I'm so tried of the idiosyncrasies of Latin American customs. After the last experience at the Paso de Jama I figured this time I get all my stamps straight from the getgo. Start with an Argentinian and finish with an Chilean. But don't get ahead of yourself. On my way up to the border at the pass I asked the señora at the tunnel toll booth where the Aduana would be? Seven kilometers ahead. Ok, then lets go. To my surprise halfway thru the tunnel I saw a "Bienvenido a Chile" sign. I apparently had missed Argentinian customs. Out of the tunnel and return to A. And indeed I found a huge hall serving as the customs building, but it looked like completely evacuated. Had they left for the day? I called for somebody and eventually a guy in uniform showed up: he talked fast, but I understood that Argentinian customs were integrated with the Chilean on the other side of the tunnel -in Chile. Who would have thought? It might be an idea for the paso de Jama also.
The photo should document the bureaucratic overhead they, Chilenos and Argentinos, produce when you return with a Chilean car from Argentina to Chile. I think I had to present this form four times - I lost count somewhere between Aduana and Revision, where they actually tossed my car and found the lemons i had left under the seat - of course I couldn't import them even though i originally bought them in Chile already. But what beats everything was that I couldn't keep the acacia thorns which I had on the dashboard. Probably it's considered as some sort of vegetables - a dry peace of wood! - And that douche at the last checkpoint didn't know that he gets only one form. Well, I spelled it out for him.
- When I was chasing around between the different checkpoints I obviously had to leave the car alone for a moment - with windows down - as I realized later on. And that was when I missed my Iphone at the parking lot at the supermarket down in the valley: I freaked out. There are two things that have the potential to freak me out, when traveling alone: key panic and IPhone loss. Imaging you return from a hike in the middle of nowhere and you can't find the car keys. Or the worst someone steals your smart phone, because, for instance you left the window open, running around chasing stamps. - Luckily not this time though, I found it under my seat. What I'm trying to say, I guess, is, if it hadn't been for that hole running around at the border, I wouldn't have freaked out so easily. - Governments and their bureaucracies do not protect us from evil respecting our natural rights, they are a source of it gathering unfitted and ego-weak personal at their institutions. More on the topic also here: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reason/Articles/~3/hHjezICf_cI/this-dog-can-send-you-to-jail