Bus trips in South America

I am officially a long-term traveler, a nomad, a wanderer who lives out of a pack on my back. This is an extremely low-budget lifestyle; the cost of traveling through South America is approximately half the cost of paying my bills and living in Tempe, Arizona. And with this lifestyle comes obligations and duties, like taking very long bus rides instead of pricey flights. I was actually dreading this aspect of the trip, as I get antsy if I have to drive to Glendale from Tempe. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be stuck on a bus for 18 hours.

I had been hearing of Arequipa from other travelers and from various traveler's blogs and podcasts. I knew I would absolutely love the city, but I had to get there from Lima... and off I was on a South American bus. I bought the most expensive "VIP" ticket, on a bus that was all VIP seats, mostly because this bus ticket fit my schedule perfectly. I try to book tickets for overnight buses, and this way I can arrive to a new city during daylight hours.

I was expecting, at the very best, a jacked-up version of a Greyhound bus, with minimal legroom, barely enough room for luggage and lots of loud crying children. Boy, was I in for a surprise. I checked into the "terrapuerto", or bus station, in Lima, and I was ushered into the VIP lounge, after my passport was checked and my luggage was weighed, scanned and checked (just like taking a flight!). I was then ushered into the "VIP" lounge, which is one of the nicest waiting areas I've ever been in, with super-comfy furniture, high-speed wifi, books, magazines, and American movies on a flat-screen panel:

I could get used to this. Once I boarded the bus, I was taken aback at how large the seats were-- three Annas could have fit on one. Furthermore, they reclined all the way, and were super-comfy, like sitting in a good old Lazy-boy recliner. There were blankets, pillows, American movies playing on the TV, meals served by the "terramoza" (a bus stewardess) and the best... HIGH SPEED WIFI-- on the bus!! Oh yes, and I'm sure you're wondering, there are bathrooms on the bus, and they are super-clean, much cleaner than a lot of the flights I've been on.

The price for this amazing bus ride was $60 USD for an 18 hour bus trip. Not bad at all. Actually with this level of comfort, I prefer to ride the bus rather than take a flight, even though the travel time is much longer. Since it's an overnight bus, I am saving money on one night of accommodation and two meals. All for the fraction of a price of a flight. Low budget travel rocks. I wish I had gotten a picture of me fully reclining on the bus seat, but these will have to do:

That last picture is of the desert along the Peruvian coast somewhere between Lima and Arequipa.

Miraflores, Lima

Everyone around me had warned me about Lima; that it was dangerous, unsafe, especially for a girl traveling alone.  Furthermore, people seemed to illustrate a picture of Peru as an underdeveloped country, full of begging streetchildren, gangs, drug wars, and thieves.  Mind you, most of these fictitious ideas were coming from people who have never traveled to Peru at all, much less South America.

Once I stepped off the plane, these ideas were eradicated, as I was in a highly modern, spotless, gleaming airport.

The airport was also one of the most organized airports I had ever been to in my life, and I've been to quite a few of them.  There must have been hundreds of people waiting on the immigration line with me, from all over the world, and unlike the check-in line at LaGuardia, this line moved fairly rapidly.  I knew I had come to the right country to start my travels.

Miraflores is an affluent district within the city/ province of Lima.  I'm sorry, I didn't take too many pictures, but I assure you, it was very beautiful.  Actually, the city reminded me a lot of New York, high-rising buildings, people always in a rush from place to place, windy neighborhoods, and a large flowery park in the center of Miraflores.  The most memorable aspect of Lima (and I imagine, of Peru in general) was the food.  Even the scrambled eggs for breakfast were absolutely scrumptious.  The hot chocolate is creamy, rich and carries an aroma of cinnamon and cloves.  My favorite thing to eat in Lima was the pollo al la lena, or wood-fire roasted chicken (see below for picture).

I spent a week in Miraflores studying Spanish at an amazing Spanish school, along with travelers from all over the world.  I made friends with a couple of Norwegian girls, Maria and Carolina, and an elderly American couple, Judy and Howard.  Judy and Howard have been sailing around the world for about seven years in a sailboat. They've been in Lima for a few months studying Spanish, and waiting out for a good wind.  I'm not sure how to say that in sailing terms.

The last day of our Spanish classes, all of the students went out to eat anticucho at another old colonial district in a different section of Lima, called Baranco.  Anticucho is a traditional Peruvian specialty, it's skewered, roasted cow's heart.  I didn't take any pictures, but I did sample it-- it kind of tastes like a well-seasoned steak.  However, I couldn't settle with the idea of eating cow's heart, so I ordered grilled chicken.  Carolina ordered a traditional dish, she later realized was the stomach of a chicken.  Needless to say, she didn't eat very much.

Pena del Carajo was recommended by the teachers at the school as a non-touristy, local hangout.  Penas are traditionally places where locals go to listen to traditional music, like Criolla, and eat traditional food with their families.  It's a bar/ restaurant with a very traditional feel to it, or at least it was supposed to be.  We were allowed in after waiting 45 minutes on line.  Our tickets included a house Pisco sour, which is a traditional drink made with raw egg, cinnamon and Pisco, a Peruvian liquor.  I didn't like it very much.

