Travel Wait
I had hoped to get off at Trelew and travel south like many of my tour companions. But it seemed Christmas was a popular time to travel and there were no buses available until the following day. Around 7 p.m. I was taking a quick nap in my lower bunk when a girl checked into the room. As is customary, I asked if she spoke English or Spanish. A big smile washed over her face as she said, “English.” Her name was April and she had been traveling by herself in Argentina for the last 3 or 4 days and didn’t know much Spanish. Originally from Malaysia, she had moved to London and worked there as a computer programmer. After missing her connecting flight in Germany, she arrived late and missed her rendezvous with her London-born Indian friend. We went to the grocery store to buy pre-made food from their kitchen–a compromise between not paying restaurant prices and not having to cook. Back at the hostel we ate with a girl from Germany with whom I had spoken in Spanish the previous day. Her English wasn’t perfect, but it was interesting to see how much more animated she was speaking English than Spanish–I know I’m the same way.
The following day I had to comply with the early checkout of 10 a.m. I wasn’t ready and had to drag all my stuff down to the patio area and repack my bag. I had obviously brought too much stuff and cooked an exorbitant amount of beef jerky. While packing my things, the French couple I had met a couple times before sat down across from me. To my left sat an American guy from San Antonio. We all conversed in Spanish for half an hour or so and they chuckled as I tried to cram everything into my backpack. The American guy, whose name escapes me, had traveled quite extensively in Argentina, had also studied at ECELA, and had taken the DELE exam. His level of Spanish was decent, but he had attempted to take the DELE Superior exam, unaware that he needed to pass each individual section, not simply the entire exam. The French husband and wife were retired and marveled how a couple young guys were traveling and learning a language as a challenge and out of interest. I forget where they were headed next, but eventually they were going to take a boat from South America back to France.
I got on the bus around 2:30 p.m. and it was another 12 hours and off to Parque Nacional Monte Leon.
