Customs officers don’t often care what you are taking in another country, it’s what you wish to usher in that units them off. Fruit is an enormous no no for Chile, therefore the early morning banana.
It was chilly, simply above freezing however there was no wind so it was bearable and Rusty beloved it.
There are mines round right here and there’s a specific amount of associated site visitors.
Don’t trash the place is the message and nobody does.
The snow coated volcano is the very best on the earth at 20,615 ft and it’s referred to as the eyes of the salt flats. Ojos del Salado. We spent the morning driving round it.
Julia and Konstantin caught as much as us of their Sprinter van with exit papers for his or her two cats and we drove on collectively.
The border put up is about thirty miles from the border itself so that is a type of crossings the place the 2 international locations aren’t sharing one constructing. This fox could be scavenging round them.
As at all times park and stroll to the buildings. Immigration, customs, agriculture for Rusty.
The street throughout the go and on to Chilean customs is paved.
Gas is at Copiapó about 200 miles away. Chañaral is the realm on the seaside we’re aiming for after that.
A number of miles on we stopped to empty the second jug and Konstantin stepped in to assist an arthritic previous man. It went quicker.
The border. Chile makes use of winter time so we set our clocks again an hour. Chile and Argentina use the identical time in summer season however not in winter. This doesn’t go well with us as we get much less daylight within the night. Now it would get darkish at 6:30.
Laguna Verde is a type of turquoise reservoirs full of glacial water. It’s in Chile however earlier than the border and we didn’t wish to cease till we have been checked in to the nation.
After the border put up we bought again on a mud street. Hooray! Freeway 31 was filth for 17 miles however the filth wasn’t too unhealthy really. It was compressed and smoothed and never the standard gravel.
It climbed as much as 14,000 ft once more. We handed this mining contraption. They waved, we waved again.
Unusual black gravel masquerading as asphalt.
Again winding by means of the Andes at twenty miles per hour on a heat sunny afternoon.
This couple from Uruguay are taking a trip circuit by means of northern Argentina and Chile. We chatted briefly on the border and waved as we handed one another on the street.
And ultimately we bought again on pavement.
I nonetheless like pavement.
After which hit the subsequent piece of filth. We have been drained and able to cease however there have been no first rate locations to tug over. iOverlander was letting us down as badly Chile’s toad division. We have been a grumpy crew all instructed.
On and on.
Konstantin noticed this disused quarry at 7200 ft which felt like sea degree. Superb sufficient. We had ramen for dinner. And white wine. Rusty pushed me apart to get to his kibbles with added cow intestines that Layne had saved from our final grilled meat meal we had in Argentina.
We went to mattress exhausted however content material.