Not trying to make a generality but these are a few things I’ve noticed whilst traveling the continent...

Better known in english as ‘menu of the day’ or ‘daily special’. Every country has it, it’s a cheap and easy way to get lunch. Each menu consist of a soup, a main plate, usually meat and rice and a juice, not necessarily fresh, think cordial! If you are vegetarian I recommend not getting this menu, a lot of time our friend check before hand if it was meat free and they would always answer with a: Si, si, si… and then he would inevitably find some pieces of meat in his soup. They just thought if you scooped around the bone that would be fine…

The best menu del dia we had was in Cusco at a vegan restaurant called Green Point, for £3.5 you could enjoy a salad bar, a vegetable soup, a main, a freshly made juice and a dessert

http://www.greenpointveganrestaurant.com/

Every country has its own local spirit, in Argentina they drink Fernet, like Marmite you either hate or love it! It’s extremely bitter and people like to mix it with coca cola. In Peru you have Pisco which is used to make the infamous Pisco sours, a delicious cocktail made of egg white, lemon juice and bitters. It’s delicious and very popular in Chile and Peru. You can go visit the city of Pisco which is located a couple of hours south of Lima. Chile and Argentina are very famous for their wine, if you are looking for something cheap and cheerful Clos is your brick, in red preferably! The two countries cather for every taste and budget though so if you want to splash out go to Mendoza and embark one of the bicycle wine tours. 

One of the worst drinks I have encountered in my life would be the Terramoto, meaning earthquake. It’s a typical Chilean drink made out of cheap white wine, lemonade and pineapple ice cream. If you are diabetic, please avoid at all cost or you’ll fall into a coma. I could not finish 

Aguadiente, this is one of Colombian’s favourite drink. The base for this strong alcoholic beverage is absinthe so it tastes similar to your greek Ouzo or french Ricard. Mix it with plenty of water and ice. 

The further you go north the continent the louder and more irritating does the music get. They love blasting local music, better known as Reggaeton on long bus journeys. So unless you prepare yourself with valium don’t expect to get too much sleep on your night bus. That’s the negative aspect, the fun side is that everyone there loves it so when you go for a night out be prepared for some serious dancing! 

It’s not a cliche people here a smaller than your average Joe in our Western country. I feel like I can admit to this as I’ve always been considered short until… I stepped foot in SA and all of a sudden I was just one with crowd, I could talk to people at eye level and sometimes I had to look down to make conversation with some. So if you are tall, don’t worry if you get looks and stares, for them you are just a super freak!

Time here is an abstract notion, almost none of the buses leave when they should do. In Chile we ended up buying buses ten minutes after the departure date written on the tickets. So relax you are on holiday, you are never LATE for anything anymore, you make up your on time now! If you are looking for a reliable bus company Cruz del Sur operates across Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Colombia. They are not the cheapest but offer great quality services. 

http://www.cruzdelsur.com.pe/destinos/internacionales