ARGENTINA 1

Debora and Pat arrived at Bolivia's border with Argentina near the town of Yacuiba mid-day, and all went well until they were asked to present proof of car insurance covering the vehicle in Argentina.  For a country that required insurance to drive, this was the first that didn't offer it right there at the border.  With the Bolivian vehicle import permit already canceled and passports stamped, they decided to leave the car parked at the gate and search by foot for insurance.  After asking border officials and locals, without traveling hundreds of kilometers to Salta in Argentina, they found out about some offices in the border towns on both sides that would possibly provide the coverage.  After some taxi rides around town in both countries, they discovered that there were no insurance plans available to foreign vehicles, only those from either Argentina or Bolivia.  So they were apparently screwed.  They made another attempt by showing an insurance card they had purchased in Colombia, but it wasn't accepted.  The familiar aduana official was becoming very skeptical of their situation.  Next they walked to an internet store and searched for an insurance plan they could buy online.  They found one offered by a company called Clements in the U.S. that offered such coverage to ex-pats in many countries including Argentina.  They could get a plan for the cost of $180, but all they wanted at the moment was a printable statement that would get them through the border and across the relatively short distance to Salta where they could find a more suitable plan at a better price.  Debora's credit card number was entered into the system, but she would have to press submit before they would have something to print.  "Whoops" she pressed it.  They printed out a marginally official looking statement of their insurance plan, and minutes later they wrote to Clements by email explaining their "accident" and the need to cancel the policy immediately for a refund.  They didn't feel good about it, but they resorted to these desperate measures because the only other option was to drive hundreds of miles back into Bolivia.  When they returned to the aduana window the same official was there, and as he looked at the paper, the expressions on his face weren't promising.  He passed the document to some coworkers to see what they thought.  Heads were shaking.  It didn't look good.  But then, to Debora and Pat's luck,  up walked a new official ready to start his shift.  The paper was passed to him, and after shrugging his shoulders at remarks from his predecessor, he issued the vehicle import permit for Argentina.  Next came the car inspection by an impressively large x-ray machine, and then they were ready to drive onward.  It was officially their longest border crossing (aside from the Darien Gap) lasting more than 7 hours.

The next morning they climbed out from their bed in the back of the car, which was parked on the streets of Tartagal not far from the border, and they headed for Salta.  There were a number of narcotics check points along the way with nuisance policemen.  In Salta they found an insurance plan costing about $150 that would cover the car for 4 months in the countries of Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil.  They also investigated the possibility of replacing their power steering pump which had begun to fail, but such a part for their U.S. made Toyota Tacoma was not available.  Other errands included grocery shopping and buying a new light bulb for their broken tail light.  Before dark they were back on the road heading south through the farmlands of Argentina. 

The following 2 days spent crossing the northern region of the country were hot and flat.  They drove long distances through farmlands and cattle grazing country, which turned into dry desert, followed by expansive wine vineyards as they approached Mendoza.  All three nights in the car were miserably hot and sweaty, and Pat and Debora learned that long siestas away from work every afternoon enabled Argentineans to party into the wee hours of the night every day of the week, which made for loud and noisy streets.  This further hindered their ability to sleep.  On top of all this, Debora had stopped talking to Pat for more than a day after a fight over navigation in the city of San Miguel De Tucuman.  But as they rolled into Mendoza things began to change.  They headed into the foothills of the Andes outside of town and found a popular riverbank hangout where they took a dip in the refreshing water and cooked a delicious pasta meal accompanied by cheap wine.  

The nighttime air was cool and fresh, so they slept well.  In the morning they drove higher towards the crest of the range and the border with Chile.  Along the way they viewed Aconcagua (the tallest mountain in Earth's southern hemisphere), and a few kilometers down the road they entered the long tunnel granting passage into Chile. 

TRICKS

- There is no car insurance provided on the borders for international cars so make sure to get it at a big city before hand.

- Don't count on having the regular shifts 9-5 you find in most places. Here places were usually closed from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. depending on how long they needed their siestas for.

- Don't give up when it comes to making it across the borders. Staff like to say "no" even if they aren't sure about something, so insist until you win them over.

- Cheap wine in Argentina.

TROUBLES

- Stuck at the border for over 7 hours.

- Too hot at night to sleep well in the car.

- Everything started getting very expensive including hostels, food and gas.

- Not being able to shower.