Traveling with a Dog in SA - Bribes?

[ATX]

For awhile now I've been trying to research the best places outside of the US to travel with a dog. Reason being is I'm trying desperately to leave NA, but can't leave my little buddy alone. We've traveled across all of the US and Canada together and leaving without him isn't a question. We're in it together until then in. The difficulties here are entering a country with the dog, not actually being there with him. Every country has their own regulations on having a dog brought over the border, and with how small countries are in Latin America, that's a lot to prepare for. Most require just simply proof of vaccinations and a certificate of good health, but some require more. I've heard bribes being a really good way to get out of almost anything in most countries down there, and wonder if it would work with dogs. Anyone that has been down there, what do you think and what specific countries do you think it would work in, and how much? Just show my vaccination papers to the entry guard with a 20 tucked into my passport? I posted something similar about Europe, but have been looking more into going to SA recently. Thanks!

 

[wizehop]

Man you can probably cross most boarders in Latin America without much fuss. Heck the last time I crossed into Mexico from San Diego they didn't even check my passport. Mind you it cost me a few bucks when I crossed into Belize, but that being said the boarders are pretty lax from my experience.

Now as far as bribes go there is an art to it, and just forking over cash isn't the way to go. If anything, just randomly putting cash in your passport and the guy finding it will cause more problems than not. The trick is to present it as if its an official payment, as a posed to a bribe. SO say you got busted doing something illegal and you wanted to pay the cop off, you don't just say how much is this going to cost me. It not only shows your in the weaker position, it also can go bad if the cop isn't corrupt.
Instead, if you cant talk your way out of trouble (which you should always do first) ask if there is a "cash fine" you can pay on the spot. Or in the case of you and your dog, ask if there is a cash fee for bringing in animals. They will usually pretend to speak to their supervisors and then set a price. A lot of times you can even negotiate from there.
A lot of times you are perfectly able to do things and the police will try to shake you down for a few bucks anyhow knowing you don't know the lay of the land.
Even when you have done something wrong but it doesn't really amount to anything, they will try to get money from you. Of course knowing your rights or having the balls to stand up to them is a different story.

Anyway all that to say I don't think it will be a problem bringing your dog through land crossings. You can pretty much do what ever you want down there if you know how to talk to people. I was never one of those people, but I was lucky enough to have friends who where. Crossing the ocean into Europe on the other hand you will have to jump through hoops including putting your dog into quarantine. If your not planning on staying there for a long as time I don't think it would be worth the hassle.

 

[sucuri]

Hey man. A lot of what @wizehop says is true. Borders are generally pretty lax down here. But as an American you do need visas for a variety of South American countires like Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Suriname. And they're not always cheap.

As for your dog, I would do it like this: make sure he does in fact have some kind of papers -- just in case. But you'll quickly notice that in South America stray dogs are literally everywhere. They just wander around in the streets and people pay no attention, unless the hound gets too close, wherein they vehemenatly hiss passa cachorro, sai sai sai! and clap their hands at him.

Even at the border crossings there are usually a couple of resident dogs that just lay around. Tie up your buddy somewhere outside of the customs area, or even just let him hang around out there if he's well trained enough, go in and take care of your own paperwork, then leave and walk across the border with your dog. I almost garuntee you nobody will even look twice. And if by some chance they do, just show them the papers and play stupid. "What? I didn't know I had to show the dog too, derp derp I'm just a stupid gringo lol." Vacant smile. Thumbs up. Vacant smile. You probably won't have any trouble though.

I've been bumming around South America for almost six years and in all that time I have never had to pay a bribe. Playing stupid, that vapid grin, and showing respect to the authorities have always done just fine for me.

 

[sucuri]

You can pretty much do what ever you want down there if you know how to talk to people

And while that is to a certain extent true not all borders are as easy as the US --> Mexico. Brazil, Venezuela, and Bolivia can give us Americans a real hard time. They've left me yanking my hair out on more than one occasion.

Of course as a Canadian I don't think you even had to prearrange a Brazilian Visa, did you? Count yourself lucky dude. Cost me $160 bucks and I went through as many loopholes as I could.

 

[ATX]

Wow, those were both really thought out replies. Thanks to both of you for taking the time to write them, just got a wealth of information. My basic understanding is that it will be relatively easy to cross borders once I'm down there by land. All of the country ran websites have a bunch of different stuff they say they require - which I found out is for arrival and departure by plane. Some countries require a tax to even leave the country which confuses me. Do they plan to keep you there if you are leaving by plane and can't pay it? Haha.

I guess if I do end up needing to bribe, I won't directly come out and say it. But from what you guys are saying, I feel like I won't have too. I guess the thing to do would just be to say fuck it and start heading south, and see what happens. That's the point of adventure, right?

 

[ATX]

And while that is to a certain extent true not all borders are as easy as the US --> Mexico. Brazil, Venezuela, and Bolivia can give us Americans a real hard time. They've left me yanking my hair out on more than one occasion.

Of course as a Canadian I don't think you even had to prearrange a Brazilian Visa, did you? Count yourself lucky dude. Cost me $160 bucks and I went through as many loopholes as I could.

