mev

In my travels I found Ecuador and Columbia somewhat similar and Argentina/Chile quite different. I also found Mexico different from Central America and different from South America.

Overall, I enjoyed my travels throughout all of Latin America. However, my guess based on reading your posts is if you return to South America you won't enjoy the other parts either.

I might have a slightly different outlook/approach when traveling in new places. In general, I'm predisposed to look for positive differences more than grouse on things that might be different in a negative way. For example, I found Mexican drivers to be at least as polite/patient as those in US or Canada. I found folks in small towns in Guatemala and Honduras to be friendly. I really enjoyed the bicycle culture in Columbia including how cars and trucks definitely noticed and gave room. I liked the scenery. Further south, Peru had some longer bits along the coast, but I liked the small towns. I really enjoyed being up in Altiplano areas of Peru and scenery around Lake Titicaca was spectacular. Bolivia was an interesting relief and at times a challenge with a continuation of spectacular scenery. Argentina seemed more familiar in certain ways but the small towns and travels along Ruta 40 brought a steady change. Chile and southern Patagonia were absolutely stunning in scenery. Overall, it was fun watching the differences along the way and I enjoyed connecting with people I met...

Were there some things that weren't as positive. Sure but I didn't really dwell on them. For example it took some getting used to adjusting my routine to the siesta hours in northern Argentina. While rude drivers seemed less prevalent than I've found in parts of the US, having someone make an unsafe pass or rude gesture seems to be more remembered than the 100s of drivers who don't do this. Were there some dogs that chased me? Yup, including at least two that decided to bite a pannier.

However, most of those less positive things seemed more momentary and fleeting and vastly outweighed by the positive experiences and sense of adventure, change and accomplishment I felt as I cycled through the area.

As best I can tell, you seem to emphasize 2-3 larger complaints in your original posts:
1. Unwanted attention
2. Dogs
3. Being wary of people

As far as unwanted attention goes, I'm only 6'4"" so perhaps those extra 4 inches is a huge difference. However, when I've toured in places that aren't common, I encounter people that are curious. It hasn't really bothered me and Latin America is certainly not highest on the list of places to get attention (try cycling parts of Africa or rural India or Cambodia...) I actually have fun with it. When I see someone taking a look, I'll sometimes look back and see if I can trade a smile. It is fun to see the reactions including people that occasionally feel self-conscious. Within Latin America, I found slight differences:
- In Mexico, I found people to be more reserved
- In Guatemala, at least the kids were more prominent in yelling, "gringo! gringo!" as I passed. So I joined in their games either by also yelling back "gringo! gringo!" or "Guatemala, Guatemala".
- In Honduras it was was toned down a bit again, though it was interesting to see people's interest in how foreigners might perceive their country and reputation of violence (same thing to smaller extent in Columbia).
- A lot of my travels through Costa Rica and Panama were along more developed tourist routes, so didn't necessarily get sense I was that different

I did have some occasional dogs chasing, particularly in Peru. I tried a few different things including the get off the bike and stare and point at them. That generally worked as did those occasions where I continued to cycle. Somehow my legs/feet were protected between the panniers though they did bit the panniers on two occasions.

As far as being wary of people goes. I read through a number of journals including various accounts of problems. At times I took some precautions such as staying on a main route or not camping in certain areas - but overall I really didn't have any problems nor have as much as what you seem to describe as feeling people were sizing you up.

So I think overall, we're probably wired a bit differently. Yes, I expect you'll find differences in going further south in South America - but given that you don't seem to enjoy Mexico, Central America or Columbia - I don't see how you'll enjoy Ecuador/Peru/Bolivia/Argentia/Chile even if they are different - since I expect you'll find some other difference to view more negatively.