Day 196: Feb. 27, 2008 Punta Arenas to San Julián
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2007
1
199
202
Trip End
Mar 01, 2008
Puerto San Julián,
Argentina
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Liz and I got up at 7:30 to prepare fore our respective departures. A heavy rain pounded the city during the night. Even so, my offering of used clothing was gone, probably before the rain started. We ate a simple breakfast while watching CNN and then finished packing our bags. Just after 10:00 our taxista, Juan Carlos' wife, Adrianna, arrived to pick us up. We piled our bags into the trunk of the taxi and proceeded to the Ghisoni office where I would get my bus. Liz walked in with me as I checked. Although it was sad to see her go, we both had smiles on our faces as celebrated our wonderful travels together and with the knowledge that we would see each other in a few days back in Brevard.
I boarded the bus and we left precisely at 11:00, as scheduled. I started reading "Endurance", the incredible survival story of the 1914-1916 Shackleton Antarctic expedition. It was a book I had meant to read for years. My long bus ride ahead was the perfect opportunity. The road was wet and slippery as we drove along the Straits of Magellan. We passed a bad single-car accident in which death certainly occurred. Beyond that, I remember nothing. I was completely absorbed in my book. Both sides of the border at Monte Aymond went surprisingly quickly; we were through the whole thing in less than an hour. It was my sixth and final crossing there this year.
I read through most of my 4-hour layover in Río Gallegos, pausing to eat a hamburger and fries for dinner in the terminal restaurant. My Andesmar bus arrived at 8:00 and we boarded, leaving at 8:17, two minutes late. I took time out from my Antarctic absorption to admire the beautiful sunset over the Patagonia pampas. No one sat next to me until a woman with a 22-week old infant boy got on. She said nothing to me, other than the baby's age, for the next 16 hours in spite of my several attempts to make conversation. Fortunately and remarkably, her son was equally silent. I finished my book by the time we reached San Julián. Wow! After reading what those 28 guys went through for two years, I knew I could never complain about a 36-hour bus trip!
I had been saving three Ambien tablets that Elise gave me for a night such as this. I took one and settled into my seat. I was asleep in no time, just before midnight.
