Monday, May 4

They say you haven’t really experienced South American travel until you take a 12+ hour bus ride. I have yet to experience this, and therefore (according to some) have not REALLY traveled South America.

Well, today I had a 16 hour bus ride from El Calafate to Ushuaia.

Below, in no particular order, was what I experienced.

Stained bus seats, 3am departure, 4 border crossings, 2 winks from border police, 2 awful baloney and fake cheese sandwitches, overheated bus, 4 hours on unpaved roads, ferry crossing with subsequent seasickness, Spanish lessons from a 70-year-old Argetine who referred to sex as the Funky Funky (he brought it up, not me), dirty clothes, rain, claustrophobia, 1 Coke Zero, my current travel partner Clement (he’s from France), wind, 2 packets of almond butter I bought at REI back home, nudey movie with Sean Williams Scott called Balls Out, suicidal thoughts, snow, and 9 pm arrival in the pouring rain with no place to stay.

I’m taking a plane to Buenos Aires.