The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

12 Things I Have Learned About Traveling

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I have hit the six month mark of my little adventure, so I figured it was a good time to reflect on what I have learned.  I am going to break it into a series of posts:  What I Learned About Traveling, What I Learned About Living Simpler, and What I Learned About Me.  Saving the hardest one to write for last.  In this post, I bring you What I Learned About Traveling in Latin America.  These are the top 12 things I have learned about getting around, staying safe and healthy, and surviving those long travel-days.

Getting Around

1.  You cannot completely rely on guidebooks and travel websites.

In places like Central and South America, transportation is just not that organized or reliable.  Ask other travelers what routes they have taken.  Ask locals for advice.  Get as many options as possible and then make a decision.

I mistakenly relied on a bus departure time published on the internet without further verification.  I ended up waiting at the bus station in San Salvador over 6 hours to catch my bus to Honduras.

2.  Always confirm a planned route at least two, preferably three times.

Things change and people are sometimes wrong.  Also, I found that the people in Central America want to be helpful and will tell you something even if they do not really know the right answer.

3.  Avoid getting ripped off by asking multiple vendors the price of something.

Better yet, ask the people working at your hostel how much you should pay before you go out to buy it.  Same rule applies for taxis.  Bartering is just a part of life in Latin America, and in some areas the price is automatically doubled or tripled if you are white or if you speak with an accent.  (Yes, people from other Latin American countries get ripped off too.)  Not getting ripped off is a big deal for me.  Yes, it is a matter of pride, but it is also a matter of having a tight travel budget and not wanting to come home early because I kept paying double the price at the market.

Travel Days

4.  Dehydrate for long bus rides.

I know this sounds crazy, but if you are on an 8+ hour bus ride with no bathroom or the vilest bathroom you have ever seen, you do not want to have to pee.  My trick is to over-hydrate the day before and up to two hours before the bus ride.  Go to the bathroom about five times in the hour before the bus leaves.  Do not drink anymore water on the bus, except for small sips.  Then when you get to your destination, drink two liters of water.

5.  The best travel-day food is sandwiches made with bread, tomato, avocado, onion, and cucumber (or modify based on your favorite toppings).

You can prepare everything in advance (slice everything and put it in plastic bags).  Then when you get hungry on the bus, simply pull out your ingredients and assemble your sandwich.  Tasty, healthy, easy, and it won’t go bad quickly.  Baguettes hold up the best.  My other go-to travel snacks are apples and carrots; they won’t get smashed in your bag.


6.  Wear pants that have multiple zipper or Velcro pockets, spreads out your cash, and have exact change.

Keep the cash you plan to use en route in one pocket.  Remember that if you are crossing a border, you may need to have some US dollars in another pocket to pay border fees or pay the first night of your hostel.  Do your research to know exactly how much you will need for the border fees, the next bus, etc.  Nobody has change in Latin America, and if you are bartering over the price of something, you don’t want to pull out a whole wad of cash.  Keep some emergency money somewhere else (for the ladies, I recommend your bra)… just in case.

Staying Healthy and Safe

7.  Consistent exercise and eating well will help keep you healthy, even while sharing dorm rooms, riding on crowded buses, and traveling through some of the not-so-sanitary parts of the world.

I was big on this before I left the US, and there is no reason to stop good habits when you travel.  Sure, enjoy the empanadas and other local delicacies.  For me, the food is one of the best parts of travel.  But do not have empanadas for every meal.  Also, my regular running routine has been helpful in dealing with some of the stresses of travel such as frustration with learning the language, anger about my food being stolen from the hostel fridge again, and missing friends and family.

8.  Trust your gut.

When I felt that knot of stress in my stomach, I paid attention.  I did not walk down that street.  I did not get in that cab.  I did not respond to that stranger approaching me.  Of course, I have no way of knowing if something bad might have happened if I had done these things, but I am okay with not knowing.

When I arrived at midnight in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, one of the most dangerous cities in Central America, I listened to my gut.  I was taking a bus from this same station to the coast the next morning.  After a quick assessment of my options, I decided it was safer to spend the night in the bus station rather than get in a taxi in an unknown city in the middle of the night for just one night in a hotel bed.

9.  Ask women for help.

Let’s face it.  A woman is less likely to take advantage of another woman traveling alone.  Sure, they may try to overcharge you for that pineapple at the market, but they are probably not going to send you to a dodgy part of town or cause you physical harm.  I read this tip about relying on local women for help in the book A Journey of One’s Own: Uncommon Advice for the Independent Woman Traveler.

In the San Pedro Sula bus station debacle I described above, I relied on the advice of a Honduran woman who had been on the same bus.  She helped me beat back the taxi drivers who were swarming and confirmed that I was safest staying at the bus station.

10.  Be diligent about protecting your valuables in hostels.

Don’t get lazy. I was once told that you are more likely to have something stolen by another traveler at your hostel than getting robbed on the street.  Always lock up your stuff.  I know people who have walked out of the room to use the bathroom and came back and discovered their iPod had been snatched from their bed.

11.  Protect your valuables when out in town by never carrying anything you do not need with you.

This means only carry the amount of money you plan to spend.  Only carry your ATM card when you are going to the ATM.  Never carry your passport around with you; only carry a copy.  When I got robbed in Quito, I was lucky that I had already been briefed on the dangers of the city and did not lose anything of value.

