There is a horse in the street outside the restaurant. (Oh, it clearly is still raining, it's picking up again now. Hope it stops by the time I have finished this juice.) First one I've seen although there's no shortage of what I infer to be horse shit on the streets
Jesus wept. CLP15000 for the food (a tiny steak and a not excessive portion of chips), two small beers and two juices. That's not much short of twenty quid, and there will be a tip on top of that. At least I can dispose of my change with the tip.
There was a fairly nice if skinny little dog kicking around here, even if it did try to chew my wrist in a friendly way when I stroked it. I really want to wash my hands now though.
6:30pm. It's rained intermittently all afternoon. It's probably preferable to the heat of this morning but I'm a bit damp.
The museum is a couple of kilometres north of the centre. I found myself wandering round Ahu Kanga Kio'e and Ahu Tahai before I got there. That was quite cool I must admit, and it was hardly busy. Where are all these tourists who meant I struggled like mad to get a hotel booking?
I got to the museum at 4:50. It shuts at 5:30. I nearly didn't go in but since (hahahahaha) I may be on a tour tomorrow and it shuts at 12:30pm at weekends and isn't open on Mondays and I leave (admittedly late) on Tuesday, I figured I ought to give it a go. They started shutting the doors at 5:20, the cheeky fuckers. It was pretty interesting but mainly because I was reading the thick English translation of their displays. The exhibits were mildly interesting if a bit scarce, but it was basically the text that made it worthwhile. I got about halfway through before I chucked myself out. I may go back if I get the chance to finish it off.
Outside there is a sign showing a sort of trail which I evidently walked the first half of today in reverse. I may sort of walk the other half tomorrow, since I don't have a tour booked. Nearly everywhere seems to be a car and bike rental shop. I passed one place that might have been an option but there were two guys sat outside so I figured I'd give it a miss.
I walked past some other place later which looked a bit adventurous (boat tours with snorkelling, that kind of thing). They did list 'excursions' but as I was dithering the guy inside said 'hola!' to me, so I said it back to him and cleared off. I'm not going to be rushed.
Have come to some restaurant for food. Everywhere here looks shit, I've walked the length of the main street twice now counting this morning and afternoon, so I've just settled for the least pretentious looking place I could find.
I did at least spot an internet cafe earlier though I didn't go in as I had vague hopes of finding a tour company.
I guess I will just have to ask at the hotel. I hate taking recommended hotel tours but I keep doing it. At least it's easy.
Thu, 8pm. Just come to what the (probably American) waiter described to me as "the only proper bar" on the island. I would note the name but I can't see it anywhere inside. I think it's something like "Nandu". An amazing find after making a third pass up the main street. I only came in here as it looked the best of a bad lot. It's pretty dead but it is a bar of sorts and that's all I need. (It is insanely expensive, at CLP2000 for a 350ml can of Escudo, at the restaurant I ate at earlier it was only CLP1500. But sod it.)
(For the record, it is opposite Hotel Orongo.)
8:10pm. It is chucking it down outside. As I said, I got a bit damp earlier and still am, it was just about tolerable but pushing it. I think the fact that it rains like this and I don't have all the fancy weather gear really does put me off the idea of going round the island on a bike, even ignoring questions of fitness.
I shall write the guidebook's advice off in the same way I eventually did (after it hacked me off no end first) the same book's advice about it being desirable to go hiking in Torres del Paine national park. I'm sure it is, but don't lay it on too thick.
Thu, 9:30pm. Slightly worried about getting back to, and more importantly, into the hotel, but I shall heart from the apparent return of someone at 10:45pm last night. I won't aim to be back too late.
Apart from one other group by the door the place is empty. No big surprise but I find it amusing that when I got here the waiter asked me to move to a smaller table if I was on my own. (I failed to understand him, which is how we came to speak English and I was able to make my unverified guess he is American.) Clearly the hoped for rush hasn't occurred. :-)
9:40pm. Having a last one. I must say the waiter seems a man of few words. Every time I ask him for another drink (in English) he seems to stare at me a bit as if to say 'what?'. Seems a nice enough chap otherwise, not that I've spoken to him much.
This is a bit joyless but what the hell. I have vague plans to be up super-early (say 8am) tomorrow and see if I can arrange a tour for the same day. I somehow doubt my ability to pull it off (the getting up part, primarily), but what the hell. A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?
In some sense there is no rush, I have four more full days here, but I should try to get a move on I guess just in case (just in case what I don't know).
I suspect I will be refreshing myself with tap water tonight. I hope that's safe here.
I hope I can get into the hotel. But for fuck's sake, I think I'm paying well over a hundred dollars a night (I have some vague idea it's 140, but I don't know), it isn't cheap. For that money I think I might reasonably expect 24h access. (Mind you, the reception at the USD200/night Lakutaia wasn't open late at all, although if memory serves I had my room key card on me all the time and the outside door was probably never locked.)
No point really pushing it tonight though. Depending on how things go with the tour I may venture to one of the discos mentioned in my 5 year out of date guide book tomorrow, it being Friday, and they apparently don't get going until after midnight.
9:55pm. A guy is now playing a guitar behind me, and the waiter helped to move some tables to free up space for him. The sound system is still playing but I half wonder if he is going to perform. This is the sort of thing I can imagine tempting me to push it.
There's a guy fooling with some sort of drum too. (I am not looking round, but I can hear it.)
No, it is a band. They just turned the music off and they are playing a bit and they have a microphone. I may switch to the other side of my table if this goes on.
