The trip home

I arrived in Santiago at 10am, twenty-two hours after leaving Bariloche feeling a bit haggard. Only to discover that the bus dropped me off at a different terminal than the one I had expected. When I asked the taxi drivers at the terminal to take me to the Central Bus Terminal they looked at me blankly. I tried to explain as best as I could in Spanish that I wanted to go to the terminal where the airport buses leave from. The taxi drivers refused saying that it was just around the corner but that they could take me to the airport. I tried to explain that I wanted to go to the bus terminal as they had a place to store luggage as my flight home was not leaving until 11.20pm that night. But again they just looked at me blankly and refused to take me anywhere. This was a bit awkward as I had my bicycle box and backpack each weighing 23kg, plus two carry bags. I ended up dragging my bicycle box a couple of blocks down the street asking passers-by who kept saying the terminal was just a block away. I asked a couple more taxi drivers and they also refused to take me. I finally discovered that there was an airport bus stop several blocks away but not the bus terminal. Luckily I was rescued by the Lonely Planet Guide: South America on a Shoestring which I had on my Kindle. I discovered that there are in fact four bus terminals in Santiago. It took a while but I finally figured out the one I wanted to go to. This was a big help when I hailed down the next taxi driver who not only agreed to take me but managed to squeeze my bike box in the back seat which was not easy. Ten minutes later I was much relieved to find myself at the right bus terminal and was finally able to put my luggage into storage for the day

Miraculously I managed to meet up with my friend Maria Celia which involved a telephone conversation in Spanish which is no easy task when you are not fluent. I met Maria Celia when I first arrived in South America back in September when I had taken the bus to get to Bariloche. She had been very patient and spoke me even though my Spanish was very limited and even took me to her parents home in Osorno for breakfast during the five hour wait for my bus to get across the border to Argentina. Maria Celia wants to be a photographer and moved to Santiago earlier in the year to do a course. Although right now she is working ten hour days at one of the stalls at the Artesanal (traditional craft) Market. One thing you notice here is that people work very long hours for low pay. In Bolivia and Peru it was not uncommon to see a person sleeping at their stall in the market.

Maria Celia and me in Santiago. 

As Maria Celia was working I went and checked out the National History Museum but was exhausted after an hour not helped by the fact I had to read all the information in Spanish. It was also a stinking hot day and I was sweating profusely with no prospect of a shower until I got home to NZ. So after having a short nap in the park and saying goodbye to Maria Celia I headed off to the airport feeling ready to come home.

On reflection I would not describe my holiday as relaxing. In fact at times it was quite stressful and often tiring. It was however challenging, interesting and lots of fun. I met some really nice people along the way some of whom I hope will visit me in NZ. I also learned to speak a little more Spanish. Although my biggest disappointment is that I don't speak and understand Spanish better. But I would need at least another six months for that ……. if only!?

 - The End -