A lesson in practising my patience – MENDOZA

 

So you’re in South America..and you know clocks tick differently here..but actually experiencing quite how different… I found out over the last few days. Such a simple thing as buying a bus ticket to get to your destination – in my case MENDOZA (Argentina) – can turn into a true nightmare.

First attempt

We bought our first ticket to Mendoza nine days ago. We spent all day in a restaurant, with all our luggage around us, waiting for the evening bus leaving Viña del Mar. It was supposed to leave at 21.45. At 22.00 we were told it was not going to come, and we got our money back. It was already dark and late. What will we do now?

Second attempt

We started asking other companies whether they had two spaces left from anyone not showing up. At the last minute we got two spots. Not sitting together… but hey, we’re on the bus! We were very happy and made ourselves comfortable for the roughly 9 hour trip. After two hours the bus stopped and waited for 40 minutes! The Andes Pass was closed, and the bus was going to turn around. We arrived back in Viña in the middle of the night, and because the hostel was full, slept (not!) on the couch.

Day 2

The next day we went back to the bus station. The guy gave us a whatsapp number, told us to text after 4 and come back later. We went to the beach. Then we texted… a nice message… another one… a slightly annoyed one… an angry one!! No response. So we packed our towels and went back to the station again. My friend Kelly didn’t have time to wait so many days so we just wanted to get our money back. We were told they have no money left in the office and we should come back tomorrow…

Day 3

The next day we spent hours in the bus station. There were 50 people waiting in the line. We waited for about 2 hours when we finally reached to desk. We saw the woman that had sold us the ticket and we were at first relieved that now everything would be OK. But she was a different person. She told us she had no money and we should come again in …one hour!
In the end the security of the station called the police. The police called the bus company, and we got our money back! After us the local TV station arrived and started interviewing people in the still enormous queue… Did we start that? OMG!!

Day 4

I bought another bus ticket with another company for Friday. One week after the first attempt. I figured the road should be open again by then and it was the first day that had any availability. The whole station was crazy because there are so many people from MENDOZA here on a holiday and they all need get back to work.

Day 5 – Day 7

Waiting… got sick like crazy… waiting some more. Hanging out energy-less on the holllywoodschaukel (google that 😉 )

Third Attempt to get to Mendoza

I was there at 7.30, the bus was supposed to be there at 8.15 and now I was prepared. Now I knew everything about going to Mendoza and had everything with me that I did not have before. Warm jacket… check. Two Liters of water… check. Food… (cause you can spend 4 hours in customs if unlucky) check. 8.30… NO BUS! So this time I responded quickly. The office of the ticket sales of my company was closed so I bought a ticket to Santiago and jumped on to it at 8.30. I was supposed to change the bus there.

I arrived there, went to the office and they did not want to understand anything or do anything. They did not want to give me my money back and there were not going to be any other tickets for the next two days. That was too much for me. I was without sleep, still ill, and I just started crying like crazy. I found myself completely helpless at the Bus Terminal. I could not help it, but all the frustrations of the last few days came out.

Let Mate (Rieslingschorle) solve your problems

The new Argentinian friends I made in the hostel in Viña del Mar would have probably told me to have a seat and drink a Mate (Mate Tea). This drink seems to solve any problem and is the Rieslingschorle of Argentina cause you sit together and share from the same glass (cup) and tadddá!! All your problems are gone…

The problem is the only Mate I tried was the smoked, advanced drinker version and it tasted like drinking an ashtray filled with hot water. So drinking Mate was not an option!  Neither was crying my eyes out again, so I needed to think. But after not sleeping the whole night because of the party-animals in my last accommodation, and still not having completely recovered from my illness a few days ago, I first just ran into an internet cafe. SKYSCANNER help me! I want to get out of this f…. place!! Ok no chance,..next flight is within an hour. All others are not affordable…

Saved by IBIS

I head over to the other terminal to see where else I could go. Tourist Information -closed. Still crying.. in the end of the corner I see a familiar sign.. IBIS!! First thing i thought.. I do not care what it costs or if it blows my budget: “I am going there!” After a small sleep, a shower and a nice dinner, life is sweet again. I gained strength and gave the bus terminal another go. And there was a different woman behind the glass. She called around but could not help me, at least she was sorry… Then another man started intervening. He also called and gave me his mobile. I couldn’t really understand anything… but he told me to follow him across the hallway… and HE GAVE ME MY MONEY BACK!! I kissed the guy on the cheek! There are still some good people out there! Yeah!!

Back to the hotel I went! Called my best friend and started a new plan. How good it is to have a best friend that is so experienced in travel, and who always stays calm. “Andrea for any flight out there you can stay a lot of nights in nice rooms… better just hang in there and wait and enjoy the time while you are there”. Pretty much sounds like…just have a Mate…

Maybe Europe and South America are not really that different…

I will let you know when I have managed to reach Mendoza!!! I bought a ticket for Monday morning… (Fourth and last attempt)!