Tuk-tuk ride

[asakiyume]

We didn't actually ride in a tuk-tuk until we were heading back to the airport on our last day in Leticia, but I thought I'd share these very short videos Wakanomori took because it'll let you see the streets of Leticia and how dominated they are by motorcycles (and secondarily: tuk-tuks).

We saw whole families on one motorcycle: a mom and two schoolkids she just picked up from school,* plus a baby asleep on her shoulder. Most people ride astride, but we saw some passengers sitting sidesaddle. We also saw lots of people carrying home big bottles of water**--the water-cooler water bottles.

Here's a photo of evening motorcycle rush hour, as seen from our open-air eatery:



*A lot about Leticia reminded me of Timor-Leste, and one thing was that there aren't enough school buildings for the students, so kids do school in shifts: some kids go in the morning and some in the afternoon. We went walking one day at around noon and happened to pass a school where parents were picking up kids, and it's quite evident again at sunset that another group of students have been let out.

**The tapwater isn't drinkable in Leticia or in the other municipality we visited, Puerto Nariño. But Leticia is building a water purification plant, so maybe one day? And Gustavo Petro, former guerrilla fighter and new president of Colombia, has promised to invest in the countryside, so maybe for Puerto Nariño, too, one day.

None of this is the rainforest-and-river content you might be expecting from a trip to the Amazon, but I really love, love, love knowing, as best I can, ordinary daily life in the places I visit, and this is part of that.

Part one (40 seconds)

Watch on YouTube

Part two, featuring the roundabout (36 seconds)

Watch on YouTube

Comments

[sovay]

Here's a photo of evening motorcycle rush hour, as seen from our open-air eatery

Thank you for the snapshot!

[asakiyume]

You can see the dad with the red helmet has two kids on behind him and one in front of him!

[osprey_archer]

Thank you so much for posting the tuk-tuk videos! It reminds me of riding in my grandparents' golf cart in Florida when I was a little girl, I guess because it's a small open-air vehicle? My brother and I always thought riding in the golf cart was the biggest treat, especially in the evenings when the sun is getting low and the shadows are long and the Spanish moss hangs in great mysterious tufts from the big trees...

[asakiyume]

That must have been wonderful ^_^

And yes! I think it's very much like that! The speeds are about the same, and the airiness.

[sartorias]

I love daily life snips, too. Thanks for posting these!

[asakiyume]

My pleasure ^_^

[wayfaringwordhack]

It is always so interesting to see everyday glimpses of places foreign to us. Which makes me suddenly wonder about the value of filming a car ride here. Now I am a bit more acclimated to it and would be less likely to gripe aloud at the unsafe, egotistical driving. :P

Here, there are very few women who get around on scooters (which is what we call mopeds) and motorcycles, and people are always surprised to see me driving ours. There are also less families riding around on them compared to Egypt. (We were an unusual sight in Egypt because we were an expat family of five on the same moped, but there were several Egyptians families who did it.)

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, a common observation of life here in Lebanon is that the two-wheeled vehicles that have more than one person on them are more likely to be used by poorer Muslim families, so it is again a shock if J or I ride around with the kids on the scooter (it is rare for this to happen now, and not outside of our "village" now that we have a car). We never take them on the highway on the scooter. Way too dangerous. But I have seen families who have no other choice on that very dangerous roadway. :(

[asakiyume]

Hahaha, I'm so pleased that you managed to fit five on a moped! The population of Letícia would applaud, I'm sure. At first it set off all my oh-no-dangerous!! sensors, but then I realized that everyone goes really *slowly* there. It actually doesn't seem that unsafe at all. I mean I'm sure there are occasional accidents, but not like what would be likely to happen if there was an accident on the highway you mention.

I would love to see a car ride there if you do decide to make a film <3

[wayfaringwordhack]

Yeah, you don't have to be going fast to have an accident. I was almost at a crawl when I flipped the moped in Egypt, 7 months pregnant with Ti'Loup and with Soëlie on the back. Thank God we were both wearing helmets and got only minor scratches and bruising. ;-/

[asakiyume]

Yikes! Yes, thank goodness you were! ... Not many people in Letícia seem too...

How old were Ti'Loup and Soëlie? Do they remember it?

[wayfaringwordhack]

Ti'Loup was in the womb :P. I was 7 months along, and Soëlie was 5. She remembers a little bit, such as asking me immediately if I was OK. I was terrified to move for Ti'loup's sake but desperate to get to her and make sure she was all right. >.

[asakiyume]

Oh right--sorry, my poor reading! That's why you said "both" instead of "all" re: the helmets!

[mallorys_camera]

So interesting!

Thanks for posting.

[asakiyume]

There's more where this comes from... in slow time :-)

[amaebi]

Thank you so much!

[asakiyume]

It's a pleasure and delight.

I miss the Amazon. I really liked it there.

(I like my here, too, though.)

[amaebi]

Speaking as one who likes everywhere* but Flint, Michigan, and the suburbs of St. Louis, with you. I now have a little homesickness for a whole handful of places, though by no means everywhere I like.

* I like New Haven but I don't like Yale.

[asakiyume]

It's great to be fond of many places! It's like liking many people.