Bolivia: Entering the “real” South America

banner_boliviatour

Our first view of the Argentinan/Bolivian border was almost comical. A frantic flow of pedestrian traffic forced us to a stop on the road. I was reminded of a trail of industrious leaf cutter ants as we waited for a break that didn’t come. Locals ran back and forth carrying and pushing loads way bigger than themselves with a life or death sense of urgency. Our eyes followed this line of activity across a bridge to our destination. On the other side, we saw a road clogged with roadside stalls, red taillights and general chaos. There was Bolivia. Continue reading

Crossing a border: A short story

The open border between Uruguay and Brazil.

We have made four border crossings now, each with their own quirks but all following the same basic procedure: exit ourselves (immigration) then exit the motorbikes (customs) from the current country; ride across an empty “no man’s land” between the two countries; enter ourselves (immigration) and enter the motorbikes (customs) into the new country. Continue reading