Chile Chico to Los Antiguos: Walking Across the Border

Imagine this. You have successfully traversed half of the Carretera Austral by hitch hiking. One of the most remote highways in the world for travellers. Aside from one day where you spent more hours on the side of the road than in a vehicle, and another day where the freezing rain got the better of you after three hours and you threw in the towel for the night, your hitch hiking attempts were a surprising success. Now fast forward two weeks to a brisk morning, walking across a border from Chile to Argentina when you soon learn just how hard it can be when hitch hiking fails.

This is the story of the day I walked across the border from Chile Chico in Chile, to Los Antiguos in Argentina. I had everything I owned on my back and nothing but my own two feet to make the traverse. I guess no one wants to take hitch hikers across borders. This makes sense in hindsight, given the whole border checks and smuggling concerns.

While I don’t blame the people passing by for not stopping, it doesn’t mean it was easy. Trekking with all of your food, shelter and clothes on your back in the mountains is one thing. But having to walk a seemingly endless distance with all the other bits and pieces needed for travel in addition to those valuable trekking items is a whole different ball game.

Chile

Chile Chico

On this memorable day, my French friend and I woke up in our tents that we wild camped in the night before. We had arrived so late off the ferry from Puerto Ibanez that we decided to find ourselves a nice, quiet (and scarily dark) spot by the lake to camp in. I was a bit weary on the whole idea of wild camping in a town and not in the mountains. Something about camping in the mountains felt safe and secure. Pitching a tent in the dark in a city on the other hand, felt a bit odd. Anyone could just walk up to our tents while we slept. Reassured a few times by my very brave friend, I eventually agreed that wild camping would make for an even better adventure.

We were in the tiny town of Chile Chico because the information desk in Coyhaique told us this was the best point to cross back into Argentina from where we were. My initial plans to head down to Villa O’Higgins to cross the border had been axed following a series of unfortunate events. More on these events in another post. We were to cross the border now or never it would seem.

Hitchhiking Success

Packed up and ready to go, we headed off as early as we could to try and score a lift. The early bird catches the worm, apparently. It was supposedly only 10 or so kilometres between the borders, so even if we didn’t get a lift it shouldn’t be too bad. The two towns are supposedly on the border anyway, right?

We made our way to the side of the highway on the way out of town. A few cars passed by, a couple of trucks honked and after a little while a guy pulled over in a ute. He offered to give us a lift to the border and we jumped in. In his sometimes difficult to decipher Chilean Spanish, he told us he could only take us to the border and no further because he actually wasn’t headed that way. He just couldn’t bear to leave us to walk the whole way on our own. The Chilean generosity continues!

Border Crossing out of Chile

Dropped at the border, we went through the process of stamping our passports and handing over the annoying receipt we’d had to keep track of during our time in Chile. We were the only people in the immigration building. It quickly became apparent that we might be here for a while if we waited for another ride. A family then pulled up, which looked promising, however they soon left in what was a very full van. We figured we could either sit here all day or start walking and hope someone picked us up along the way. At least we would be making progress, and memories. How far could the Argentinian border control be?

No-Mans Land 

The Border Crossing Journey Begins

As the Chilean flag swayed in the wind and the sun started to rise we began our journey. We set off into the no-mans land that was to be our home for the next 10km from border to border. It felt like we were in a Wild West movie with nothing in the distance but one tiny shack and an abundance of rolling dusty mountains. I was just waiting for a tumbleweed to roll past or for someone to say “Howdy darlin”.

Initially it was pretty exciting and a bit of fun. We were physically walking across the border and were currently in neither country. While out there we took a few selfies of us and the open road. There were also some typical, walking down the centre line shots taken as well as a few snaps of the beautiful surrounds. We had proof of our efforts with a smile on our face.

