Finding a bus to get out of town can be a lot more difficult than it would seem.  IF you can get online, how do you look it up? A bus terminal can be 'terminale' or 'estaçion' de autobus, or de camiones. Most of the time, they are not online. Look up a specific bus line, you most of the time can't get fares or pricing or depots, much less bus stops and schedules. You might find something on a forum or an entry on TripAdvisor, but I've found there are a lot of errors, especially on the maps, when they're included.  

Try getting help locally. Even if you speak the language well, you probably will strike out this way too. I think the biggest reason is that the locals don't travel long distance.  

There were two small bus depots within a few blocks of my hotel. I went by one of them several times and never found them open. At the other one, the clerk said they didn't go to Lázaro Cárdenas; I asked if she knew of another one, and she said she didn't.  

I finally found a reference to 'Terminal de Autobus', asked one of the bus local bus drivers which bus to get on (they have 11+ lines; and some of these actually go different routes: e.g. I was told to take the #2, and when I got on the #2 and told the driver where I was going, he said to take the other #2!)  

Found my way over to the main terminal, and this was more like it: practically every bus line in Mexico was represented there.  

Next problem is: I had to go from counter to counter to find the bus line that actually went there. And then you run into the problem where they can't figure out your accent (think I already mentioned this) and no matter how many times you say the name, they don't understand you. Smart phones to the rescue again: type it out, or point on a map. Now they tell you the name on the bus for that route is to a different city, as they'll list the final destination in the window (sometimes some of the other destinations too).  

Then there are the different classes of buses. You opt for the wrong one, and they'll fly right by the town where you you want to go, because it's direct to the other city. And forget looking at posted destinations: the town you want may not be posted, but if you ask, they'll tell you which bus does go there.  

That pretty much covers bus travel pitfalls. Oops, I forgot one (actually wrote about this in another post): it helps if you can ask another passenger when to get off the bus; they don't yell out the stops, so you kind of have to know where. I actually bypassed small towns twice already. And they might not stop at all if you don't yell out or ring the buzzer (they just figure there's no one going to that place this trip, and they'll just keep flying down the road - you don't want to get off a mile or so later, especially if you're carrying a pack or suitcase).  

Then you might read that you next have to take a cab to your final destination: wrong, there's almost always a cheaper alternative (although local info might not be very accurate: people will try to hep you, but they'll send you in the wrong direction or not know there's a better alternative. A lady once told me to follow her as she was going right by the bus stop; the bus stopped there alright, but when I asked her, I had to follow her for four blocks, when the bus station, where I could have sat, out of the sun, was only two blocks in the other direction.  

If you're on vacation and have a tight schedule, you're better of taking a tour bus. Other buses don't necessarily leave or arrive on time (mostly they don't). Tour buses (charter buses) can work around schedule problems.  

So I'm wanting to go to Lázaro Cárdenas.  
   
 











 
There's only one bus line going there from Manzanillo, and only two buses: 7:30pm or 9:30pm. Either one will get you there in the wee hours of the morning: try finding a hotel at that time of day! Even with a reservation and advance notice of your arrival time, you'll be lucky to get someone to answer the buzzer, unless you're staying at a more posh place with all night clerks (who are actually awake).  

I thought the stop in Lázaro (200,000 pop.) would be a major one. But the bus pulled into this small, darkened station, turned on minimal lighting, and, if you weren't awake, gone again in ten minutes (final destination Acapulco, with stops in between).  

- continued in next entry -  



(completed Nov17)