Yesterday marked the day in which I had left home exactly two months past.
It didn’t feel too different, except the fact that I did indeed feel as though I’ve been gone for a long time. I am not quite sure how this journey would end because the car situation is still in doubt. But I’m somewhat hopeful that it will all work out in the end.
I am in Santiago, and I will be leaving this city today. If it wasn’t for a few people who made the sleep a horror, I would have definitely stayed another day. I had to stay in a dorm because that’s mostly what they have here, and a couple people slept in early but there were about 3 or 4 people who kept barging in and out of the room in the middle of the night, probably just going out drinking or something. I remain very disappointed with backpackers. They’re no different from regular college students, most of whom don’t know how to think outside of themselves.
I ate something at Valparaiso that is giving me the bumps. It’s the worst in the middle of the night and I had to put some hydrocortisone on. But I think for the most part, I will be ok.
I woke up at 10 AM yesterday and was on my way towards Santiago by about 11AM after having filled up and going to a huge Mercedes Benz warehouse where I had hoped to find a spare part for my accelerator, to no avail, of course. My car’s too old, and they don’t have that kind of part unless they order it. I got to Santiago just fine and was strolling down the main way leading east and west when I decided to try and find a hostal first.
It took me 4 hours to find a hostal that I ultimately stayed at. The first few were all taken. I finally found one to my liking, but the garage situation was dreadfully full. I suppose I could have wiggled my way through, but why? I mean literally wiggle. The guy was trying to get out a smaller SUV and went in and out about 10 times before finally getting out. I decided to venture out and try to find another parking lot, which they just don’t have. I even went inside a Chinese restaurant, thinking hopefully Asians can help each other out. I went through a bunch of Chileans dressed in Chinese clothing (which is just very odd, by the way), and talked to the Chinese owner who immediately asked if I’m Chinese or Japanese. Nobody suspects Korean, for some reason. He started laughing and said he opens at noon and closes at 10PM and he just can’t let anyone park there.
A bunch of other hostals also had parking, but for some reason, even though it was around 3PM, they were saying 10,000 pesos. Which was all fine and dandy for me except for the fact that they wanted me out by 9PM. I guess they charge every 12 hours and couldn’t get around the fact that I was asking for 15. I also walked into another one of those love motels, except this one didn’t have a garage. I got the wrong vibe immediately when I walked in.
Finally, I settled here, where I got a dorm room and thought I had found some public parking, which, according to one dude whose hostal was full, was a safe place to park all night. He’s been living here for 10 years. I asked the cops at that park if it’s safe, and they told me there are fights and things all night so I can, but I shouldn’t. I was highly considering paying off the guy for 2000 pesos at a shell gas station across the street. He wanted me back at no earlier than 9PM.
So it was around 7PM and I had gone strolling when I had realized, with extreme stupidity, that I hadn’t packed my camera with me. I somehow stumbled upon Plaza de Armas of Santiago, and I realized how beautiful it was. I walked all the way back, which, according to how long it took me, is about a mile away, got my camera, and walked back to Plaza de Armas. But it was during this second try that I saw a garage near the main highway. I decided this place wasn’t packed enough where I can easily get my car in and out, and paid the guy 2000 pesos for the night.
Plaza de Armas was quite interesting. There was a dude doing some stand up comedy, and it wasn’t all that funny, actually. It was just absurd, which was probably why all the people were watching him. He picked me out, obviously because I look different enough and I look much more different now that I have my beard and long hair. I stood in the middle for a few minutes while he spoke in English to me and translated in Spanish to the crowd, how long I’ve been here and such. He told me about Plaza de Armas, the church, the museum, and the way to Peru, he says, and all that. At the end, though, he ended up asking me for money, getting a bill of each denomination in dollars of 1, 2, 5, and 10, and asking me for money to fill up and make it 20. I didn’t have any pesos that could do that (I only had 10000 pesos, or $20 at that time), so I gave him all the change I had, which added up to probably a dollar. Disappointed, he got the crowd to help me out, and I walked out of the circle, wondering why this guy was so popular.
I don’t know what the next city I’m gonna be staying in will be.
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Today started out bad enough. I realized that somewhere between Chanaral and Santiago, I lost my ‘Driving through Latin America’ book.
Then I realized that I am paying a lot of tolls along the road and I am running out of money. I stopped by a gas station where I triedd to use the ATM, but every ATM I go to right now is telling me that my card is ‘not authorized for that transaction’. I have 6 dollars left in cash.
Then I tried to back out of the parking lot into the gas station, because the gas station was being worked out with ‘technical difficulties.’ Well, turns out my reverse gear won’t work now.
So instead of driving all the way to Osorno today like I planned, I made a detour and stopped at Temuco. Which isn’t too bad of an idea since I probably would have run out of cash to pay all the toll roads, which is becoming quite a bitch. I must have paid at least 30 bucks in tolls. I went to a few mechanics, which all specialize in nothing but manual transmission. Then I tried to find a mechanic for automatic transmissions, and turns out some dude was telling me that there is a leak in the fluid system. I bought more fluid, which he says should be the first thing we check, and of course, that didn’t work. I also tried to withdraw some funds from the ATM at the gas station where I bought the fluid but it rejectd my card, too. At least it’s not eating my card…
So now I’m at a Holiday Inn, where I paid $85 with my credit card for one night. The wireless internet needs a code to log into, and even then is worse than a 56k modem. I managed to, even with all the nonresponsiveness of the internet, ask a few questions online and write a couple emails. At least they have hot water. I took a hot bath for the first time in 2 months.
So now I’m out of cash, and my car isn’t working very well. Jeez, this is so hard… I don’t know how I’m going to fix the problem, nor do I know how I’m gonna get cash to get out of here.