Got the bus fine. I sat in the wrong seat (the numbering seemed less than logical and I couldn't find mine) and thought I'd scored a double seat to myself. But a minute after we set off a guy came round checking tickets and made me move. I initially put this down to sheer jobsworth pedantry, but we picked up some people at a stop a couple of minutes later so I guess it's possible those seats were already allocated rather than being unused.
The journey was fine and shorter than I expected at about 3h. It was almost an unpleasant shock when I realised we'd arrived, it was comfortable on the bus, whereas on arrival I knew I had to deal with getting to the hotel. I've experienced this a couple of hours before landing on long flights too, I almost wish the flight wouldn't end.
First impressions of the town as we drove in were that it was pleasant enough but damn small. All the hostel type places all over the place made me wonder what the hotel/hostel I booked would be like. The place has a definite healthy-young-backpacker quality which made me envisage dormitories, despite the booking clearly being for a private room.
I got to the hotel/hostel OK and they had no trace of my reservation. I was amazingly together about it, I had anticipated flapping badly when this happened but I underestimated myself. They phoned round about ten other places and managed to get me in at El Cumbre. It's OK and I have a private bathroom, not that sharing really bothered me, but no internet access. I guess I'll live for 3 days and there are always internet cafes.
I think part of the reason I didn't flap - and I definitely remember thinking this after they'd phoned about 5 places with no luck - was that, although it would be an enormous pisser, there was still plenty of time to catch a bus back to Punta Arenas today and doubtless I could have got a hotel there, even if not cheaply. Fortunately that wasn't necessary. Maybe I'd have settled for a dormitory if pushed, I don't know.
Since they were so nice at the original hostel and did sort me out with an OK alternative, I said I wouldn't mention anything to expedia.co.uk as I didn't want to stir anything up for them. I said if they were sure it wasn't their fault I would complain, but they weren't, so unless I've pre-paid (which I doubt) I'll keep quiet. I think I just paid a fiver as a booking fee and I did get a place as a result of that, so no big deal.
This place is small. It's colder than Punta Arenas, I think, probably because it's more exposed. I had something to eat then wandered around looking for a bar. I can't stay out late as the landlady at the new hostel was extremely up front about helping me to book up for a Torres Del Paine tour tomorrow, before I even had a room key in fact :-), so I need to be up for breakfast at 7 and get the bus outside the hotel (with 2 other guests) at 7:30. It's CLP20,000 which is probably reasonable-ish. It's not as if I have the time, or the inclination, to waste a day searching out the cheapest or best tour anyway. I'm sure they are all practically identical anyway.
While waiting for the bars to open - I only found three, and kick-off here seems to be 9 (til 3, though - I am the only person in El Bar De Ruperto at 9:15pm, and they are playing "In The Army Now" by Status Quo) I wandered down, almost accidentally, to the shore.
And it is quite 'wow'. Not with a capital W, but still. Snow-capped mountains in the distance, broad expanse of water. Quite interesting light as it's about an hour before sunset, half the sky was solid grey cloud and the other a bit more mixed, so there were patches of blue and the sun reflecting orange off other clouds. No doubt that description makes no sense and it won't even come out on the photos.
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