Central America

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<map lat='12.254127737657367' lng='-85.2978515625' zoom='5' view='0' float='right'/> Central America is a central geographic region of the Americas, which you can hitchhike all the way through.

Countries

Usage

Central America may mean different things to different people in the world according to the context:

  • In English, Central America is considered a region of the North American continent. Geopolitically, it usually comprises seven countries – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Mexico, in whole or in part, is occasionally included. Some geographers include the five states of Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán, together representing 12.1% of the country's total area.
  • In Latin America, Iberia, and some other parts of Europe, the Americas are considered to be a single continent, and Central America is considered a region of this continent. In Ibero-America, the region is defined as seven nations – Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama – and may occasionally include Mexico's southernmost region. Geopolitically, Mexico is not considered part of the region.
  • The UN geoscheme defines the region as all states of North America south of the United States; conversely, the European Union excludes Belize and Mexico from its definition of the region.

Hitch-Hiking

The hitchability in Central America varies from country to country but generally it is rather good. Hitchhiking is not very common because of the cheap bus transportation, but drivers understand what the thumb means. Waiting times vary but are not usually longer than 20 minutes. In many places, the first or second car will stop for a Gringo.

Trucks

One good point for hitch-hikers in this sub-continent is the large number of trucks that travel up and down the Panamerican highway, and between all major cities. Truck drivers, although they might tell you that their boss doesn't allow them to carry passengers (which might be true, but unless you drive up to the boss' door he isn't about to find out is he...), are very free people in their jobs: they can drive for as long as they want (and they do, sometimes more than 24 hours with no sleep!), they can stop when and where they want, they have cash from the boss to put diesel in the trucks, and apart from long waits at certain borders for paperwork (which they don't do themselves, letting specialized agencies do it for them), have almost not a worry on their mind! If you do get to travel any significant distance with them, and some drive all the way from Nicaragua up to the Mexican border, you'll probably have a great time, get loads of food bought for you (with the boss' cash!) and be really comfortable.

Accomodation and sleep

In many cities and towns in Central America, you can usually ask the bomberos (firemen) if they have a place for you to crash for a night. Often they will give you a bunk or matress or couch to sleep on. Sometimes they give you a place to put up your tent. Sometimes they say no or make excuses. It's worth a try to ask though! They have bathrooms and usually a kitchen where you can cook.

Nomadwiki & Trashwiki

Check Nomadwiki for info on accommodation, showers etc. or Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)

This article contains text from the Wikipedia article on Central America.