South American Idiosyncrasies

As we're sitting on yet another 6+ hour bus ride, I thought I'd pass some time by writing a separate post in itself about some of the odd, interesting, and sometimes completely ridiculous habits, customs and ways of life we've encountered on our South American journey thus far. As I'm currently sitting on a bus, let's start there.

VEHICLES OF TRANSPORTATION

In Canada, there are basically three major forms of transportation for long haul travel: car, bus or plane. In South America, anything capable of transporting you from A to B, everything from donkey to chicken bus, shared taxi to deluxe bus, is acceptable. As we're now in our 5th country of our journey, we've experienced quite a few different types, although overall I do have to say we have been keeping it pretty luxurious.

One of the biggest surprises in listeria been when we decided to fly from Lima to Cusco. It's a 24 hour bus ride or 50 minute flight, and the latter was a good price so we opted for that. We went with Peruvian Air, and hopped on our short flight expecting nothing more than a package of pretzels, a la WestJet. We were so wrong. In 50 minutes, we'd received a very nice pillow and blanket, drink, AND a meal. Very impressed. We had a similar experience on our flight from Caracas to Lima, where they even gave us free booze, no questions asked. In short, I think if you dish out the money to fly, they treat you like royalty.

Buses have been hit and miss. You can end up on anything from a large van converted into a "bus" by adding as many rigid, upright seats as possible, to a full cama (bed) bus, with footrests and seats that fully recline all the way into a horizontal bed. Semi-camas are somewhere in between, where they have footrests and seats that recline a little more than your standard Greyhound, and are what we have been traveling on the most as they're a good balance of price and comfort.

In Peru we got a mix of both worlds - the most luxurious of the trip, and the sketchiest. When leaving Cusco we bought tickets for the semi-cama, and somehow, most likely due to our lack of español, ended up in the plushy executive cama compartment almost entirely to ourselves. Score! On the way back from Machu Picchu, we ended up in the extremely uncomfortable, crammed to the max upright seats of a converted van, with a hostile driver who was trying to double charge us, and fearing that we would be thrown out at every town we stopped in. This lovely driver also drove like a maniac on barely 1 car wide dirt roads, with a 3,000 foot sharp drop into the river on one side, ripping around corners and simply honking ad hoping there wasn't an oncoming car. You get what you pay for!

By far the most uncomfortable has been the por puesto. This is a shared taxi, packed to absolute max capacity, that can take you as far as a few blocks, or the length of an entire country. I'm not entirely sure of the advantages of these, besides maybe shaving a few minutes off your total journey. They're usually more expensive than a bus, And WAY more uncomfortable. I'd compare them to being jammed into the extremely over packed back seat of the family vehicle on your way to the annual family camping trip, smooshed into the "bitch" seat between your two brothers, who were either arguing or getting carsick and puking all over you. Only in a por puesto, its not your brother you're sitting beside, so you can't simply punch him to shut him up! Thankfully we were only forced into a por puesto once, in Venezuela, when they decided not to run any buses that day due to current President Chavez making an appearance in a town nearby, and thus all buses were dispatched to his personal disposal. Which brings me to my next point:

UNANNOUNCED MAJOR EVENTS & HOLIDAYS

News does not seem to travel fast in South America, and it seems that interruptions into normal daily life are just that - normal life interruptions. With respect to Chavez's above, this visit was not announced nor made note of anywhere, so if you needed to take a bus that day, like we did, you were simply SOL. You either found another solution, or rescheduled your trip.

Another ridiculous political event happened in Uyuni, Bolivia, the town to enter the Salt Flats from. On Friday afternoon, they decided an election was to be held that Sunday, and no one could leave or enter the town until it was over. This place's bread and butter is their tourism, and as no one was allowed in or our, the daily tours that leave from each of the 30 odd tour companies in town could not proceed. Again, there was zero notice or information sent out on this, so people lost days, tours, money on unexpected accommodation, and even some flights that they were unable to make. Not to mention the residents who were supposed to make an informed decision in less than 48 hours! Towns would riot if this happened in Canada.
Luckily we arrived on the Monday, so only had to deal with the larger than usual army of tour Jeeps deployed after being stuck for three days.

