The South American Odyssey

We picked up our bags from the common storage in the ferry and walked out. There was no bus terminal or any information signs. We looked up on Maps.me and found the main plaza of the village around 500 mts away. The bus terminal too was marked there. There were trees laden with peaches all around the square. We didn't waste too much time and were plucking away the ripe fruits from the trees. They were delicious. The bus terminal was right next to the center. We went in, only to find all the counters closed. It was lunch time and there was a board stating that they would open at 4 pm 🙄
We went around all the counters to see what all destinations they were serving. All of them had boards for only destinations within Chile except one. We decided to wait for that one to open to find put about the price and timing. In the meantime, a lady working at the bus terminal told us that, that company had stopped going to Argentina side for a few months now and that the only option we had was to take a taxi to the border, walk across and take a bus or lift once on the other side. She even offered to call a taxi for us. She told that the price would be about 5000 CLP. The taxi person she called wasn't there and would be available in an hour so we decided to wait an hour and check at the counter as well once it opened. We had our food at the restaurant in the bus terminal. After that we sat waiting for either the taxi to come or the counter to open. In the meantime, Hristo went around and found out from the shops around that taxi was the only way across and it would cost us about 5000 CLP. He also found a money exchange place,where we could exchange Chilen Pesos to Argentinan Pesos. We would need them very soon and we remembered from our earlier experience in Argentina that there was quite a steep charge to withdraw cash in the ATMs in Argentina, so we decided to change our money before we left.
The counters opened at 4 pm and we asked about the bus to Argentina. We were told that it had stopped a few months ago due to bureaucratic issues and that we would need to take a taxi to near the border, walk across and then take a lift on the other side. She too told us the price would be around 5000 CLP.
In the meantime, the lady who had called the taxi guy came over and talked with the lady at the counter and then told us that the taxi was available now and that as agreed, the price would be 5000 CLP per person
We were shocked at gow brazenly she was trying to fleece us. We walked away and went to the money exchange shop. Here, I changed some of my money to Argentinan Pesos. While Melinda was exchanging hers and Hristo was waiting for his turn, Maria was standing outside waiting and keeping an eye on our big bags we had places outside the small shop. Some local men started ganging around her. She didn't feel comfortable so she called Hristo. I too came out and stood nearby and Melinda too came and we made a circle around our bags. Hristo went in to change his currency. Seeing the 3 of us there, the mem dispersed a bit and then went inside the shop and started crowding behind Hristo. I went in to keep an eye on them while Hristo got his money and stored it in the day bag and pockets. Once outside, we saw a taxi parked a few meters away, on the opposite side of the road. We picked up our bags and walked straight to it. The taxi driver told us the peice would be 6000 CLP. We agreed and were happy to leave as soon as we could since now the men had started piling out of the shop and they had seen us all exchange quite some money.
The Chilean border post was 6 kms away, then a no man's land for 3 kms, then the Argentinan border would start and then another 3 kms would be the Argentinan border post. He could drop us till the Argentina border but we would have to walk after that till the post.Les mer