On the Road -- El Calafate to Bariloche

* this entry from 3/9, 3/10 *

The Dusty Dog, Bus ride, El Calafate to Bariloche
On the bus again, though this time a double decker. My seat -- full cama, full bed -- resembles a plush recliner.
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Views of the sun setting over Patagonian plains.


While eating a sandwich, I read a Spanish phrasebook. This evening´s lesson -- avoid saying ¨Quiero coger el autobus (I want to catch a bus)¨ for this translates in Spanish as ¨I want to bonk the bus¨.

*

Sunlight seeps through the bus´ windows. Outside, a terrain of dirt dotted with shrubs.
(photo)

Movies are shown on a flat TV -- The Gameplan, Littleman, 10,000 BC -- in Russian. On route 40 the ride is slow and bumpy. Outside the scenery remains the same. Patagonia is said to maintain one of the lowest population densities in the world. Locals in Northern Patagonia say ¨Quien se apura en la Patagonia pierde el tiempo (he who hurries in Patagonia loses his time)¨.

Passengers their faces shiny with sweat, it smells like feet. The air conditioner is broken, windows unable to open. A winding road ahead curves into a seemingly endless expanse of low shrubs, rocks and dirt. In jeans and wool socks, it´s hot. Ít´s been twenty three hours, there´s still seven hours left to go until Bariloche. The next movie shown is Premonition, it sucks and is utterly sad. Passengers are asking for compensation due to the uncomfortable conditions on the bus. They want their money back.

The bus stops at a dusty town. I get off to stretch my legs and breathe fresh air. A stray dog approaches. I give him scraps of bread from a sandwich. Dusty and mangy, ribs protruding, he scratches his fleas and wags his tail.



...At the moment, internet hub, La Paz, Bolivia
In a low ceilinged room lit by a long florescent light. Only posting one photo, internet connection is quite slow, virtual memory low. A baby is crying downstairs. Okay onto the next blog.