Our first few nights in La Paz there were also riots happening in the Legislative Plaza a few blocks from our hostel, thus shutting down the road so not web taxis could get through. Although, the same thing happened a few days later when they decided to have an incessant parade of marching bands and dancers for 8 hours straight, so maybe this really is the norm!

You've also got to be careful of holidays. I won't say specific holiday days, but more the entire week before. Holidays are celebrated with earnest, and business and restaurant hours are sketchy at best at these times, so do your shopping, banking and eating in the few hours they are open! Having said that, South American people do know how to party, and have a sincere love of fireworks, so if you're into bright lights and late nights, holidays are a blast.

ROADS & ROAD RULES

Surprisingly, most of the roads we've travelled on have been pretty good. Exception: Bolivia. Even on major routes, Bolivia has few paved roads, and with the east side being very mountainous, can make for some very unrestful journeys. A lot of our journey has kept us on the "Gringo Trail", as we've learned the route we've been taking has been called, so for the most part it's been well developed and modern road ways.

The road rules, however, are pretty much that there aren't too many. Lanes are a mere suggestion, and taxis will often squeeze in between them to pass wherever they please. Traffic lights are to be obeyed only when felt like, or when there is an obvious flow of traffic beelining your way. Yellow definitely means go here. Passing is also very very aggressive, and there's been several instances, in several countries, where we were sure our lives were going to end as soon as we rounded the next corner. Bridges in cities = safe. Bridges in mountains = newfound talent for praying.

Rural areas are obviously worse than urban ones, but with so many more cars near the urban zones, some rides can be terrifying! However, in Venezuela, every ride was a gamble for your life. These are theory aggressive, speed loving, and often stupid drivers we've encountered the whole trip. Especially on the winding cliffs on the coastal road to Playa Colorada where Jakera Lodge was, we saw more than a couple grizzly accidents.

All these things are made even worse by the fact that I'm not sure a lot of these countries even have a word for "seatbelt". The first time I had a seatbelt to put on since we arrived on this continent was in the 4x4 Jeep for the Salt Flats tour - almost 2 months after we'd left Canada!

BAÑOS

I'll try not to get into too much descriptive detail on this one ;)

Before we'd even booked our flights for this trip, I knew bathrooms were going to be an issue, and something I'd have to deal with. We've had some really nice ones, and some that made me gag at the sight of them, and rather hold it than risk entering.

The first odd thing we encountered, and holds true for the whole continent, is that you don't flush your toilet paper down the toilet. Their sewer systems aren't setup to handle this kind of waste, so you put all your TP into the mini little garbage cans with lids that are beside every toilet. It took a long, long time to get used to this habit, with a few "oopsies" along the way, but I'm sure it will take us no time at all to get used to the North American way again once were back!

With the exception of hostel and hotel rooms, a lot of places have also been 50/50 on whether they'd have a toilet seat. Not sure if there's a big black market for toilet seats or what the cause for this is, but many restaurants, and all public toilets don't seem to find the need for one. Same goes for toilet paper. Every corner shop and kiosk sells TP due to it's lack of presence in the actual bathrooms, so trust me when I say I have had some on me at all times since we arrived!

I realize that Europe is also like this in some places, but outside of hostels, hotels and restaurants, you've also got to pay to use the nasty public bathrooms. When you pay, THEN they give you your little ration of toilet paper. You should be able to pay extra for a toilet seat, too!

