Riding the Bus

I've spent countless hours on buses the past few months, including several 10 hour+ overnight  rides.  Overall, these rides have been a positive experience. I've been able to see some beautiful country that I wouldn't be able to see in an airplane.  Also, South America's buses can be extremely nice and affordable when you go with the right company.  Although I can't afford to ride first-class when flying,  In South America you can ride in comfort for an extra $10 bucks or less.

On my most recent ride,, I rode 10 hours from Arequipa, Peru to Cuzco with a company called Cruz Del Sur.  I paid about $60 for the nicest seat available since I wanted to be able to get some sleep.  I had a seat that reclined almost fully on a row to myself.  An hour into our ride, the bus attendent served us dinner and afterwards entertained us with a game of bingo.  In Argentina, I rode a bus that even served red wine with dinner. . .on a bus!

Although the longer bus rides going between major cities have all gone smoothly, I've had plenty of bad and strange experiences such as: 

• I rode on Dorado from Sucre to La Paz in Bolivia.  My seat fully reclined and the bus and I only paid $22 for it. The only thing strange was that when the lights came on, I noticed  two people sleeping on the floor beside me that didn't have seats. Apparently that's allowed on the buses in Bolivia. 
• My bus from Uyuni, Bolivia to Tupiza left at 6 am.  It was freezing and the bus didn't have heat.  I can't remember ever being so miserably cold. I thought my toes were going to fall off.
• Later on during this same ride, our bus nearly plunged off a cliff while negotiating a turn.  You know you're in danger when the locals get out of their seats and start demanding to be let off the bus!
• In Tupiza,  I nearly missed the bus when they changed companies but didn't tell me.   Luckily, the lady at the other company which I bought the ticket from found me and pointed me to the bus I needed to take. 

I could go on and on.  Every bus station seems to have an entirely different system for how you get your ticket, find your platform, check your bags, and get on the bus which has caused me plenty of confusion. I still look forward to each ride I'm able to take with one of the nicer companies.  It's going to be an adjustment when I have to return to my cramped coach seat for my flight back to the U.S. in a week.

Intermission: Mas Espanol

After a couple months on the road moving from city to city every 3-5 days, I'm taking a break.  I've been in Sucre, Bolivia for 10 days now and if feels great to finally empty my backpack completely and relax.  The main reason I decided to take a break here in Sucre is that it's an awesome city to take Spanish lessons.  They have several Spanish language schools in the city and private lessons cost a fraction of what I paid in Buenos Aires.  Aside from costs, I also find Sucre a much better environment to study in since it's quieter and the cafes are often filled with other gringos studying which makes it feel like a college town for backpackers.

For the past week, I've been taking lessons for 2 hours a day at Fenix Language School.  I've been very happy with my progress so far working with my profesora Yashira. The format for my classes is very flexible which I prefer.  We usually start with simple conversation where I'm able to practice both speaking and listening. The advantage to having a conversation  in Spanish with a teacher is that she corrects any grammatical and pronunciation errors I make right there on the spot. I had no idea how many bad habits I'd formed over the past couple months on the road. Also, whenever I get stuck due to not knowing a word in Spanish, she will tell me the word and write it on the board.  At the end of my lesson, I usually have a list of 8-10 words which Yashira will then quiz me on to see if I remember their meaning.  After 30-45 minutes of conversation, we begin the lesson for the day.  Many of the lessons are based on Yashira's observations during our conversation of areas I need to improve upon. 

I decided to stay with a host family while in Sucre which was arranged through the school.  This has proven to be a great decision since I get to practice speaking Spanish with the Gutierrez family while I'm not in school.  I have one more week of lessons before I load up the backpack and hit the road again.

Trip Update: Chile

After a rough start, I learned to love Chile after spending 3 weeks traveling around the country.   Here's a summary of the places I visited:

Pucon

After an long, exhausting day on the bus, I woke up the next morning in Pucon with a view of a volcano from my bedroom window.  Pucon is a small village in the foothills of the Andes that is known for the wide variety of outdoor sports available.  Similar to Cafayate, Argentina, it's also very quite and relaxing.  Due to rain, I didn't get to do as much as I had hoped (such as hiking to the top of the snow capped volcano) but I still always mention Pucon in my list of highlights of my trip so far.

