Trippinvignettes - Number 7

In which ‘J2’, in a fit of violence-induced-spluttering, threatens to do away with an entire village, a village that had saved our skins days before. Full story here.


Mansucum, Panama.

Trippinvignettes - Number 6

This was less a quote, more a mantra repeated by ‘Dr. Blake’. Whenever someone said something he agreed with, he’d display his concurrence by pulling out his trusty old ‘Makes Sense’ verbal rubber stamp, marking the exchange a success for rationality. He’d even do it to things that he said, sprinkling the stamp about in a way that, in the end, had little meaning, and made no sense at all.


Various locations, Ecuador.

Trippinvignettes - Number 5

In which a pair of recently graduated accountants from Canberra (how could this quote not be awesome?), discuss the horrors of travel and the bliss of Public Servitude.


‘We can’t wait to get back to our new government jobs, even though we didn’t vote for this government’

‘AGREED’

Point Hostel, Lima, Peru.

Trippinvignettes - Number 4

In which ‘The Quintessential Whinging Mature-Aged Tour Group Participant’ relates, with childlike melodrama, his disgust at spending too long at an idyllic natural waterhole fed by geothermal underground springs. This was the first thing he said after looking around for ten seconds, and I thought his tour guide did a very good job of not slapping him and sending him to sit in the car while everyone else enjoyed themselves.

‘We’re not going to stay here for TWO HOURS are we?’

Ojo del Agua, Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua.

Trippinvignettes - Number 3

In which ‘Shazza’ reveals the complex dichotomy of her feelings towards coati, the cute and cuddly ground-koalas of South America. Upon meeting us, she told us how she hadn’t had a drink for well over a week. Later that evening at dinner, in a blizzard of strine-flavoured profanity, she drunkenly displayed the reason for her period of self-denial. Hair styling by Miss Breoni Taylor.

'...a***holes... except this one... Smell ya fingas: BURNT TOAST!! Not just 'like'- EXACTLY!! Burnt f***** toast!!!'

Arabian Restaurant, La Paz, Bolivia.

Trippinvignettes - Number 2

In which ‘Protein Man’ relates to us some of his finer points.

‘I’m probably the strongest man in Buenos Aires. No wait, I AM the strongest man in Buenos Aires’.

Hotel La Casona, Cartageña, Colombia.


Runners up from the same night:

‘I drive fast and furious’

‘I drive better drunk than most Canadians do sober’ (This was his explanation as to why he should be allowed to drink-drive)

Trippinvignettes - Number 1

What This Is

Continuously, we run into people that play memorable little bit-parts in the low-budget road movie that is this trip. Most of the time, I can’t take a picture of them, because that would be rude, and the reason they’re so memorable is something to do with something they’ve said, which is also difficult to photograph. Hence the need for Trippinvignettes, little incidentals that show the meaningless-but-remarkable kinds of soundbites we encounter on the Gringo Trail. Sometimes it’s something stupid someone has said, and sometimes it’s something funny, or just something plain bizarre. It'll be semi-regular, I'll put up a new one when there's nothing else happening.

Most of the quotes are word-for-word, though sometimes we’ve (Angie and I) had to paraphrase or reconstruct lengthy diatribes from memory, but I always try to keep the spirit of what was said. Most of the names featured have been changed, just in case the subject can’t appreciate the humour.

These pictures are meant to be lighthearted and fun, though if the truly stupid lend themselves to vicious treatment, that can’t be helped. Most of the players here were nice people, some of them we ended up hanging out with for a while. So if you suspect you’re part of this series, please don’t be offended…

Number 1 - The Perils of Bus Travel.

In which ‘Spencer’ advises how to avoid and deal with threatening situations on Mexican buses.

‘I was on the bus in Mexico, and I had two seats to myself, so I got out all my things- my iPod, my camera and my phone and some books and put them on the seat next to me, and then I noticed some Mexican guys looking at me and looking at my stuff, so I got all paranoid and I got my knife out, and just held it you know, like that. But it turned out they just wanted to talk to me and that's where I learnt alot of my Mexican words like extraeño.’

Lazybones Hostel swimming pool, Leon, Nicaragua.