The one with the policemen (again)

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So if you recall, as we arrived in the wonderful city of Buenos Aires some luggage was deftly thieved from the luggage compartment of the bus whilst we were still moving.

Well, barely had we departed and it had happened again. This time two of the bus staff jumped out and ran off to chase the dirty bugger into the night and we circled the station while it was reported to the company. With no idea what had been taken we fretted in our seats: 8 passengers on board, 2 of us, the odds weren´t good.

Half an hour later we pulled up outside the police station and were finally allowed to check out the damage. Our bags were safe. Phew! (again). A little old lady had lost her bag (full of sweets and gifts for her family) and a Japanese girl stood quietly at the back of the group. ´Can you see your bag?´asked Caitlin. The girl looked very perplexed. She had no idea what had happened, and her pack had been taken. With little English and no Spanish I followed her into the station to act as translator. And I had to sign a declaration saying I was the official translator, woo! (how about trying to explain a musical instrument you don't even know the name of in English to a very young, very tetchy, and obviously musically challenged officer. He also cringed when I said the girl had crocs in her bag, ha ha). Over two hours we finally left, she to return to her hostel and try and sort things out, me, brain dead, to the 14hour bus trip ahead of me.

But the crazy didn´t end there. When I returned to the bus the bus guy said to me (in very mumbly and almost inaudible Spanish) something along the lines of, if you´re not tired you can come downstairs... I thought this was a little on the dodge side, but decided to take the other meaning - that he was just offering the comfy downstairs seats since the bus was almost empty. Not quite. We had just settled down (after watching How to lose a guy in 10 days, again) when Caitlin felt a tap on her forehead. The bus guy was gesturing that she take a double seat to herself further down the bus. We thought that was rather nice but she couldn´t be bothered moving and went back to sleep. Half an hour later the same thing... this time she went several rows back and spread out and went back to sleep... and then the same thing again... and again... one stage he even grabbed her hand, trying to pull her with him.... luckily by morning he had given up, but he did have a special smile for Caitlin when meals were served. Shudder.

With all this drama we were barely an hour late to Puerto Iguazu and headed straight for our hostel with its shiny shiny swimming pool. And, like we´d dreamed on the very long bus ride, as soon as we walked in the door we bumped into Darren & Nick, who we then found poolside, beers at the ready after we´d showered and got ourselves over the drama of the bus.

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