Long bus ride
Trip Start
Jan 12, 2008
1
16
45
Trip End
Apr 10, 2008
Villazon,
Bolivia
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
monday night, about 730, we left our hotel in la paz and walked to the bus station. we had to take one bus from there to another part of town to get our bus to the border. the woman who had sold us our tickets had told us it was a bus cama (where the seats fully recline to a bed) with a clean bathroom. it cost us 150 bolivianos each, about $20. there was another bus company that charged 115 but it only had semi-cama and no bathroom, for 18 hours. we figured the extra $5 each was worth it. well, low and behold, our bus was not what weīd been promised. it was semi-cama with no bathroom. i was ticked. ismael argued with the woman, but she claimed she never said that, that none of the buses have bathrooms or are bus cama. there were 8 other backpackers whom she had told the same thing. they were all arguing with her. there were people all over because they had overbooked the bus. being carnaval, no buses were running the next day, so anyone wanting to leave town had to take that bus
argentina!
. i tried to demand the difference in cost from the other bus company, but the woman just got off the bus. there was really nothing we could do. i was really pissed. but i got over it, because there were about 10 people in the aisle, for the entire ride. and as it turns out, there were people under the bus in the luggage compartments. how crazy is that. 18 hours in with the luggage. and most of the trip was on dirt roads which were very bumpy. we were jostled about in the seats, i canīt even imagine what it was like in the luggage compartment. the bus did stop every 4 or 5 hours for bathroom breaks, but when i got off, there wasnīt a bathroom. the women were just walking around the corner of the building and squatting. then an old woman came out and started yelling at them to clean it up. i just turned around and went back to the bus and held it for another 3 hours. we finally arrived in villazon around 330. we got our backpacks and walked about a kilometer to the border, went through immigration, and walked a kilometer to the bus station on the argentinian side. we bought tickets to salta, but it wasnīt until 1130. a long time to sit and wait with nothing to do and no money. oh, but itīs a 2 hour time difference across the border, so it was only 4 hours to wait, not 6. then another long overnight bus to salta, argentina. we finally arrived at 630 wednesday morning. a day and a half of traveling. 
Comments
Wow
I can't believe that people rode with the luggage for 18 hours, they must have wanted to go somewhere really badly for that. I hope they didn't pay much money. I am glad that you guys had seats, even if the lady lied to you.