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The first land border reopened: stories of hugs that waited a year and a half

2021-09-19T11:14:18.750Z


This week the Cristo Redentor was enabled in Mendoza. Clarín was a witness on the border of emotion and the nerves of those who can only now return to the country.


Roxana Badaloni

09/19/2021 6:00 AM

  • Clarín.com

  • Society

Updated 09/19/2021 6:00 AM

The dazzling landscape of the Andes mountain range, on the border between Mendoza and Chile, revives the old times of passenger transit to the Pacific Sea.

Although limited to a few Argentines, the reopening this week of the international crossing is celebrated in the Cuyo province as a great event.

18 months have passed since all land crossings were closed due to the pandemic and only entry or exit through Buenos Aires was allowed.

Clarín 

traveled to the border with Chile and

witnessed returns that waited a year and a half

, the nerves due to the number of controls and the relief of those who traveled for emergencies that are beginning to be solved.

This Wednesday the first international land crossing enabled in Argentina opened, since they were all closed in March 2020. The

Cristo Redentor Los Libertadores

, which connects Mendoza with Santiago de Chile, is enabled every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Argentines, foreign residents and cases of family reunification or for humanitarian and labor reasons can enter the country.

The rest of the

international crossings

, from the North to Patagonia, remain closed.

The passage to Chile is the only open land border.

In Argentina the entry of foreign tourists is prohibited.

And Argentine tourists who want to travel to Chile will have to wait until October 1, when they will be able to do so by plane - from the Ezeiza and Mendoza airports - and complying with many requirements that discourage travel.

Chile will require tourists

to have a complete vaccination scheme

, negative PCR, sworn declaration, mobility pass to transit, medical insurance with coverage of 30 thousand dollars, and isolation of 5 days at home.

They will not be able to enter as minor tourists who are not vaccinated.

Stories of returnees

The sun beats down hard at midday in the Andes.

For a few minutes the wind stops at the Horcones Customs House, 3,500 meters above sea level.

In a white patch, Erica (21), from Mendoza, 6 months pregnant,

enters the country and returns to the country after two years

.

"I left Santiago de Chile at 7 in the morning, I am very anxious to see my mother, my father and my brothers who live in Guaymallén, Greater Mendoza," she says from inside the car.

Keep the window down to complete the procedures by approaching the box of the Fuesmen medical foundation, in charge of antigen tests to detect Covid-19.

Travelers must complete the paperwork without getting out of the vehicle and always wearing a chinstrap.

The driver of the remís went to look for Erica at the Chilean Customs in Los Libertadores, 20 kilometers away.

National Route 7, in the high mountain section, is jammed with trucks traveling to the port of San Antonio, the main exit to the Pacific.

"I waited all this time for the border to be opened because it was

very complicated and expensive to

travel by plane to Buenos Aires and from there to Mendoza," said the young pregnant woman.

In the pass they perform an antigen test on Argentines and residents who return to the country.

Very distraught, in another rental car, Silvia waits her turn to swab.

She is Argentine, based in Chile and has her sick son in Bahía Blanca.

"I am desperate to get there, thanks to the opening of the border I will be able to accompany him," he says. Travelers are tense by the amount of paperwork they must complete to enter the country and the anguish over the result of the test to detect coronavirus, which costs $ 2,500 and takes 15 minutes.

With melancholy, Lorena, another traveler, shares her travel experience with Brian Fernández Oro and Rosalía Romero, those in charge of carrying out antigen tests at the border.

“My dad died last year and because of the pandemic I couldn't travel to fire him.

Now my mother is the one who is hospitalized and when I found out that they enabled the passage, I

threw everything away,

”says the young woman, visibly moved.

And she adds: "I quit my job in Chile and I'm going back to accompany her."

Work in a neighboring country

The stories on the border have little to do with the pleasure of visiting new cities and cultures. Most of those who travel daily are mothers or fathers who

work in a neighboring country and have their families on the other side

of the mountain range; students abroad and athletes in competition.

Cordovan journalist Juan Cruz Mathus awaits his turn inside a taxi.

He paid $ 4,500 for the 100-kilometer trip, between Los Libertadores customs and the mountain town of Uspallata, in Mendoza.

He returns from covering the rally in Chile.

By plane I had to wait two weeks to get back.

There is a bottleneck because very few frequencies are enabled ”, he explained.

When he heard that the land crossing was being opened, he did not hesitate: "I took the risk of coming across the border by taxi and so far everything is fine."

Back home.

Cordovan journalist Juan Cruz Mathus returned from Chile by taxi through the Cristo Redentor pass.

