The Chiva

The most extraordinary invention I have ever seen.  Beyond all expectations.  Above imagination.  Truly magnificent.

The Colombian tour bus for locals.

Luckily, on my first day in Medellin I met this amazing girl who has been living in the states but is from Colombia.  She heard me speaking Spanish with my friends and immediately came over to welcome us to her country.  We exchanged phone numbers and next thing I know, I am face-to-face with The Chiva.

Let me explain.  A HUGE bus that has the engine in front so it looks like a truck.  The insides of the bus are ripped out and the windows are no longer there.  The bus is painted in fantastically ornate colors and decorations in honor of the one and only; Mr. Hey Zues (jesus). 

climbing on board

But why is this so fantabulous?  Well, these buses are for locals only, not tourists.  Families, friends, co-workers, whoever rent them out for an evening.  You can squeeze 40 people into one of these buses.  And the bus, with its amazing monk-like sounding horn will blast its horn as it drives these groups to the different places for partying around the city.  It stop at every major square and lets the group of to dance it up and look at the lights (its only during xmas time) and buy street food.

But it gets better.  While on the bus being transported from place to place, there is a live Mariachi band inside playing amazing Colombian music while everyone is drinking, eating and dancing the entire time.  And, while on the bus, vendors of popcorn, meat, cheese, fried stuff, whatever hop on the sides of the bus and try to sell you their goods through the bars where the windows used to be.. so there are just people hanging over and on top of and through the bus at all times and everyone is happy and smiling and drinking and of course, here in Colombia, dancing.

popcorn vendor hanging on the side of the bunch while driving around Medellin

I think this ignited the creation of the word, brilliant.