Getting Around in South America (part I)

It might seem a trifle sad, but I remember sitting down and making a list of all of the different modes of transport I have used in South America. I was inspired to do this because as I started to learn Spanish and then travel in giant countries such as Bolivia and Argentina I realised that I had used far more different type of transport in a few months than in my entire life in the UK.

Buses
Unless you want to throw your cash around on plane tickets this is the only way to get from city to city. Because of the massive distances between cities these tend to be 20 hour epics which end with me staggering off ashen faced muttering, “Never again” to my invisible friend. Because I chose to learn Spanish mainly in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru I experienced some of the worst roads and buses possible. On the positive side, these journeys are incredibly cheap (about £10 for a 24 hour trip) and take you into a magical mini world of mobile vendors, food stalls and pirated DVDs. Because the journeys are so long you end up in a completely different zone and when you step off the bus you feel as though you are in a different county from your starting point even if you aren’t.

Boats
As I have spent most time in land locked Bolivia I haven’t seen much water. Having said that, I was almost sick on Lake Titicaca, nearly drowned in the Rio Bermejo and generally had a rough time of all of the water type trips. My favourite is the short but interesting border crossing between Argentina and Bolivia in Bolivia / Aguas Blancas, where the engine gets turned off half way across.