Santo Domingo.- There is a Christmas Eve atmosphere at the bus stops. From early on, supported suitcases On the sidewalks, bags with groceries and boxes tied with tape reveal that the city is beginning to empty towards the interior of the country.
At the terminals of kilometer 9 of the Duarte highway, 27 de Febrero and the Duarte bridgethe flow of passengers increased from the early hours of the day.
Complete familiesstudents and workers wait their turn with the haste typical of someone who does not want to be late to the family table.
“You leave early because later this becomes impossible,” says a woman while taking care of a portable cooler, ready for the long trip. Next to him, a young man checks his cell phone, attentive to the departure notice of the bus that will take him to San Juan de la Maguana.
Drivers and conductors confirm the increase in passengers. They say that, like every year, travel intensifies as the season approaches. Christmas Eve, forcing the exits to be reinforced he Cibao, the South and the East. “From today it feels like December has truly arrived,” says a driver with more than 20 years on the road.
He bustle is constant: loudspeaker calls, goodbyes fast, sleeping children about suitcases and street vendors who take advantage of the movement to offer coffee, empanadas and typical sweets. The city continues its rhythm, but at the stops the clock seems to tick faster.
Between the heat, the noise and the expectation, the same scene is repeated every December: Dominicans changing the capital asphalt through the yard of the house, the pending hug and the smell of freshly cooked food. At the stops, the Christmas has arrived.
