Transportation

This week's blog is of our observations of different types of transportation we have used and observed here in Peru.  We have been doing paperwork all week and figured you wouldn't really enjoy photos of our desks. :)  We will be out in the "back country" next week and will have more to share after our next assignment.

For our safety, we travel in vehicles controlled by experienced people who really know what they are doing.  While this obviously makes sense in the case of an airplane, after being here a very short time, it seems to be just as important for navigating the various twisting roadways (confusing layout), roundabouts (merging more like salmon migrating upstream), stop signs (more like "guidelines" than anything else), and the lanes on the roadway (again more like salmon migration--how many can you fit abreast).  We were in a taxi in Lima recently that was more like the shape-shifting Knight Bus in the Harry Potter story.  We have no idea how it managed to squeeze between and through other vehicles as we weaved in and out of traffic on Avenida Javier Prado in Lima.

The mix of vehicles varies by location. We hadn't seen any moto taxis where we live but when we walked to a shopping area near our house and crossed the boundary from La Molina (where we live) into Santa Anita (the adjacent municipality) there were lots of moto-taxis waiting to take passengers.  It would appear that they are not allowed in La Molina since we have never seen one there. While we were in Iquitos last week it was rare to see a car, the roadways being filled with moto-taxis and motorcycles.  Everthing has to be shipped in via air or Amazon River so is probably quite expensive.  I'm sure that includes the price of fuel so anything that is a sipper rather than a guzzler is probably an economic advantage.  Tarapoto was mostly moto-taxis, but there were a few more cars.  It is connected (tenuously) by road with the west side of the Andes, but is still very remote.

Working vehicles come in all shapes and sizes and configurations.  A few that we have been able to snap photos of are pictured here.  It is a remarkable to contrast to the large contractor trucks and vans that we see in our native land, but it is remarkable to see the innovation and adaptation of the people here to use what is available to them to be able to address the task they need to accomplish.

Gardening and garbage both start with "G" so got grouped below.  Whether with leg power or moto-power it is interesting to see all the flavors of transportation in this wonderful country in which we are guests.

Boats that are made with reeds that the people of the Uros Islands "grow" and harvest for that purpose.  This from our visit to Puno of a number of weeks ago. The lake beneath these islands is about 100' deep according to locals.

This week, we will be leaving the desks for what could be quite an adventure driving across the Andes in what has been described by our manager here as a "safari" as we go out on an assignment.

Last two Photos: 
*A boat made our of reeds. These boats are typical of the islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca.
*A car to transport the Bride