It always pays to be optimistic

Hello from Argentina! You are probably confused and wondering what are we doing going back south rather than up north, driving around in loops. So let me try to explain how we ended up back in Argentina...

I don't really understand how crossings from one country to the other work in South America but basically it is nothing like crossing from one country to the other in Europe. We thought we would be stuck in Chile and won't be able to complete the trip up to Colombia as we initially planned. To be honest, I don't even understand what the problem was. I think it was something about our car having Chilean plates.  Or maybe it was something about us and our tourist visa? I told you, it's all very confusing. But basically, when we were in San Pedro last week, we thought we should give it a go and cross back into Argentina so this is what we did. Ismene, Dan and Ioanna thought it wouldn't work. Especially Ioanna was very worried :)) I was more optimistic and kept my fingers crossed. 

And guess what? It was by far our easiest and quickest crossing. We were all very nervous and thought the officials will send us back to San Pedro and we would have to make up a different travel plan and spend the whole year travelling in Chile. But it worked! And it was easy! And we were all so happy ! We even did a little victory dance in the car as we were driving away from the border check :)

We are now in a small town called Cachi. When we arrived, Ioanna was almost in tears because, with its white-washed buildings and the main village square, it really feels like we are on a Greek island. Well, obviously except the lack of blue sea but I think she's willing to forget about this. And there are vineyards all around which makes the landscape even more interesting. After leaving the Bolivian altiplano and the Atacama desert, it is so good to see some vivid greens again. I think Ioanna and Dan are particularly happy about the vineyards as well. 

We are now trying to figure out what we'll do next while we wait for the official document that says Chiquita is ours and will allow us to cross into Bolivia and Peru. Apparently, there are strikes in Chile and this is why the document is very delayed. But this north part of Argentina looks really interesting and there are a lot of things to see so I am sure it will all work out well.

After all, it always pays to be an optimist!

Below is a little video of Chiquita on the Valle de las Rocas in Bolivia that our friends Jasper and Lonneke took with their drone. We call it 'Chiquita Without Borders' because nothing can stop Chiquita. Can you spot me at the end?