It was a Wednesday night. I made some arrangements and I was supposed to meet up some CSes for some drinks and hopefully some dancing. Sounded promising and I was very much looking forward to it.
Rod suggested we would meet up before for a drink, since his sister had a birthday that day. We went back to California. It was a fun time, we had fun. There was this German girl there as well and was telling a lot of crap about Germany [totally not true things]. I listened patiently and then just told Rod not to believe anything he heard. He kind of agreed with me on this one. She also said we should not go to that Miercoles Po party, I was supposed to go, but we still decided against it. If she does not know anything about her own country, she might not know much about this party also. So we left.
We got into two cabs and went for the place. I had only the address, I had no idea where we would end up. Turns out – we ended up in not the best place in Santiago. It was Rod’s fault really, because he just saw the name of the street and told driver to stop right there and then. We got out and started walking. It was like walking in the movie, in a bad neighborhood, where someone will definitely take out their knife and try to stab you for your money. The saddest part – we did not even find the `club`. So we got back to the bigger street, happy we did not die in there, took another cab and after a little while we got in.
It was an old factory building, now made into the night club. We were one of the first ones to arrive, but later on people came in and it was really crowded. We had fun. There was karaoke, dancing, some beers. I did not met the people I was supposed to meet there, but we really had fun. I got to dance at least a little.
The next couple of days I had my usual life going on – work, Spanish, etc. I was preparing myself for my next small trip, thanks to Chile and a lot of long weekends. This time it was time for Mendoza. In Argentina.
A little bit before I already bought tickets and found hosts for myself from CS. Two guys, who, I had a feeling, could never be considered boring and must have been a lot of fun.
Traveling tip: Bus company Ahumada offers, I was told, cheaper and less comfortable rides. It is cheaper, I agree, but definitely not less comfortable. If you have to use buses in here – try Ahumada [metro Los Heroes]. They take care of you, they give you snacks, they have comfortable buses. They are good!
I got to the bus station early, just in case so I could have time and not rush into the bus. The bus arrived almost on time, but shut the doors and driver disappeared. Ok, I am aware, everything is late in Chile. I just tried to breathe and wait for it to open. After half an hour I started worrying. What if that is not my bus and all that sort of crap. Well, you know me, right?
After a while I was not the only one worrying about the bus to Mendoza, so that made me feel a little better. It’s always better not to be the only one who missed the bus, right? We finally got into the bus and we left Santiago at 3 p.m. which was 1 hour late. Which made my chances being late to Mendoza even more and I did not like that. I was coming to somebody’s home and I hate being late.
I was lucky enough to had the whole seat for myself, the bus boy was a very nice person, he kept on asking everyone if they are ok and helped filling in the forms and stuff. We got to the Los Andes, where this bus boy left and a new one came in. This one was a total doll, I can tell. And I know, I know I have this thing for a good looking guys, but this one.. My oh my how adorable he was. He had glasses as well which made him a little bit of a nerd, but that only made him more adorable. He was one of those cute things you just could not stop looking at. He was also very friendly with all of the people – greeting them, telling stories, asking questions. So not just a pretty face.
We were going towards cordilleras and a little bit up. Traveling tip here: if you go Mendoza-Santiago, or Santiago-Mendoza. DO NOT take the plane. Take the bus. The views there are priceless. You go up to exactly 3185 meters height and you get to see amazing mountains and valleys all around you. So much totally worth the trip. There was not even a second I ever regretted I took the bus. Mostly for the mountains, only a little bit for a bus boy.
On my way to the border there was a long red colored river going the same direction [or better yet, opposite direction]. It reminded me of the same colored river in Sardinia and was just about to smile with my wide smile and say `šūd…` [you remember it right?] but shut my mouth. I remembered how the first one in Sardinia took a revenge on us and I did not want to mess this my trip up just because I could not keep my mouth shut. I just called it `a little red river`.
We got to the border on the very top. Around 3 kilometers up. I got out of the bus, we needed to wait anyways, so I just kept walking around, taking some pictures. The adorable bus boy came to me and started talking. I felt so special. Hehehe. But seriously, he was very nice, he asked me what I am doing here, how long will I stay in Mendoza and similar things. It was a good chance for me to practice some Spanish, so I took it. I mean, why not?
