South: Lima towards Tacna (border with Chile)

Day 2:

I'm gonna get on a 24 hour bus today and I'm excited!  This afternoon, I will be taking a bus non-stop from Lima to Tacna, on the border with Chile.  Hearing The B-52s' Private Idaho first thing in the morning on my Grundig shortwave radio got me amped.

Here is the band playing in the early 1980s.  Who knew Cindy Wilson was anything but a blonde?  Turn up the sound!

Here is the gang playing for Leno(!) in 2000:

Back to the story.

Carspotting in Lima
Since I will be immobile for an entire day, I decided to take a 45 minute walk around my hotel.  I took pictures of cars of interest.  Aside from the Renault and Lada, I saw these beauts:

Mercedes 230CE

Note that there are three Bugs in this shot.

V6 powered Mazda MX3

Merc 380SEC

Mazda 929 coupe

Nissan Laurel

Olds Firenza

I like this sad, poop-covered Nissan Langley because of its Skyline-esque taillights.

Race at the terraport
I arrive at the Cruz del Sur bus station, which is officially called a terraport (get it?).  As I wait for the bus and observe the other passengers in the waiting room, I notice the sometimes stark difference between Limenos of European descent and mestizos.  Those of European descent not only look different, but they dress differently and have different mannerisms and body language vis-a-vis the mestizos, even the well-to-do mestizos.

In the Americas, race, class, and the intersection between the two are always fascinating to examine and explore from a sociological perspective.

On the bus

That's my bus.  It's got four front wheels steering it.  Does the design reduce the turning radius?  Who knows.

This will be the most luxurious ride of my trip.  I have a seat on the lower level.  The club chairs recline almost to 180 degrees and are as comfortable as the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car.

Plenty o' legroom

Security is fierce.  Once everyone is onboard, a security guard gets on the bus, goes up to each and every passenger, and takes a photograph of them with a digital camera.

On the first level, there is a bathroom ("For urination only; contact your stewardess if you need to do something other than urinate and they will stop the bus for you.") and a business center equipped with a desktop computer and printer.

The entertainment, on the other hand, is not so great.  I watched one lame ass movie after another.  Did you know Hidalgo was not about the Mexican liberator?  And who knew Catherine Zeta-Jones was in a romantic comedy with the actor who played Bo Duke in the original Dukes of Hazzard?  When the bus wasn't playing second-rate American movies, it played songs by a clinically depressed woman singing covers of Sting, Culture Club, and Bob Marley.  Oy vey.

This is a picture I took from my bus seat.  We're waiting at a light in Lima.  The lady in the backseat of that Corolla wagon is doing a crossword puzzle.  Awesome.

As we leave Lima and head south, the sky clears up.  Sometimes, we straddle a cliff that separates us from the beach and the sea.  After about three hours, there's hardly any sign of civilization out there.

Before a game of bingo, dinner is served.  I opt for the vegetarian option (you can also choose from beef or chicken).  I got a little round potato the size of a ping pong ball, thin slices of tofu, and white rice.  They are topped with a few drops of cream sauce.  It is fantastic.

Sometime tomorrow afternoon, the bus will reach Tacna.  I fall asleep with the din of another bad movie in the background.