Start Point (a) is Bariloche, Argentina; end point (b) is Osorno, Chile.

We drive for hours through the snow-covered Andes that provide the natural border between Argentina and Chile for almost the entire length of the two countries. This southern passage is beautiful, just as I remember the trip being in the central part of the countries when I was crossing between Mendoza and Santiago on a previous trip.

On this passage, however, there’s a 45-minute drive through a rain forest between the leaving-Argentina border check and the entering-Chile border check. The former solely consisted of getting off the bus and showing our passports and a very short form to an Argentine officer inside a small, empty building. The latter mimicked this, with the addition of scanning everyone’s bags for fresh fruits, vegetables, milk and meat; big signs everywhere warn you to protect Chile by keeping these items out. And I always thought drug and weapon smuggling was the concern of border controls…

Chilean border police scan for produce and animal products.