E hatisitsoe: 27.03.2023
It continued to pour down like buckets and our longing for Argentina grew stronger and stronger. So we decided to go back to Argentina.
When we said goodbye to our landlord, he wanted to know what our further travel route would be. We told him where we wanted to go. Suddenly, he took a pen and a piece of paper and wrote us a route that he would recommend. Since we had always had good luck with recommendations so far, we first drove north on the Carretera Austral that day, and then turned off to go to Argentina.
The route was really beautiful! This section was one of the most beautiful on our tour. We drove past lakes, snow-covered mountains, and cliffs. Driving was especially fun today. The Carretera Austral is truly an incredible nature experience!
The further north we went, the more it rained. It wasn't until we turned towards Argentina and reached the Andes that the rain decreased. When we crossed the border, the sun even came out.
First, we arrived at the Chilean border. Everything went quite concentrated and precisely there. We had to queue up and patiently wait until it was our turn. Then we went to the Argentine border. The border officials were standing in front of their building, smoking. Only when we arrived did they reluctantly go inside. The lady at the first counter wanted our documents right away. Then came the border police officer, whose workplace was in front of the building, and demanded the documents back. He had been overlooked and had to put a stamp on them. So the documents were passed back and forth. After we passed the border (the first counter), we went to customs (a counter 50 cm to the right). There we presented our documents again. The border official briefly examined them and asked us why we wanted to go back to Argentina since it could be seen on the documents that we had crossed the border several times. Christian didn't hesitate to answer this question. He told him that the sandwiches with meat tasted much better in Argentina than the sandwiches with sausage in Chile. The border officer's eyes began to light up and he confirmed our opinion. Then he and Christian exchanged some ideas and impressions about grilling. The border officer told us in detail how he likes to grill. Finally, he proudly opened the door behind his desk chair. Behind it was a huge covered grill. We could already imagine what is usually done at this border post at noon. After that, we got the final stamps and were allowed to go to our car and pass the barrier, which was still there and was specially opened for us. Fortunately, we arrived at the border early enough because it closes at 8:00 p.m.
We arrived in Trevelin around 8:00 p.m. We got out of the car and it felt like we didn't just cross a border, but a whole galaxy. The atmosphere was impressive! The people were open, friendly, smiling, and simply warm-hearted. In the center of town, there was a square surrounded by small vendors offering their goods. Next to it was a small side street where food trucks were parked. We went there to eat our beloved meat sandwiches. The sandwiches were fantastic! After we finished them, we asked the saleswoman if she could recommend us an accommodation. She gave us a phone number and shortly after, the landlord came and picked us up. This time, we didn't want to go on a big search since we were very tired. The house we rented was clean and the night was very cozy.