I left my hotel (Ojos Rios) at 6:15 in order to catch the 7:00 bus to Santiago. I’d have plenty of time, and I would grab a donut for breakfast and a cafe in the station while I relaxed and waited for the bus.
Sadly, the subway station doesn’t open until 7:00 Domingos; the gate was locked.
Well, dang. There went my cunning plan. Of course, I’d have been better served had I read the placard advertising horario, pero...
I scuttled through as soon as the gate lifted, and made it to the platform with time available to catch the scheduled 7:02 arrival of the train. It was late. And relatively empty. In about 5 minutes, I’d arrived at the bus station, and searched out the counter for Santiago, to find out when the next bus was leaving.
I asked about Santiago, and lo! The 7:00 bus was still there. I clambered aboard, and within 5 minutes of parking my carcass, we were off.
There are no ticket windows. There are a lot of people. Can you say WTF? I did.
I finally found a conductor window, and asked “Santa Fe?” He had a guy show me where the bus was (all the way at the end - where I hadn’t looked). I was directed on board, so I went.
Now the buses are interesting. You (and I) can buy a ticket ahead of time if the station has a ticket window. If it doesn’t, you simply climb aboard and the driver collects a fare when you get off. I have no idea how the fare is calculated, but everyone seems to be happy with it. The fare to Santa Fe from Santiago was $2.90. That’s it.
I’m here, I’ve had a beer. I’m good with the world, and maybe I’ll hunt down food at some point.