Flightster

Traveling by Bus in Latin America? Dress for Winter

• by Srinivas Rao
• on April 6th, 2011
• 5 Comments

As budget travelers we’re often determined to the find the most cost effective way to get each of our destinations. In Latin and Central America that happens to be the bus.  But for anybody who has ever traveled on a bus in any of these countries you know it’s not for the feint of heart. If you’re not ok with a bit of discomfort I’d recommend you avoid the bus.  Our very own Colin Wright once thought he was going to die on a 72 hour bus ride. Why he decided to to embark on a 72 hour bus ride is beyond me, but we’ll save that for another day.

Air Conditioner Means Meat Freezer

A few days ago my friend Ryan wrote about an icy bus ride from Bogota to Medellin and it brought back some memories of my time in Brazil. For some reason the bus drivers in these  countries don’t make any distinction between air conditioners and meat freezers. Most gringo tourists get a rude awakening on their first bus ride because they’ve only packed for warm weather. I will never forget my bus ride from Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo where I sat in board shorts and a t-shirt shivering and thinking “turn the damn AC down dude.” In the middle of the night, the bus made a stop and my friend shouted out to the bus driver “oi, oi, muito frio aqui” (hey, hey, it’s cold in here). The driver didn’t even look at my friend, slammed his door shut, started the bus up, and kept on driving. The lesson we learned is that bus drivers in Latin America have no sense of moderation when it comes to the air conditioner.

Lauren Rains had a similar experience:

When it comes to bus rides in Latin America 3 hours is a walk in the park. However, when my friend and I were busing back to Buenos Aires from the coastal town of Pinamar in Argentina those 3 hours turned into a freezing hell. We were still soaked from the beach that day. The AC was blasting in our faces. And all we had were 2 wet small, wet towels to use as blankets. Had you been on that bus, what you would have found was two soaked girls practically spooning each other on a bus to attempt to stay warm.

Some Tips for Bus Travel in Latin America

Most of the clothing items below are things you’re unlikely to pack for a visit to Brazil or any Latin American country where the weather is supposedly warm and tropical (that is until you get on a bus).

• Carry a Sweatshirt: After that first bus trip to Rio, I made a point to always pack a hoodie with me. A t-shirt would never cut it if I wanted to ensure that I didn’t freeze to death during my bus ride.
• Keep a Pair of Jeans: You might be tempted to get on the bus in your board shorts, but you’ll be sorry about 2 hour into the bus ride when the driver has turned the air conditioner on and has no intention of turning it off even when you cry out for help. The best thing you can do is keep a pair of jeans in your backpack and throw them on over your board shorts. That way you won’t freeze to death.
• Dress in Layers: On the unlikely chance that the driver decides to turn the temperature up, or the likely chance that the air conditioner stops working altogether it’s best to dress in layers. This way you’re prepared for all possibilities.
• Don’t Wear Sandals: When you’re spending most of your time at beach destinations with warm tropical weather, it’s likely you’re living in flip flops. That’s all well and good until you get on the bus and you’d give anything for a pair of shoes to keep your feet warm. If you don’t want to carry shoes, at least carry a pair of socks.

If you haven’t taken the bus in any of these countries before and you think I’m joking, dress for warm weather at your own risk. Have you traveled by meat freezer before? Share your story below.

Srinivas Rao

Srinivas is an avid surfer and personal development blogger at The Skool of Life. He's also the host and co-founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast for bloggers.