After some time we got into the passport check point. I was checked, several times it was mentioned `oh Lituania. Lituania`. But it all went well, no troubles at all, I got some more special attention from the bus boy – he talked to me about the books and stuff and told me we should arrive to Mendoza around 11 p.m. which is two hours later than expected. I texted one of the guys I was supposed to stay with I will be late and I message went through, so I figured it’s ok. I did not get any response though, so it made me a little worried, but I thought maybe it is all ok.
Views were still amazing from the window, even though it was already dark. Maybe it was even more amazing, because apart from the bus lights it was all dark, new moon and millions and billions of stars. I almost lost track of time while watching them.
The bus boy did not lie. We did arrive to Mendoza at 11 p.m. But since I did not get any messages from my guys, I decided it is either too late to go to their place and maybe I should start looking for a hostel [damn I am so happy I was smart enough finally not do that]. I tried calling them and to their home phone, but I could not get through. Suddenly it became clear why the guy did not respond to my message – I am pretty sure he just did not get it. I was even more lost. More than 2 hours late and with no message, nothing – they must have written me off.
I decided to give it a try. First thing – ATM. Which, of course – did not work. Just my luck. No place to exchange money – but of course, Saturday night, why would I even be surprised. Ok, so no money, no taxi. I have to walk to their place. I already made up my mind at that time. Worst comes to worst – I will try their home and if not – I will just try to get a hostel afterwards.
I started walking and you know – it is a bus terminal area, plus I am a white giant stranger to them – I am very noticeable. And I am constantly warned in SA that it is dangerous, so I decided not to take my chances and took my knife out. Kept it in the pocked – just in case. And, thanks God and to German [one of the guys I was staying with], he send me the map, so I was following the streets. It was a little difficult in the beginning to find my way, but once I found a crossing where I was standing and in the map – I was alright. I kept on walking. It was around 30 minutes walk, although with couple of time I lost my way a little [not my fault, by the way] I managed to get to their street.
We talked that there is a party on Saturday night [it was Saturday] and I was very afraid they left for it already and I find no one at home. I could only pray and hope. When I arrived to the number I needed, I felt relieved seeing lights in the window. So I buzzed the doorbell. I heard someone talking in there and finally the doors opened. I was so f...ing happy, I could sh.. rainbows.
Diego [the other one. Or so I thought] opened the door. I can be honest in here, I did not do my homework, I just looked at several pictures of those guys and I recognized him, but I was sure he was Diego. So we said our decent hellos with kisses on the cheeks. There was a Swedish girl there, couchsurfing as well, I got introduced to her as well. Then German [or so I thought] appeared from upstairs. I was so freaking happy that people in SA are always late, because only thanks to that I made on time and they were only preparing for the party.
So after I had some time to change and get a little beer, I asked German [or so I thought] if he got my message. He said something like `no, but you probably sent it to German`. I got lost. I wanted to ask – what the hell do you mean German, you are German, but decided against it. I will figure it all out later, I thought.
So yes, turns out, I mixed them up. And only because Diego looks a lot like German [and I thought German was just a nickname] and German actually looks like a real Latino boy. Well, you live and you learn.
There were some preparations for the Halloween party happening in the house. We tried some masks, made some pictures, it was fun. I was given a big green wig and apron [just for the sake not to be completely normal human being in the party] and then some more friends started coming in. I learned there and then that Halloween is a big thing here. You would not believe how prepared they were. One guy dressed up like a total lady-boy. And he looked like one, for sure! He had those insanely high high-heels that I still have no idea where he got from, because of the size. And he even danced on them all night long. I mean, I would not have been able to do that and I am a girl.
Ok, so anyways, all of the friends came and we left for the party. It was a pretty big party on the roof on one building. Everyone was extremely dressed up for the Halloween, I was pleasantly surprised and constantly regretting for not taking my camera. I met people there and we had some fun. It was very funny when I met one guy. Young and way too self confident. I mean, don’t get me wrong, self-confidence is a good thing, but he was way too much. He told me things like `I am 22, I am studying … [can’t remember now], I speak very good English, I do sports` also he asked me how tall I was and after hearing my answer he said `good. I like tall girls`. Yeah, like I could give a …. At some point he asked me if I had a boyfriend and I couldn’t help but play Steffany card. I told him I had a husband. I almost did not lie to him when he asked me where he is, what is he doing and etc. but then he tried lecturing me about how not normal that is and I just got enough. So on the first moment he turned I ran away.
