Panamericana

The Panamerican Highway is a two-lane strip of asphalt that runs from the Panama Canal all the way down to Cape Horn. I have now seen 650 miles of it. Parts of it are so sandy I saw actual plows clearing the road.


A lot of it runs along the Pacific Ocean, however, which makes for some pretty spectacular sunsets. The bus was no Greyhound, either. This puppy had two stories, TVs running DVDs, reclining seats, meal service, restrooms, legrests...you know, when I describe it, it really doesn´t sound all that fancy. But believe me, for down here, it´s luxurious.


I spent nine hours on this bad boy, arriving in Arequipa after midnight. The name of the bus is Cruzero, as you can see, which is Spanish for, um, Cruiser. But for some reason, riding up in the panoramic front row, seeing all the landscape through the giant decal, all I kept thinking was "Culero, Culero." You know, that singsong cry you hear coming from the cheap seats at Dodger Stadium every time a visiting batter strikes out?

Oh, and this time I was blessedly not sitting in front of those British people. Though there was this French woman who had an irritating habit of describing everything that was happening in the movie. But it was in French, and the movie was Shawshank Redemption, both of which I adore, so I was able to ignore the "Oh la la, c´est Marilyn! Avant il était Rita Aywort!" "Il va se suicider! Hélas!" And so on.