My first border crossing as an overlander: Argentina to Chile: Paso Hachado

The pass from Las Lejas, at Paso Hachado, was open, so H and I made the crossing. 

So what happens when you cross the border with a vehicle? The people have to still do migration/passport control, the vehicle also has to go through migration, and instead of running your luggage through a baggage scanner, the vehicle is inspected.

Chile has pretty tight quarantine control (as does Australia), and I very much respect this. I'm pleased also that H also respects it. We cooked/ate all our fresh produce the night before making the crossing, and we only had to discard some honey. 

On the Argentine side they checked the vehicle with a Labrador dog. On the Chilean side 2 men looked through things (with H showing them). We declared what we should have, and they approved everything to go through: dried meat and fruits, cooked food, and packaged items were all okay. Everyone was very friendly, and there wasn't a queue, so we got through quite quickly. 

I hope all the crossings will be as simple and friendly. 

H turned the vehicle around for this shot. The sign says: "You are in Chile, Welcome, IX region of the Araucania". The pass is at 1884m... So a bit chilly in early October. 

Quarantine is important!

For me quarantine is a very important thing. I'd hate to introduce an item that was hosting a pest that did damage to the industry and livelihood of a place. I always answer the questions honestly, and let the officials tell me if the product is okay. Usually things are okay, and occasionally I get something confiscated (or another option like fumigation or sending it back to a person in the country it came from). This isn't a problem: if you've honestly declared something there isn't trouble, but if you make a false declaration you will have trouble if caught. 

I simply take the view that the farmer doesn't deserve to lose his livelihood by me bringing in a product that contains a pest/disease/fly/fungus. I wish more travellers could see it this way instead of being selfish. (Of course, there are plenty of good travellers too... I've just met a few who say 'oh, just hide it'... And I've told them what I think!)