Last Wednesday I left my hostel in La Quiaca fairly early as check out was at 10am. This was after a very quiet night watching a film on my laptop and being slightly too nervous to go out and find food. I've been eating so well recently that I decided one missed meal wouldn't hurt!
I walked across the border bridge to Villazon, with no problems, and on arriving in Bolivia discovered it was an hour earlier (even though the bridge is probably about ten metres in length from one country to the next!). This meant I had 6 or so hours to wait before I got on the train to Tupiza, where Rhian and Simon would be waiting for me. What to do thought I??
My first mission was to change my Argentinian Pesos for Bolivianos – very simple there are money exchanges as soon as you cross the bridge. I know it wasn't the best rate of exchange but at least I had some local currency.
My second mission was to find a bank machine – my guide book had reliably informed me that there is one in Villazon, so I set out to look for it. I asked a few people for directions and was pleased to find the plaza and the bank machine - or so I thought. Unfortunately the machine didn't recognise any of my cards - shit! I returned to the plaza and consulted my travel bible...phew, I went to the wrong bank. I made my way to the other bank and was told by the security guard that there wouldn't be any cash for a couple of hours. Of course this didn't matter as I had plenty of time. I wandered off to find internet - an easy way to kill a couple of hours.
I felt quite at home with the bank issue - felt more like Ecuador. However I was also quite amazed at the differences between Argentina and Bolivia when they are separated by just a few metres of river/bridge. Although Salta had had a more indigenous feel than the other places I have been to in Argentina, but this could be due the large number of Bolivians who cross the border looking for work. There were many more people in traditional dress in Villazon.
After feeding my internet addiction for a couple of hours and sitting in the plaza watching the world go by I made my way back to the bank. My friend, the guard, greeted me and told me that there would be no cash until 2pm. Doh! Maybe I had misunderstood earlier in the day.
I sat around for a couple more hours; got food; watched more of the world going by and eventually got some cash. By then it was time to make my way to the train station.
On the train journey I tried to ignore the film being played and watch the scenery. However as I haven't really 'done' TV for over 4 years now, I inevitably got sucked into the film. After just under three hours I arrived in Tupiza where Rhian and Simon were smiling and waiting for me at the train station.
Very swiftly two bottles of wine and many stories were shared. Well, if I'm honest, mostly me talking about men. As my biggest sis said many years ago, "Oh Fi, you and men!"
No comments:
Post a Comment