12.  Speaking of that passport copy, ALWAYS carry it with you.

There are two reasons:  1) Cops can be corrupt in some areas, and if they catch you without a copy of your passport, it is an easy way for them to demand a bribe or take you to jail.  I personally do not want to know what a Nicaraguan jail is like.  2) If something happens to you (e.g. medical emergency, car accident), others can quickly identify you and even have the ability to contact your family or your government if necessary.  This is especially important if traveling alone.

I write my emergency contact info on it as well.  After the first copy I had disintegrated in my pocket, I started carrying the copy inside a plastic baggie to prevent it from wearing down.

Comments

  1. Great post! Quick question… Isn’t heving even a short list of contacts semi risky if you’re robbed and they take that contact list and somehow get more info on you?

    • As long as the people you list know better than to fall for the, “Stephanie is in jail and you need to wire $2000 to Central America” scam. In all seriousness, my dad was in Honduras several years ago, and someone he gave his business card to actually did call and try to scam them out of money. Very good point you raise, so make sure your emergency contacts know better.

  3. very familiar, this list :) well done. One tip, however: laminate your passport, pro-tip: with your entry stamp on the back. Even some banks accepted this. We even have a fake drivers license (laminated copy) , since they look crappy here, everybody thinks its the real thing.

    • I also have a laminated copy of my passport that I carry in separate luggage in case my real passport gets stolen. I have heard that it makes a huge difference if you go to an embassy to get help and that it is even possible in some cases to board a flight with it.

      The entry stamp is something I ALWAYS forget to go make a copy of. Cops can use that against you too. Going to get a copy of my Argentina visa tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder!

  8. Great list! I especially liked #4. I’ve taken road trips here in Venezuela where I knew my bladder was going to burst simply because the next rest stop wasn’t for an hour. Rest areas are few and far between in this country.

  9. Another vote for dehydrating yourself for long bus rides! A bus I was on in India went 9 hours without stopping at all…I was just about to go and beg for him to pull over when we arrived in Delhi!

    Also, good tip for asking women. I would always approach women first (although often I got ignored!), and in bus and train stations I always sat myself near groups of women or families with lots of children.

    • 9 hours without stopping!? That is insane. At least in Latin America the buses do stop periodically if they do not have any bathrooms on the bus (4-5 hours is my guess).

      • It was very unusual – it was an overnight bus that left at 6pm – we stopped at 9pm and were supposed to stop again at midnight, but the driver clearly decided to power through!! I have no idea how we didn’t crash (or how I didn’t pee my pants). We did arrive in Delhi an hour ahead of schedule, so I guess the driver was happy…

        All my other bus journeys have had too many stops, to be honest!
        megan recently posted..A denim epiphany

  12. Good and useful tips; especially like your hydration trick – I just might give that a try. Sounds much better than getting a headache :)

  13. Really well done list! It’s interesting that I’m always careless with my things when I stay in hostels because I have entirely too much faith in my fellow travelers… one day I’m sure I’ll regret it.

    On the passport subject, another tip – take digital photos of your passport (including visas), driver’s license, etc. and upload them somewhere safe (e-mail them to yourself as an attachment, drop them into a Google Doc, etc.). That way if you get dropped in a river or something you still have easy access to prove who you are, just find an internet place and print the info out.

    When it comes to proving your identity, it’s only in some countries with very corrupt cops that it’s even necessary. I only carry my passport with me when I’m traveling, never if I’m just hanging out somewhere. I’ve never had a problem on the rare occasion when asked by simply explaining that I don’t have my passport with me and that it’s back at my “hotel” in a safe for security – if anything suspect cops have lost interest at that point since they don’t have anything to hold onto to force a bribe.

    • Somebody actually stole a sweaty, smelly running shirt from my hostel in Nicaragua. I consider myself lucky when I hear about what other people have lost in hostels.

      Totally agree on digital photos of everything important, including the backs and fronts of credit/ debit cards. It’s a must, even for a short trip.

      I apparently need to stop traveling through corrupt countries :-)
      The Travel Chica recently posted..Being a Nerd in Buenos Aires

  14. There are places that will encase copies of your passport – always include the stamp page – and most anything else you want (driver’s license, medical card, emergency contact) in plastic. This will prevent any damage or wear and tear.

    Safe travels
    Wayne recently posted..Night Clubbing in Barranquilla

  18. All great comments and when I spent a year backpacking at 51 I was both cautious and also tried to trust those around….a difficult balance of course but I believe you really can attract ill fortune by the wrong thought process so jjust you continue to be positive!!

    One other thought…. a memory stick or flash drive is small enough to capture all your important scanned docs and contacts…keep one as the back up to your paper back up!! even tape it to the lining of your bag or case. :)

  20. Hello, Stephanie. Thanks for this amazing post. You are absolutely right. Travel is a life-changing activity. I think that travelling is the best thing to develop a person’s soul, intellect, thinking, and worldview. And as you have already described, while traveling, we learn loads of wonderful things about travel itself.
    Stephanie, your articles are truly gorgeous. Keep sharing your travel experience with us. Thanks!
    Bahtiyar recently posted..THE MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES FOR TRAVEL

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