Tim_ Day 20 - 25 (Bariloche & San Martin)

Day 20 Continued

We bumbed around the whole day till 900 when we left for the bus. Was a good time. We had to kill the whole day and had absoulutly nothing to do. So we ended up doing allot of the things I used to do as a kid like play tic tac toe, and card games like go fish. Was pretty cool to have so much time we were bored. Felt like childhood summers when you did dumb things because you couldn't think of anything cooler to do.

We walked up the bus stop. Little did we know the adventure ahead. We knew it would be 36 hours but it actually turned into a 44 hour bus ride with only 2 stops during the entire thing.

Let me just say that the bus was late and when it finally got there the mechanics were trying to fix it. Not a good way to start the trip. We took off 2 hours late and drove all night on dirt roads. Was a bad night. Sleeping on and off all night in those damn bus seats. Bounching your stomach and intentines around. Would almost hurt it vibrated so much. Made my stomach upset. Then to top it off it was about 1 degree in the bus. I luckily brought my big jacket onboard and my sleeping bag which I was totally inside of. Sucked but I managed to get some sleep and actually felt a little rested in the morning. I think me and Ana getting pretty tough.

Day 21
The good thing about the night was we were in the middle of nowhere and the skies were beautiful when the rain clouds opened up. The bad things was it was raining and we were on dirt roads for the first half of the trip. Let me tell you back dirt roads, a bus, and rain don't mix.

Around 10 o'clock we came upon a stuck bus full of people that had lost a trailer off the back and skidded into the mud off the road. We tried to get around him and sure enough we got stuck. I knew it was bad when the driver came back and put a movie on. Sure sign were shit out of luck. Also heard the S.O.S going out from the front. I'll skip the next 9 hours to say that a tracker finally came and pulled us out. We were on our way slidding down the roads.

We got lucky a smaller bus full of about 15 people went of the road and tipped over right around the corner from where we were. It was an interesting feeling slidding all over down the mud road into the night. We had to stop a couple times to inspect the road to see if we could floor the bus and make it through. Was a fun and crazy experience.

We also stopped at what looked like someone's home out in the middle of nowhere. The whole bus got off and the guy at the counter had some soda and some old dusty snackes. Yum. He showed the whole group a small bag of bread and a meat package and said that was all he had available to eat. We ate it since we were surviving on snack foods the whole day and that was the only stop they made all that day for food. Lucky we brought a bunch of chips and snacks.

Day 22
Sleep better the previous night because we had finally made it to paved roads and some sign of civilizatoin. Spent the whole day sitting on the bus. Just sat and waited. Sat and waited. Farted. Just sat and waited. Sat and waited. Then I wondered how the universe was created. That hurt my head so I stopped that. Then I sat and waited. Then all the sudden I sat and waited. Then without realizing it I fell asleep thinking about buses jumping over fences.

I woke up and we were there. We had made it to Bariloche I couldn´t believe it. I keep rubbing my eyes. I small tear ran from the corner of my eye. I wipped it away quickly so no one would see it and think I was a puss. Was great to get there and we took a taxi to the hostel. Luckily the hostel was really nice and was like a little log cabin. We showered for the first time in 2 days and I lost the nice dirt tan I was getting. Felt great to shower. Man the simple things in life are so great now like a large shower with strong running water or a fork that isn´t bend or weird shapped to eat with. I love how we now appreciate so many of the things we take for granted everyday in America. Wish I could always experience life that way but it takes not having those things to make them so great. Deep man. Deep.

Later that night we walked down the dusty dark roads to the main road to eat. Ana was freaking out about the dogs that were barking and fighting. She was even terrified of the little puppy they had at the lodge. Between the dogs and the long bus ride she was at her last whit. I got her and myself to bed right after that and we sleep really well in a horizontal position. Soooooo nice just to lay down horizontally.

Day 23
Woke up and had a great free breckfast from the hostel. Great place and I love the hostels where you can tell the owners care about the people staying there. Some are just money makers for the people and you can tell. They suck and are usually pretty dirty with unhelpful staff.

