3:30; going to Chile
3:30 is the time I got up to catch the bus to Punta Arenas (Chile). The bus didn't leave till 5:30, but I always like having plenty of time in the morning. In the "lobby/common room" of the hostel, I met two Brits whom I had met the previous day at Laguna Esmeralda, and who were going to Punta Arenas on the same bus as me, and the turned out quite well. While the bus was driving we couldn't talk as we sat far from each other. But Jane and Sally proved to be mighty good conversation when the bus was at a standstill, such as the nearly two hours spent waiting for the ferry to cross the Magellan Strait, and the border crossings. But before all that we had to change bus in RÃo Grande, which was freezing cold and only took 10 to 15 minutes (which in truth was very long, as it was freezing cold with a strong wind). The trip was rather uneventful (except for the two hours wait for the ferry due to strong winds), but it was the arrival that was the most spectacular. An 11 hour trip extended to a 15 hour trip? Two hours of the delay can be blamed on the ferry, the bus drivers don't control the wind, but an additional two hours on top of that? Well eventually I did in fact arrive, and found my way to my hostel; but as I arrived late I had to eat at a restaurant, so I was in luck as there was a very cheap place only a block away the hostel owned told me.
Well the service was... Unique. I entered and got shown to a table, after which the operator/waiter/cook asked me "aléman?". I told him that I was Danish (all this is in Spanish), so he just looked at me with a blank stare and once again asked me "aléman?", so I just accepted that he though I as German and he went away. Two minutes later he appeared and asked what I wanted to bring, I asked for the usual still water, which they didn't have; but on his own initiative, he did present me with a glass of tap water (which I didn't touch). Shortly after (and to my surprise) he served me food... Apparently the "aléman" deal, had been a dish (he hadn't bothered to show me the menu) consisting of a meatwrap with something disgusting inside which I never identified (scraped it out) and mashed potatoes.
I went back to my hostel and joined conversation with some other travelers for some time before going to bed, absolutely knackered; and now in Chile, with even more time difference.