Bus to Santiago
I had a fitful night of sleep. Though I am certain that I was talking loudly and bugged the heck out of my seatmate, he denies it. He is a good sport and even offers me a swig out of his 1.5 liter bottle of soda, which I politely decline. His diplomatic gesture may be due to his insecure girlfriend calling him constantly on his cell phone. The ring tone is Martika's Toy Soldier.
Feel free to have this playing while you read the rest of this entry. Then, you'll truly know what that bus ride was like for me.
As we approach Santiago, there is more vegetation. It's similar to the landscape in Monterey, California.
The plan is to arrive in Santiago around 1 p.m., have lunch, check email, and get on a 12 hour bus to Puerto Montt.
In the suburbs of Santiago, the only evidence of the recent earthquake are the scaffolds that have temporarily replaced the concrete pedestrian overpasses that no doubt collapsed.
Santiago bus station
Merde! My bus stops at the San Borja station in Santiago. According to my guidebook, San Borja is the local bus station. Santiago has four bus stations. Three are long distance, one local. San Borja is the one station I am trying to avoid if I want to go to Puerto Montt.
Fortunately, my guidebook was wrong. I scan the ticket booths at San Borja and you can essentially go anywhere you want in Chile. Shockingly, I find a little booth with a sign that says "Punta Areanas." That's my last stop before Ushuaia. I run over, repeatedly interrogate the ticket lady to make sure I'm not hallucinating, and buy the ticket. She reminds me that I have to transfer in Osorno; if I keep riding to Puerto Montt, I would have gone too far.
The short distance buses are the short ones in the foreground. The long distance buses are...well, you can figure it out. Check out the whitewalls!
With ticket in hand, I walk through the mega-mall that is connected to the station and arrive at the food court. It's got wifi and tons of fast food choices. Avocados are in everything. At Burger King, the Whopper Italiano is a Whopper with slices of avocado. I opt for Fritz, a German themed restaurant. I get a lomito italiano (pork and avocado) sandwich and a cup of draught beer.
Beer at a fast food restaurant!
$4 USD meal
After my meal, I look for the cleanest restroom in the bus station for what I call a hobo shower (brush teeth and wash face, neck, and arms with soap and wetnaps). I find it in the OTB (off track horse betting) lounge that's curiously located at the bus terminal.
Fashion note: Acid wash jeans are still big in Chile.
Bus to Osorno
Osorno is just a few towns north of Puerto Montt. I make my transfer there for my bus to Punta Arenas.
I am in my seat, looking out the window. More people are getting on my bus. I focus on a Westerner with short shorts. He looks like he just ran a marathon. Of course, he gets in the bus and sits next to me. Yack, he stinks.
Worse, I realize my overhead vent is broken. Cold air is blowing, but the plastic vent door broke off. So I am getting a constant blast of freezing air onto my scalp. I complain to the bus attendant, but there is nothing that can be done. Except, my helpful seatmate takes off his putrid headband, and stuffs it in the vent. Now, I am getting a constant trickle of smelly, cold air into my nose. At least he meant well. (Actually, he was a pretty nice guy.)
The racial/ethnic make-up of the Chilean population changes as I travel south. Up in Arica, there were more Indians. Towards Santiago, there were more mestizos. In Santiago, it's more Spanish and Italian. Now, south of Santiago, it's German. The German diaspora is a topic worth exploring further.
Apart from the vent issue, my ride is wonderful. Why? They are not showing any movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment