How many people can you fit in a minivan?

33, it turns out.

The minivan in question, was, in its defense, a rather large minivan, with 4 rows of seats going three quarters the width of the van. Probably, the van was made to sit 12. To fit 33 people into this van required a bit of maneuvering, some elbows and a compete sacrifice of personal space. Children were strapped to mother's backs so that they were squished between the mother and the seat. Babies are probably softer than seat backs anyways! People were crouched on every square inch of floor space. The sliding door was wide open and people clung a bar installed on the inside of the van, their bums catching the breeze as we sped down the highway. Then there were children crammed onto everyone's lap. There were children sitting on children, sitting on children. And although I didn't verify it, or include them in my official count, I'm pretty sure there were children strapped to the roof. Not that over-cramming is an unusual experience on Latin American buses. Yesterday I rode the bus for 2 hours with only half a cheek on an old green vinyl school bus seat....