Salida Santiago

I get up, gorge myself on breakfast and pack. I'm bored of Santiago now - need to move on. I wish to go North to San Pedro de Atacama, the driest desert on Earth. Sean and Monika (who I missed in Valparisio) were heading there also. It's a 27 hour bus ride from Santiago. From the Tur-Bus website I note there is an expensive super deluxe executive coach leaving at 12:30 ish which I quite fancied (not quite ready for cattle class yet). I grab a taxi to the bus station. Only the know-it-all taxi driver says that at the station that I'm going to, all the buses head South. For North I need a different station 10 minutes down the road. (I think I'm beginning to understand more Spanish!) So be it, I mean, what do I know, right? Wrong. I miss my posh coach and get a standard (semi-carma) one at half the price for 26,000 pesos (£26) which leaves at 15:00. The coach is nice enough, except for a couple of the usual screaming, nauseating, smelly babies. Grr...

All the films and TV programs shown are in Spanish. But for films like Tokyo Drift, words aren't that important!

Sigh. From my stressful days in the wilderness I now feel quite rested.

Posted by Steve Eynon