What Awaits You In South America

By Benedict Lechova

Experience from practical life, recommendations and 20 pieces of useful advice.

This publication is intended primarily for South American visitors who travel on the continent "on their own" or those who wish to take advantage of a long-term stay – simply, those in Latin America who wish to be able to take care of themselves, without guides and intermediaries.

The aim of this publication is to make it easier for you to enter and stay, to navigate your initial period and, above all, to bring the continent to life in practical terms – what you should do and not do, how you should behave and what to avoid. In short, we will cover a number of practicalities.

We are not intending to describe the beauty or the glamour of the continent here – we’ll leave that to others. Our purpose is to offer you the information you need to increase your chances of a seamless and peaceful stay in this region. Our descriptions will be straightforward and as honest as possible.

This information and advice is based on the author's personal experience of more than two years of life in Latin America, predominantly in Ecuador and Colombia, but also in Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay and Argentina.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benedict Lechova
• Release date: Jul 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463345443

Book preview

What Awaits You In

South America

Experience from practical life, recommendations and 20 pieces of useful advice

BENEDICT LECHOVA

Copyright © 2018 Benedict Lechova

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems – except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews – without the permission in writing from it’s publisher, Benedict Lechova. All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. We are not associated with any product or vendor in this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter One: What Awaits You?

1 What you should (and should not) expect

2 Need Accommodation?

3 Internet, Wi-Fi and SIM cards

4 What will the weather be like?

5 All about shopping

6 Beware of health

7 Transport and travel

8 Sex – why not?

9 And what about drugs?

10 Is South America safe?

Chapter Two: What to watch out for

11 I not steal, you steal, they steal

12 Personal things, money and valuables

13 Different prices – locals vs. guests

14 Nightlife and security

15 Police – your defender and assistant?

Chapter Three: What You Should Avoid

16 Avoid disputes

17 Beggars and freeloaders

18 I have a pocket full of money

19 I'm Gringo, who's more?

Conclusion

Introduction

Latin America is a continent rich with a culture created by the indigenous people, and these strongly rooted historical features are also an important part of today's population.

If you are traveling to South America as a tourist, most travel agencies will offer you a perfect and perfectly planned program that will take you from place to place. You will have everything planned from food to hotels, guides etc.

However, this kind of visit will not show you the real Latin America – for this you would need to devise your own program, perhaps miss one day of the guided tour; you may be surprised. And if you extend your own program into the night or morning hours, you would probably be even more surprised, though I would not recommend this for inexperienced Latin American travelers - not even those who speak Spanish.

This publication is intended primarily for South American visitors who travel on the continent on their own or those who wish to take advantage of a long-term stay – simply, those in Latin America who wish to be able to take care of themselves, without guides and intermediaries.

The aim of this publication is to make it easier for you to enter and stay, to navigate your initial period and, above all, to bring the continent to life in practical terms – what you should do and not do, how you should behave and what to avoid. In short, we will cover a number of practicalities.

We are not intending to describe the beauty or the glamour of the continent here – we’ll leave that to others. Our purpose is to offer you the information you need to increase your chances of a seamless and peaceful stay in this region. Our descriptions will be straightforward and as honest as possible.

This information and advice is based on the author's personal experience of more than two years of life in Latin America, predominantly in Ecuador and Colombia, but also in Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay and Argentina.

Chapter One: What Awaits You?

1 What you should (and should not) expect

So, what can you expect?

First and foremost, you are and will always be Gringo to the locals. The term here primarily means foreigners from the United States, though it doesn’t matter whether you are from Sweden or Australia – to the locals you are just Gringo. Anyone who is a stranger is automatically Gringo.

What does that mean for you?

It means that you are seen to be a treasure chest or ATM, something like a money magnet – you just have to expect this. However, there are ways you can defend yourself from the worst of this attitude – we'll go on to tell you how.

Even though you are Gringo, you can expect some degree