Off to Argentina

Today we set our alarm for 7:30 am. We actually wanted to leave shortly after eight o'clock so that we would arrive in Mendoza as early as possible. The road there goes through the Andes. We didn't really know what to expect and were a bit excited. It didn't help that our friends said that the route would be very dangerous because the roads are very narrow and large trucks regularly come towards you.

The first part of the route was a highway and nothing special. When we got more into the mountains towards the pass, the road became really curvy. See first photo.

After a few kilometers, there was also a border tunnel. In the middle of the tunnel, the sign Adios from Chile and then Bienvenido in Argentina could be seen. Although we were obviously in Argentina now, a Chilean border post came after the tunnel. They gave us a paper and said we had to get it stamped in 14 km. So we assumed that another border post would come. But not in the border area between Chile and Argentina. We drove and drove and eventually a lonely border police officer came to the road. He checked us and said that unfortunately we had already passed the border and had to go back to get the little piece of paper stamped. So we drove 14 km back to a house hidden on the side of the road. Only when we got closer did we see that a road was winding up to this house. It was full of cars. But there was still no sign indicating that this was the border post. So we joined the line of cars and hoped we were in the right place. It quickly became clear to us that Argentina also doesn't like signs.

The long line of cars didn't bode well. We expected to wait for about 2 hours. Actually, we only had to wait for 30 minutes until it was our turn. And these passed very quickly as we watched a movie.

We drove into a hall with several lanes. There were three little houses at each lane. The first one was the exit, the second one was empty, the third one was the Chilean customs and the fourth one was the Argentine customs. The exit at the first house went smoothly. There were no exit or entry stamps. You just get an email saying that you have entered. Then we went to the Chilean customs. There we had to present the papers and the permit for our rental car. The Chilean customs officer looked at our permit for a long time and then discussed it with her colleague and quickly ended our permit. She simply wrote a new date on it. At first, I didn't understand what that was all about, but when she showed me a thumbs up, I didn't care anymore. Then we went to the Argentine entry. The Argentine customs officer was not so lenient. She complained that the papers of our car stated that the rental contract had actually expired the day before. The Chilean officer had also noticed that, but simply added a new date by hand. The Argentine customs officer could not approve of this informal procedure, unfortunately. And then it started...

After countless phone calls with the car rental company and a customs officers who were quite favorable towards us, we managed the impossible: the car rental company sent Christian a WhatsApp with the contract as a PDF. He sent it via Bluetooth to another customs officer. He then went with him to his office and printed out the form there. Christian then signed in all the places shown to him. He wasn't sure what he was actually signing, but in the end he didn't care. All that mattered was that it was enough. Although the Argentine customs officers pointed to the signatures that were the same everywhere during the document check, they didn't really feel like doing anything else. So they stamped the document. We were a bit apprehensive before the last customs house. After all, we had plenty of time in the long wait to observe this customs officer. He not only looked wild, but, it seemed to us, he was also determined to find smugglers. Every car was searched, i.e., every suitcase and bag was opened and checked. Heike tried to calm him down a bit by starting a conversation, but he didn't engage in it. But luck was on our side again. Just at that moment when we arrived at the fourth house, now with the new papers that Christian had signed everywhere, the customs officers swapped their areas of responsibility. The wild one was now sitting in the house and checking the documents, and his colleague was "searching" the cars. He did look suspiciously at the document that Christian had signed so many times, but in the end he waved it off. His colleague then came to our car. When she saw the fully packed trunk, she just said, "Oh no, how do I explain it to him so he understands." In the end, she only asked, "Do you have any gifts or new electronics with you?" When I could honestly answer no, she wished us a good trip!

After the long procedure, we were now the only ones at the border.

Then the journey continued through the Andes to Mendoza. We immediately noticed that not only the landscape was different, but also the buildings and the people. Argentina has a very special atmosphere. The houses reminded us of Germany. When we arrived in Mendoza, we discovered a Carrefour. Since this supermarket reminded us a lot of Barcelona, we had to go there immediately. Of course, we went straight to the meat counter. There we could hardly believe our luck. Not only was there an almost infinite and varied selection, but the prices were also very low. You could buy a kilo of meat cheaper than a kilo of bell peppers. So meat became our vegetable.

Unfortunately, the cuts were different from what we were used to. We couldn't really assign which meat was best suited for grilling and which should be cooked in a pan or in the oven. And since we were so excited and didn't know how to prepare the meat best, we first approached Argentinians who then initiated us into the secrets of meat preparation.

Armed with this newly acquired knowledge, we searched for our apartment. We found it quite uncomplicated. The landlord was also very relaxed. He told us that he was currently grilling and that the grilling would take at least another 2 hours. So we could call him more often and ask questions if we wanted to know something.

Unfortunately, the apartment was like we had already experienced in Chile. What was new, however, was that even Mattis took a broom in his hand and started sweeping.

But the meat made our mood rise again, so we went to bed satisfied.