The Voss Dufour World Tour

Perhaps it was the cold. Or the altitude. But either way, the Argentina/Chile Customs and immigrations procedures on the pass from Mendoza to Santiago Chile was the most intense Customs that we have passed thru to date. Our bus, (think Greyhound but MUCH nicer) pulled into the line of other buses, cars and trucks waiting to pass thru. We waited on the bus until we got the signal from our driver that it was time to get off and line up in from of the Argentine immigration officials at which point all 30 or so of us did just that. The Argentine official stamped us with our official exit from Argentina, we turned in some forms and then moved over to another line to be welcomed into Chile. The question stands, where were we during those 4 or so minutes after having left Argentina but not yet in Chile?

So we then sailed through Chile Customs and regrouped with our fellow travellers to deal with our luggage. Meanwhile, while each of us had been going through this process, the bus had been unloaded, boarded by Customs officials and sniffed thoroughly by Customs dogs We saw men walking the aisles aided by flashlights and mirrors to look under the seats. Kinda like those found at the dentist’s office so she can see your upper set of teeth. We stood outside, in the fairly cold air, for about 10 or so minutes before we were moved into the Passengers Custom section. Our bags were getting scanned and they pulled off about 8 or so bags and requested the owners to step forward to open and allow the Customs agent to search it. Meantime, another official walked back and forth with the drug/bomb sniffing dog (which was pretty cute and friendly looking) weaving in and out of our legs and jumping up to smell out belongings. Then another official walked back and forth and collected one of our customs forms that we had filled out on the bus. If you had left something blank, such as where you had just come from, or where you were going, they weren’t happy campers and sternly returned your form, telling you to fill it out completely. Bags were searched, opened and searched again. This whole time there were about 7 or so agents attending to our bus and getting us thru customs. At the end of it all, when we were finally allowed back on the bus, our driver went around and took up a collection for the guys who were lugging the suitcases back and forth. I can only imagine that taking up a collection for our TSA agents wouldn’t go over so smoothly.

We have passed thru customs to date with many more to go, but of all the borders crossings we have ever done, including ones prior to this trip, I haven’t seen any as official as this one. Most of the time, we have just been waved thru and I think on some occasions, our bags weren’t even scanned. Imagine if Argentina and Chile had recently faced off in a World Cup qualifier match!