South of America

In my current life, I get around town on the Subte, it goes from point to point reliably. Most of all, unlike the bus, I don’t have to say anything to the driver about where I am going. Unlike the subte, buses charge by distance and the driver needs to know how far you are going. I have a hard time saying or even knowing where I am going so this single act is really daunting. So… the subte is my transport of choice. And here are the three main points of the Subte (subway). I live near the D line it is Green on a map, the station about 1/2 block from me is Olleros (pronounced Oh, sar-oh) and it goes in two directions one way is into town: that direction is called Cathedral and the other way is NOT home. The name for “not home” is harder to remember so I just go opposite of Cathedral. Basically into downtown and out of downtown. I Scan my sube card at the turnstile, work out which way to go and head down the stairs. There is no more than 5-7 minutes to wait for the next train and each train is about 5-7 cars long. Jump on quick as the doors will shut on you. Find a seat (hopefully) and off you go.
Watch the sign and get up and off at the right place. Again be fast. At first I had to rely on the printed signs as the words didn’t match what the automatic voice said. Mexican Spanish pronunciation that I learned in school is not the same as Argentina Spanish. I’m getting better at hearing the words and I’m great and hearing left and right for which side the doors will open.
Last thing is work out how to get up and out of the sube. Some of the stations have several lines and there are corridors that snake around and down to transfer or exit. Then finally, walk straight through the turnstile and back onto the street.
The fare is the same regardless of how far you ride.
The trip for Olleros to Cathedral is about 25 minutes but it goes fast as there is usually some form of free onboard entertainment. More on that in another post.Читать далее