Border Crossings by Bus

In our wanderings around southern South America, we have crossed the border between Chile and Argentina by bus about 4 times. It is always an interesting experience to see how differently things are handled at different border crossings.


On our most recent crossing from Chile to Argentina, the Chilean formalities consisted of checking that we had a valid ENTRY into Chile, before checking us out. To make it easy for the officials, the bus steward lined us all up in the order we were on the bus paperwork... we were first every time, I think because we must have been the first one to reserve passage (several days ago).


On going into Argentina, they had a friendly drug-sniffing dog check the baggage. They open the baggage doors on the bus and just let the dog jump in and roam around in the baggage compartment. Anything he seems interested in is hauled out and the passenger made to open the bag. But it didn't seem very serious. Both bags they did this with, the owner opened up, rummaged around a little, explained what it was that the dog got excited about, and then they let him close up and that was that. Didn't look like a very thorough search to me.



Both times going back into Chile, we had to get all our luggage off the bus, and take it ourselves through 'Customs', including a questionaire and an X-ray scan of all the bags. Mostly what Chile is looking for are agricultural products. Their country is very agricultural and they are very serious about not allowing any soil, fruits, vegetables, and raw foods.



On the last border crossing, we had some raisins left that we'd actually bought only a few days before in Chile. One of the officers we asked when Dave turned in his agricultural questionaire said that the raisins were OK. But when his bag was X-rayed, they detected the raisins in his bag and pulled them out for a look. But he got to keep them in the end.

To San Martin via the 7 Lakes Route

We left Bariloche at 9am on the bus 'Albus' to San Martin de los Andes.

Albus is the only company that does the trip to San Martin via the '7 Lakes' route. All the other companies go out and up via the main roads. The 7 Lakes Route takes a winding road that turns into a gravel road up in the mountains. It goes past ... yes ... 7 Lakes.

It was a beautiful trip, especially since all the mountains had snow on them from last night's light snowfall.

San Martin is another 'typical' Argentine tourist town. Nicely laid out, very nice looking buildings, and a slew of tourist-oriented businesses.

We hadn't booked a hotel room ahead, but had a couple circled in the Lonely Planet guide. But we were accosted on exiting the bus by 'Mario' who had a nice room to rent at a very good price. It was a block and a half from the bus station, and Mario spoke pretty good English, so we decided to take a look. (Contact Details on our Travel Chile page).

It was an OK room... still under construction, and the wifi that Mario promised was not HIS wifi, but an open wireless router a few blocks away.

We had a late lunch at a nice waterside restaurant recommended by Mario, and then took a taxi up the hill to the 'Mirador' (scenic overlook) over the city. We let the taxi go, and after a few pictures and some hot chocolate at the Casa de Te at the top of the hill, hiked the 5KM back down to the city.

Unfortunately, the only buses leaving for Pucon, Chile leave at 6am, so we had an early night and left for Pucon while it was still dark the next day.

More Snow-Capped Mountains

Yesterday, a cold front blew into Bariloche from across the mountains. By midday the wind on the lake was blowing 30 knots, and some pretty big waves were breaking on the lee shore. We had rain off and on during the night. And this morning, all the surrounding mountains have a dusting of snow on them.

Two Days in Bariloche

The rain had cleared by the time we woke up to our first full day in Bariloche. It was a beautiful day. We spent the morning getting our bearings and checking the Tourist Information office for ideas on what to do for 2 days in Bariloche.

Of Course We Have to Check Out The Boats!
In the afternoon, we took a bus out to Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. We set out for what is called locally "the Circuito Chico" (small circuit). We took the 1pm Route #10 bus, which first traveled along the lakefront, and then wound its way up on a gravel road to the Colonia Suiza (Swiss Colony) in the mountains. Then it continued on to the park. It was a great way to see the countryside for only about $1 each.



Then we hiked along a lakeside path for about an hour and a half. It was a nice path, mostly level, through a forest of huge trees and (oddly enough) bamboo scrub, and along a lake. I thought it was a wonderful path, but Dave complained that it was too easy.

