Buses and Micros and Combis - Oh My!

Image by pierre pouliquin via Flickr

I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation here in Lima. While I love the fact that's cheap, convenient and can get me pretty much anywhere I want to go, I hate how crowded and uncomfortable it is. And dirty. And cramped. And dangerous. But apart from that, I like taking the bus! :D

You can catch a bus or combi from just about any main street in Lima, and the cost to go from one end of the line to the other is rarely more than a sol - about 35 cents US (at the current exchange rate). If you're just going a few blocks, you can ride for a 'china' - that's the slang term for a Peruvian 50 centimos piece.

Despite great prices, the transportation here is really substandard for a city of this size. Buses and vans are poorly maintained, and often carry far too many passengers. In the race for paying customers, the drivers speed and weave through traffic, trying to get to the next 'paradero' (bus stop) before the other buses. While there are laws and regulations, it's too easy for drivers and company owners to get by on bribery. Too many people are killed and injured each year.

Fortunately, it seems the city is working on it, though - the new high speed bus line is supposed to be up and running soon, and progress has begun again on the electric train system that's been sitting unfinished since the 80's. It will be exciting to see it finished - and I look forward to riding in the new buses!

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Peru and the Oscars

Last night we were all very excited about the chance of seeing 'La Teta Asustada' win for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars. Unfortunately, it didn't win, but as my husband said, 'At least the Oscar went to South America'. (I say 'Darn you, Argentina!)

But I absolutely love how events like this pull Peruvians together as a country. People who had never watched the Oscar ceremonies before - shoot, people who had never heard of the Academy Awards before - were all excited and star struck at the fact that another Peruvian had done good and put us in the limelight. Magali Solier, the star of 'La Teta Asustada' has been featured and interviewed on news programs all week, and her trip to Hollywood for the ceremony was chronicled for those of us at home. And such a trip it was. I couldn't help but fall just a little bit in love with her, this young woman from Ayacucho who grew up speaking Quechua during the difficult years when Sendero Luminoso was making life dangerous and difficult for people in Peru. The movie (called “The Milk of Sorrow” in English) explores abuses inflicted on Peruvian women during that time period.



Here in Lima, a giant screen was set up in the main square to show the Oscars live. Even though the movie didn't win, it was a great moment for Peru, and the movie itself gives hope that we are moving on from the tragedies in Peru's past.

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Jorge Chavez International Airport

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I love Lima's airport. I barely remember anything about it the first time I came in 6 years ago. One thing I do remember is how the planes couldn't pull up to the terminal because of the construction going on, so we had to load onto shuttle buses to ride up to the terminal. Then go up a flight or two of stairs (it seemed like a million, with my heavy carry ons) to get to where they did Immigrations.

What a difference these days. Jorge Chavez is a lovely and organized airport - it was even selected the best airport in South America last year by Skytrax, an independent airline consulting company. Coming through immigrations and customs is generally easy and fast, and tends to be well organized - organization being something you don't often find in Peru!

If you're going to be flying into Lima from abroad anytime soon, visit my Travel in Peru page where you can find more info on getting through immigrations and customs at the airport.

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Crime in the Streets

I've always been a staunch defender of Peru's reputation. People claim that Lima is a 'dangerous' place to live, that crime is rampant on its streets. However, in 6 years of living here, I've never had a problem.

For one thing, Lima has an enormous amount of poverty, and with poverty comes crime. Desperate, uneducated people do desperate, stupid things.

However, Lima also has a serious problem with jail overcrowding. Because of this, for most theft or robbery under a certain monetary value, the police do nothing. So the crime here tends to be very petty crime, snatch and grab type stuff, because the criminals know they can get away with it. Violent crime or use of a weapon means jail time.

For the average person - like me - this means you don't go to certain areas alone. You don't walk around with large amounts of cash or jewelry. You pay attention to your surroundings, you carry bags securely, you make sure the taxi is licensed before you get in it. My husband was mugged a few years back - he was walking through a bad area, known for small time gang stuff, talking on his cell phone with his backpack hanging over one shoulder. While I don't hold a victim responsible for the crime, I do think he could have avoided being the victim of this one.

However, one of my neighbors was assaulted last week, just a block from the house here. She was walking the 3 blocks from the bus stop - 11pm at night, alone, with a purse. It's made me nervous here in my neighborhood now. I used to walk the 3 blocks to the bank, get out money I needed and walk home. Now I'm worried about who may be watching me make a withdrawal then following me home. I live in a more upscale neighborhood, and people tend to think that means you've got more money, so it does make you more of a target.

So. I still feel that Lima isn't dangerous - however, danger is relative. I don't think you stand nearly the chance of being a victim of violent crime here that you would in many other places - including most cities in the US. However, the threat of petty crime is enough to make you change your way of doing every day actions, like going to the market or paying the bills. And of course, if you're a tourist, you must be on guard for your bags, camera and so on. But don't let fear ruin your trip - be on guard, but don't be afraid.

Keeping things cold in Lima

Yes, I know I've complained about the cold in Lima for the last 4 months or so. And the other day, i was complaining about the cold in my nose. But this, my friends, is a different type of cold. Actually - it's the lack of cold. I know it's hard to believe when the thermometer has been hovering at 61 degrees for days upon day. But this is a kind of cold that doesn't come from outside, it comes from within.

Within the refrigerator, that is.

More specifically, the cold that was NOT coming from within my fridge. My little LG has been on the fritz for months, and between having other things to spend the cash on and being lazy (i confess!), we just hadn't got around to having it fixed. It was something screwy with the automatic defrost jiggermabob, and instead of automatically defrosting, it would keep frosting and frosting until the freezer froze up and no cold air passed to the fridge part. I had to manually defrost it about every week to 10 days (a serious waste of energy, y'all). I finally lost my cool (haha!) this week when half the stuff in the fridge went bad after it froze up really quickly and unexpectedly. Moldy cheese! Smelly rice! I think I found cures for several diseases with all the mold, but before I could submit them for my Nobel prize, they got up and walked out on their own. (I hear "The Funky Fungi" are playing in a little club down in Barranco now, and doing quite well. )

Anyway - before I get so far off on a ridiculous tangent that i can't get back - We called a repairman today. He's fixing it. I'm happy. Things will be a lot cooler around here now.

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Peru...

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But didn't know where to ask...!

the Ultimate Peru List is the place to go.

Completely written and maintained by my friend Sharon de Hinojosa, the UPL is the best place I know of to go when you need any information about Peru. She has page after page of anything you could think of needing to know - from immigration issues to settling in to what to do in your free time.

I really recommend it to anyone that is planning on living in Peru, or even if you just plan a long term visit. I bet you'll find something to help you out, and plenty of things you never would have thought to ask.


Learn Spanish! Click Here!

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