3 days trip by bus to Vancouver - great fun?!

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The following map shows not exactly the same route but a similar one which we took by bus. We did around 4.400 km which is twice the distance I made in 3 month in Spain. Yes, Canada is vast...

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Greayhound Bus said that I had to be at least one hour in advance at the bus station to guarantee that I get a seat. Interesting... even when I already booked it online. Of course I booked it online.

Therefore I was two hours in advance at the bus station because I had no clue at all how that worked and I didn't want to have an unpleasant seat etc.

The bus arrived and the obviously stressed out bus driver gave as labels to label our luggage. I went into the bus and got a seat! OK that went good :-). My seat partner at that time was a young girl who didn't talk much which was good for me at that time as well.

An Asian guy with lots of tattoos seated himself two seats in front of me on the other side. He seemed to be that he didn't want to disturb and put his MP3 in his ears and he either didn't say a single word or smiled. He looked like someone you wouldn't like to talk to because you feared he would beat you up. OK maybe I exaggerate a bit but it was almost like that. 

There was also a family with 5 little children who seated themselves in the back of the bus. The dad wore interesting clothes like a melon hat, baggy and wide t-shirt. I thought: "Wow that is brave to take such a long bus trip with 5 children..." Actually they looked for me a little bit like a kind of rednecks. I hoped that they would behave and let me sleep.

Finally the bus started and I was happy to go to my next adventure.

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We did the first long break with new people after around 5 or 6 hours. I tried in between to sleep but it was not really possible. My cushion that I bought in Chinatown in Toronto wasn't that great and every hour the bus driver stopped for 10 min for a break or whatever.

During the long break new passengers came into the bus. 

I sat alone now and was half awake and half sleeping. I mean this stage where you are even not really aware where you are and just want to sleep and nothing else. Like a cat which someone awake by carrying her around. I looked also like that...  I was also prepared for a sleep which means no make up etc. 

Some young people came into the bus and I saw a tall guy who looked quite cute. He seated himself beside me.

I tried to behave as if I was fully awake but it didn't work that well therefore I just gave up and I just was me. He asked me in French: "Parlez-vous francaise?" "Un petit peu... Je parle Anglais. I'm from Germany." He spoke pretty good English and told me that he was from Quebec. 

That was all at this time because we were just tired. He saw that my Chinatown cushion wasn't the best and offered me his but I friendly refused and used my jacket as cushion. 

What a nice guy by the way.

Drill instructor or bus driver?

Before the bus drove further the bus driver explained some things. Well, he was quite stressed out or just sadistic or maybe both. I cannot remember anymore every rule he told us and if we break it then he will kick us out etc.

However he turned the speakers that loud that everyone in the bus wouldn't possible to sleep anymore. He seemed to enjoy it and said something bad about his colleagues in the West of Canada. I cannot remember what exactly but I remembered something he would kick us out of the bus in case blablabla.

OK, maybe he shouldn't do night shifts... Well, we tried to sleep finally after the sympathetic introduction.

By the way the family of seven was very quiet and all their children behaved very well. I was impressed.

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The drill instructor could enjoy twice breaks where he shouted through the speakers that we would arrive the next stop. Of course when everybody was deeply sleeping... So he had his happy moments.

When the sun rose I was awake and at the next stop the bus driver changed. We stopped at a typical dinner where we had breakfast. 

Finally I could talk more than one sentence with my seat partner because I slowly got awake. He was quite tall and had nice big blue eyes with long lashes and curly hair.

Back in the bus he offered me some Belgian waffles and it turned out that his heritage was Belgian. But he couldn't speak Flemish but could say "Dankeschoen". The waffles were great! It told him that I worked for a funny Belgium guy in Spain who has a cave house. 

My seat partner was also very attentive. When a woman tried to read a book by turning on the very bright light over her head he offered her without asking his head torch. I don't know if I had do this or rather would get the idea. Nice guy.

Turning crazy and school trip feeling

It was really funny with him during the long bus ride and when you spent so much time together and turn slowly crazy due to sleep deprivation and I started to behave like a kid on a school trip like poking each other and talking bullshit.
It was also interesting how the group dynamic developed in the bus. The passengers were almost the same and I started to feel comfortable in the group. 

The Asian guy with the tattoos finally talked to his seat partner on the second day and the family of seven didn't look anymore like rednecks for me ;-). Just like a family with nice kids, a patient mother and a relaxed dad with an interesting taste for clothes... Their children were really very nice and cute. Well, once again "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change..." (Wayne Dyer). True...

I liked it even I looked just tired and needed urgently a shower and a proper bed. Also some make up would not too bad... I looked like 16 years old without it.

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When reached Calgary in Alberta it was interesting that the bus drivers were very relaxed in comparison to the bus drivers in the East part. 

There was a girl sitting with her feet on the seat and the bus driver just smiled at her and said: "You are sitting like a princess." 

Calgary was also the station where my seat partner and I had to say Goodbye to each other. He went to another city where he got a job. I found it a pity after almost 3 days sitting next to each other and making fun.

Me, the family of seven, the tattooed Asian guy and some other people went together to the bus which brought us to Vancouver.

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