Best Way to Get to Know a Place: Take the Bus

It's been said before, so I won't beat the same old drum, however, I'll encourage you to take public buses as much as you can abroad, and you won't be disappointed. Not only do you get to know the streets, but it provides countless opportunities for photography in a relatively safe environment.

We've been taking buses here in Lima as much as possible, and I've come to appreciate the minute intricacies of taking these 'collectivos.' First you gotta be ready to run: for the bus, getting off the bus, it's always a hussle. Two, standing is much cooler (temperature) than sitting with a sticky, sweating back against pleather in 30 degree heat. Finally, there are good drivers, and slow drivers. By good drivers, I mean that they drive the bus like they stole it. Weaving in and out of lanes, going against traffic if necessary, running reds, and taking off before you've gotten a chance to get both feet aboard. And you know what? It's a hell of a lot of fun, so do it! Take the bus!

Above: Lima bus travels down Avenida Benevides towards Larco and Miraflores.

Here are some more pictures from our documentary travels:
Left: Rebecca Sweetman and Andrea Maldonado on a rather long and hot bus ride through Lima.











Left: Traveling by bus through Lima. The woman in the photo opens the rear door, calls out to people on the street to let them know where the bus is going, as well as collects payment and distributes tickets. It's a job full of hussle. This was a quite time.










Left: And finally, just because of how cute she is, here you have Peggy and I sharing the couch. This is one of two dogs that live at the house where we're staying, to whom Rebecca has dedicated a lot of hours of training. It's paying off Beck!






Talk Soon!
Ciao!