Bordercrossing to Bolivia

The tour to Uyuni started with the bordercrossing from Chile to Bolivia. We were picked up in San Pedro with a minivan that would take us across the border. There we would change to a 4x4 for the drive through the desert.
After about an hour on the road we stopped at a modern looking building with a big gate. After a moment the gate opened and someone took a picture of our car. The gate closed again for a few more minutes. When the gate opened again we saw an office to the left where we could go in and get our stamps out of Chile. So this was the chilean Immigration Office. The officer did the usual fuss with looking at the picture critically comparing it to the person in front of him. Then looking through all the pages in the passport and staring at something on his screen before giving us the stamp. I always wonder what they are actually doing. We got back into the bus inside the building and drove out on the other side.
After a few hundred meters down a dusty road we had to stop at a barrier next to a basic building. Our driver got out to open the barrier himself and parked next to the building. He send us in saying "It's easier here, they just gonna give you a stamp!" - welcome to Bolivia.
The contrast between the two offices couldn't have been bigger and was the first sign of the difference between the two countries.Read more