Ok Resistencia, you win...

The system of colectivos (buses) here in Resistencia really is amazing. Traversing many, many parts of the city you can count on a colectivo to arrive every 15 minutes (or less) at whichever stop you may be waiting. There are always people riding in the colectivos, supporting the system whether it is morning, day, or night. Impressive too are the regularity of routes that go from Resistencia to nearby cities like Corrientes and Barranqueras and other, much smaller, towns in the immediate country areas around the city, like Puerto Tirol and Margarita Belen. The colectivos are relatively clean and seemingly well maintained. On top of all these qualities that I consider benefits, a trip within the city costs only 2 pesos ($.50 in US currency; no more than 4 pesos/US $1 to the nearby cities/towns)! Why wouldn't I be a supporter of the colectivo system here in the Resistencia? However, I'm also a newcomer to this city which means that I am yet rather unfamiliar with the majority of the colectivo routes....dun, dun, dun.

Seeking to resolve this issue, I asked my referente a couple weeks ago where she thought I might be able to find a map of Resistencia's colectivo routes.
..She referred me to the municipalidad, the city's town hall....
.....someone at the municipality's reception referred me to a building behind la casa de gobierno, the province's "statehouse," on the central plaza
........someone at the la casa de gobierno referred me to a photocopy shop across the street
............a gentleman at the photocopy shop referred me to another book store around the corner
..................the young woman at the book store showed me the map of Resistencia that her store carries for sale. Unfortunately this map was much like the one that I already have, extensively detailed in its identification of streets, plazas and parks but without colectivo routes. I give up; Resistencia, you win.

With such an impressive network of public transportation you might be asking yourself why there isn't a corresponding guide to direct usage of the system, especially for visitors of the city? As far as I can tell, the answer to this question lies in the fact that 95% of the individuals who use the colectivos on a daily basis were born and raised here in Resistencia or have lived here for quite some time. The city is not often a final destination for travelers nor even a common stopping point with the more aesthetically pleasing city of Corrientes (with an older architecture and the Rio Negro and its costanera [riverside promenade]) so close geographically. Everyone generally knows where colectivo 2 goes, where colectivo 106 goes, how often colectivos arrive/depart for the nearby city of Barranqueras, what time each night colectivos cease to travel between different cities/towns, and the list of "insider knowledge" goes on and on. Oh, the power that lies in being native to a place, calling it home, and having the cultural capital that allows an individual to interact in the space only as natives can do.

I will admit, I'm a little jealous that I don't yet have an understanding sufficient to hop on most of the bus routes and know I will be headed in the right direction. Some days when I just don't feel like walking across town to get to an event, a meeting or to meet up with friends, this would be exponentially useful. Of course, being the driven individual that I am, I've decided this yet unsuccessful treasure hunt has not reached its end; instead, I think my search will just be adopting a different methodology and timeline. :) Hopefully as I receive ongoing counsel and directions from friends in Resistencia, I can develop my own mental map of this public transit system, maybe if I decide to be super adventurous, eventually I'll craft my own sketch(es) of Resistencia's colectivo routes for next year's Fulbright scholar.

Oh, and did I mention that there is major resurfacing work happening right now on the streets that mark Resistencia's central plaza? In other words, this principal stopping point for the vast majority of the city's collectivos is under major construction which also means that transit routes are markedly modified. I guess pursuit of this specific goal will have to wait until May 25th, the road construction's scheduled conclusion. *sigh* :)