Tag 86: From Santiago to Valparaíso

The day started off pretty well. Before heading to Valparaíso, we wanted to do a tour in the morning. So we did. We saw some beautiful parks and very interesting markets. After that, we went to the bank to withdraw some money, which had been difficult lately. We ran from one bank to another, but nothing worked. We were annoyed. We got our bags from the hostel, stood in Plaza de Armas, and called an Uber taxi to go to the bus terminal. We couldn't take the metro without cash. After 20 minutes, the driver finally came to us. I literally jumped in front of her car to get my backpack from the other side of the street and waved my smartphone frantically. She kept driving. We ran after her with our heavy backpacks for a good two blocks, hoping she would wait for us at the next red light, but she kept going. Now we were even more annoyed. So we walked back to the square, gathered our nerves, and called a new Uber taxi. New try, new luck. The driver arrived after another 8 minutes, let us in, and drove off. We were relieved. After about 5 minutes, we were flagged down by two policewomen. Neither the driver nor the policewomen spoke English, and unfortunately, we didn't speak enough Spanish yet, but it was clear to us that this was the end of the line for us. Apparently, the driver didn't have permission to continue driving. After explaining that we had no other way to get to the bus terminal, as we had no cash and no internet anymore to call another Uber taxi, the driver thankfully gave us enough money for two tickets and showed us the way to the metro. After all, we had already paid for the taxi ride by credit card. When we finally took the bus to Valparaíso, we were both immensely relieved. Upon arriving in Valparaíso, we only had to walk a few blocks from the terminal to our Airbnb apartment. We ended the day with beer and burgers that we ordered to the apartment so that we didn't have to go outside, and went to sleep.