The traditional Peruvian hangout spot turned out to be rather rowdy and club-like for our tastes, instead of traditional instruments, they started playing Lady Gaga and reggatone.  It was, however, filled with locals and not tourists.  Not so much into the club/ bar scene, we left very early.

On my last day in Lima, I went out to lunch with Judy and Howard to eat roasted chicken.  Oh my goodness, it was amazing.  Also, a cooked salad with beets, carrots and avocados-- so yummy!

More pictures here:

Miraflores, Peru

I headed off to Arequipa, Peru -- more to come soon.

Why Spirit Airlines sucks

I have been planning, dreaming, hoping for an extended backpacking trip FOREVER.  Really, for as long as I could remember, I had been wanting to travel the world, ambling about from place to place.  The wanderlust that propelled this trip has been twenty-seven years in the making.  In the months prior to my trip, I bought enough travel gear to blow half the budget.... I was just so excited to finally live my dream. I've had my Osprey Ariel pack ready for about three years.  Really, I've been ready for this mentally and emotionally for years, the logistics being the only obstacle I've needed to overcome...

August 6th finally arrived.  My awesome, supportive parents drove me to the airport.  I stood on line at the Spirit Airlines counter, and I noticed that each customer in front of me had some issue with their flight.  An elderly woman with short auburn hair and an impatient frown looked at me, and asserted "You know, we're ahead of you-- we're next."  Her husband looked at me apologetically, and scolded "Honey, there's no need to be rude.  This line just isn't moving at all."  Apparently, it was the first time they were flying Spirit too-- and they didn't hold back on their disdain, along with most of the other passengers I encountered.  A short Peruvian man ahead of me looked at me, and shook his head, "Never flying this airline again..."..  I wasn't perturbed, my big day had arrived, and there was little that could upset me-- go ahead give me a crappy seat, or make me throw stuff away because my bag is overweight.  My flight was a connecting flight from NY to Fort Lauderdale, and then from Fort Lauderdale to Lima.  All I cared about was getting to Lima.

I finally got to the ticket counter, and the ticket agent actually smiled at me.  I handed her my return ticket from Bogota, Colombia, to Orlando, FL.  A Peruvian law dictates that any foreign nationals flying into Peru needs to show proof of onward travel within 90 days of entry.  My ticket from Bogota was well within this time frame, I was certain there was nothing to worry about.

"Miss, this ticket states that you are leaving Colombia, I need to see proof that you are leaving Peru."

"I am leaving Peru-- obviously I have to leave Peru in order to catch my flight in Bogota in late October."

"And how are you planning on getting to Colombia?"

"Via bus"

"Well, then I need to see your bus ticket," she stated flatly.

As an employee of the airline, she was responsible for enforcing this awkwardly irrational rule.  If I show up in Peru without proof that I will leave the country within 90 days, the airline is legally obliged to fly me back to the States on their dollar.  This law is ridiculously irrational, because many travelers simply buy a refundable fare ticket as proof of onward travel, and cancel it once they get into the country.

  I got off the line, and I tried to look around for bus tickets online-- Cruz del Sur, South America's most popular bus company, has a terrible website, and I couldn't successfully buy a ticket.  I tried buying a ticket on LAN, South America's most popular airline, and this didn't work either.  I tried calling various customer service agents for Expedia, Travelocity, Delta, etc. in order to buy a refundable ticket.  After two hours of agonizing, I finally discovered that Expedia has a 24 hour risk-free return policy on tickets purchased over the phone.  The Expedia service agent had a very thick accent, and I couldn't understand him at all, especially since I was calling from a loud LaGuardia terminal. At last, I was able to purchase the ticket, and I showed up to the ticket counter, panicking that I would miss my flight.  I had the Expedia service agent on the phone ready to tell the Spirit airlines agent that I had indeed purchased my flight, but then she informed me that she needed to see "visual proof" that I had purchased the ticket.  I asked the Expedia agent to email it to me, and he did so three times, but I couldn't find it at all in my email.  After some more agonizing, I found that his emails had been going into my spam box.  When I showed this to the Spirit airlines agent, she informed me that my flight had already left.  I was ready to cry-- the flight I had been waiting for for 27 years had left.

She was able to book me on the next flight to Fort Lauderdale, which was at 9 PM, so I was in LaGuardia waiting from 10 AM to 9 PM that day.  This flight arrived in Ft Lauderdale at midnight, and I had to find a place to stay overnight, since the next flight to Lima, for which I was a standby, was 5 PM the following day.  I found an inexpensive hotel, close to the airport, and spent about 17 hours in Ft Lauderdale twiddling my thumbs.

The place wasn't too shabby.  It's true, Florida is very similar to the the Indian state I'm from, Kerala.  It's super humid, and the geckos are everywhere.  The gardens outside the hotel where I ate my breakfast sullenly  were certainly nice to look at.  Sigh, I just want to get out of Florida.

I did catch the 5 PM flight to Lima, and now I'm finally a traveler!!!... more to come soon....