Big Trees, Beautiful Wood!
We were lucky to have a return bus pull up just as we got there, as we were running late to be back at the hotel to meet Mark and Brandy, who were arriving by bus from Valdivia. The whole Bus-Walk-Bus trip took us close to 5 hours and only cost $2 each, and we got to see a LOT of the countryside. (A similar half day guided tour would have cost $35).

Typical Bariloche Architecture
Mark and Brandy arrived on schedule, and we ended up going out to experience Argentine beef at "Parillada Tony", as recommended by the owner of our hostal. A red meat and red wine orgy ensued, and before we knew it, we had spent close to $60 per couple. But it was delicious. And fun to connect with fellow cruisers.

We swapped notes and stories on everything from Peru travel to watermakers and autopilots.

We found that we already had Restless' notes on their Peru trip last year, in the 'Ecuador Cruising Guide' that the cruisers have been maintaining. Brandy was recounting their 21 day trip with their daughter and I said "boy, that sure sounds familiar". I had avidly read their account while sitting in Ecuador.

On the second day, we got up early and got going out to Cerro Campenera... a short bus ride and a chair lift (my kinda hiking!) up to a mountain view of Bariloche and the lakes and surrounding mountains. We got up and down just in time... the cold front that we knew was coming arrived (with rain and lots of wind) about a half hour later.



Brandy and Mark left on the afternoon bus back to Valdivia, and Dave and I changed our plans from an afternoon hike to a museum, while it continued to rain.

Sherry Checks Out an Albatross's Wing Span

Bariloche Street Scene

Arrival in Bariloche, Argentina

We crossed over the mountains from Chile to see a little bit of the other side of the 'Lakes District', in Argentina.

It was an uneventful trip on a double-decker bus. We didn't know it was going to be double-decker, and ended up on the bottom tier... better seats, more room, but not as good a view.


Unfortunately, most of the time we were up in the mountains, it was foggy and drizzly, so we didn't see a lot.

We'd had a tip on a place to stay from another cruiser, called Hostal San Francisco. But we didn't know where it was--it wasn't in the Lonely Planet and wasn't online. When we arrived at the bus terminal in Bariloche, the Tourist Information counter was closed.

So it took us about an hour of messing around... dragging our packs with us, to find out the location of San Francisco. The lady at the Tourist Information office downtown was very helpful and gave us a list of 3-4 more places in the same area. We finally found San Francisco after lugging our packs uphill a couple of blocks. But it didn't have any internet... :(

So I sat with the backpacks while Dave went off on foot to investigate the other places in the area. It took him a long time...

I was starting to get worried about him, and imagining all sorts of bad happenings, but he was just being his usual thorough self. We ended up at Hostal Wikter (Victor), about 2 blocks further up from San Francisco. It is a nice small hotel with private baths, central heat, breakfast, and wifi, for only about $22 per night. It looks like it was a much more upscale place a few years ago.

We emailed the directions to Wikter to our new friends, Brandy and Mark from s/v Restless, whom we met in Valdivia. They had already had a trip to Bariloche planned for tomorrow (a border crossing to renew their 90 day tourist visa in Chile).

El Calafate, Argentina

The flight to El Calafate was easy. Not quite as scenic as we'd hoped. We ended up on the wrong side of the plane as we took off and missed the views of Ushuaia, Puerto Williams, and Cape Horn (well in the distance).

The rest of the flight we were over the desert-like mostly flat terrain of southern Argentina.

Arriving in El Calafate, we were surprised to find that there is no public bus service from the airport to town. The only option was a shuttle bus for about $10 US, or a taxi for about $20 US. The new airport is strategically located about 15 miles out of town, so if you don't use these options, you are stuck.

Friends had given us the name of a hotel they used. It's not on the internet, so we didn't book ahead. We just used the Tourist Information service at the bus station. There are several small hotels right near the bus station that are nice and haven't jacked their rates up to full 'tourist' level yet. (see our Argentina Travel page).

