Have Itch, Will Travel

Travelers have a love/hate relationship with cab drivers. On one hand, they will take you to a familiar place if you are lost , but on the other hand, they are far more expensive than public transport, even when they're not ripping you off. They don't provide you with the authentic local experience like public transport does, but they can be more comfortable . Some cab drivers are honest and have suggestions for places to stay or eat... that is, if they are not getting a commission from the owner of the place. Cab drivers can be a great source of other information though, and good practice on your language skills... if they are not distracting you from their partner in crime pulling out a knife in order to mug you... Yes, there is a love/hate relationship with cab drivers. Individuals may have many good attributes and generally, taking a cab can have advantages , especially when you are not confident in taking public transport, have luggage or shopping, are lost, in a dodgy ne...

With very little time to make good on my promise to be back in Lima before my birthday, I booked the three day direct bus from Buenos Aires to Lima. I bought the ticket the morning of the massive earthquake in Chile , that decimated the nation's capital, toppling skyways and buildings to rubble like you see in disaster movies. It was very real and the news everywhere in Buenos Aires was about that tragedy, as well as the recent smaller quake in beautiful Salta of Northern Argentina. The quake didn't impact my travels, though the bus had to change its route to avoid the disaster zone. All in all, three days on the bus wasn't so bad... if you can believe that! The most memorable things of the trip included the ever changing scenery out the window as we drove across Argentina, in particular, the Andean snow capped peaks , pink with the low light of the rising sun. It was quite a sight when I woke up that morning. We entered Chile in the middle of the freezing high altitude nig...