The day started the way it meant to go on. Hungover from drinking too much in the wineries of Mendoza we got up, took some breakfast and wandered across the city to the bus station hoping for some luck. For the past three days the road to Santiago, Chile had been closed. The high road across the Andes had been shut due to a bridge collapsing during bad weather leaving us stuck.
This time luck was on our side, the road was opened in the morning and we took the first bus out of there. The scenic mountain road was only spoiled by the crazy immigration process to get into Chile. The road closure had caused long delays. Four to five hours we waited as the guards inefficiently searched for the offending apples, pears and beef steaks. Taking animal or food products across the border is strictly forbidden.
We had arrived in Santiago without a hotel (we never booked in advance due to the road closure). It was also five hours later than expected and dark. Looking for a cheap hotel in the chaotic city would have been a nightmare so we decided to check the bus timetable to San Pedro de Atacama. Sure enough there was a bus leaving at 22.45 so we took it in the safe knowledge we could sleep on the bus.
The twenty hour bus ride went smoothly and the obligatory ham and cheese sandwiches were served for breakfast, lunch and tea. We looked forward to arriving in San Pedro de Atacama at around 8pm. Then unexpectedly, at around 6pm, the bus stopped at San Andenes unloaded us and promptly disappeared, the driver promising us he would be back in ten minutes. One hour and half later and the bus came back easing our worries but we now knew we would not be arriving on time.
12.30am and we arrived at the edge of the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama. It was dark, the dusty streets unlit and there was no one around. After walking the wrong way we stopped to ask two children playing in the street which way the centre was. Without the aid of light we walked for ten minutes and came upon the first hostel which was of course full. We continued on to the centre, a few people were drinking in the bars everything else was closed and so were most of the hostels.
Each hostel we tried was full, most even had a paper with “full” scribbled and pinned to the front door. It was getting late and getting close to two in the morning, it looked like we would be sleeping on the floor, our only hope was to cuddle up to a stray dog for warmth.
Luckily Leanne had a better idea, in the last hostel we visited she spotted two hammocks in the garden and thought they looked a comfortable place to sleep. It certainly wouldn’t do any harm in asking. The hostel owner, a Chilean woman looked bemused but wanted to help. She said it gets to below zero in the desert and that it wouldn’t be a good idea as we would freeze. We offered to pay, she said we could put a tent up but we didn’t have one. It wasn’t looking good.
Then a kind Chilean gentleman, speaking in Spanish offered us the chance to sleep in his car.
Of course we said yes, in fact the man had just saved us from wandering around all night in the cold. The hostel owner brought us some warm blankets and made us a cup of tea. It wasn’t much longer until we were settled down in the car, which was new, super clean and more pleasant than some hostels!
After setting off from Mendoza over 40 hours ago we were reclined in the front two seats of a cramped Suzuki Swift. To us it felt like the Hilton and we drifted off into perfect sleep. The next morning we woke after the sun rose. We left a note for our anonymous hero in Spanish thanking him for his kind deed accompanied with 10000 Chilean pesos so he could by a few beers.
We left the car that morning feeling happy as we continued our search for a room. Which in the end you will be pleased to know we did find.
