Is This Route Cursed?

 The last time our daughter came to visit was just over two years ago. The day she left was the day our first lockdown was announced. When she arrived that time, we went to the airport to meet her and headed back to where we were then living. The first leg of that trip was on Bus Eireann from Dublin Airport to Letterkenny and it was an unpleasant journey, which I wrote about here.

This time we live in a different place and have different options for getting to and from the airport. When we went to meet her, we were able to take a bus that picked us up right outside our door and dropped us off at the airport--it was extremely convenient and comfortable. As I was planning the return journey, I considered taking the same bus back, but decided against it because of the time. Had we taken that option, we would have had to wait at the airport for 6 hours and not arrived home until almost 11 that night. Since our daughter's plane landed almost an hour early, she'd already been there for almost three hours by the time we got there. It just seemed like a long time to wait when we could avail of a different service and get home two hours earlier. Or so I thought!

The plan was to take Bus Eireann to Letterkenny again, arriving at 5-ish. The bus to Bunbeg would leave at 7:30-ish, so that would give us time to have some dinner in Letterkenny. It all seemed like a very reasonable plan--at least in theory. First of all, the bus, which originates in Dublin City Centre, was late getting to the airport. Since the last time we used this bus, a new ticketing system has been implemented, so if you have not bought tickets (or reserved seats in the case of those travelling with a free travel pass), you take your chances. We had our ticket/reservations so got on the bus and settled in. When the driver was done getting every ticketed passenger aboard, he counted the seats that were left and allowed that many people to board. Every seat was full. By the time we pulled out, we were already 25 minutes late. Still, we were rolling.

That didn't last very long, however. The bus was weird--it had some kind of sponsorship or something on the side and when I looked out the window, there was like a screen on the outside--I could only see what was outside through the tiny holes. It made me kind of dizzy. But about an hour into the trip, I could see that something was off. We were moving very slowly and on the far left side of the road. Cars were passing. Eventually, we stopped. Then he turned off the bus, got out, and messed with something in back. After a few minutes, he started it up again and we picked up speed. Then we slowed down again. Finally, he pulled over, turned off the bus, talked to someone and made an announcement. The bus was going nowhere. It was overheating. He talked to someone who would be there in 20-30 minutes. We might as well get out of the bus. Some people did. Many people were very tired from travel and did not. After some more time had passed, we learned that another bus was coming so everyone should gather their belongings. For some people, this involved very large suitcases. We milled around outside while the dog in the yard across the street went crazy barking at all of the strange people.

photo by bill burke

The mechanic arrived and had a look.

photo by bill burke

We all waited some more. The next 'Expressway' bus arrived. It was a double-decker, which has very few seats on the bottom. We went upstairs. Fortunately, our daughter just had a backpack, so we did not have to deal with heavy bags. 

photo by bill burke

We settled in and got comfortable. We were on our way again. That delay took an hour or so. After a short time, we stopped for a 'rest break.' The woman in the seat in front of us commented that it was not where the usual stop was. She was right. It used to be at the Monaghan Bus Station and this time it was at a petrol station with a small shop attached, which was actually better. It was on the outskirts of Monaghan and had more to offer for people since there was a food and drinks counter in addition to the bathrooms. Our daughter opted to stay in the bus, but Bill and I made our way downstairs to use the restrooms. As we got to the bottom of the stairs, the driver informed us that we were taking a 10-minute break. When we returned to our seats, Daughter said he'd been upstairs to tell them about the 10-minute break and also said to someone that we'd be changing buses again. She was unsure if it was supposed to be a joke. Since he said nothing to those of us getting off the bus, we hoped it was. It wasn't! We drove for another 5 minutes and pulled up at the Monaghan Bus Station where we all had to get off that bus and get on another one. People were starting to get a bit annoyed at this point, but everyone maintained a polite attitude.

By the time we made our way downstairs and onto the third 'Expressway' bus, there were few seats left, so I ended up in one that was behind a broken one that would not stay upright. I had to slide my upper body in, but could not get both legs out of the aisle. I sat awkwardly with my left leg hanging down into the aisle and my right leg twisted in a funny way. I couldn't fit my backpack on my lap, so just placed it in the aisle and held it there. The guy sitting in the broken seat in front of me watched youtube videos without earbuds while he drank his beer, which seems to be a thing on this route. Since these were in a language I didn't understand, it was just noise, which was probably good--easier to tune out that way. When some people a few rows in front of us got off after an hour or so, we moved up to those seats. 

At this point, I was unsure how far we were from Letterkenny and it was getting into the time when there could be traffic. We were running very late and while I knew we were not going to have time for dinner when we got there, I hoped that we would be able to catch the next bus. I did chuckle to think that if we didn't, we would have to wait for the bus that I could have taken from the airport in the first place, which also runs through Letterkenny. 

In the end, we arrived two hours late and with half an hour to spare before the last bus of our journey arrived. It was on time and so, so comfortable. So all's well that ends well, but I will think twice in future about booking a trip on Bus Eireann Expressway route 32!

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