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Published: March 10th 2009
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I've been having some pretty good luck of late. From getting good weather at viewpoints, to getting a free lift from Puyuhuapi to Coyhaique, everything had been going well. In Coyhaique, I was just going to look for a campsite when I was approached by 2 girls, who had a room going spare for the same price as a camping. And when I got there they had some amazing leftover salmon, which I was welcome to scoff. I thought that nothing could possibly go wrong for me. Then came Friday 13th.
It started badly, when I woke up to find a blister I have been nursing had decided to explode during the night, and my sheets now looked like something out of a 70's horror movie. I'd woken up a bit late, so after breakfast I only had an hour to get things done before it was siesta time. I decided to visit Conaf, to ask about trekking in Cerro Castillo, and actually buy my bus ticket there.
Conaf turned out to be about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, with their expert advice being "here's a map." My questions as to how well the trails were marked,
and campsites, fell on deaf ears. Next stop, bus station. I was hoping to leave Saturday morning, but was told everything was full until Tuesday. Hmm, problems. I did however know of another company that might be running a bus. It was now 1pm however, and Coyhaique went to sleep.
I spent the siesta visiting the Piedra del Indio, a rock outcrop that is meant to look like a face. Bizarrely for this sort of thing, it actually did. But thats about the only touristy thing I did in Coyhaique. I'd read it again if I were you, as tales of sightseeing are going to be hard to come by in the rest of this entry.
3pm came around, and the city woke up. My visit to the bus company Don Carlos went like this.
"Is there space on tomorrows bus to Cochrane?"
"Yes"
"Excellent, can I have a ticket to Villa Cerro Castillo please?" (This is en route)
"No"
I left the office very confused, but soon worked out that they didn't want to sell me a ticket, because if they could fill the bus with people going to Cochrane, they'd make much more money.
So I went back, and they agreed that if I turned up tomorrow morning, if there was space, I could go to Cerro Castillo.
Just in case, I went and did my shopping in preparation for a 4 day trek. This passed uneventfully, but as I left, I realised I needed plasters, so would have to go to the pharmacy. It was now 9.57pm and the pharmacy closed at 10pm. If this had been yesterday, I'd have made it, but it was Friday 13th, and the shutters were pulled down right before my eyes. Darn.
I arrived back where I was staying, safe in the knowledge that it had been a pretty shoddy day, but at least Friday 13th couldnt hurt me any more. And then there was a cracking sound. This turned out to be the eggs I'd bought for my breakfast deciding they didn't fancy surviving the landing when I put the bags down. Bugger.
Luckily, Saturday 14th started better, and there was a seat on the aforementioned bus.
Oh, and Huddersfield Town 1-0 Leeds United.
Stewart
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