I was so lucky that just after maybe two steps German saw me and took me dancing. There is all started – the real Latino party I was looking for since the moment I got there. Latino music, Latino boy, Latinian [is that a word?] drink and Latino kind of dancing. German is a great dancer and I enjoyed dancing with him very much. He also told me that I dance as a Latina chica [way too exaggerated, but nice to hear anyways]. I did not even see when most of the people disappeared, we were still dancing. It was around 5 a.m. when we headed home. It was a long, but awesome night.
After a short sleep, I dressed up, woke up German, got a key from the house and went out. I wanted to see Mendoza and I did not have that much time. I knew, however that guys will be sleeping till late, since it’s Sunday, so I left them enjoy their sleep. The Swedish girl was gone already, so I went on my own.
I had no money, so first thing on my `to do` list was, of course ATM or exchange boot. It was Sunday, so you can imagine my luck with exchange places. But I was not getting luckier with ATMs either. I have no idea how many miles I walked, trying every single ATM and cursing loudly or silently, because all of them had the same response to me `sorry, you cannot use this card in this ATM`. I tried, I think, all of the different banks that are in Mendoza. I did walk for a very long time. I lost my patience and will for anything, even tourist information was closed, so I finally went to the bus station. There has got to be something. There was a different ATM, but that one had no cash in it. At least information was working, so I asked the girl where I could exchange some money. She offered me to take a look in the places where they sell bus tickets. As always, I tried almost all of them and all of them said no. I was desperate. I was just about to go back to casa de German and Diego and ask them to exchange some money for me. But at that time I guess this one guy felt sorry for me and even before he said no, he exchanged me some money. I was finally feeling as a human being.
So then I finally managed to make some touristy stuff. I walked the city. I went to a big, huge park. I made my time there nice and sweet. I went to eat as well [finally, because I had no money before]. I made my round around Mendoza and I got to the guys’ house. There was no one home, just me and some rules on the table. It surprised me at the very beginning. I mean, I understand, when you have a lot of strangers in your house, it is a common sense to provide some rules, but I have never experienced anything like this before.
Anyways one of the rules stated that `it is always nice to drink some beer or wine at home` and that there is a shop close to the house. Ok, ok, I got the message, I thought and I went in. I bought some stuff for myself and some beer for the house.
I got back, no one was still there, I had no idea when they are planning to come back or where they were, so I just laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, just for a second. Not sure how long that second was, but I woke up just when I heard someone opening the doors. It was German. We stayed there, talking for a little while when Diego came back home. But not long after he came back down with a huge [not kidding – totally enormous] luggage and left for a business trip. We stayed there with German. He offered me to watch a movie.
Not traveling, but tip: Watch it. Diarios de motocicleta. Totally worth watching. With all of the honest. If you like it – thank German. He introduced it to me.
So we went to his office, I enjoyed watching the moon while he was copying, how he said `subtitles for gringa`. It’s amazing I thought, he works just 2 minutes away from his home. Good location. Afterwards we got back to his house, watched the same Diarios de motocicleta, which I totally enjoyed and loved and ended up going to sleep. It was after 3 a.m. already and I wasn’t sure about him, but I had a schedule for the next day.
The next day I left the house pretty early. I wasn’t sure if I have enough money, so I figured I will exchange more. I mean it’s Monday, how hard can it be. Turns out – harder than I expected. Well, first of all I went to the tourist information office, I asked about how to get to bodegas [wineries] and to the mountains for the next day and then went out for the money exchange. I could not believe my ears and my eyes. I went to numerous banks and exchange places, none of them could have helped me out. I felt completely hopeless. I learned it at some point that it is not just me – no one can exchange money due to some `there are no more dollars in the country` or something like that reason. I gave up after something like two hours, because I knew I had to go to bodegas. Now or never.
So I took the bus. I saw some more foreigners in it, so I was kind of calm. When they get off, I will too. There is probably the only place they could possibly go. I was right. And I was glad some of them talked to the driver before, because when he stopped he said – chicas! Which we took as `you damn foreigners, here is your stop` and got out. I already checked from before which bike rent office is advised and was going towards it. I got several fliers on my way for the bikes, but decided to go to the advised one.