 

Santiago 

The capital of Chile may not have the flair of Buenos Aires but I was impressed nonetheless.  It's a relatively clean city with a modern subway and nice, large parks. What's also unique about Santiago is that on a clear day (or somewhat clear) you can see tall snow capped mountains in the background.  I'll also always remember Santiago as the place I finally bid farewell to my big blue roller bag and became a backpacker for the first time.

 

 

 

Valparaiso

I'm not sure if I've been to a city as quirky and unusual as Valparaiso.  The closest comparison might be San Francisco due to the views of the harbor, colorful houses, and the steep hills which the city is built upon.  Getting around town involves going up and down steep stairways. Luckily, they also have several  "ascensors" which look like large cable cars that you can ride to get part of the way up the hills.

 

La Serena 

This is a small city near the Pacific I only stayed at for one night.  I only stopped here because it was too late to catch a bus into the Elkui Valley. I wasn't really that impressed with the town but I didn't get a chance to make it to the ocean which is a 25 minute walk from the center.  

Elkui Valley 

The Elkui Valley is located in the foothills of the Andes and was absolutely beautiful.  Despite its reputation as one of the best places for astronomy in the world, I found it to be relatively undisturbed by tourism.  In the valley, there are several quaint villages surrounding by steep mountains.  The valley is also filled with vineyards used for growing grapes used in Pisco (a strong brandy most commonly used in Pisco Sours). I stayed in a village called Pisco Elkui which was very quiet and relaxing.  This was one place I wish I could have stayed longer but I was itching to head North to San Pedro.

 

San Pedro de Atacama

My tour of Chile ended in the village of San Pedro de Atacama in the extreme North of Chile bordering Bolivia.   San Pedro is in the desert which means warm days and frigid nights.  The village is made up of a few dirt roads with rustic restaurants and no-frills lodging options. San Pedro is a launchpad for tours into the Atacama desert and the surrounding mountains.  After a few days, I departed for a 3 day tour ending in Bolivia's famous Uyuni salt flats. 

Trip Update: Part 1 - Argentina

I have a little less than two months left here in South America. Here's a quick update of where I've been with  pictures:

Iguazu Falls

 Located in the North of Argentina on the border with Brazil and Paraguay. Even after seeing the pictures and hearing about how amazing it was for 2 months I was still impressed when I saw the falls in person.

Salta (with day trip to Cachi)

 After spending two months in Buenos Aires, Salta was my first stop on my trip around the rest of Argentina and one of my favorite places. I took a tour to the mountain village of Cachi where the picture below were taken.  Cachi was amazing and if I ever make it back to this part of Argentina I'll try to spend a couple nights there.

Jujuy

Jujuy is a province north of Salta close to Bolivia in the Quebrada Valley. In addition to amazing rock formations, Jujuy also contains the Salinas Grandes, a large salt flat which was one of the highlights for me.  The first picture below is the drive to Salinas which was one of the highlights for me. If I had to do it over again, I would have stayed in one of the small villages in the valley such as Pulmamarca.  The city of San Salvador de Jujuy which I stayed in was unimpressive.

 

Cafayate

After staying 3 nights in Jujuy, I took a 4 hour bus south to Cafayate, a small town in the wine region of Argentina.  Cafayate has the quaint, laid-back small town vibe but happens to have many bodegas (wineries) within walking distance of the town square and others you can bike to through beautiful country.  I preferred Cafayate over the more well-known Mendoza.

Mendoza

Had a great time here but no good picts to post.  It's a much cleaner city than Buenos Aires but I found it kinda boring.  What made the experience for me was staying in the Karma House where I met some great people and had a fun time grilling out, drinking wine, and relaxing. 

Bariloche

I hadn't originally planned on going to Bariloche but after hearing everyone rave about it I decided to check it out and I'm glad I did.  Bariloche is located n the lakes district of Argentina, 16 hours south of Mendoza by bus.  I spent 4 days hiking, biking, and checking out the landscapes.

