We didn't have to check out of our hostel until 11:00am, so we lounged around before packing up and checking our bags in for storage. We decided to go to the same place for breakfast since there were really only two places in town and I wanted to try something else. I ordered the pancakes but since the owner of the restaurant is French, what I got was Crepes with orange marmalade. I love Crepes but the marmalade had such a strong flavor that it was almost hard to eat. The coffee was great though, but there is never enough. We decided that we would walk to the town square and sit at one of the sidewalk cafes to get another cup of coffee. As we walked, Alyssa felt something on her head. As I turned to look at her, I couldn't help but laugh since she had been shit on by a bird. She was freaking out once she realized what was on her head, so we took a detour back to the hostel so she could wash her head before getting our second cup of coffee.
Our bus left at 2:51pm and it was supposed to be a 23 hour ride. Since we never know what food they will provide on these long bus rides, we like to be prepared with snacks. We picked up some sandwiches at a great "make your own" sandwich place called "Santa Gula". We also got two empanadas and some fruit for later in the day.
After our shopping trip, we went back to the hostel, collected our bags and began walking to the bus terminal. We thought we knew where it was located, but as we walked we realized we had no clue. We kept asking locals for directions but no one seemed to be sure. Finally, another tourist who was headed there as well walked with us. We got there just in time and the attendants didn't even waste time checking anyone's tickets before pulling out of the station. Our seats were right in the front on the second level which we had never had before. That meant we had some extra leg room and our own front window which made the drive kind of like being on a ride. I liked our seats a lot. As we drove, we noticed we were going extremely slowly. There is a speedometer on the top floor that shows how fast the bus is traveling and often we were going no more than 15km/hr. I asked the attendant why we were going so slowly and he said the motor wasn't good...as if that was an acceptable answer. I was hoping it was just because we were going uphill but sure enough about 30 minutes later, the bus broke down and we were stuck on the side of the road for over an hour as we waited for another bus. Given the delay due to the lack of speed during the first few hours and the hour spent on the side of the road, this was now looking like a 25 hour ride instead of a 23 hour one...great.
We got on the second bus, grabbed our same seats in the front and continued on. Apparently this bus does not provide any meals (we had assumed that for a 23 hour ride that meals were a given) but we did stop for a 15 minute break at a bus stop to pick up more passengers. While we were there I hurriedly ordered some pasta and Alyssa got an empanada. I was very proud of myself for eating at a bus station cafeteria (which normally i would have adamently opposed) but it was truly because there was no other option- eat it or starve until 5:00pm tomorrow.
We re-boarded the bus and tried to eat the empanadas that we had bought earlier in the day to supplement our meal. They were chicken, cheese and red pepper and probably would have been delicious if they were hot, but cold they were not very good. We watched a few movies in Spanish on the bus tv and then were stopped by a police drug task force on the side of the road. We sat in the bus for about 45 minutes as blue flashing lights blinded us through the windows which I thought I might have a seizure from. I was sitting with my eye closed, trying to ignore the scene when the bus attendant came on to the bus and asked to see my luggage claim ticket. Once he checked my number, he asked me to come off the bus with him. There were five male police officers waiting below with my bag. They asked me to remove the locks so that they could look inside. None of them spoke English, but they kept asking me if I smoked weed or did drugs to which I adamantly responded no. I was basically laughing as they interrogated me since there was no way I had any drugs in my bag. One of the men was starting to be a little aggressive with me when Alyssa came off the bus and tried to help me answer questions. Luckily, at about the same time, a female officer who spoke English came over to assist. I knew they couldn't find anything, so I just stood dismayed as they pulled all of my clothes out of the bag into the back of a truck. I was really more upset about how hard it was going to be to close my bag again with everything unpacked than anything else. The female officer asked if I had any medications, to which I asked, like Advil? She said yes, so I pulled out my Advil. She asked if I had any other medications so of course I pull out my medicine cabinet of antihistamines, cold medications and pain killers. Apparently this is what the drug dog had identified when it had been let to the bus luggage compartment. I had no idea a dog would be trained to find Advil but thank god that was all it was and nothing had been slipped into my bag. I had scenes from the movie "Brokedown Palace" playing in my head during the entire thing and I was praying I didn't end up in a Chilean prison. They let me go without further issue and I was SO thankful that the female officer had come over since she clearly knew what she was doing and I think one of the male officers really wanted to arrest me for no reason.
We got back on the bus and I was a little too worked up to go to sleep. The bus was not full since we had lost a lot of passengers when the bus broke down (loved ones came to pick up some people and others got on different buses) so I was able to lay in two seats and put my legs through the aisle to the seats on the other side. I was also able to collect 6 little travel pillows and three blankets to create a soft nest for myself against the hard seats and window. This is definitely the most comfortable I have been on a bus and I was finally able to drift off for a few hours of sleep.
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