Combi Culture

2008-06-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here you can see a "combi". It's a small combi though, there are bigger ones, but they look pretty much alike. Well, let's se what wikipedia says about transport in lima, and specifically about "combi culture"

Micro and especially combi drivers are known for being irrespectful of traffic rules. They will stop at any part of the streets to pick up passengers and will race other micro drivers to be able to get more passengers. This, combined with the lack of vehicle maintenance, the low prices, salsa and reggaeton music on the radio and the overall relaxed feeling in the micros, has created the so-called "combi culture", which today is a synonym of the quasi-clandestinity in which they operate (route registration by Lima Province City Hall is generally lax, and many routes overlap). Few ads are provided by these stickers, although some humorous stickers parody known commercial logos.

Combi drivers, irrespectful, I agree on that. Normally, combi drivers got no culture or good manners, they are mostly people from the "sierra". But again, I don't want to sound like racist about people from sierra. There are lot of kinds, great people, and well, people like combi drivers. But not get too scared about them. They are not so irrespectul like you may think. I guess if you are a tourist, you should just try one. I prefer the word "informal" for this matter, more than "irrespectful", but of course, there are irrespectful ones.

And they don't always put "reggeton" or "salsa" on the radio. Sometimes there is no music, or slow music, like old romantic classics.

Well, traffic in Lima is weird. You just get used to it. But it's not sooooo weird.

Talk me about Lima - Hablame de Lima

2008-05-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, if you arrived to this blog, is because you are searching information about Lima, Peru. Sounds kind of exotic place, isn't it? Well. I'm Peruvian, I'm 28 years old. And I've lived here all my life. I want to talk about my city (with the best english I can) and try to give you some useful information if you want to travel to Lima. Sometimes I think about stereotypes I've hear from lots of tourists, even from visitors from southamerica itself.

For example, people arrives to Lima, Peru. And usually they say "Hey, where are the indigenous people, dress in indigenous costumes, I thought I was going to see lots of them" or "Hey, we are in Peru, where are all the llamas dude? or "Wow, they got traffic lights in here, cool"

First of all, in Lima you don't find lot of llamas. Peru is divided in "Costa, Sierra y Selva".(Coast, Sierra, Jungle) Three very different regions there, each with a climate and a idiosincracy of its own. Sometimes I feel that each of the three regions are like independent countries themselves. So, if you want to see llamas in Lima, you better go to the Zoo. Llamas are from the "Sierra" and let's say you'll find more "indigenous" people there, since Macchu Picchu, the "Incas Empire" is in Cuzco City (Sierra). I don't like to use the term "indigenous" since its kind of despective. Anyway, here in Lima, It's 2008 and now, there are lot of mixes of races in here. So it`s like the most of the people here has somethinf of "indigenous" or "cholo" like we say in here.

Well. That's enough for first post. I just want to make this blog the more "readable" possible. Oh, by the way, I think my english sucks, hehehe, well. This is the begging of this blog adventure.

Lima Travel - Conociendo Lima

Combi Culture

Talk me about Lima - Hablame de Lima