Bienvenidos a Chile

My first impression of Chile was not a very pleasant experience.  I got off the bus in Osorno, Chile and had to use the bathroom badly.  I realized I had to go 15 minutes before, but I figured I'd just wait it out since we were so close to the station where I had 3 hours to kill before my next bus to Pucon. Big mistake!   Apparently in Chile it is customary to charge money to use the public bathroom (see photo).  This was a problem for me being that I had exactly ZERO Chilean pesos in my possession.

I asked a very unfriendly man guarding the bathroom if he accepted Argentine pesos and he said "no" but did it in a very chastising way, wagging his finger at me as if to say "Oh no buddy,  I'm not going for that trick again."  Despite the fact that Osorno is a major hub for buses, they had no place in the station I could exchange foreign currently.  I finally had to take-off down the streets tugging my large suitcase behind me until I found a sitdown restaurant.  I was able to order lunch, use the restroom,  found an ATM, and headed back to the station with plenty of Chilean pesos in my pocket.  Lessons learned:

• Always come into a foreign country with currency. I do this as a precaution when I can but this time all the money exchange places were closed since it was Sunday. 
• Never take a free bathroom for granted.
• Time to switch to a backpack.  Normally, it's more convenient (and easier on your back) to be able to roll your luggage but you just never know what situation you will enter in a foreign country so it's better to be prepared for the worst.