Getting Around in South America (part II)

Trucks
As I was working in the jungle in Ecuador after my first couple of days of Spanish lessons I got the chance to learn Spanish phrases from my books while travelling in a truck. This is how to get to a lot of the out of the way places in the countryside and usually involves travelling with animals, fruits and other queasy gringos.
Small Plane
I had the great fortune to fly over the lines at Nazca. It is a magnificent experience and not to be missed. Not one for the faint hearted though, as it is a 4 seater plane which banks steeply every few seconds to give you a better view.
4x4
I had always driven a small car in the UK. However, just about everyone here drives a huge 4x4 because of the state of the roads. I bought one recently and can you guess what happened? It is a long story but suffice to say that it ends with a crash. I blamed the other guy because he didn’t give way at a roundabout. I then found out then no one actually treats a roundabout as a roundabout. When I explained that I had come to learn Spanish enough to understood perfectly that you need to give way from the left they all looked at me strangely. Someone then explained that here you don’t give way at the roundabouts. You try to pass them “a la ganadita”. This basically means that the fastest person goes through.