BUS-ted in Fano!

by Hayden Haynes 

As posted in a previous post, a group of us decided to take an Italian bus to Fano to spend the day on the stoney, but beautiful beach, of the Adriatic Sea. Though we made the round trip journey safely, it was not without a few interesting experiences.

First, it is amazing the turn radius these buses have. The speed at which they make these turns without hitting a single curb is remarkable. The trip is about an hour and a half weaving through the Italian mountains toward the coast. Often, it felt like the bus was mere inches away from cars, bikers, and edges of cliffs. We joked that the Italian buses only change break pads about once a decade because the breaks were rarely used, even on sharp turns.

As we waited with a large group of people for the last return bus of the day from Fano, we began to wonder how full this bus was going to be. It pulls up and dozens of people push and fight their way toward the doors. We made it on, but it was standing room only. It was fine. We were just happy to have made it on.

As we began to move, we stopped and on came an Italian transportation officer and two bus officials. They began to push and squeeze their way through the bus, checking tickets. Luckily, we were taught to stamp our tickets so we were in the clear. The same could not be said for the few they threw off of the bus. Having never experienced this in the states, it was a unique twist to our journey!