Hey man, I've actually been really into your website recently. I found it one day here on one of your posts and looked into the archive section and really enjoyed it. Well written shit, and I gotta say it really got me into SA recently. Made me realize a lot of the fear mongering by the Americans about going down there is over exaggerated.

What you just mentioned though, about visas, is well worth me looking into. I share dual citizenship with the US and Canada (born in the US to Canadian parents) and I knew that could give me benefits in a lot of ways, especially in Europe. So I will be bringing passports from both countries with me. Especially nice if I end up loosing one. Do you by any chance know of any other differences in visas down there for citizens of both countries?

 

[wizehop]

Of course as a Canadian I don't think you even had to prearrange a Brazilian Visa, did you?

I did have to pre arrange one which was a bit of a pain in the ass, but that time I was flying in from Canada. Brazil has a policy where what ever a country requires of them they will require the same. So I had to send records of employment ext. I don't think any of it made a difference, they just make you do it as a formality to be pricks.

That being said some good buddies of mine crossed over by land from Venezuela with no visa and got one later on in Brazil. A lot of Central america make you pay exit taxes as well, so be prepared for that..but all that being said from any of my experiences where visas were requires in Latin America where I was crossing by land, I just got them at the boarder.

Even when things run smoothly in most of these countries, they are still a bit retarded, so bring your patience and don't lose your cool. To many people get frustrated ( I lose my shit in about 1 minute) and lose right of the bat. Its a bit of a process to get your way, and it can take a bit of time, but in the end you will prevail.

 

[sucuri]

@ATX, yeah there are some wierd tax things at airports. But some borders even charge for land crossings. Your Canadian passport is gold though. I wouldn't even use the American one down here. I don't think Canadians have to pay at any land crossings. Damned frustrating when I gotta pay $60 to get into Paraguay and you guys just breeze on through. Do I look like the fucking president of the United States? It's not my fault the US has such strict visa policies. ANYWAY...thanks for reading on my site. Let me know when you get down here, I'm probably hitting the road again soon, to Chile-ish.

@wizehop, I actually was at that Venezuela -- Brazil border crossing a few months ago. It's true, it's so lax! Me and my sister literally just walked across in front of all kinds of uniformed people and nobody said a word. The only person that said anything about having to get a stamp was the guy sweeping the parking lot hahaha. We just ignored him and then hitched a ride once we got into Venezuela. Coming back was even easier, we hitched a ride in Santa Elena and they drove us all the way to Pacaraima without even hardly slowing down for the speed bumps at the border.

There are a lot of silly rules but there are also a lot of loopholes. For example the Big Nasty Brazilian Visa us Americans have to get all the time can be gotten in just one day and without showing any docments like bank statements, proof of work, etc. if you get it in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. Just pay the $160 and the next day you got it. If you go through the Brazilian Embassy in Buenos Aires you need truckloads of paperwork (ok, it can be easily forged but still), and it takes weeks to come out since there's SO MANY Americans and Australians waiting to get one there.

Mostly South America is easy as pie to get around in. ATX will almost certainly not have too much trouble.

 

[sucuri]

@ATX it's hard not to make four legged friends in South America! So many dogs!!

 

[ATX]

@wizehop Thanks for the heads up on the exit taxes. I have this van I've been kickin it in for the past couple months that I'm about to take across Canada real quick, and going to sell when I head south. Some money to throw in the bank for visas or an emergency. I'll make sure to keep cool haha, I feel like a calm and collected manner will make them feel better about letting me in the country. By the way dude are you in Canada? I'm about to head up there and have only ever been to Ontario when I was growing up. Going to Vancouver first to see some family and going out east to NS. Would be cool to kick it with a fellow Canadian traveler some time while I'm up there.

@sucuri When I got my Canadian passport I was pretty certain I would use that one to travel. Wikipedia has this map for each country and their visa requirements, green meaning no visa, yellow meaning pay for visa on arrival, and grey needing a visa. Most of south america was green for Canada, but a lot of yellow for USA. I remember specifically Bolivia and stuff. People seem to react a little bit better when hearing you are Canadian then American, especially in Europe. We have that reputation for being nice and boring haha. Your website is good shit though, you really documented everything pretty well. Paints a really good picture of what it's like to travel south of the border. I sent it to my friend when he said he wanted to come with me, so he could have an idea what he was getting into. I hope to meet your buddy Manuel in Mexico, he treated you well man! I gotta get up to Canada and see some family first so it will be late summer or early fall here before I head that way. I'll message you when I get closer and see where you're at, it would be rad to meet up. You've been down there for a good while. Awesome dog pics though, looks like homie just came down and started sleeping next to you. I hear there's tons of wild dogs around there. Bjorn-dog will make some buddies. Wonder how the hitchhiking will be with my furry friend though.

 

[sucuri]

Wonder how the hitchhiking will be with my furry friend though.

Definetly expect longer waits. In my experience, the poorer the country, the shittier they treat their dogs.

 

[ATX]

Definetly expect longer waits. In my experience, the poorer the country, the shittier they treat their dogs.

Makes sense.

 

[ATX]

I've soon learned that entry rules are very loose in Latin America. Had absolutely no problems crossing into Mexico at least. They never asked about my passport, let alone the dog. One lady called him cute but that was about it. Crossed at Piedras Negras, Coahuila.