And, from a practical standpoint, the bus is often the only way to get where you want to go. Taking all this into consideration, it's definitely worth considering a few practical tips about how local buses operate in far away places. Picture yourself in a dusty plaza in Lima, Peru, wandering among dozens of buses apparently parked helter-skelter. A few passengers carry briefcases. Far more lug heaping baskets of fruit or small animals.
Vendors cry out the imagined merits of sun-weary empanadas and warm, watery drinks.
Conductors shout their intention to leave behind anyone who hasn't jammed himself aboard in the next sixty seconds. The cacophony of sound is almost tangible. To top it off, your rusty Spanish doesn't quite translate everything you hear. No traveler forgets this scene. Many buses display their final destination on a piece of cardboard wedged at an angle into the front window frame.