Chile Won't Let Us Leave

   After our last day in Santiago, Chile we flew south to Punta Arenas and then planned to take a bus to Ushuaia,  Argentina, which is known as the end of the world (el fin del mundo). Unfortunately though, we got stuck in Punta Arenas for an extra day after the bus company lost our tickets and sold our spots. I had paid via Paypal for the tickets two weeks ahead of time but the bus company said that PayPal never sent them confirmation of the payment, so they never issued us tickets. All the other buses were sold out. We were beyond shocked at this development, as now our plans for Ushuaia, Argentina were all screwed up. We would miss a really cool tour we had booked there, off-roading in a 4X4 Jeep through lakes and the open land, followed by an asado (barbecue). We were all really excited for it but we had to cancel.

   We argued with the bus station people for a couple of hours, trying to understand what happened and get some kind of compensation. In general they were unresponsive and the manager wouldn't let us talk to his boss. I think there were some cultural differences in terms of how to handle disputes likes this one and what are reasonable expectations for a solution. The only thing we got out of them was a free night in a hotel as we would now have to take a bus the next day.  When we arrived in Punta Arenas, the night before our bus was originally supposed to leave, I wanted to go by the bus station to get our tickets. The other girls didn't want to and thought we could just wait to go in the morning. Part of me wishes that I had been more stubborn and insisted on going to the bus station that night. I don't know if it would have made a difference, but maybe it would have. Not that it matters now.

So what did I learn from this experience-
   - Always confirm purchases made online with the vendor just to make sure everything is set, especially when payment is made through a third party vendor and not directly with the company you're dealing with. This is also helpful with hotels, as I thought I had booked one in our next town, but turns out I never did (oops).
   - Follow your gut. I wish I had gone to the bus station the night before instead of waiting for the morning of.
   - Get over I-told-you-so quickly. I told you so doesn't really do anything to help the current situation, so you might as well switch your mindset to 'how can I make this better'. I told you so holds on to bitterness and disappointment, focusing on making the situation better gives you a positive mindset, and hopefully a good result.
   - Stick to your guns when complaining. I am not a very good complainer, but some of my friends are. We tried and tried and tried to get the results that we wanted. Even though things didn't turn out our way I'm proud of us for making our case and pushing back hard.
   Our 12 hour bus ride the next day was just fine. We even got to take a ferry for part of it, and that was pretty cool. We saw some sharks in the water while on the ferry.  And then hours later we made it into Ushuaia, Argentina