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On a bus to Peru: who are the passengers of the biggest bus line in the world

Section: Geosciences, IBGE

August 03, 2017 05h28 PM | Last Updated: September 04, 2017 10h06 AM

Tour the ways of the Incan city of Machu Picchu, get to know the mysterious Nazca Lines, admire the colonial architecture of Lima, taste the traditional ceviche There is no shortage of reasons to know Peru, despite the popular saying: destination is not important, journey is. For those looking for adventure and wanting to save an airline ticket, travel from Brazil to Peru by bus is a feasible alternative. According to the 2016 Road and Waterway Links publication ( https://www.ibge.gov.br/apps/ligacoes_rodoviarias/), released in June by the IBGE, once a week a bus leaves São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro destined to the cities of Puerto Maldonado, Cuzco and Lima, costing between R$600 and R$910 and taking approximately four days.

 

Peruvian Oscar Vásquez-Solis is in charge of Ormeño, bus company that provides this service. According to him, about 1,500 persons have taken the one-year old Rio-Lima line, whereas the route from São Paulo to Lima, available for approximately seven years, has transported about 14 thousand passengers. "We are accustomed to ride long legs in South America, by nothing is the same as the Rio-Lima line. Covering 6,035 km, it is the biggest bus line in the world", stresses him. He tells that passengers – either those leaving from Rio de Janeiro or embarking in São Paulo – always finish the travel like a big family, despite the diversity and the particular history of each individual: "Most of our customers are from Peru, yet Germans, Americans, Japanese and South-Africans have already traveled with us".

 

Peruvian Rosana Mesa Rojas is a regular passenger of the bus that links São Paulo with Lima. She, her husband and the three-year old daughter live in Brazil, and travel once a year to visit their relatives. Rosana observes that the route is bored, but the beauties along the way make it worth the adventure. "Landscapes are wonderful, mainly in the Andean highlands. Moreover, this is a good time to travel, since its is hot on the Brazilian side and it gets chilling as we cross the border", states her. Leonardo Cusiquispe, Rosana´s fellow countryman, dislike the temperature on the Peruvian side. "Cuzco is very cold, around 10o C", complains him. Leonardo also do not get accustomed to the the curves of the Andean mountains: "I get even dizzy".

 

Those who think the trip is long should meet Colombian Francy Milena Toro, Alberto Burgos and their two child. The biologist and the musician, who arrived in Brazil 13 years ago through the Amazon River, after making a connection in Lima, will definitively proceed to their hometown, Bogota: "Things are getting better in Colombia, so we expect to get a good job and develop a career". They chose to travel by bus due to the huge baggage. About to embark, the couple makes an enthusiastic invitation: "The travel takes a long time, but there are a lot of stops to stretch our legs. Of course this invitation is more attractive to backpackers, but we are here to show that this is a family travel as well. We love adventure, and South America provides us this, it is fantastic!, states her.

 

The IBGE News Agency watched the departure of the Colombian family in the Novo Rio Bus Terminal. Check the video above! And remember: to enter Peru, Brazilian citizens should present an id issued less than 10 years the travel date or a passport valid for six months at least.

 

 

Text, image and video: Mônica Marli and Pedro Renaux

Contribution: Adelina Bracco and Juney Freire (trainee)



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