At 5:45 am this morning, running on 4.5 hours of plane-quality sleep (we got sucked into Tina Fey’s Baby Mama on the flight so we didn’t rest as much as we’d hoped), we stumbled through customs, acquired pesos from a bank, and found our way to the bus stop for colectivo 86, the bus to Hostel Arrabal — all in just 30 minutes. Pretty impressive for our mental state, I think.

The hostel’s website told us the 50 cent USD bus ride (per person) would be 40 minutes, Lonely Planet warned it could take 2 hours. It took 2 hours and 15 minutes. We must have hopped on just as rush hour began — there were kids busing to school and adults commuting to work. In our sleep-deprived state, we were eager to find our accommodations (and a bed), but the long bus ride wasn’t all bad.

It showed us parts of Buenos Aires we wouldn’t have otherwise seen, like the shanty town barrios where houses were haphazardly constructed of cinderblock and cement. And it gave us insight into the culture — how people interact, protocol on public transportation, and a chance to hear the language.

But like the bus drivers in our ex-hometown of Washington, DC, Argentine drivers are crazy. Our driver didn’t completely stop at intersections, started going while people were still climbing on, and kept the doors open until he accelerated to full speed. We had near-collisions at least a dozen times. I sat by the window and, had it been open, I could have easily reached out and touched the people in the bus next to us. Fortunately, I was too exhausted to be afraid.

At any rate, the US $0.50 bus ride plus free cultural insight beats the alternative, a US $25 cab ride. Plus, public transportation is easier on the environment. I would definitely do it again.