This page is a ‘pin board’ on which we’ll post miscellaneous bits and pieces that we discover along the way. As such it will be an evolving page. Its so we don’t forget those little awakenings ourselves, and they may be of use to you if you’re heading over this way some time soon yourself!
This handy little smart phone app is used extensively all over Central and South America. Unlike in Australia, where mobile phone plans incorporate a lump sum worth of calls and texts along with a chosen amount of data, phone companies here have strcutred their plans to include free WhatsApp usage even if you’ve run out of data credit. Therefore, almost every person and small business uses WhatsApp as their primary form of communication, and you’ll the little ‘call-out’ emblem all over the place.
To date we’ve discovered that although Chile uses the 2-prong round plugs; Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica use the 2-prong flat plug. Travel adapters were sold by every second street vendor in Colombia (along with padlocks, shampoo, fidget spinners and lottery tickets) whereas they’re much harder to come by in Panama. Outside of the city, power supply is very unreliable and so charging Kindles, laptop, cameras and phones whenever possible is a good idea. The extra battery pack we carry has also been very handy.
To our amazement, hardly anybody smokes in the countries we’ve been to date (Chile, Colombia, Panama). It is primarily western tourists who are seen smoking as opposed to the locals. Cigarettes cost between USD$1-5 a packet depending on where you buy them and they’re available on every street corner so its not a cost or accessibility issue. In fact, smoking is prohibited in all restaurants, bars, hotels and the majority of other public places. Signs clearly articulate this, and most stipulate inception of this ban as being back in 2008 (both in Panama and Colombia).
Maps.me is a free cartographic app that allows you to download detailed maps of a city/country and access them offline. This is particularly useful when you land in a new place and, while fending off eager taxi drivers or hostel promoters, you need to get your bearings and figure out where you are and where you’re going. It is also handy for tracking your location when you’re on a bus/train to ensure you don’t miss your stop. Obviously, it takes up memory on your device, but if you can juggle this then its definitely a useful friend to have in your pocket.