Tues 2nd Dec: To Pucon

I slept relatively well through the night, waking with everyone else around 6am. It was bright outside and we were entering the hill country of the lake district. This morning myself and Joe were a lot more chatty. Me in slow, halting pidgin Spanish and he talking rapidly. My dictionary/phrasebook was used repeatedly. Joe also used it when I couldn´t understand what he was saying. Pointing to the relevant word in spanish so I could read the english translation.

Travelling along gravel roads the bus picked up two punctures. We stopped in Esquel, a pretty town, for an hour while repairs were administered. This gave some of us time to get to a supermarket to buy bits and bobs for breakfast. Behind schedule now the bus didn´t stop again until we got to the border, passing through the lake district and Bariloche with all due haste. I got a photo with Joe at the Chilean border under a map of his home region. He was all excited now as he was going to point out all the natural splendour we were about to see. I took out my guidebook and Joe pointed out towns which were particularly nice to visit. The Chapter on Argentina was discreetly overlooked!! Then we reentered Chile. For Joe a land of milk and honey but to be fair this part of Chile is beautiful.

We got to Osorno around 6pm. Myself and Joe shook hands and bade farewell "Los hermanos del Quattro Septiembre.!!" I expected to have to stay in Osorno this evening which wasn´t the most appealing. I checked to see if there was an evening bus to Pucon and, sure enough, there was one leaving at 6.45. Great!! it means I´ll get to Pucon tonight. I paid for a ticket and bwalking away from the counter bumped into an American I had met in the Hostel in San Martin. After all the camaraderie of the last 36hrs this was a mood changer. When I left San Martin I was hoping I wouldn´t see this guy again. He was a boorish, moody know-it-all. Thankfully our meeting was brief. He was getting an overnight bus to Santiago. I made my excuses and got away from him. Relieved to be away from him.

While I waited for the bus a small pup, lost or abandoned and obviously scared crept into a corner formed by rucksack and a wall. It looked out from its alcove at the hustle and bustle of the bus terminal. When the bus arrived I felt bad taking the rucksack leaving the wee pup once again exposed.

This bus was ridiculously hot and sticky. No airconditioning on this one. I was grateful when the bus pulled away and picked up speed on the motorway, allowing a breeze to blow through the open roofhatches. Thankfully the sun went down, and with it the heat. I was tired now. It was dark. I just wanted to get to Pucon.

We arrived in Pucon around 11pm. I went to a different hostel from the last time I was in Pucon. Hospedaje Victor, just around the corner from the bus station. I went into a 4-bed dorm but had the room to myself. After a quick shower I managed a hastily grabbed snack from a shop about to close for the night. I gratefully went to sleep, 40hrs after leaving Puerto Natales.