Originally, my plan was to start in Peru, go through it and into Bolivia, fly from Bolivia to Chile, and bus across Argentina. This whole plan has been slightly modified a few times so far, as discussed in past posts, but I’m about to do a major detour:
I wasn’t in Bolivia long enough and I need to go back. Why? a) (Once I get there) it’s really really cheap. I can do a lot there for not a lot of money. b) The culture is completely different and interesting. Though La Paz is a big city, it doesn’t have the same feeling as a big city in the States. Santiago did, and for that reason, I’ve just left and am on my way back up the coast.
I could have tried to get a flight, but that ticket would have been SUPER last minute, and I’m sure it would have been expensive. So here I am, sitting on another bus, just beginning my 24+ hour ride. (I don’t really know how long it is -- the ticket didn’t say arrival time on it.) It cost me roughly $70 for a cama seat, which is basically a full reclining seat with foot rest, just like the one I had from Lima to Cusco. Let’s hope this bus ride doesn’t end with me getting severe altitude sickness again...
Right now, it’s 11:06am. We left 23 minutes late, so we’ve only been on the road for 13 minutes. I have a fully charged laptop, fully charged ipod nano, and 2 guide books to read. Sadly, there is no tv on this bus, so I can’t be entertained by movies... it’s just me myself and I for a whole day.
2:11pm: Right after I said we had no tv, a fellow bus rider went up to the front of the bus and flipped a tv down from the holder in the ceiling. Score!... except that it was playinga Denzel Washington action flick, and I don’t enjoy those. I opted for my ipod instead. I woke up from my sort-of sleep to see that we were pulling into a rest stop for lunch, so I gathered my stuff and left the bus. The food options were not so far off from typical U.S. rest stop fare: candy bars, cookies, french fries, hot dogs, etc. After a meal of french fries and a roll of cookies, I am telling myself it’s only a matter of time before I gain back the weight that I lost while in Peru and Bolivia. We’ve now just started off again, with me safely in my big leather reclining seat.
5:01pm: Are any of you out there snorers? Or droolers? Apparently, at times, I am both (sad, I know) and though I don’t want to say that I live in fear of being heard snoring or seen drooling, I definitely do think about it every day that I’m sleeping in a room with strangers. Well, the non-English speaking guy next to me just woke me up, I think, because of my snoring. I’m super embarrassed and I have another 16 hours or so on this bus with him. *Sigh*
5:20pm: I’M SO BORED!
6:58pm: SHIT! 2 things: 1. I found out how long my bus ride will be: 30 fucking hours. (Congrats to me! This is the first time I have used the f-bomb in my blog!) I am 8 hours in, so I basically have a day left. 2. I lost one of my bracelets. It was a pesky one that kept coming untied, so I guess I can’t be surprised and it does not warrant a f-bomb.
I’ve changed buses in La Serena. a city that my bus neighbor (same dude who woke me up for snoring) told me was beautiful. He also told me I should stay there tonight and fly to Arica tomorrow instead of this insane bus ride. That, or take some medicine. <---- his suggestion. I am without drugs and this second bus is playing the same movie that played on the last bus.
11:03pm: We’ve stopped in another city. I have no idea where we are, but I just got out to use the bathroom and I had to pay about 40 cents. Only then did they hand me toilet paper to use. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I’m not looking so hot... Back to sleep!
10:35am: It’s all turning into a numbers game here, folks. I slept for about 11 hours with not too much tossing and turning, I have about 8 hours left on this bus, and I have no charge left on my ipod. I’ve decided to charge my ipod from my laptop, thus decreasing the charge in my laptop quicker, but I would rather have music than the ability to blog. There is yet another action movie on!! Can’t we play something funny during this trip??
2:01pm: Eye on the prize! I’m almost there, just 4 more hours! The 6th terrible movie is now playing. Apparently my pleas for a non-crappy action movie were not heard.
5:03pm: We're here ahead of schedule!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOO! I'm so psyched to take a shower! Lesson learned: long bus rides aren't terrible if you don't have altitude sickness! I may have to stick with buses more often!
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