Okay, the title was click-bait; we did not really cross illegally into Argentina from Chile. But it surely felt like an illegal crossing. I felt like one of the von Trapps escaping across the border in The Sound of Music.
To continue on our journey from Villa O’Higgins, we had to cross the 35-mile long Lago (Lake) O’Higgins, and then cross the border over a mountain pass into Argentina.
We booked our boat journey for Monday, February 5. But we were told that it might not happen. “Check in at 5 p.m. the day before to confirm,” the ferry representative said.
We did, and were told that the Monday trip was a no-go. It would be too windy. So we had to bunker down for another unwanted stay in town. We were told that sometimes people had to stay for several extra days for the right conditions to cross the lake. It was nerve-racking, waiting to know whether our ferry trip would happen soon or whether we would have to wait for days. It was like trying to escape the Gestapo and waiting for the right signal.
Luckily, when we checked in again the next day, a Tuesday departure was cleared for us . But… we had to be at the dock at 5 a.m! Apparently, the lake acts tempestuously on windy days, and Tuesday seemed like a calm day to travel. And 5 a.m. is when the lake is calmest.
So our groggy selves got up at 3:30 a.m. to get to the dock in time for the departure at 5.
All 19 of us passengers crammed into the tiny boat (along with 9 bicycles) like illegal border crossers being shuttled by some unscrupulous human smuggler.
The ride started calmly enough but by 6 a.m., the waters became quite choppy. And this was supposed to be a calm day? The small craft rose skyward with every wave and then landed hard with a thump-thump on the water. Up and down, up and down like a roller coaster. Any unsettled person could have easily thrown up.
But we safely made it to the other shore, made camp and settled in for the night.
The next day we prepared to cross over the mountain into Argentina. We started on the road. The slope was steep and the path was rough. Large rocks and steep incline made it hard to pedal, forcing us to walk most of the way up the mountain, about 4 miles worth, before it would level off for another 4 miles. To make it worse, the winds that day were seriously strong.
After several hours, we reached the Argentina-Chile border.
The thing is: Argentina and Chile have had several skirmishes at this border crossing. A Chilean border officer was killed in a confrontation years ago. So although Chile built a road to the border (so they could send vehicles to the border as needed), Argentina did not. So, for us, the next 3.5 miles to the Argentina border station was on our own through the dense forest.
It was 3 and a half miles of slow slogging through a faintly distinguishable trail, walking our bikes through rough terrain and many stream crossings.
We had left our camp at 9:30 in the morning and got to the Argentina border station at around 7 pm, roughly nine and a half hours. We had traveled 12 miles.
But we did reach Freedom! Or maybe it was only the Argentina border station.
Now that’s an adventure!
Thanks for reading Johnny. Can we call this “Adventure Cycling”?
I am just glad you still have your great sense of humor!!!! I hope you get some rest now. Thank you for the videos and pics. These really help illustrate your journey.
Are they still striking in Argentina? They were having serious GS there.
It might not even affect you , since you are so far away from Buenos Aires and other major cities…
Take care ,
At this point, not much news of things going on in the rest of Argentina. Having just entered Argentina, we came to the town of El Chalten, and still getting my bearings in regards to Argentina.
Thuan, were you expecting that there would be a road from the border to the Arg border station? I would have been as nervous as that time we almost got lost on Mt. Abbott in the Sierras! And I’m surprised that you have internet access so very often. Thanks for those videos that show the tempest across the lake and then slog along the trails, er, roads.
We prepared, so we actually knew there was no road from the border onwards. So we were prepared to do what bikers call “hike-a-bike.” But no matter if you know ahead or not, it’s always a painful process. We didn’t expect that many streams to cross nor the difficulty of the tiny trail. It was a mess of a hike. We tried to keep our shoes and pants dry in the stream crossings, but in the end, we just gave up. Wet shoes, socks and pants, it is.
There are many days without internet. But after the crossing, we ended up in El Chalten, Argentina, which is an internationally renowned hiking and trekking destination. (Look it up, I didn’t know it either.) Now we are in El Calafate, another renowned tourist destination with wifi everywhere. Who knew!
But for WordPress blogs, I do write on my phone WordPress app and save it, and when there is an internet connection, I then upload the already prepared post.
I remember that time on Mt. Abbott. How I wish I could climb it again!
[…] while ago, we told you about our saga of crossing from Chile into Argentina (see here). Now we’re crossing back into Chile from Argentina. […]