This is a Driving Trip. We have started in Tierra del Fuego (The End of the World, at the southern tip of South America) and are driving all the way back to Oregon.
So let's talk about some driving:
Yesterday we started out in Lima, Peru. It's one of the world's Mega-cities - with over nine million people. And we were going to drive north on our way out of the city. Or so we thought.
We were hoping to join the PanAmerican Highway, which runs the entire length of South America and North America (see below). We set out early and were optimistic we could get out of town quickly ... but hold on there cowboy, not so fast ...
We got on the "freeway" which is a lot more like a "free-for-all". It was combat driving at its best (worst?). We were making some progress while trying to avoid getting run over or bashed into, when we realized the freeway had gone another direction and we were no longer on it.
Hey, there are no road signs in South America. Chile makes a valiant attempt, but the rest of the countries are frankly terrible at signage. Zilch.
Or more appropriately in Spanish; Nada! Road signs are non-existent. You just have to know where to go, which we frequently don't.
Anyway, things went from bad to worse. Drivers here are lethal, dangerous, and I swear they are all anarchists - rules, lanes, and traffic signals mean nothing.
Here is an example: There are four lanes on each side of the highway with very heavy traffic. And the bus in the far right lane decides he wants to make a left turn. So he cuts across four lanes of traffic while blasting his horn and cutting off the entire flow of traffic, and everyone goes bonkers! This happens time and again.
It was super stressful, a real nightmare. I began to use the full range of my vocabulary. I can be very creative when yelling at other drivers. I used mostly clean language, but applied a few words (like turd and vomit) with great effectiveness.
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We took the picture below while stuck in Lima traffic to capture the poverty of the slums on the hills. It's pretty bad. Interesting how in rich countries the wealthy often live on the hills, and in poor countries that's where the poor live.
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The main road in this part of the world from north to south as mentioned before - is the PanAmerican Highway. In Chile it is known as Ruta Cinco, or Route Five, otherwise known as I-5. In Peru it is Ruta One.
You would think that a major road like this would be in tip top shape, but you would be wrong. It's often a rough road, sometimes just dirt or gravel.
But everyone here in Peru refers to it with great respect, "The PanAmericano!" I only hope it improves as we go farther north.
The problem is - with bad (or no) signs, it can be hard to find. We have had to ask for directions in broken Spanish many times, and they seem surprised that we don't know where it is
"Que? (What?) You don't know where the Pan Americano is? - What kind of an Americano are you!?!??"
It's a legendary road, and follows mostly along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. There are a lot of slow trucks on the road, and you often spend hours driving across ... nuthin'. I mean there is nothing out there, and you just keep driving. I would have taken more pictures and showed more scenes, but pictures of "nothing" are ... boring, there's nothing to see. (a bit like the driving, it can be boring when it's not dangerous).
In fact, the driving is either mind-numbing - or life threatening. We have been on roads where your life hangs by a thread. It can be very un-nerving
And on the other hand ... boorring. You either are nearly falling asleep at the wheel with boredom - or hyper ventilating with white knuckles as you say your prayers and hope you don't sail off the road into the 4,000 foot precipice and die.
So we're at the halfway point of our trip, both in time and distance. It's day 42 out of 84, and we have traveled 6,311 miles.
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Yesterday once we got out of Lima, we drove north for seven hours all the way to Chimbote, a fishing town on the coast. It was an amazing site to see all the fishing boats, there must have been a thousand of them. The perspective of the horizon in the picture turned out interesting.
And catching a good sunset is always nice.
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One more thing about the Nazca Lines, those amazing drawings in the desert in Peru. After our wonderful flight and the view from the air, we were curious about the view from the ground.
On the way out of town, there is actually a place where you can stop on the highway and have a look. They even have a tower you can climb and see from close up.
Of course, you can also walk up to the lines and see them. I even walked over and touched one to see what it was like (I got yelled at by the groundskeeper). It was hard as concrete, hence the durability for 2,000 years. Since it never rains here, these lines can last a long time ...
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Can't resist one last picture. The photo below was taken in Lima, of two nuns in a crosswalk. I'm not sure if the red at the right meant some kind of sybolism, but I thought it was cool.
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