Left Mendoza for Santiago which is 300 km and takes seven hours with the border crossing and the amazing pass. Booked the front seats on the upper deck which was the key for this route. You have to show your passport all the time, when you check in at a hotel they photoset your passport and the entry stamp, even at the bus stations they check your entry stamp. In Peru they take a photo of you as you enter the bus.
It was a stunning bus ride the scenery was unbelievable and took a ton of photos as we drove alongside the river which was flanked by rugged red rock Andes mountains reaching up into the blue skies. Best bus trip ever.
Arrived at the Chilean border after going through a long tunnel , where the actual borderline is and was the most efficient and we'll organized border I have ever crossed in this situation. We filed out the bus, got stamped, filed into the x-ray room ,had our daypacks x-rayed and filed back on the bus while they unloaded all the luggage and had it x-rayed.
Then we went down an 19 switchback pass which I got some amazing shots of and must have passed 123 motorbikes cause it would be a dream road to ride. Finally arrived in Santiago around four. I had read up about Santiago and told Charmain to be careful and hang on to her stuff cause the place has a bad reputation and stay close to me. We proceeded to the underground train after buying a card and got the train and made a transfer and coming out of the station I reached for my brand new phone, that Justin had bought me because of the issues I was having with my 'old' phone. You guessed it, it was gone the scum sucker had taken it out of my front pocket, and I had a tough time taking it out and putting it back in that pocket, cause it was the exact same size and a pain in the ass to deal with. I called over a policemen a and he walked away, not interested, then exited the station and went to a cop shop and that guy wanted to know what did I want him to do about it ? He told me to go five blocks and report it there, I guess he was right, I mean what the he'll are they going to do ! All my pictures and that Samsung Note 8 takes incredible photos, all gone and my birthday gift gone a month to the day of my decadedent birthday. Found our apatment , eat and went to bed pissed.
Our place was near Aramas Plaza which I think every city seems t to name it the same, which is the main plaza and in the centre of the city. We did a city walking tour which was great except that I didnt quite get the exchange rate down and gave the guide like $50 US thinking it was $15. I was still livid about my stupidity of knowing and not taking care of my phone like I should have, what a dumbass. Went out for a great meal where all the larny restaurants are and had an enjoyable time. A guy came by and sang a few songs then passed the hat around, and still having math issues gave him $20 US, he really thanked me a bunch which I thought was strange until C told me what I had done. Santiago was not cheap.
The following day we were happy to leave and did just that on the by bus for Valpariso on the 9:30 bus which took two hours
These were the last pictures I took with my phone and fortunately sent them to Michnus from Piki Piki , a legend in the biking world to tell him to ride this road.
No comments:
Post a Comment