All we need is a chicken...

Several years ago, I spent a week in Costa Rica with one of my closest and oldest friends.

Somewhere in our journey to the coast, we ended up on one of those buses. Anyone who's traveled in Central or South America knows exactly what I'm taking about. It wasn't quite as rickety as the quintessential latin-american bus, but it was packed to the gills with locals and their stuff, so we had to stand in the aisle with our largish backpacks until seats became available. Standing there, trying not to annoy the people sitting all around me as we traversed over bumps and turns, I said to my friend, "the only thing this bus is missing is a chicken."

You know the old adage, be careful what you wish for... well, it should be: be careful what you say, because sure as chicken-shit, the next stop boarded a man and his chicken. Said chicken was in an aerated box, but still, there was a real live chicken on my bus to Quepos, Costa Rica.

It made for a good laugh and a good memory, though.

And though this was years ago, it got me to thinking.

What would you do, if you were just a regular José in Costa Rica and you had to take your chicken to...

Where the hell would you be transporting your chicken to? 

Maybe you're selling it, or giving it as a gift to your would-be in-laws as a down-payment on their daughter (do they still do dowries in Costa Rica?), or maybe you just love your chicken and won't leave home without it. Nonetheless, how would you travel with your chicken from town-to-town in Costa Rica?

By Bus, of course.

So it's not so ridiculous that this guy would enter my bus with his chicken.

And it was quite considerate of him to give his chicken a portable coup in the form of a box. Thanks for that, José.

Until we meet again, Costa Rica and your busses, I say to you,

 BAWK, BAWK!

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