An Impass of Buses

An Impass of Buses

 

We had had the most wonderful scenic trip on a large launch around the bays of the Amalfi Coast, ending at Portofino. Having taken our time exploring the picturesque little village, we returned to the jetty only to find that we had missed the boat back to Maiore, our home bay. Our only option was to take one of the enormous buses parked in the area near the jetty. But which bus? None of them said Maiori -in fact several didn't have their destinations indicated at all! After much gesticulating, shrugging of shoulders and grunts of indifference from bus drivers, we climbed aboard a near empty bus. We waited and waited, time went by and still the bus sat on the parking lot. We became concerned -was the bus ever going to leave and if it did were we going to get to our destination?? Suddenly, from out of nowhere appeared a noisy chattering crowd of teenagers, who threw themselves into the seats until all were filled, and the aisle was packed to the front door with standing bodies. With a jerk of the clutch and a cloud of smoke the bus inched forward onto the narrow road to Maiori.

The road winds precariously around the cliff faces, wide enough for only two vehicles, one going in each directions. A large bus like the one we were on gives cause for careful manoevering by the oncoming vehicle, particularly if it is larger than a small fiat.Imagine our consternation on seeing another bus of equal size and length to the one we were on, coming towards us around the bend!! There was simply not enough room for them to pass. What to do? Neither bus could back because each had a string of cars, nose to bumper, behind them.

Each bus stopped. The drivers alighted, joined by passengers and car drivers. Then ensued much waving of hands, gesticulating, shouting. We thought it was coming close to blows being exchanged, when our bus driver turned his back and returned to the driver's seat. The other people disipated and the manoevering of the buses began. Inch by inch the buses went back and forward, back and forward as if in some medieval gavotte. After many many adjustments to the angle of each bus, finally only the large mirrors on the front of each bus prevented them from inching past each other. A slight whirring sound, the mirror of our bus changed angle and the bus proceeded past it's protagonist onto the clear road ahead.

During all this nail-biting scenario, our roudy teenagers had given not a glance out the windows and had kept up their raucous conversations at high decibel level. Obviously this was an everyday occurrence in their lives, one to be endured as part of everday life. For us tourists it was a never-to-be-forgotten experience.