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!)

Paraguay to Argentina border crossing- horrible!

   I wouldn't recommend crossing the border from Asuncion (Paraguay) to Colinda (Argentina) if you are considering another option. It is the 9th land border crossing I have made in South America this year, and it, by far, is the worse one.
   The Paraguay exit people are right beside the Argentine entry people, so this seems convenient, but while you are waiting for your stamps other people grab your luggage from the bus. They then direct you to come with them so your luggage can be put through an x-Ray machine, from which they grab your luggage and have you follow them past everyone else where they give you your lugguge and demand a tip. I looked confused, so advise was offered "One hundred dollars". I laughed. And handed over 2 pesos (about 50c), which I figure is plenty in this economy. The guy said it wasn't enough and gave it back, I told him that as it wasn't a service I had wanted he wasn't getting anything more. My travel companion opened her wallet and had 50 and 2 pesos and the guy said she should give him the 50, we both laughed. She gave him the 2, and he turned to me again and I pulled the 2 back out of my pocket and relunctantly gave it back to him.
   I hate tipping no matter where I am and I particularly hate it in these situations where the only guidance is from a person trying to take advantage of the situation. I also believe that tipping leads to corruption as there gets to be a fine line between tips and bribes. So I hate it.
   Given a choice I would have preferred to have gotten my own lugguge off the bus and carried it through every point myself. I have managed to get it this far, and I like to be in control of it.
   The other horrible part of that border is that you lose posession of your passport. The Argentine immigration doesn't give it back to you and you get to return to your bus without your passport and wait for the bus host(?) to give it back to you. Scary!