Chile Forum

Land border from Osorno to Bariloche was open, no waiting, smooth sailing. Same for the crossing at Futaleufu. There was a sign in the Aduanas office that read, "Aduanas en Para!" but everything was running the way it usually does.

We where wondering if you would make it back in from Argentina. Just have one of the local horse traders put Greg on a horse and smuggle him over the mountains in the middle of the night.

The strike was officially over Friday. The border at Futa is open and functioning fully.

(Yes, Charles, we limped our way back in fits and starts!)

What's this I hear about a general in Peru threatening to kill any Chilean citizen that tries to enter the country??? Is this something that should be perceived as a true threat to Chilean citizens or simply another jab in the ongoing rivalry between Chile and Peru? I know I'm not a Chilean citizen, but I was planning on traveling to Peru with Chilean citizens next month. Should we cancel our plans?

That is just normal banana republic Peru. Any time there is a little internal political pressure they try to deflect all their problems on to Chile so the politicians do not get burned alive in the streets. Same with Bolivia.

Real concerns in Peru is the poverty and corruption, and it does not care what country you are from. In fact, any American traveling to Peru needs to watch out. It was the Bush administration that paid the Peruvian military to burn the Coca fields and left thousands of people not only without income, but with no way of growing foods in the high in the mountains. Same situation in Bolivia, and most of Northern South America. They where simply given the burn the fields or loose U.S. aid choice. Likely why Venezuela gained so much influence in a lot of countries in Northern Southern America. Chile gets a lot of flack from the South American neighbors exactly because of its close ties to the United States. Most of what the other countries are ticked off at Chile about right now are U.S. diplomatic messes.

Heads up on how strict Chile Customs has recently become regarding the box you check on your form.

In the past 7 plus years, I have brought in my condiments without checking the box for agro products.

Today there were two SAG (I believe) workers before you entered the X-ray area prescreening and questioning travelers and having them refill out their form if they had any type of food products no matter what. Both my suitcases were subject to a search by Aduanas after X-ray and then I was on my way.

This new system is probably a result of the bad traveler relations caused by heavy fines doled out by Aduanas to international travelers which I have read about within the past year or so on TT, TA and other travel forums.

Bottom line, check the "Yes" box if you have ANY product of plant or animal origin so the worst that can happen is confiscation of an item or items rather than a surprise stiff fine.

I know this has been posted on other threads, but it is also appropriate here.

The Carretera Austral south of La Junta to Puyuhaipi, then Puyuhaipi south toward the cut-off to Puerto Cisnes is closed Monday THROUGH Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 pm. Also, anyone driving the Austral should drive cautiously. It is in some places, for long stretches, not more than a lane and a half and gravel. No room for mistakes! It' is some of the most stunning scenery but don't be distracted...large transport trucks and construction vehicles share the road and some drivers seem to have a death wish.

Why is that?

Sorry Helen, should have replied here. The road is closed for construction. It looks like it will be a considerable time, maybe all summer (our summer). I will check and update.

Yea, we have posted on allsouthernchile.com warnings about the "Austaral Highway". It is not a highway. It is a very heavily used dirt road for most of it. Don't expect to drive your BMW down it at 150 miles per hour (well, it would fly apart fairly fast).

Keep that warning in mind, don't be in a hurry, and conserve your suspension system at a nice speed of under about 25 miles an hour and you should be fine.

Travelers considering taking the ferry from Puerto Montt, or Isla Chiloe to Chaiten as a way to get to Patagonia should consider the following events and have a plan B:

On December 14, Volcan Chaiten erupted again. Here is a quote copied from Dr. Ralph Harrington's' http://volcanism.wordpress.com/ site:

The latest SERNAGEOMIN bulletin on Chaitén, no. 65, covering the period 9 to 15 December 2008, has been released. The complete original report as a PDF is available via Werner Luis’s Chaitén site, and a condensed version has been published on the SERNAGEOMIN site. The newest dome, ‘New Dome 2′, which has been growing very rapidly, is clearly a very unstable structure and is experiencing major gravitational collapses, producing lateral explosions and generating block and ash flows which are choking the Chaitén river and threatening the remains of Chaitén town with new inundations. There is also concern about the strength and stability of the south flank of the volcano’s original dome, which is bearing the weight of the new domes that have developed since May. A failure here would bring a large-scale collapse, swamping Chaitén river valley and town with vast quantities of ash and debris. In short, a very unstable and unpredictable situation.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT PLAN A TRIP TO THIS AREA. It only means that you should be prepared for your trip plans to change in the event of an "event". If a significant volcanic event happens, It is possible that your ship/ferry may be canceled, or if you are in route and , your ship/ferry may be diverted. Travel through Argentina into Futa and south is not affected.

No break for Palena.