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| .Mr. Hugo bikes. Recommended. |
The guy, working there, was very sweet. He explained us everything, gave us tips where to go and where not to, explained it all and let us go on a bikes with the map. I first, of course, tried another damn ATM, which, by the way was closed because `they were working on it`. So I went to the first `winery`, which actually was making olive oil, marmalades, chocolate, liqueur and similar things. I paid for the entry and tried everything they had. Marmalades were ok, olive oil was very good, chocolate was not bad as for SA I guess and the liqueurs were awesome.
I once again tried the ATM [do I need to mention that unsuccessfully again?] and then gave up. What the hell I thought, for now I’ve got enough, for later – we’ll see. I went biking and visiting different wineries. It was a great nice afternoon on a bike. I stopped at a beer garden for a little relaxing time and a glass of cold beer. Very interesting, kind of house of bottles just like in Koh Tao.
At some point I went a little bit further. I knew there are no more wineries there and I am outside my map already, but I just felt a need for some pleasant biking. But no, of course I cannot enjoy it. Police car overpass me, stops and tells me to stop. I get a question `A donde va?` which basically means `and where the hell you think you are going??`. So I try to tell him I am only biking around, but he tells me not to go too far away, because it is dangerous [again with the dangerous]. So I turn. I do not want any troubles and I am not sure if I can ride bike after taking some liqueurs, beer and wine.
I visit some more wineries and not long after I am going back. I need to return my bike. So I give my bike back, I sit down for a little rest, I get a complementary glass of wine. Then English girls came and sat to my table, then some more English girls and then some Australians. We ended up sitting there, drinking wine and exchanging experiences from the SA. This very helpful guy was around as well. I could not help but wonder who he reminds me off. But could not think of anyone. We ended the evening, got all to the bus, and I sat next to this helpful guy [it’s a shame, but I still don’t know his name]. we started talking a bit, he showed me my way to my host place and we separated. And only then I realized – he is a complete copy of Marco.
Anyways, I got back home, hoping we could go some place fun, somewhere out, hopefully dancing with German, but I saw him long enough just to say hi and bye. He said he had to leave and that he will see me later. I thought that later is in an hour or so, so I got on my bed and closed my eyes just for a second. I woke up around 2 a.m. and the TV was still on, so he wasn’t back yet. I fell asleep again. Around 4 he still wasn’t home and around 5 a.m. again. I started worrying. i fell asleep again and I was kind of woken up around 6 a.m. German was back home. He was extremely sweet and walked so silently, so he would not wake me up. I had only 1 hour of sleep more from that moment.
So I woke up and left home, hopefully for changing some money in time. I went to couple of places and heard `no`, but then in one place the girl showed me where I could exchange it and I was standing in the line full of joy. I had to wait for about 15 minutes [but of course] and then I got there, the girl told me `your passport please`. I gave her my ID, because I never carry my passport with me and she told me she cannot exchange my money if I do not have my `real` passport. I was just about to loose it. I was ready to go home and take my passport, but decided to try another place. My ID was thankfully enough to them and I finally got money. Man, that felt good.
So full of good energy I went to the bus terminal and asked for the ticket to the mountains. I asked for both ways, waited a bit, found a bus and started my trip. I was sure it is no more than two hours away from Mendoza and I even left a note to German stating that I will be back around 6 or 7. Yeah, just my luck. To start with – the bus was incredibly slow, stopping in every possible and even impossible place. The views around, by the way were really great, totally worth visiting, except for the fact that I, at some point started wondering if I will even make it to my bus back to Santiago. And I had to be back earlier: for the least – my stuff was still at home and had the key I needed to return.
I made a major mistake there. Then the bus driver told me to get out of the bus – I did. I thought he knows it better. Turns out – he did not know better. Well, happens, so I failed. I got off not at the park I wanted to, but at another place. Nice, place by the way, mountains all around, but still not the exact place I was heading to. I felt miserable. Not enough I am spending my last day most of the time in the bus, I am getting off at the wrong place and I might be late for my bus to Santiago. The red little river was smiling and taking revenge at me – I was sure of that. Well, oh well. Another lesson learned.
