Reflections on my experience: Today is the last day of our cruise. It has been an interesting adventure visiting the western coast of Mexico, Central America and Peru. This is a rather homogenous collection of countries that are rich in history and culture. Their common language provides a consistent backdrop to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes to which we were introduced. With neither of us speaking the language well enough to carry on a conversation we relied on guides and locals that had some proficiency with English to help me get some insight into what I was experiencing.
One of the impressions I came away with is that the societies we saw on this trip are not that much different from what we found in Viet Nam, Cambodia or Thailand. Open air markets seem to be the most common sources of fresh food. This suggests that trips to the market are required on a daily basis since this food if not consumed quickly will spoil. Sanitary conditions are not what we expect in the U.S. Hot weather is a constant in these areas with the variable being rain. Either you are in the rainy season or not. We were not subjected to the rainy season which was good for our purposes but made for a very dry, brown landscape. During the rainy season when it rains it does so all day. Some of these place get 6 feet of rain in that three month period. It would be interesting to see how things change during these periods.
I saw some areas of poverty in each of the countries we visited. Nowhere did I see large communities of poor people. I think this is due to two reasons. First these countries do not have a social safety net for people to receive money from the government. I think this makes people much more self-sufficient. I think it keeps people motivated and willing to do a wide variety of jobs to make ends meet. Many of these people are farmers and while they are still poor they are sustaining themselves. The second reason, I believe is that we were intentionally not exposed to those areas by the tour operators.
I did notice there were many small children and babies. The birth rate in these countries seems to be very high. I think this is because families rely on the younger children to grow up to take care of their elderly parents. Before that they work along side their parents.
One thing that riding around in taxis and buses made apparent is that all of these countries have wholeheartedly embraced speed bumps. It makes perfect sense as they are self policing. Go too fast and you are bounced off the ceiling of your vehicle. The majority are of the type to allow you to maintain a speed of about 20 mph with no problem, however anything over that and you know it. On my two hour ride to Machu Picchu we must have slowed for at least fifty of these speed bumps.
These societies display many paradoxes which I found interesting. Almost everywhere we found some level of internet service. Yet in those same areas there seemed to be a low literacy rate. Going forward I can’t imagine that the internet isn’t going to change the literacy rate dramatically. When you see men and women carrying bundles lf sticks or selling their hand picked produce on a small roadside table to earn a living and then see ads for internet it causes you to pause. Cell phones are everywhere. It seems that no matter what your level of income is you can afford a cell phone. It seems that these societies have one foot in the early 1900’s and the other in 2011. What this means going forward I don’t know but it seems that these societies are being divided into two groups. One who can react and participate in the technological age and a group that cannot.
Mexico is investing a lot of money and effort to develop their ports. They seem to focus on the lesser known ports we visited. Clearly, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucus are well known, highly developed tourist attractions and it would have been hard to notice an impact from government investment. In the other ports we could plainly see the improvements that were designed to make the ports attractive to cruise ships. Not only were there the tangible infrastructure projects but there was also the local dancers on the piers, the musicians playing as we entered the dock area and the general attitude of the guides and locals. It was evident that they are genuinely happy that you have decided to visit their country.
I feel fortunate to have been born into the circumstances that provided the opportunities to be successful in my chosen field. Most of the people in the countries we visited have a much harder time getting the education and the chance to select how they want to lead their lives. So many of these people have their futures predetermined for them the moment they are born. This is not to suggest that they are unhappy in what they are doing because they appear to be happy. It is just that when you are exposed to the menu of opportunities available to us in the U.S. you have a bigger appetite than could be satisfied in these countries. For me the value of travel is that you appreciate what you have and also come to understand how others around the world spend their lives.