And after Bariloche ..   it was finally time to cross the border into Chile before my 90 day visa expired.  Despite my negative first impression of Chile, I learned to love the country after 3 weeks traveling through Pucon, Santiago, Valparaiso, The Elkui Valley, and finally San Pedro de Atacama.  To be continued. . .

Big Blue Roller (2010-2012) RIP

Earlier this week I finally had to replace my blue suitcase I'd carried around with me all around Argentina and Chile the past 3 months.  Getting rid of big blue was not an easy decision for me.  Having a suitcase that rolls is quite convenient the majority of the time.  The problem is that once you begin moving around from place to place you never know what situation you're going to be in when you get off the bus in a new location.  I found myself in unroller luggage friendly conditions only twice in the past 3 months, but that was enough to make me realize it was time to look at the man in the mirror tugging a giant blue suitcase. . and make that change.

I am now officially a backpacker.  Everything I need for the next couple months must fit inside a 70 liter bag that I can carry on my back.  It makes me more mobile and flexible with my travel plans but it has also forced me to make some very difficult decisions on what to keep and what to leave behind.  It's also a huge pain in the ass each time I change locations and no longer have the option of simply unzipping my dresser on wheels to instantly reveal all my possessions folded and organized. Below is the "group picture" I took right before abandoning big blue at the apartment I was staying at in Santiago.  To the left is my new backpack.  In the middle is my smaller backpack I use to carry my laptop, papers, and smaller electronics.

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.

Crossing the Andes: Border Control

On Monday, I rode a bus across the Andes to leave Argentina for the first time during my South American vacation. The bus ride was beautiful but going through border control was quite an interesting experience.

After about 2 hours of riding through some beautiful country with mountains, lakes, and forests on each side, we came to what appeared to me to be a regular bus stop.  Without any announcement (that I heard) people gradually began getting off the bus.  Eventually, it was just me and a couple Australian guys still on the bus so I asked the bus attendant how long we will be stopped. This clues him in that we have no idea that we're supposed to get off the bus, have someone check-out our passports, and then get back on the bus. The only other time I've crossed borders in a bus was in Europe, so this was new to me. Luckily, the process went fairly quickly since it's low season now in Patagonia and our bus was relatively empty.

Now that we were back on the bus and moving forward again I assumed the next stop would be the Osorno, Chile bus station.  Wrong! 10 minutes later, We pulled into a Chilean border control station  and once again had to get off the bus once and stand in line to get our passports stamped. I learned later that the first stop was actually the Argentinean exit control which I assume is to assure we're not attempting to smuggle any empanadas out of the country.

As we were waiting in line to get our passports stamped, our luggage was being removed from under the bus so the dogs could sniff them out.  Meanwhile, inside the border control office, we're asked to put the backpacks we're carrying with us on the ground so the dogs can give them a sniff as well.  I'm last in line and as the pooch runs by it suddenly stops, taps a  paw on my bag and and looks up at the border control officer as if waiting to be rewarded for the discovery.  The officer politely asks me if I'm carrying any fruit. I say no, and he asks me to open the bag so he can take a look.  Luckily, he finds nothing incriminating. I've seen way too many movies (usually with Harrison Ford) where the innocent guy is somehow left carrying a bag of coke or a severed human head so needless to say I'm very relieved. My theory is that the dog was smelling the banana I had stored in my bag 3 days ago. 

Eventually, we were allowed to board the bus again.  Once we're seated and about ready to take off, a man comes on the bus and walks down the aisle to collect tips.  That's right, apparently in Chile you are expected to tip the people that unloaded your bag so it could be searched.  Luckily, I still had a 2 peso bill left so I didn't have to risk offending the people that decide whether or not I should be allowed to enter the country. 

Even with two stops, this was still much quicker than getting through customs at Atlanta or pretty much any international airport in Europe. The real headache occurred a couple hours later when I arrived at the Osorno, Chile bus station.

To Be Continued