(By the way, all units are metric here. For reference, 100 km is about 62 miles standard/imperial.)
Driving 7500 km (4700 miles) might not seem like much in that time span. Considering that the northern most point on the map (Atacames) and the southern most (Playas) are about 600 km apart, it adds up to a lot of road trips.
The roads here can hold a lot of surprises, and I recommend driving here only for people with experience and good driving skills. In addition to having taken formal driving classes on accident avoidance and adverse road conditions (and having grown up in the snow and ice of the Upper Midwest!), I've logged over 500,000 miles of experience. Here are some of the road trips that I've made in the States:
(I've also received tips and pointers from my brother, a formally trained Highway Patrol officer. Thanks, bro!)
Driving with a partner is very beneficial. While I focus on the road, Emily handles all of the navigation, climate and entertainment aspects of our ride. We use a Garmin for navigation (Emily is a Garmin wizard!) and download podcasts of sports-talk radio shows for entertainment. (Emily also checks for traffic coming towards the passenger side of our vehicle; in the videos, you might hear her say, "Clear", at times.)
Also helpful in navigating around smaller towns are evacuation maps. Every coastal city has a map showing the evacuation routes and meeting points in case of tsunami:
The Roads
Thanks to massive infrastructure improvements, the main roads here are very good. Most of the coastal roads are two lanes (even if they do have an "interstate" designation) with shoulders and curbs. Here's a YouTube look at the drive from our place to Patacon Pisa'o, our favorite restaurant in Puerto Lopez (42 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQXB7-NxhJY
Some of the less traveled roads, however, can be a challenge. This is our drive from Galera to San Francisco. The sign looked promising:
The road starts out paved and leveled, but it slowly deteriorates to a two-rut track. If nothing else, check out the "rustic" suspension bridge at the 46:30 mark (55 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvzTInav1Bo
Driving in the cities seems to be more of a free-for-all. Right-of-way should be determined by traffic control but is more frequently determined by the size or type of vehicle. Here's what I've observed in the right-of-way hierarchy:
- Military vehicles
- Heavy equipment
- Semi trailers
- MetroVia buses
- Inter-provincial buses
- Local buses
- Taxis
- Passenger cars
- Tuk-tuks (tricicletas - I know, this isn't Thailand, but that's what I call them)
- Motorcycles
- Push carts
- Our car
- Pedestrians
Here's a clip showing the drive into and through Pedernales. The first minute or so shows a detour around a bridge being rebuilt before entering the city. The "Hand of God" shots are actually Emily reaching forward to adjust the Garmin (5 minutes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8og8VZZmJE
Obstacles
Besides the condition of the road itself, being aware of what's on the road is critical. Not only are the roads used to transport people and goods, they are very commonly used for community functions as well. Some of the obstacles that I've seen that required slowing down, stopping or detouring include:
- People
- Dogs
- Cats
- Snakes
- Dogs
- Horses
- Mules
- Cows (all kinds)
- Goats
- Pigs
- Dogs (always dogs!)
- Chickens
- Vultures (because, sadly, many of the other animals get hit by cars)
- A tarantula (no picture - sorry - but it was a six-inch black beauty of a spider!)
- Construction
- Parades
- Political rallies
- Tanks and military personnel carriers
- Birthday parties
- Marching band practice
- Heavy machinery
Traffic Control
Many busy intersections will have a "Transito" (traffic officer) stationed at them. They do occasionally assist with traffic control (when necessary).
We got stopped at a military checkpoint outside of Crucita one day. We showed them our papers for the vehicle (insurance, SOAT, etc.), but they were mostly interested in the matricula (title) for the vehicle. They spoke only in Spanish to us for about five minutes (and we tried as best as we could to respond) before one of them stated, "They speak English!". At that point, the leader of the trio stated, "We're Marines!", and they all stood up straight and proud in their uniforms. After that, they went back to speaking Spanish for a couple of minutes before sending us on our way.
Along the major highways there are radar guns posted that will tell the driver the speed of the vehicle and flash if the speed exceeds the limit. These are useful but not always consistent. Many times, the radar sign will be posted without any speed limit posting; other times, they're just confusing. Entering Montañita from the north is this short stretch: 50 kph sign, radar sign enforcing 50 kph and another sign immediately following displaying 70 kph:
The highway that we drive most frequently, E15, connects the beach towns along the coast. When approaching a town, there are sometimes three sets of (very annoying!) rumble strips to warn the driver:
If the strips do not go all of the way across the road, drivers will adjust to have only one side of the car go over the strips: either moving toward the shoulder or aligning the driver's side with the center line. I've seen this result in games of chicken to see which approaching driver gets to use the clear middle area. (Ironically, rumble strips have less impact the faster one drives.)
The most effective form of speed control are speed humps:
These require slowing down to 20 kph and everyone obeys them. Most of them are well marked, but woe to the inattentive driver who discovers an unmarked one the hard way!
Communication
Horns are used very effectively to communicate. A couple of quick hits will indicate that someone is passing or to say, "Thanks!". Horns are rarely used to express irritation (unlike in the States where that seems to be their sole purpose).
Flashing one's headlights is done for two reasons:
- As self-defense: if a bus is passing a car that has moved over to avoid hitting a goat, a quick flash of the lights will warn the bus that they're approaching oncoming traffic. (Then again, if it's a bus, see the right-of-way hierarchy above.)
- As a warning: if a single car flashes it's lights, it usually an indication that there is a pack of mules around the next curve.
Driving at night
Don't. Even if you know the road you're driving, you might not see that black bull standing in the middle of the road until it's too late. I heard a guy early one morning swerve late to avoid a parked car and he rolled his truck into the cemetery next door to our casita. Fortunately, both he and his girlfriend were unhurt:
That's enough for this post. Time to ride off into the sunset...
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