Bus from Oaxaca

Traveling across Mexico, Robert Clark Young must contend with a murderous bus driver, an avalanche, a little blood on his suitcases, a primitive band of gringo "shroomheads," and, Biblically enough, a plague of toads that stretches as far as the sunset. But his greatest nemesis may be in the seat next to him.

"Bus from Oaxaca" won First Place in the New Millennium Writings Nonfiction Contest. And with good reason--this essay may be the funniest (and most harrowing) 7,000 words in all of travel literature.