A Heavy Load to Carry

It wasn’t until I spotted these little plaques on the side of the road that I began to notice the kilometres, and the weight of my pack. My smaller day pack full of electronics I was carrying on my front was the problem. It was cutting deep into my shoulders and I could start to feel the burn. I tried shifting, adjusting, lifting and rearranging. Despite this, nothing helped. The weight was my burden to bear with no where to dispose of any unnecessary extras.

As we walked further and further down the long highway we saw it bend off to the left. It looked like there was a bridge and that it then disappeared off behind the mountain on the other side of the tiny river. At our excitement a vehicle came into sight across the bridge. They were travelling the wrong direction of course. It still gave us hope that other vehicle’s may be passing through at some point. Thumbs ready, we continued to walk with high hopes someone would come by soon. And they did eventually. But as I said, no one really wants to pick hitch hikers up in-between borders. All of our efforts were to no success and we continued on our path.

Bonus Welcome Sign

By the time we crossed the bridge it became clear that the highway did not actually go behind the edge of the mountain. It in fact looped back on itself. For some reason turned 180 degrees and headed back in the direction we had just walked for an hour or more. A little perplexed we tried to work out why on Earth we would be walking one way to only walk back. It wasn’t until after the fact when I took a look on Google maps and saw the highway snaking around a river, I realised. The river was obviously a lot bigger when this road was built, because it sure didn’t look that big when we were out there.

We continued on our way, excited by the giant “Bienvenidos a la Republica Argentina” sign that we were closing in on. Welcome to Argentina. One fun benefit of walking the border was that we could take a photo standing next to the official border crossing sign. An opportunity we would have missed in the tray of someone’s ute.

After walking for another gruelling hour or so we still seemed so far away from the border control building. It must have been even further back past the Chilean border control building than we thought. We then came across a couple who were headed in the other direction on foot. They were struggling just as much as us. It was a mental game this one and I had begun to fail. They were really only just beginning, but they looked just as “spritely” as we did. Oddly enough, they managed to flag down a ride before they even walked past us. We really were headed in the wrong direction, apparently.

Argentina

Crossing the Border back into Argentina

So fast forward a lot more steps, plodding one foot after the other, we eventually collapsed into the border control building. Entering Argentina is usually pretty easy but this particular day was even easier than last time. The guy who served us must have know that we had just walked all the way there. He gave us an express version of immigration control and a huge smile before he waved us on our way.

My excitement of reaching border control, was quickly softened when we realised we would be walking the rest of the way into town. It didn’t seem too far on maps me to the edge of town, but by the time we had walked to town, all the way through town and then to the other side where the bus terminal was, the kilometres had added up. On any normal day this would have been a walk in the park. But after 10 or so kilometres already with all of our gear, my shoulders were on fire. I didn’t even have the energy to stop for breaks anymore. It was too hard to take off both packs and then pick them back up. I really should have just thrown out my pasta and snacks and bought them again before crossing the border. Hindsight is great.

Los Antiguos

When we finally arrived at the bus station, a sense of relief and also satisfaction washed over me. We had just walked across the border from Chile to Argentina. I hadn’t given up or fallen into a heap. Even though at times my shoulders felt like they were actually on fire, I pushed on. We had used our own two feet to transit ourselves and all of our worldly possessions from one country to the next.

At the end of the day, thought it was pretty exhausting it was also quite rewarding and enjoyable. We had done something a little different and we did it together. It also gave us the justification to go find a funky local beer garden and nap away the afternoon under a blanket in the sun. When could you possibly be more deserving of a beer or a cuppa, right?

Bucket List – Check

To that end, there are probably much more efficient and easy ways of crossing the border from Chile into Argentina. But I doubt any of those other options would have made for such a fond memory and fun story. It also allowed my friend and I plenty of time to really get to know each other. Little did I know this was the beginning of a friendship that would last throughout my trip. It would continue even when we had to part ways. I will always remember the day we walked across the border from the quaint lake side town of Chile Chico to the hipster, beer garden loving town of Los Antinguos. Another random achievement to tick off the list – crossing a border on foot. Thanks for being my border crossing buddy, Anais!

— Girl Seeking Purpose