The next day, Ramiz and I walked to the border so we could go check out the Argentinean side of the Falls. We were checking out from the hostel and this Korean girl (unlike the Norwegian girl, I am sure this one was Korean) askd if she tag along with us. When we got to the Brazilian side of the border, the two of them had to get a stamp from the Brazilian immigration. The Korean girl didnt have her paperwork sorted out.
The official claimed there was some form missing and there was no way she could leave without straightening it out. If she didnt find it, there would be a hundred some dollars fine and endless paper work... a true South American trade mark.
The immigration officer asked me to go over her backpack with her, he insisted that I was thorough. We searched high and low, inside and out but we just couldnt find the form. He insisted that we kept looking because it was a big deal. We searched a second time but still turned up nothing. At some point, he said it was in her best interest to find it because not having this form was a matter of Brazilian national security and she could be deported and never be able to return to Brazil again.
I didnt really know this girl and wasnt about to become her lawyer so I asked her one final time if she could have possibly lost this form. She shrugged and said she'd never gotten one. I turned to the immigration guy and said " ohh well, fine and paperwork it is"
I was sure this guy was just fishing for a bribe and I figured I would speed through this, but when he realized she really didnt have the paper work, he got a blank one and had her fill it out as if she were entering the country rigth then and there. He then stamped her in and out, looked at me and said:
"If I were to file the report, I would have to accompany her into a room with no AC for like two hours and I just dont want to do that, it is too hot !!!!"
...Way to worry about Brazilian national security. Ten minutes later we were stamped into Argentina. Cool, a trip is not a trip unless you get a stamp on your passport.
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