Monday, March 06, 2006

A Lesson Learned

A word of advice, gleaned from piping-fresh first-hand experience.

If you have the opportunity to do any travel by bus in Peru, and you're assigned to seats 1, 2, 3 or 4... ask very nicely whether you might be able to change your seat assignment. It doesn't much matter where, just do yourself a favour and request a higher seat number.

Why, you ask?

Peruvian driving is... how shall I put this? Insane and scary as hell. And if you're in the front row on the top level of a double-decker bus, you get to see the insanity up close and personal. "Safe following distance?" HA! Yield the right of way to pedestrians? HA HA! It is to laugh. Double-yellow means no passing? Thank you for that quaint... suggestion.

So unless you're looking for hours of nail-biting, seat-gripping, laughing-in-the-face-of-certain-death fun... move to the back of the bus.

9 comments:

protected static said...

Whatever happened to that which does not kill us yadda yadda yadda?

And yer in PERU fer crissakes! It's, uh, local color. Fodder for your memoirs and all that...

(Nazca lines? Do tell, please...)

Kristina said...

Local colour, yeah that's it. Thankfully my lower GI is still holding up fine, or else there would definitely have been some local colour during a couple windy turns where I was pretty sure we were going to collide with the vehicle in front of us.

Oh, I will tell more, including about Nasca - we did fly over the lines and it was very cool. I'm hoping to find a way to upload photos from here so I can include them; otherwise I might write it up and then post when I get home.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! ITA re: "local color." But better as a memory than a live experience for sure. I was thinking for a moment you were back already. ooooo would love to see pictures! live it up, Behan

~ap said...

do yerself a favor: do not check the tread on the tires of any bus in peru.

just don't.

you don't want to know.

ask jer on the way to the airport about our little bus tire blow out in the mountains around cuzco. whoo-daddy.

you're on a GREAT adventure! yippeeeeeee!

The Amused Guru said...

LOL. When I'm in Peru, I fly everywhere.


Are you having fun.

Had ceviche yet?

Been to Macchu Pichu yet?

Take care.

protected static said...

Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Are you home yet? Are you home yet?

Kristina said...

I am home! And Mark - I did indeed have ceviche... I couldn't haved faced my dear ~ap if I had come home without trying it. :) A heaping plateful of it, more than I could eat, while in Paracas.

Macchu Pichu didn't happen this trip - as I was only there for a little over a week, visiting a friend who had to work while I played during the day, we had time only for the weekend bus trip down the coast. And I wanted to save Cusco for when I take my kidlets down with me, probably in a few years.

The Amused Guru said...

I love ceviche. Paracas and Ica and the desert there are on my to do list.

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip.

Cusco is a beautiful city and you will probably really enjoy it when you go.

protected static said...

Hey... I ganked some of your Church of Saint Francis pictures for da' horror blog (all in accordance w/ your Creative Commons license, natch). Good ossuary pics... Is that all trash in the circle of femurs & skulls?