This was the shortest boat trip through Lago Frias and we were the last through so the Argentine officials closed up shop and joined us on board in order to get back to Bariloche.
Although short it was another beautiful gorge like spot and once completed we were quickly back back on another bus to take us the ten minutes to the final boat.
Probably the most interesting of the sections given that we had to clear Chilean border control, drive in a sturdier heavy terrain bus and climb high over an Andes pass, and finally clear Argentine immigration and customs
Within a few hundred metres of setting of from Peulla we arrived at the Chilean shed. We had to wait before a previous coach cleared but then only with passports and exit docs we filed through and we on our way.
We slowly climbed through a jungle like territory as the unpaved road steepened and finally turned into hairpin bends. We passed waterfalls and also viewed the mighty Cerro Tronador, before reaching the border between Chile and Argentina.
It would be another 4 kms before we reached Puerto Frias and the Argentine immigration office. This system was explained clearly by our guide Judith. We had to take all of our kit off of the bus and the Argentine customs would pick some suitcases at random which we hadn’t seen since Puerto Varas. If our luggage was picked we had to pass through immigration and then have luggage inspected at customs (a few feet away). I, of course, was one of the lucky eight who were picked…but I passed through after a cursory glance at my underware by a fierce female officer.
After the inevitable delay of everyone being checked and the luggage loaded onto the next boat we were on our way for a short crossing of Lago Frias
Grey Trails 