Santiago-Vallenar

2249 At bus terminal. Slight doubt over exact location of platform but an hour to go yet so no super worried. Withdrew cash and picked bag up. Tried to send previous blog entry on wifi at Universidad de Santiago metro but all of a sudden it requires web authentication with RUT (Chilean NI number) and won't take my passport no (despite the web page saying 'this is for everyone' not 'this is for every Chilean'). No big deal.

Three I think a bit drunk guys at next table spoke to me not long before left that bar. I was a bit nervous (the need to get bus rather than just being out for night in need of no more than cab home and cab fare in pocket with all time in world didn't help) plus of course the short introductory kind of questions are super-colloquial and to a naturally uninformed third party suggest I speak far less Spanish than I do. Not at all hostile but bit awkward and annoying. Big presence of (silent) fire engines as I walked down to Republica and felt smidge jittery on streets based on what guide book says about Barrio Brasil but got metro no problems.

Battery 31%, think I am gonna switch and then if other one is weak I at least know I need to conserve power. I definitely need to make a point of having a beer at bars more often, just for the potential social contact, don't have to stay out late or get pissed. Anyway, bouncing phone.

2258 Tis OK, other battery at 97%. Just need to remember to recharge it in Vallenar (though it's heartening just how rarely I need to switch to spare battery, today has been exceptional with so much lurking reading on phone with this super late bus, and even today I might well have managed without switching).

2308 I was on Pullman Bus side (semi knowingly) and they shut the gate between this and 'main stn' side, had to go round via street, no big deal but good job not rushing. My bus not showing on TurBus monitors despite showing many later buses, I checked with a woman at one desk and she said it goes from here. Do wonder why not on monitors but meh. Could do w piss but not busting, will go on bus rather than pay, also give me chance to put hidden belt away after got it out to wd cash at UdeS metro and also extract ticket for left luggage.

2318 Incidentally noticed this morning lots of companies offering buses to Lima, Peru. Vaguely tempted to enquire if they stopped in Calama, but didn't. Dunno if Lima is nearest place in Peru or where I want to go, so didn't want to rush into it (and a lot of them said 'direct' so may not stop anywhere). If I can't get a ticket in Calama because it's just not a route or I am not booking sufficiently in advance I will just go on to Arica or somewhere like than and cross border from there. Something to look into maybe tomorrow and worry about when I get to Calama. I do intend to buy a ticket on to Calama tomorrow morning when I am at bus terminal in Vallenar.

I forgot to fiddle around and mark the hotel in Vallenar on OSM or Google Maps but it will be OK, I am arriving in broad daylight, OSM is semi-searchable offline and I am in no huge rush, I also think hotel is fairly near terminal and push comes to shove can get a taxi.

2323 Moved a bit nearer platform 4 where my bus is supposed to go from. Bag a smidge heavy, in part due to excess carrying of liquids; I had about 2l left in flat, but I generally have a 1.6l bottle. Maybe I should make a point of discarding surplus and only bringing 500ml with me. OTOH, in reality the amount of lugging it round I've done has been small enough the extra weight has not been a huge factor, just annoying, so perhaps silly to waste it and also compromise on the comfort of knowing I can hydrate myself silly on bus if I wish. (Though as a practical matter even when I wake up feeling shit with mouth like bottom of birdcage I virtually never take even the smallest swig from my water supply, not to preserve it but because dredging it out seems such a huge effort...)

Am also thinking I need to look into putting the various 'loose items' in my bag into some kind of container. There are not that many but enough that it makes packing (when I need to empty it to strap clothing bundle in) just a smidge more effort in reality and a disproportionately larger amount in my mind.

2330 I see there is a bus to Temuco showing departure time of 2240. Nice. I don't mind if mine is as late, except that I am going to be worrying I have missed the damn thing, which is a non-trivial concern. I am pretty sure I am in the right place but still.

2344 On bus, as per seating plan have solo seat right at front of bus. Curtains drawn so no view alas. Must set alarm as Vallenar is not final destination, though think staff may alert me when we get there, don't want to rely on it.

2358 Not left yet. Not busting but piss be nice, waiting til we pull out to go. We are just leaving now so... (Paranoia about someone grabbing my bag and jumping off bus.)