So I took my pictures, took a walk, made the best of it, caught my bus and got back to Mendoza. I got back to German’s house, hoping he would be there so I could give him the key back and say goodbye face to face. He wasn’t home. Of course, just my luck. I went to the shop, just to buy some beer as a thank you. The old man in the shop was so incredibly nice that he let me pay for my stuff before him. Such a nice thing to do. You got to love people in this part of the world.
So I got back, packed my stuff and waited. I did not want to leave doors unlocked, but I couldn’t keep the key and.. well, it was messed up. I waited till the last minute and when I was taking my things to leave already, he showed up. So we managed not to miss each other, he called me a taxi, we exchanged last conversation, said our goodbyes and I left. Taxi driver, again, a very sweet man, when I said I only have a little time to catch my bus, started driving faster and took me almost right to the bus.
The bus, surprisingly, left on time. Or almost on time. The bus boy has probably never seen a white giant before, so he kept on looking at me strangely. My seat was next to – well, let’s call him just an inconsiderate freak for the beginning. He has his mp3 on and kept on singing it all – out loud. In awful voice and terribly not into tone. It made my laugh and cry at the same time – what if this singer was going to sing all of the trip long???
But of course, that was just the beginning. Worse was just about to come. After some time he took earphones off and started playing the music out loud. Some other a.. started singing with him. Oh, great, I thought a choir. It was an overnight bus, so the lights went out soon and the f…er [we can play hang a stick-man here] turned the music off. Man, no I wish he only had that damn music on. He started acting weird. He was making, and honestly, I am not kidding, sex noises and if that wasn’t enough, almost constantly he had one of his hands in the trousers [not that I was looking, but when you sit right next – it is hard not to notice]. Yes, dear ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the freak show, called `Ona and a f…ing perfect` once again. As if I did not get enough luck with those f…ers in KL.
I wasn’t sure what to do. The bus is full, so I cannot switch my seat. I cannot call on him, because he might just say I was not talking true. Who was there to prove? I decided to ignore him and just try to get some sleep. Yeah, good luck trying to get some sleep when you sit next to a damn pervert thinking – he better not do too much.
I managed to fall asleep for at least a little bit. I woke up and felt his hand on my ass. That grossed me out, but I wanted to think that maybe he is just sleeping. At some point there were those sex noises again, then hand in the trousers again and etc.
Finally we came to the border. I was so glad being out of the bus, you cannot even imagine. The passport control went fine. Then there was time for baggage control. I filled in a declaration form and only after I gave it in I realized - I lied in it. Not on purpose, just miscalculation [I blame the freak] with money. I actually had more than there was in the declaration. My hopes were – no one ever checks that. I got a little more freaked out when after x-ray [or whatever that thing is] they told me they need to check my bag. Money was in my pocket, so I was more or less calm, but what could go wrong there? They checked my bag [man it was embarrassing, because I had to pack in something like 3 minutes, so it was a total mess] but found nothing and let me go. Back to the bus. Back to the f…ing freak.
I could not sleep half of the night. The next half I fall asleep, but woke up with him touching me and got grossed out again. Thanks to someone it was already Santiago and I was just about to leave that bus.
To bad it was only 5 a.m. and metro was not going, so I settled for waiting for it to open. Of course, just my luck, a drunk homeless guy comes to me, tries to talk to me in insanely no Chilean sounding Spanish. After 20 minutes he left, but when I saw him coming back, I just went to another side of the road. There, I realized, I could take a bus home. I know which number. More or less at least anyways. I took it. And in about 20 minutes, I was back home, back in my bed and felt completely fabulous about it.
I survived at the office that day and after I even went to bowling with people from the office. It was a good bowling day – I was pretty good and pretty lucky and managed to get over 400 points [actually exactly 400 points in 4 games]. After that we went out for a beer and I was so deadly tired that I was very happy when I got back to my bed. The next day I went to the national library where the best Natalia in the world had a journal presentation. It was very nice to see her again. We talked a little, went for a beer, had some fun and finally I had to go home, because I had to catch metro. I was still trying to recover from lack of sleep from my trip to Argentina.
Off topic
And just like that. I went from there to here. I did not plan on it – honest. I actually planned the opposite. I guess I can plan and the life has it’s own opinion anyways. But I’m glad. Gladder than ever. Ech..
I’m so f…ing happy I could sh.. rainbows.
No more. I’m just happy.
