While making conversation with the owner while waiting for a taxi he'd called, he said I'd have no trouble getting a bus. He'd also heard of my hostel in Puerto Iguazu, he said it was very big and self-contained so it didn't matter it was in the middle of nowhere. I am still a bit hacked off about that though. I want to see the town a bit.
The taxi driver also told me I'd have no trouble getting a bus and even found out there was one at 11 over the radio. I couldn't find the company he'd named, despite him pointing out some area where they supposedly were, but I queued up there and overheard a guy ask a bored-looking woman at the next company's desk about buses and she said they had one at midday. So I ditched the company with the queue and bought the midday ticket (ARS45). It was about 10:15 by this point and I wanted time to eat first, both so I could take my malaria tablet with food and so I'm not compelled to eat at the hostel tonight (going into town probably not being easily possible). The two cafe type places in the terminal looked a bit crap, but luckily I spotted a small place opposite the terminal which was open and went there instead. Not great but not bad.
Had a brief wander around the kiosks and couldn't see anyone obviously advertising destinations in Uruguay. I didn't actually ask anyone, my knowledge of the possible border crossing towns is not really good enough and I didn't have a huge amount of time left.
Now stood on the concourse hoping my bus turns up OK.
Yeah, it was there already, I just hadn't recognised it (the company seems to have two different liveries at the same time). I saw everyone was handing money to the bag-loading guy so I gave him a peso, I don't know if this is compulsory or just a tip.
Am now on the bus. My ticket says seat 1 (in handwriting) but someone is sat there. I don't actually care unless someone else makes a fuss, so I have sat in the empty pair of seats behind and if anyone says anything I will let the problem cascade if there are no other seats free.
(Oh, I did actually go down and just double check with the conductor bloke that I am on the right bus, so at least I don't have to worry the seat is apparently double booked because I'm on the wrong bus.)
Some bloke just tried to sit in my designated seat pair too and is now asking the conductor. Didn't quite follow what the conductor chap said but they are now moving I think. Oh no, the bloke has moved (from what should have been my seat, and the new bloke is sat in it) and the woman next to him is still there. So maybe seat 1 is triple booked. I really wouldn't give a shit if I didn't fear the bus would fill up at some intermediate stop and I'll get thrown off because there are no free seats.
But I really don't want to stir any shit up right now either. As I say, I really don't care which seat I have as long as I have one. This whole reserved seat fetish is a bit crazy.
Well, we are moving now and no one has told me I'm in their seat. So modulo intermediate destinations I guess I'm OK.
12:45. Ah, the inevitable compulsory film on the speakers. I thought we might have got away with it. At least it isn't overly loud.
14:00. We keep stopping at small bus terminals, we are in Puerto Rico now. Gets on my wick cos every time we stop I think the balloon is going to go up over the seating.
15:30. We just pulled up in Eldorado and just about the entire bus just got off. (Not absolutely everyone, fortunately.) I wondered what the fuck was going on. Clearly it's just a popular destination. We now have an absolute shitload of people getting on. What the hell? Why should there be such a massive exchange here? It makes me think I should be changing buses for some reason.
OK, fuck it. No one told me to change and it's not my job to infer anything based on the fact that everyone seems to think Eldorado is *the* place.
17:30. We just got to the terminal, having passed the hostel a few minutes ago. We stopped very briefly but I decided not to complicate things by trying to get off, better to take the hit of getting a taxi back.
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