A foreigner is often at considerable disadvantage in such a situation, making defensive driving all the more important. Unleaded gasoline is increasingly available in most Latin American countries, although it still may be hard to find outside larger cities. Carry a fuel container if you do not want to remove the catalytic converter. Passenger service is available on various national coastal shipping routes and along the continent's great rivers. The quality of ships, the food and accommodation they provide, varies greatly but luxury is uncommon.
Most vessels transport both cargo and passengers, making frequent stops to load and unload.
Take some food, to supplement what may prove to be monotonous or unpalatable fare, and plenty of bottled drinking water or a means of purifying it. A hammock can be nice in tropical areas even if you have a berth and a mosquito net, mosquito coils, repellent and malaria tablets are essential when sailing the smaller jungle rivers. Despite a bit of inevitable discomfort, there is no finer way of getting to know some of the continent's most remote regions. All the larger countries of Latin America have at least one airline providing internal service to major cities and many resort areas. Routes tend to emanate, like spokes of a wheel, from the capital cities.