Also for work, Alejandro Papaiani from Mendoza has to travel to Chile every month.

Calls for the restrictions to be lifted for those who travel for employment reasons and have the vaccination schedule complete.

"I have to do 7 days of quarantine in Chile, and only then can I go to work in my office, which forces me to be

separated from my children

who live in Argentina

for

three weeks

," he says.

Loves and solidarity

The San Juan couple of David Riveros and Patricia Romero left for

a cause of solidarity

towards the mountains, at 4.30 in the morning, from their home in the municipality of Rawson.

They helped to repatriate Oscar Alonso (63), an Argentine who was homeless and was assisted by a family in Chile.

“He hitchhiked to Santiago.

He lived on the street until this Chilean family took him home and located the lady in charge of the home where he lived in San Juan, ”says Riveros.

The couple who helped to repatriate the Argentine will have to do 7 days of isolation at their home because it is considered close contact with the foreign traveler.

Solidarity mission.

The San Juan people David Riveros and Patricia Romero helped repatriate an Argentine who was homeless in Chile.

Not all those who arrive at Customs can enter or leave Argentina.

A 25-year-old Chilean woman traveled to see her boyfriend in Mendoza.

He complied with the health requirements, but could not do so for legal reasons of family repatriation.

"If a situation of coexistence is not proven,

the courtship is not considered a case of family repatriation,

" explained the border official.

Conditions of entry

The crossing was enabled as a safe sanitary corridor.

“We celebrate this step we have taken.

Governor Suarez has been insisting for a long time that this could happen ”, said the Minister of Tourism of Mendoza, Mariana Juri.

And he announced that he hopes that the next step will be

a pilot test for the entry of foreign tourists

.

Argentines, foreign residents and people with exceptions for family reunification, humanitarian and business causes, must bring a negative PCR at the place of origin with a limit of 72 hours in advance at the time of travel, perform a rapid antigen test at the Horcones Customs and then keep isolation for 7 days at the destination city address.

On the seventh day they should repeat the PCR and if it is negative, the isolation is lifted.

Those entering the country must remain in the car at all times and with a mask.

Minors must also swab and meet these requirements.

The

family reunion

is processed through consulates and migration, and must afford a Apostilled costing $ 9,000.

Crossing land borders can only be done with your

own or rented private vehicle

.

“The buses are not enabled as public passenger transport to cross.

You can only travel by private vehicle, taxi or remís ”, said the border chief, Justo José Bascolo.

The cost of a section, with an Argentine remis that leaves them at the Chilean customs and another Chilean vehicle that waits for them and transfers them to Santiago, is

around $ 40,000

.

In Border Health they clarify that the drivers who transfer passengers must comply with the protocol: a division with plastic or glass between the driver and the passengers, wearing a mask throughout the trip and alcohol gel. Those who do not meet these requirements are considered close contact and must perform a 7-day isolation upon arrival at their destination.

Once the Covid negative result notification is received,

a green wafer

is placed on the windshield of the car

.

People who test positive are escorted by the Gendarmerie and the Mendoza Police through the safe sanitary corridor to the city of Mendoza.

There they are housed in a health residence - hotel or hospital depending on the patient's condition - arranged by the Government of Mendoza.

They must remain in quarantine for 7 days, take a new test and if they are negative, they are released.

The reopening of the Cristo Redentor pass.

In the first three days, 97 people entered.

Photo Government of Mendoza

In the first three days of opening,

97 people entered the country

.

“The delays are not significant, around 20 minutes of waiting at the border.

Although the first days, the staff has had to overcome coordination problems between both customs and had to work until 9 pm to attend to all the returnees, "said Bascolo.

Travel by plane

“The airport is ready.

Mendoza has given all the guarantees for it to be enabled and we have already held talks with four airlines that have requested authorization from ANAC, ”said the Minister of Tourism.

These are Aerolineas Argentinas, Sky, LATAM and Copa Airlines.

The first flight between Mendoza and Santiago de Chile leaves on September 25 and will be operated by Aerolineas Argentinas.

It will be a weekly frequency, on Saturdays.

Flight AR1288 will take off at 1:30 p.m. from El Plumerillo International Airport and will land in Chile at 2:30 p.m.

The return flight is scheduled for 16.25.

For all passengers from western Argentina, it will also be a new door to make air connections with the main international destinations.

Mendoza.

Correspondent

ACE

Look also

Opening of borders with Uruguay: Colonia Express and flights return but only for Argentines and residents of the country

Aerolineas Argentinas will fly from Mendoza to Santiago de Chile from September 25

Source: clarin

All life articles on 2021-09-19

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