Bus movies strike back

The bus movie is an aspect of Latin American culture that I almost forgot about while living in Quito.

Because my job didn't require me to take long-distance buses very often, I had fallen behind on the bus movie culture. When I was last riding in buses, the most popular movies on them were Fireproof and 2012.

The last few days have allowed me to get back in touch with what's popular and what will always be popular on modes of transit.

On the ride from Quito to Tena, the first movie screened was Colombiana, which is about a female assassin of Colombian heritage. This explains its obvious appeal in Ecuador. (I had actually watched this movie on a bus when I was in Colombia).

After that film finished, the driver put in the most-played disc in Ecuador in the last decade: the Fast and the Furious series. Unfortunately, the ride was only long enough to watch the first two installments of what I consider the greatest five-movie series ever produced. (Once they get to seven movies, we can talk about whether it's better than Land Before Time.)

The ride from Tena to Coca went inspirational five-pack, of which we could only get through two and half. The first movie was Courageous, a Christian film about police officers in Albany, Georgia. Although it doesn't make any direct references to Fireproof, this is obviously the sequel. The last two-plus hours were spent on Bucket List and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. But the bus's DVD kept crapping out, which made it difficult to follow along.

I don't think they are going to show any movies on The River. If they do, I expect it to be the entire Anaconda series on repeat.

Provisions

When Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro set out for El Dorado and the land of Cinnamon, they left Quito with 220 soldiers, 200 horses, 2,000 pigs, 2,000 war hounds and 4,000 native porters. When my younger brother and I set out for the Amazon River, we had considerable fewer provisions. Granted, times have changed. We do have sheathed machetes, though.