Moving in Peru

Here we are back in Lima after spending several days in the Huaraz area. There are so many memorable moments, but the ones that made a mark are those spent in transit. And when we say a mark, we mean a mark.

The first and most intuitive method of transport is by foot; which we´ve found to be the best. Mostly because you can be the master of your own destiny, for the most part. You just need to know where you´re going and to keep an eye out for vehicles blurring past...

Step into one of those warp speed warped metal contraptions and, well, you´re in for who knows what...

Here are a few things we´ve experienced on various sets of wheels, most of all in combis, the Peruvian staple of the road. A combi is basically a VW bus with retrofitted seats.

• -Cramming 20-25 people inside, and that´s not all babies
• -A driver reading the newspaper about Peru´s loss to Bolivia 3-0
• -Incredibly pushy drivers who don´t mind laying of the horn for as long as it takes for traffic to move; and their attendants, who also direct traffic unofficially, when other cars are moving too slow
• -Sheep. That´s right, a couple sheep are welcome passengers
• -Vomit-buckets
• -Antique speaker systems blaring cumbia
• -Roads that require more than 2 sports bras
• -Milking mamas
• -Splitting headaches as you come down from a dizzying height, the soroche setting in and, as the vice tightens around your temples, another hairpin turn at terminal velocity
• -Femur-crushing ergonomics and surgical insertion of a metal edge right into your spine
• -A variety of horn sounds you can choose from to soup up your ride, including police siren, ambulance and cat-call whistle

Would you step into or off of a moving combi? Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that they barely slow down to pick up and drop off those, what do you call them? Oh, that´s right: passengers!

Second-favorite Peruvian bumper sticker: "Pasame, pero a tu hermana"

This list will surely grow as we continue poking around South America and other destinations. Tomorrow, we leave Lima for Cusco and finally begin moving South in a real way.

Huaraz post to come.