Sunday morning, Jeff and Susie had to get up early because we were off to Argentina. We drove up a crazy road with a million switchbacks with NO guardrail to get to the top of the pass. I'm not sure why they don't have problems with people falling off the mountain. the tunnels are in ill repair, the roads are full of potholes, people can pass anywhere, anytime and there is no protection from falling off cliffs. Close to the top, we found a hotel on a lake where skiers from all over the world come to train for the Olympics. The people are just so nice everywhere we went! We also stopped at a park where we could see Mt. Aconcagua - the highest peak outside of Asia. We finally got to the border, although I wasn't sure exactly when we crossed. We had to stop about 5 times and show documentation. At one point, we had to get out of the car so the guards in Argentina could look it over. Finally, they gave us our paperwork and said we would need it at the next checkpoint. We rolled our eyes and got back in the car. We drove about 3 feet before someone from the booth stepped in front of us and asked for the paperwork we'd just received. Apparently he was the next checkpoint! I don't get it. How can they need to ask us again for the very paperwork they just handed us? Anyway, we finally made it into the country and had our passports stamped 'Argentina'. We drove a bit and stopped for lunch and then headed back because Jeff and Susie had to be back for a second photoshoot with Claudia and Alfredo (the bride and groom). We again had to stop a million times to cross the boarder, but at least the Chilean guards were kind of funny and always happy. We raced back to the hotel, but had some trouble finding it (again, the roads are NOT well marked) and got there a half hour late. That was unfortunate, but Claudia and Alfredo were not upset and they all took off to the Castillo Hidalgo for more pictures. Unfortunately, the gates into the courtyard were closed, so they couldn't get some shots they had really hoped for (Jeff and I went back later and apparently those gates are always closed to the general public.) I went for a walk to the Starbucks down the street and on the way back to the hotel, I saw some street vendors, so I took a detour. There wasn't anything fabulous that I wanted, so I continued on and got a little disoriented. Thankfully, I can say "Donde esta el Bosque Norte?" and some nice man pointed out the direction. I got back just in time to find Jeff leaving the hotel to go look for me! I felt bad, I didn't mean to worry him and he never would have found me because I was in a different direction. Alfredo had recommended that we go out to a restaurant called 'Los Buenos Muchachos' for a wonderful, authentic meal, so we made reservations and took off.
Los Buenos muchachos adventure needs it's own post, so I'll do that next.
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