November 14th
7:30 a.m. – Wake up
8 a.m. – Coffee
9 a.m. – Hitchhike across the Argentina/Chile border. Lol.
Andrés, the guy whose house I’d been staying at, was nice enough to drop me off near the border so I could make my way to Chile. At customs I said I was “on foot” but was really crossing my fingers to catch a ride for the several miles to the next customs stop, and hopefully all the way to Puerto Natales.
Arriving at the border first thing in the morning there weren’t too many people around, but I noticed a couple in line near me clearly eavesdropping as I talked to the customs officer. When we finished and stepped outside, they walked a little ways behind me, maybe looking a bit like they knew what was coming and were trying to avoid giving me a ride… but I didn’t have many options, so I went for it.
As soon as I said “permiso” (excuse me), they gave in, waving me toward their car with a resigned “yes, yes, we can take you.” What started awkwardly turned into a really nice ride though! They were from Río Turbio, a town I’d visited close to 28 de Noviembre, and I had visited a couple museums and knew some of the city’s history which was interesting to chat about and learn more about their lives there. An hour or so later they dropped me off safe and sound in the center of Puerto Natales. Thank you, kind couple whose names I forgot!
The rest of the day was spent settling in – checking into my hostel, wandering around town and along the coast, stocking up on groceries, and prepping for the next few days of hiking in Torres del Paine National Park. The park is a couple of hours from the city, and most people do day trips with an early morning bus ride and a late return.
I’d been casually checking the bus schedule as I created my hiking plan and saw plenty of seats available, so I didn’t rush to book one. Big mistake, I later learned. By the time I got around to booking a ticket at 9 PM, every single seat was gone. Whoops. There went my one solid plan to get to the park.
Just as I was admitting to myself that I might not get to the park tomorrow, my phone buzzed with a notification from the Hostelworld app. I must’ve accidentally joined the optional group chat they provide when booking hostels because I never use those. But I just so happened to pay attention this time when a girl sent a message saying she had a rental car with extra seats if anyone wanted to tag along and chip in for gas. Perfecttttt timing. I immediately replied, and after a few quick messages, we made a plan to meet at 8 AM the next morning. I’m still not sure how everything came together, but luck was definitely on my side today.
