3rd February Today, I woke up in The Book of Mormon and ended up sleeping in a field.
No seriously. Our bus left Ushuaia just after 5am and considering I only had 3 hours sleep I really didn't notice anything or our fellow passengers until we hit the border (of Argentina and Chile). After going through the usual give passport, wait patiently with a small smile (don't want to look shifty or too happy until they stamp and hand your passport back), I noticed that there were a number of well dressed and very happy people on the bus (too happy for this time of the morning without coffee). On closer inspection a group of our fellow passengers had name badges, and all the boys were called Elder and the girls (they can't be more than 20) Hermana... All had name badges pinned to their front Over the next hour, in between watering and feeding 'The Man' and myself, I watched my fellow Mormon passengers bounce up to immigration on both the Argentinian and Chilean sides of the border. I saw them gather in groups while their fellow Elder or Hermana walked up to the counter a little nervously clutching a passport or identity card. They supported each other at these two border crossings and with each stamp of a passport a little cry of joy emitted from their merry band. Then a breakaway group ordered food at the border cafe, where the owner (another happy person - what's with all the joviality before my coffee) was either a Catalan living in the flat, arid desert of the Chilean side of the border or a staunch supporter of Catalan. All I know is that Hermana what's her name took soo long ordering her sandwich I missed out on my coffee. Back to the bus with an Estonian who knows only knows ham (jamon) and cheese (queso) in Spanish. Sigh...another 7 hours to go with no coffee in sight. And 'The Man' is asleep. :-( I have no idea where my Mormons went as we left them in the dusty bus terminal at Rio Gallegos. Though before we parted i did notice one 'Elder' reading 'the book' and the page with instructions on the opposite sex. Tips? how to guide? Who knows (tell me if you do!). alas, i wasn't close enough to make it out. however, i'm guessing it was useful as afterwards i noticed said 'Elder' chatting with a 'Hermana' by the toilets. 😱 The day ended with 'The Man' putting up a tent at 2am. I watched, did a bit, had my efforts checked and was generally no help. No cocktails, sauna or even warmth. And only the possibility of 4 hours of sleep before an early start to a glacier. Camping?!? who camps, well it seems we do. Let's just say I was not the happiest of people the next morning...still no coffee as of 9am :-(