In the middle of September, Mark, Maya, and I returned to Paraguay without a deadline. We would use this landlocked country as a base during the spring until it turned unbearably hot or until we found a buyer for our camper. Neither had happened when we decided to leave.
Yes, two days each week were miserably hot, but it was still manageable. No buyer had appeared, but we felt Chile would be a better location for any prospective buyer to start their journey on this continent. The other reason we changed countries has to do with a concept that’s been emerging over the last few months. I can’t elaborate on that (yet) since all our attempts to reach this goal have been failing so far. But, if you’ve read our previous expense report “between the lines,” you might have gotten a hint about this idea.
Leaving Paraguay at night
Once we decided to head back to Chile — on the opposite side of the continent — we felt an urge to do this as quickly as possible. Like I mentioned in a previous blog: first, we wanted to eat sushi one more time. Over dinner, skipping an alcoholic drink, we decided to cross the border into Argentina that very same evening. We knew of a good camp spot in Posadas on the other side and hoped for a quick and easy crossing that late in the day. It was the middle of October.
(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)
Border officials were friendly, passports were checked, our Paraguayan TIP (temporary import permit) for the truck was returned and an Argentinian one obtained, and we had to back out of a narrow lane, because no height limit was indicated for a low arch up ahead…
Then, just when we thought all was fine and nobody had asked about Maya, we were told to exit the car and our camper was scanned by a massive machine! It was loud and intimidating.
Afterwards, the official stepped out of the giant scanner with our paperwork with only one question: “Do you have a dog?” Our “yes” was answered with only a nod. There’s no hiding from this futuristic machine! Luckily, people had told us earlier that nobody checks dog paperwork at this particular post.
After one short night in Posadas, we hit the road in an attempt to spend as little time as possible in Argentina. There are a few reasons why we don’t like this country, but I won’t get into that now. Our first day was productive, despite the rain and the mix of road conditions with smooth pavement in the morning and uneven patches, dips, grooves, and bumps in the afternoon. We ended up at a familiar camp spot but had to navigate slippery mud to get there.
