Aelfgifu Travels

Hi Aelf Crew,

I am back with my usual weekly post including a story time today. Below details my overnight bus experience from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile at the beginning of October last year.

Now of course, this is just my experience and it may be different for others. However, I have listed below what I learnt on this particular bus journey to help mitigate any of these issues happening to other people.

I was under the impression that buses were the most convenient way to travel around South America. I had heard from other people who had been there that the overnight buses were so common that they were more advanced than some I may have encountered before.

My Story

I took the bus from Mendoza to Santiago, leaving at 11pm from the bus station. I was advised it would be 8 hours, with us arriving in Chile at about 7am. 

The first issue in the series of unfortunate events goes as follows: I got lost trying to find Mendoza bus station – I went to the address on the ticket but after calling an Uber, it turned out to be different to the one online. Tip to learn from Aelfgifu: definitely worth asking a local, or someone at your hotel reception to point you in the right direction. If you don’t speak Spanish, they can at least call up and ask on your behalf for the exact location for your specific bus.

The chairs reclined to about 45 degrees, so if you are one of those lucky people that can sleep anywhere this will be a breeze. I am a heavy sleeper but do have to be comfortable – so if you are like me, prepare for very little sleep. The bus does stop every 30-60 minutes to pick people up, which added to this.

Secondly, and most significantly in my string of misfortunes: I had taken off my shoes to sleep, as I was wearing bulky hiking boots to save space in my luggage stored in the hold. Needing the toilet, I went in just my socks, unaware of the state of the facilities—comparable to those on a train, where cleanliness, toilet paper, and running water are never guaranteed. Given that this was an overnight bus, the dim overhead lighting offered little visibility. Unfortunately, the moment I stepped inside, I felt the unmistakable dampness seeping through my socks—an unpleasant revelation about the state of the floor. Tip to learn from Aelfgifu: don’t be like me and wear your shoes to the toilet.

At 2am we arrived in a large standstill queue – after being in this for a while, and looking up on my phone map where we were, I realised this was the Chilean border. We eventually got to the front of the queue at 9am and were told to disembark with all of our belongings.

The luggage was unloaded from the hold for us to collect, leaving the bus empty. We then went to a further queue for immigration, where passports were to be stamped and visas to be checked etc. These ‘interviews’ took an extremely long time but fortunately, my interviewer took pity on me, being able to see how exhausted I looked and realising I spoke very little Spanish, we briefly discussed that I was there on holiday and I was on my way. Tip to learn from Aelfgifu: make sure you have all of your relevant documents easily available such as hotel names and flight tickets.

We then had to put our bags through the airport-type x-rays, followed by random inspections. As is customary with airport bag inspections, we had to throw away all of our liquids, which left me rather concerned for the distance left to travel.

Finally, we then waited outside whilst the coach itself was inspected and once cleared, we were able to reload our luggage back into the hold and continue the journey. 

All in all the process from arriving at the check point and leaving took 9 hours and this was on a Tuesday morning. 

After crossing the border, we descended through the beautiful Andes mountains. However, this was soon halted by a car crash that had occurred earlier that morning. With only a single-track road and no phone signal to call for assistance, traffic remained at a standstill until someone was eventually able to clear the vehicle.

Perhaps as a moral boost, Mad Max was put on the bus overhead DVD player. Tip to learn from Aelfgifu: action films are great as a lack of Spanish will not affect your ability to follow the plot. Alternatively, have something to do with you to keep your spirits up!

We eventually arrived at Santiago bus stop at 2pm, 15 hours after we had left. The lack of water, the lack of sleep and the lack of toilet facilities had all taken its toll on me.

Tip to learn from Aelfgifu: Anyway if I were ever to go again, for a cost of £60 and a one hour travel time, flying would be far the superior option. I paid $42,000 Argentine Pesos (at the time, equivalent of about £32) for 15 hours of travel. 

Top Tips on What to Pack from Aelfgiu:

1. Lots of water – given there is no opportunity to buy anything on the journey it is always worthwhile having some spare water on you just in case.
2. Snacks – depending on how long your journey is, it may be worth having a big dinner before an overnight bus or pack a sandwich if over the day. I always keep a bag of sherbet lemons in my bag for when I need a moral boost.
3. Layers for both hot or cold temperatures – you don’t know whether they’ll blast the air con or the heater during the journey, so best to be ready for both. The temperature will vary so it would be wise to layer up, so that if it gets too hot you have appropriate t-shirts and shorts underneath and if too cold you have the appropriate layers to add on to help you sleep.
4. Ear plugs and eye mask – for those who are light sleepers.
5. A roll of toilet paper or tissues – details of how I learnt this truth out above.
6. A charger for your phone – my seat did have a USB plug socket but this was broken, so a portable charger may be advisable.
7. Something to do – If you are like me and struggle to sleep in these situations, it may be appropriate to bring something to do with you but note: if it is an overnight bus it will be dark so a book/cards may be difficult without some kind of torch.
8. Your medication – if you have to take this at a set time in the day, it is worthwhile having these on you just in case there is a delay from the initial estimated time of arrival.
9. Important Documents e.g. Passports – if crossing borders where this will be required.
10. A small rucksack – there is limited foot space and you don’t want to use all of this space up for bags. The smallest bag you have to carry all of the above and your essentials is advisable.

Please let me know if you have had any similar or different experiences below and I hope the above was helpful!

May the odds be ever in your favour,

Aelfgifu