Perhaps worse than the bathrooms, have been the showers. Not necessarily due to cleanliness, but due to lack of hot water, water pressure, and the occasional electric shock. Outside of major cities, "hot" water is produced through devices that are attached to the shower head, and are supposed to heat the water before it comes out. However, every single time we've encountered one of these devices, the wires and the breaker are right in the shower with you! So ridiculous! By wearing rubber flip flops and setting all temperature knobs and breakers before we even turn the water on, we've learned to minimize the shock risk. However, some of them are so badly installed that touching the metal water knob to turn it on gives you a jolt, so your morning shower really does wake you up, in more ways than one! Even after risking all this to get clean, you sometimes aren't even successful, as these devices suck and usually make you choose between turning the water up for pressure, or leaving it at a trickle to allow it time mildly heat up the water that is coming out.

FOOD & DRINK

I won't say too much on this one, as some of the food we've had has been absolutely amazing, and sometimes when it hasn't been, we've realized people are doing the best with what they have. However, across almost all the countries we've been to, double carbs seems to be the norm. Arroz and papas fritas. You order the local fish, and it's served with rice and french fries. Order the menu del dia (meal of the day), it's served with rice and french fries. Burger? You guessed it. How about a nice fresh salad, if you dare to risk it? They'll add rice AND french fries on the side. The rice is usually dry (soy sauce doesn't really exist here), and the fries are usually startchy, under done and cold.

Breakfasts have also been interesting, although we were warned before we left that we would come back craving bacon and eggs. It's very true. If I ever have to eat stale, hockey puck-like buns, watery jam and drink instant coffee again, it will be too soon.

These are honestly is our biggest complaints about the food though, as we've had a lot of amazing dishes too. Fresh catch of the day and seafood in Veneuela, ceviche to die for in Lima, soups that rival even grandma's in Cusco, surprisingly delicious and super healthy alpaca and quinoa in Bolivia, homemade salmon ravioli in Chile, and mouthwatering juicy steaks in Argentina.

There's been a new national beer to try in every country so far, with Cusqueña in Peru being our favourite. It's also the norm to have a pequeño (normal bottle sized) and a grande size (think Colt 45s) to choose from, even in restaurants. We've also enjoyed a lot of local specialities, like deliciously famous Pisco Sours in Peru, singria (no not sangria hehe) in Bolivia, and the amazing wines of Chile and Argentina (mmmm malbec).

DOGS (AND HOSTEL CATS)

Hardcore animal enthusiasts would have a hard time coming to South America, as there are tons, and tons, of poor stray dogs everywhere roaming the streets. Some countries have been worse than others (on Isla de Margarita I swear the dogs outnumbered people), and some have seen the poor things worse for wear than in others. They roam around solo, and in packs, yet there's no need to be scared of them as they all seem to know their place.

When we were on the kayak tour in Parc Nacional Mochima in Venezuela, there was a pack of about 10 dogs who kept just to the outskirts of our camp. The first afternoon they got cocky an came running up to me, and even snapped at my heels, the only time in the whole journey we've ever seen the strays act aggressively. All I did though, was use the "technique" we were taught - pretend to pick up a rock, no need to even grab one for real, and pretend to throw your imaginary rock at the pack. They'll scatter immediately and won't approach you again.

Some strays have been so so sweet, and looked up at you with those puppy brown eyes while you're enjoying your chicken empanada, and you just can't help but share. You then, of course, have a buddy for the duration of your time in town. You want to feed every one of them, as there's just so many, and some of them are so, so skinny, and it's just not something were not used to seeing at home. You obviously can't though, although one American girl we met tried, and had a pack of 20 dogs following her to the bus!

We've also loved that every hostel we've gone to, has had a resident dog or cat to enjoy. On Isla de Margarita, in our posada we had Socha the beagle, who went as far as accompanying us to the beach everyday, and when we went out for a fancy dinner she even growled at the waiter when he got too close to me (she was chilling under the table, of course). Almost EVERY single hostel has had a cat, from the heights of Cusco to the depths of the jungle. And every single kitty has seemed to know that we like giving pets as much as they like getting them, so they've always ended up on our laps :)

That's all I can really think of for now, bit I'm sure once we get home and are out at the pub re-telling stories over some pints, more will come up. Plus, all this typing is making me a little car sick ;)

Ciao for now!!