Transport!

You know how in England cars have to pass an emissions test for their MOT, to reduce the pollution they emit into the atmosphere? Well in Peru that does not exit. In most of Peru the majority of vehicles on the road are taxis (70%) and buses (28%), private cars only count for about 2%. SO many taxis. And none of the above have any filters on the exhausts, walking down the street I often cough and gag because of the pollution I inhale every time a car goes by. Arequipa is Peru's second biggest city and there is a lot of traffic. Apparently, when you head out of the city to the countryside you can see the layer of smog that permanently covers Arequipa, and they say the sun here is so strong because the ozone layer is damaged from all the pollution.

On a similar note I feel I should mention the buses here, or the "combis" as they are known. Forget every image of a traditional bus you may be harbouring. They're nothing alike. Inner city buses in Peru are the size of old VW camper vans, cheaply kitted out with tiny rickety seats that struggle not to fall apart under your weight. How many people do you think you could comfortably fit into a VW camper van? 5? 6?... Try 20! Here the general rule is fill the bus to its absolute maximum capacity, with people dangling precariously out of windows, and then add another 10 passengers. You literally have to squeeze yourself into the bus, pushing your fellow commuters even further out of the windows theyre dangling from. And if youre taller than the average Peruvian, in other words, if you taller than 5ft3, you'll find your neck bent double and your face squished against the ceiling as you try your best to crouch, squat and stay upright simultaneously. It's most uncomfortable and highly dangerous. And this is the means of transport I have to use daily to get to and from the orphange where I'm working. On the brightside its only 15p per journey regardless of how far you go, which compares quite favorably to the £4.10 you pay to get into Manchester.