16 mayo 2006

Full Circle - Ten out of Ten

And then I was back in Lima ... it feels a bit different than my arrival 7 and a half months ago. I remember thinking I could see all I wanted to see in South America in 7 or 8 months ... yeah right, it didn´t take long for *that* bubble to burst. I could have spent 7 months just in Peru and never be bored !

Anyway, take a look yourself what happened ...



So, what about the other half then ? Maybe some other time, maybe never. Who knows ? As for now, I feel the mission accomplished; my overland journey completed, all of almost 35000 kms of it. I have finished the main course, and I am still licking my fingers (and will be for as long as I can remember). But then, there is always ... dessert :-)

If all goes well, after a few days in Quito, Ecuador´s capital, I will be overthinking the sins of the last months cruising the Darwinian islands of evolution for a week or two, Las Islas Galápagos ...

However, I will not leave you without sharing some of the wisdom I gained during my travels. Despite the differences in the countries visited, Señor Hans - human as he is - cannot help but generalise and complain. So, here are the Ten out of Ten on "South America":

1. The universal South American snack is ... the Empanada. A savoury half-circle bread roll, usually filled with cheese, chicken or meat, but also egg, vegetables, mais, and anything they can think of. Yummy !

2. Very convenient for the traveller is the general town layout. The ol´ Spanish may have been a bunch of rotten greedy no-good euro-trash, but I thank them from my heart for their city planning skills. In nearly all towns and cities the streets are formed to a square grid, all converging onto a central Plaza. And after the Spanish left, all countries renamed all these streets after war heroes and independence dates, just to show ´em.

3. The "cutting in line" ("voorpiepen") ... the most annoying and rude social tick of South America. They try it everywhere: shops, post offices, ticket counters; and the people attending think it´s the most natural thing, until you say something of it and then everyone is sorry and didn´t mean to do it. A more entertaining sign of the natural impatience is that whenever the bus stops for a moment, half the people start yelling "vamos! vamos!" ("let´s go!").
The thing is, these parts here are not for the impatient ones. You wouldn´t believe how long it takes for a South American to buy a single bus ticket.

4. The two types of animals that you see everywhere: from high to low, from the jungle to desert and the towns to the sea, are not native of South America. Can you guess ? They are our beloved Canis Canis (the Dog) and Bos Taurus (the Cow).

5. Another social trend: when two people walk towards each other on the street, it always ends up in a contest of "chicken". Never once have I seen a preliminary tactical evasion, as I am used to in the Old World. Not long after the beginning, I got fed up of always being the one to step aside and I started charging into the little people, but that was only fun for a short while. The trick is to keep walking and look somewhere to the side. When the South American native pavement walker sees that you, the giant, are not looking, he/she will always steer away at the last moment.

6. The environment. Without a doubt, South America has the most beautiful natural landscapes I have ever seen, nothing less than mindblowing. That´s why it is the more a pity that the environmental conciousness is so low. When you buy something in a shop, you get buried in little plastic bags (I refuse them whenever I can). Even worse is the throwing away of anything anywhere. The biggest carbage bin is an open bus window.

7. School uniforms. From the training suits of northern Peru to the little white Argentinian doctor´s coats and the almost full navy uniforms of southern Chile, the kids here wear school uniforms.

8. Wherever there are two houses together, you will see two goals as well. "Futbol" is everywhere. And as Holland is the most sympethatic football nation on earth, the (male) population invite you with open arms when they know they are dealing with a Dutchy. In the cities, I have seen someone walking in some or another orange Holland-related shirt almost daily. Older men get all teary-eyed when they are reminded of the "La Naranja Mechanica" of the seventies.

9. Catholic Religion. People making crosses when walking past the church; cars and buses stickered senseless on the inside with religious messages hoping for protection from harm; the numerous little chapels by the roadside commemorating that harm. You find religious texts in the weirdest places. And in spite of all of it, the people are as deceptive, rotten and corrupt ... wait, let´s rephrase that ... are as honest, loving and friendly as anywhere else ;-p

10. Public Transport. There is a lot of it everywhere and it has served me better than I had ever dreamed. They have three things in common in all the countries visited: 1. In one form or another, it is a land-based vehicle making use of the public roads (bus, combi, auto, colectivo, taxi, coche, flota, mototaxi, moto, and a million more names); 2. Whenever possible, people jump in all of a sudden, hold a sales pitch (anything goes), hope to sell as much as possible (again, anything goes), and jump out again; and 3. As long as the vehicle will not immediately sink through to the center of the earth, any number of passengers and any cargo is allowed. The *average* cargo a Bolivian mountain woman is waiting next to for the bus, is three multi-coloured bags of 100 kgs each.

And there you have it. What are you waiting for then ? Come on over. I will tell you about the general noise level, smog and lack of good cheese after you get here ... ;-p

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anónimo said...

All sorts of food stuffed into something, dogs and cows, cutting in line, voetbal......sounds like home to me.

Enjoy your dessert and then get your butt back home as soon as you can!!

miércoles, 17 mayo, 2006  
Anonymous Anónimo said...

Your mam is funny!!

jueves, 18 mayo, 2006  
Blogger Hans said...

Oh yes, very funny ... and I know she always cuts in line at the bakery :-p

jueves, 18 mayo, 2006  
Blogger Hans said...

Hah ! The little kids are much cuter over here !

(runs away and hides)

jueves, 18 mayo, 2006  

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