We spend most of the day lounging around the city waiting for our next bus ride the following day. In the end it is going to take us 7 days to bus ride from Califatei to our next destination Pucon. Could probably fly it in about 3 hours. But we didn´t realize how bad the scheduling transportation would be. We ended up having 2 complete days wasted on not being able to buy tickets ahead of ourselves. Basically they tell you that you can´t buy tickets till you get to the next city. They don´t know what is available. You would think with all the computers and shit they could figure things out but they don´t know there ass from a hole in the ground sometimes. I just need to be patient and be happy with what I have and enjoy the experinence. When I get to focused on getting somewhere I start getting angry and frustrated that I can´t do what I want. I´ll get to the destination I´m going when it was meant for me to be there.

Anyway we did find a nice local shore on the lake where people were sun bathing and hanging out. We sat for a few hours and soaked up the sun and tossed rocks into the lake. Was very relaxing and the water in the lake was crystal clear and unpollutted which was nice to see. The environment in this area reminds me of Colorado. Lots of lakes and mountains filled with trees. Beatiful.

We cooked dinner in the evening and met up with some french people we had met in Ushuia later that evening. They were really great and hanging out with them felt like home. Nice to experience someone you feel connected with. I miss that about home. At times I get pretty homesick but I know I will see them soon and I try to focus more on that.

Day 24
Woke up the previous night with really bad stomach ach. Actually it was more like the top part of my stomach. Kind of weird pain to have. Didn´t really feel like my stomach but more like the top part of it. Anyway it keep me up most of the night. The pain was pretty sharp and it actually hurt to touch that part right below my rib cage. Not sure what the hell it was. Didn´t have any real problems with the plumbing but it felt like it had to be part of my stomach since that´s all I think is in that area. Anyway I woke up and wasn´t looking forward to traveling all day to the next city San Martin. We paked and I didn´t eat till later that night in case my stomach started going crazy. Didn´t want that on the bus with no bathroom. Could be interesting and is one of my great fears.

We got on a crowded local bus and my stomach was killing me and we bumbed down the roads. Transfered to another bus and about 5 hours or so later we made it to San Martin. The trip was on mostly dirt roads through some amazing country. Lakes and mountains all over the place. I wish I could get off the bus and go fishing. I´m sure they had huge fish in these untouched lakes.

Once we got to San Martin we had to figure out our accomidations which took about an hour of walking around in the heat with my stupid stomach. When we finally reached the hostel I layed down for a while and rested. I fell asleep early that evening and was very tired. We got some medicine from the local pharmacy that I think was helping. Man I´m writting allot about my little sickness. If Ana was reading this she would play her little violin for me.

Day 25
Because we got to the bus station so late we had to wait one lay over day in this little town again to get our 5 hour bus ride to Pucon in Chili. Damn another day wasted. Oh well it´s a nice city and allows us to chill for a day.

We spent till about 3 in the afternoon doing erronds. We were though able to book the most we´ve been able to since the trip started. We have the tickets to Pucon, lodging while were there for 5 days, the bus ticket back to San Martin, lodging her for a night, the bus ride (36 hours) to Salta, and the accomidations there all settled. Were really happy about that and hopefully all with go smooth. I think having that much planned in advance will allow us to chill more in the upcomming week. It´s stressful sometimes figuring things out and not knowing where you are going to be.

My stomach is feeling better and I´m glad to have that. That really sucked and the pain was pretty intense when it hit. I was actually getting a little worried but all seems well and the big gringo seems to be back in business.

We in a little cafe right now. Were going to go to a little local concert across the street and try and get in some trouble. Maybe we´ll hit a bar later to see if we can get in a fight. Me and Ana haven´t kicked some but in a while and my fist and starting to get soft. Man I´m like Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris combined but with a little less hair in the front. Damn I´m sexy.

Later Skaters.

t*