0824 Slept but not great. At Vallenar terminal. It's misty and a bit damp and cold. Yay.

0832 Fuck me. TurBus naturally have their own terminal and being here I thought I'd ask about Calama bus before wandering across road to PullmanBus terminal saw as came in. Some unpleasant barking woman served me - there was no queue. She seemed hugely unresponsive to my questions, the display showing service class was unreadable with shitty abbreviations. Because she mentioned one CondorBus service and partly because the one salon cama service she deigned to offer me had one seat free (part of a pair, sigh, though at least it was aisle) I thought I ought to buy it. 35.9k. It also arrives about 11am IIRC (TurBus don't seem to like to print this on their tickets, you just have to remember what they said when you bought it) which is a smidge tight with dropping bag off at hotel if permitted and getting to the mine office to see if I got a standby place (they never replied to my e-mail accepting their offer to go on standby list). Fucking hell, I am developing a real loathing for TurBus. To be fair, maybe they are no more expensive than the alternatives, but I'll never know now. I nearly pretended I needed to go get some cash as a way to back out of ticket purchase but as there was only that one seat (in cama on that service; for all I could get out of barking woman there might have been a trillion seats free on other cama services, and definitely no shortage in semi cama) I said 'oh no, it's OK' and paid. As she sullenly got change I wondered about the arrival time and asked if there was an earlier bus but she waved the ticket at me so I said it was OK. Still, you don't expect good service just because you pay top price for it.

0904 Loitering in plaza to read guide book - I either need to fart or shit and daren't risk trying the former and wasn't going to pay to go at bus terminal. The church bells appear to play Billy Joel's "Piano Man" before the chimes...

Oh, there was at least a slightly scraggly but friendly grey kitten at the TurBus terminal.

1024 OK, found hotel, left bag, used bog, come back out. Spotted couple of potential food places though no source of fruit/veg yet. Went into plaza to record church bells, this time played Roll Out The Barrel. Walked up some stairs to street on hills on one side of valley, not bad view, can see the road bridge which I think guide book mentions as bypassing the town so most tourists driving themselves don't stop here.

Place is a bit dull but it's OK, it was deliberately chosen as the cheapest spot I could find to break journey to Calama. Will try to have a Spanish lesson tonight if wifi works.

Was at Apartments CL, Monjias 744 in Santiago. Lots of different companies seem to do apartments in same residential block, but FWIW that was the company I went with. Their web presence seems limited to being on expedia.

1124 At Il Boccato for lunch, went into some cheap bar type place which took my order for steak and chips then a chap came over and said something about kitchen, evidently not possible. Having pizza española here, after checking it doesn't have mayonnaise on. BECAUSE SOME OF THEIR FUCKING PIZZAS LIST MAYONNAISE AS AN INGREDIENT. I THOUGHT I WAS SAFE FROM THE FUCKING STUFF WHEN EATING PIZZA. (This makes me wonder about the white saucey stuff I have occasionally found on some slightly less than delectable pizzas. But I think that was something else, I did look it up and found a name though it has slipped my mind.)

1159 It's Billy Joel day. We just had a snatch of "Don't Ask Me Why?" on the radio in here. Pizza (ham and chorizo) fairly good, portion reasonable if not leaving me absolutely stuffed. Bought a single green pepper and bottle of water at shop earlier, that's the best I've been able to do on fruit and veg so far. Lingering a little over my diet coke as I still have at least an hour before I want to present myself at hotel (checkin is 2). It is warm and sunny now and has been since at least my visit to hotel, the mist obviously went fairly quickly after dawn.

1229 Nursed that coke, going to get a large espresso and sit it out here, it's pleasantly 80sish with the radio and it's not as if there's anything else to do. Will probably loiter in room once get it if wifi works, after all I will be forced to wander the town after checkout tomorrow so no point overdoing it today, may go out for more food later. I really could do with some fruit/veg, maybe will find somewhere on way back to hotel.

1315 Coffee OK, not that I'm any connosieur, I can't even spell the word reliably. Getting bill then will use bog and see if I can find fruit before going to hotel, if I don't get it sorted out now I will have to come out again 'early' (before shops shut) instead of when I feel like it (which may be never, we'll see) or let it slide.

Bill 7400, not too unreasonable, breaking a 10k and will make it 8100. Battery at 34% but have been reading heavily.

1413 What a fucking crock of shit. It's USD53+19% tax. Admittedly technically it always says this on booking.com but I think this is the first time anyone has charged me the 19% extra. And I have a private bathroom *which I have to go out into the corridor to get to*. Because obviously my main desire for a private bathroom is my fear of cross-contamination from another person's germs, not the convenience of not having to get partially dressed after I have a shower or when I want to go to the bog at 3am. Fuck a doodle do. I did 'argue' about the price but he said it was the tax and I couldn't argue then, despite it being a misleading situation. I tried to keep things as polite as I could - no point being rude and I hope to leave my bag here tomorrow - but I can't deny I was feeling extremely ripped off (it is already fucking pricey and then there's the bathroom shit) and it probably showed on my face/body language.