Ours is an 'entirely adequate' facility a block from the bus station, and cost us $28.50 US for a room with twin beds and a shared bath, no breakfast (this is pretty cheap for Patagonia). It looks newly-built and well maintained, was quiet and had heat and hot water. Not a bad deal, but Dave found a cheaper one around the corner for only $22.

The first thing we did after getting settled in our hotel room, was to go look for Hostal del Glaciar, to book their 'Alternative Moreno Glacier Tour'.

Tierra del Fuego Park and Beagle Channel Hike

For our second day in Ushuaia, we opted to go out to the Tierra del Fuego National Park and hike along the famous Beagle Channel. Unfortunately, Ushuaia, like at least one other Argentinian tourist town we know of (El Calafate), doesn't have a 'local bus' system. The options to get anywhere are taxis, tourist shuttle buses, and the long distance buses.

So, to get out to the park from town, about a 30 mile drive on gravel roads, we had to pay $15 USD per person for the r/t shuttle bus, and another $15 per person for the park entry fee. This is pretty outrageous for a 3 hour non-guided hike. They are really milking the tourist trade.

However, the park was 'improved'... a maintained path, with some markers, and some small bridges over the marshy areas.

It was a really nice hike... we barely made the '3 hour trip' in 4 1/2 hours, and almost missed our 5:30pm bus back into town. We stopped for lunch in a little glade (out of the wind) along the Beagle Channel, and took lots of pictures.

And then there were 'knee stops'. Though the trail was mostly level along the shore, there were some ups and downs. My old knees, punished by years of jogging and triathlons, and genetically inclined to arthritis, complain a bit when I do a lot of ups and downs.

The only major tourist thing we didn't do was a boat trip out on Beagle Channel. Though we would have like to do it, the combination of outrageous prices and expensive meals in town, we just decided to skip it and move on.

So we booked a one-way flight on Aerolineas Argentina from Ushuaia to El Calafate (about $140 per person). The distance to Calafate is about double the distance from Punta Arenas, so we figured we'd be paying close to $100 per person and in for a 24 hour bus trip if we did it by bus.

Hiking in Ushuaia to Glacier Martial

When we woke up in the morning, the view out our window was breathtaking. Snow capped mountains, everywhere we looked.

Our hostal had good internet, so we spent a little time getting caught up on email, blogs, Facebook, etc.

Then we set off for Glacier Martial, a short taxi ride from our hostal. At the foot of the mountain, the views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel were already pretty spectacular, and it only got better.


We opted to take the chair lift for the first third of the way up the mountain. It was a little expensive (about $15 per person), but with my weak knees, well worth it.

This hike is supposed to be 2 hours, but we stop and rest and take so many pictures, that it took us about 3 to do the hike.


We never did actually get to the glacier. It has been receding, and has receded right up a steep cliff face. We met some hikers who had scrambled up all the way, and they said it wasn't worth the climb, so we opted to stop at the base of the cliff. There was a snow bank down low, though, and we took a few shots of Dave 'in' the snow.


The views in every direction were stunning, and we took lots of pictures. A few are here and the rest may someday get posted on our photo album.


From the mountain, we could see the harbor and could see a number of sailboats anchored and docked in the harbor. So on our way down, we had the taxi take us to the 'marina'. The dock had about 15 boats, rafted 3-deep along a single pier.


The first boat we came to was SSCA member 'Diesel Duck' with Benno and Marlene aboard. We had looked on the SSCA Members Map page and seen them in Patagonia, and were delighted to actually see them. They were aboard reading (waiting for weather), and when we knocked to say hello, they greaciously invited us aboard for some nice Agentinian red wine.


We enjoyed several hours hearing of their adventures coming down from Ecuador by boat, and swapping boat stories in general. They have done a lot of cruising in the same areas we have, and we have several mutual friends.


We also saw Skip Novak's famous Antartic exploration/charter boat Pelagic Australis. It is a very impressive 60 foot aluminum boat, purpose-built for high latitude sailing.