Riding the jungle bus in

by Dan Cruddis (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

Making a local connection Grenada

Island tours. If you've ever been to the Caribbean you'll have had this offered to you pretty much everywhere you go. Walk down any street and theres big groups of guys in coloured shirts trying to convince you that only THEY can take you where you want to go. Tours can be great! Beautiful beaches, palm trees, a ride on a rum runner. The best the island has to offer with all of the diamonds and none of the rough. But what if you have a limited budget?, what if you want to meet the real people who drive the cabs and serve your piña coladas?. This was exactly our situation when visiting St. George, Grenada, island hopping in the off season. Hungover, walking around town, a white van tore round the corner and came to a halt, the door slid open and the 17 year old inside asked "you waiting for the bus?". The van was rough looking, dented with a wonky rope mechanism to operate the door. Naturally we jumped right in."We want to go to the jungle, we've got $15" we shouted "what can you do for us?" In the bus was the driver Lindon, who was a big guy with long dreads that grew way down to the back of his knees and his small, skinny son Joshua who was helping out. Despite how it looked this wasn't a taxi it was a public bus. They had a route that took them all over the island making various stops in various townships and for our $15 we would ride the entire route start to finish. Driving along, we got to know Lindon and Joshua better. They worked all day everyday, even at Christmas, shuttling locals all over the island. Considering they were local bus drivers their knowledge about the island was staggering, better than you'd get from most tour guides. Lindon and Joshua later informed us that they had to take a huge family to church. Amidst our silent, sweaty panic, miles from town about to be dropped on a dirt road in the middle of the jungle, the bus pulled up next to a colourful house. Joshua suggested he would stay with us and give us a tour of the area while Lindon was on his holy mission. Joshua and the owner Annie showed us around the garden where they grew many fruits and vegetables. They had coconuts, bananas, nutmeg, potatoes, ginger and more. There is an abundance of fresh ingredients growing all over the island. You don't need to be a farmer to get this type of produce because most of the houses just come with all of it growing anyway. Joshua then took us 30 minutes up the hill to their house, close by. We chatted about his school life, family and tragic lack of girlfriends; Which he attributed to the fact he was living with his parents and grandparents with limited privacy. Shortly after reaching the house we heard a symphony of loud beeps getting closer and closer, it was time to get back on the road. The return journey was a lot less relaxing. Instead of us mostly being sole passengers, we were now crammed in like sardines. Large ladies going to church, collecting kids from school, going to the market piled in. The ladies had absolutely no issue throwing they're shopping bags and even their kids on our laps to make room. We stopped at a church with a congregation out in the garden harmonising together. Joshua hopped out to fill up the can at a gas station down the hill. Once everyone was safely aboard (and the bags of mangos safely back on our laps) Lindon let the handbrake loose. Terrifyingly we plummeted down the hill backwards towards the gas station, made a hard U-turn and swung the door open for Joshua to jump back in. Winding our way back down the hills we finally arrived at the port. The only passengers, once again. This was the end of the road . We jumped out and held out our measly $15. Lindon frowned and took only $10. In a cloud of dust they were gone as quickly as they'd arrived.