10:20pm. Did move round and they are playing. Quite good in a mellowish way. Just looked round (since I am no longer facing it) and the terrace is now moderately heaving. Seems a bit odd since the music is in here but there you go. I guess they just put the music on when it gets busy and people aren't here to listen as such.
Not too fussed about my 8am plan under these circumstances but the hotel situation nags. It's not like they said anything about closing hours on that welcome card they left out for me. I am imaging certain people I know would have a definite "fuck them" attitude (I may be wrong, but if I try to put those people in my shoes, that's how I think they'd react) but I don't know if I can emulate it.
11pm. The guys just finished playing and are packing up. I am going to have one more and leave. I believe that's the first live music I've seen so far on the trip, although no doubt I will remember something falsifying that after I post this. (I don't think the bar is closing anywhere near yet, but I have to draw the line somewhere.)
Somewhat oddly, to me, the bogs here have 50s-style American cartoon figures on with 'humorous' tequila slogans. (Men's "Have you hugged your toilet today?", women's "Helping women lower their standards for years?").
11:30pm. The sole advantage of the "toilet paper in the bin" system prevalent on the continent (and indeed 3500km off it) is that when you have a good shit you can admire It in the bowl afterwards without impediment. :-)
11:50pm. Having another in a beer-induced spirit of "fuck them at the hotel". Asked the waiter where he's from, he's Californian. Am glad, I had this nagging fear he was a local who just spoke good English and I'd thus been the annoying speaking-English-to-the-locals tourist all night. As it is you can omit the second adjective. Still not very chatty, I guess he's busy but I sense a slight dislike. Still, I am a tourist, which justifies any amount of odium, and he may regard himself as a local.
Am a bit concerned about the hotel but fuck it. At this rate I'm not doing the tour tomorrow so I suspect it will be a Saturday thing, in which case this will be my only unfettered weekend-ish night here. Well, there is Saturday night I suppose, but I have a vague hope I can get a tour which takes place over two days and covers different places each day, as a compromise since I can't see the island under my own steam. I suspect that won't be possible but I can hope. At least if I'm not rushing to book a tour at 9am tomorrow morning I have time to discuss it, assuming I feel more dynamic than I did today. I did pass a closed tour place with (doubtless unofficial) tourist information signs earlier which seemed to advertise two distinct tours.
Fri, 12:10am. It's vaguely tempting to stay for another but I almost can't be arsed. I've made my teenage-style stand against the hotel (this time without the aid of a mis-set clock) and I am a little tired and maybin general fuck it. I will ask the silent barman to call me a cab, if he thinks I won't get one on the street.
Just got the bill. It's correct, it contains a ten percent optional charge which takes it to 13200. I was going to call it 14000 but if they're putting a service charge on the bill fuck it. (My first beer I paid for in person, so I gave no tip. No doubt that's why blokely told me I could run a tab. I half suspected I could, but something in my UK-reared soul feels guilty at not proffering immediate payment. I don't do it to avoid paying a tip - I mentally planned to give one on departure - but I just feel that they are expecting me to pay and if I don't immediately do so it looks bad. Imagine being in a UK bar - even your local - and ordering a beer and swigging away without offering cash. If I was totally certain I was in a tab-running bar no problem, but somehow a lot of places fail to make that obvious. It's odd, in Tlaquepaque I never felt compelled to offer money immediately, but maybe I drank there too much and got used to it. I suspected it was the culture here even tonight bu
t I just didn't like to assume. I suppose the guy could have waved away my initial payment as he did my second one, which is probably what happened in eg Tlaquepaque.)
Odd. I gave them 15000 and just got 2000 change. I have left 300 change (from my pocket), the extra 100 is my tiny tocken recognition they weren't too arsey about their optional service charge.
12:25am. The bar isn't dead (though it's small) and the terrace is still full. Went out onto the street, gave it a minute with no cars and come back in to ask them to call me a taxi. Californian guy has spoken to someone, fingers crossed. The uncertainty annoys me but dogs and horses permitting I can walk home, the hotel is the big problem. It galls me to leave an obviously busy bar at this time but apart from the hotel shit I started drinking early and while I am far from pissed [at this point the taxi arrived], no, I am not pissed but I can see it from here, to say I am far from it would be wrong, but anyway, I do want to be up not ridiculously late tomorrow.
Californian guy advised me in a quite friendly way to wait for my taxi in the street as they don't hang around. CLP1500, which was OK.
Hotel lights were on but reception was shut. A guy (who was neither surly nor overly welcoming) was loitering around who told me my key was on the reception windowsill and gestured me round the side of the hotel to my room. All cool. I don't know if he was pissed off at (presumably) waiting up for me, but as I said earlier, fuck it, I assume he gets his share of the hundred plus dollars I am paying a night (remote islands clearly don't come cheap, though as on Isla Navarino I am sure I could get somewhere cheaper with more planning, and they may or may not be open 24h but at least you'd know why), and if he doesn't it's not my problem. Given the key was on the window sill I almost wonder if it was coincidence he was there, although I suspect not.
Anyway, it's now Fri, 12:35am. Given I am no way getting up at 8am I shall have a shower, then to bed. Not a bad night all things considered, even if not the best. I shall maybe consult reception tomorrow morning (afternoon?) to see what the official policy is, although in part I incline to a Grace Hopper-eque attitude that it's easier to get forgiveness than obtain permission, and maybe I shouldn't ask, because I may not like what I'm told.
Something to sleep on.
(Oh, I did note the name of the bar as the cab drove off, but beyond the fact that it began with M and was vaguely like "nandu", as noted earlier, I have totally lost it.)
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