Sergio and Daniele to put a Ben Stiller movie on, I returned to the relative safety of my seat... and promptly went to sleep.

A stop well after midnight brought the bad news that Kim and I would now be in separate seats, after a bus company error with our booking. Groggily, we began to gather our things, when I noticed a series of brown deposits in the aisle. Closer inspection (and a quick glance at the grubby little kid behind us) proved that yes indeed, there was poo all over the floor. Then Kim started pointing at my sleeping bag and handbag, which having been on the floor had collcted a significant amount of poo.

The culprit sat grinning in his seat like a smiling assassin, and had I not been busy controlling my gag reflex I would have rubbed his cheeky face in it! Lucky for me the station toilet attendant has probably seen far worse in her time, and she kindly cleaned my things while I was violently ill.

There was a lesson from this experience, maybe even two...

1. One bottle of wine on an overnight bus is probably enough, and
2. Always, always be wary of a 2 year old looking pleased with themselves.