It seems like just last week we were in San Rafael following the Dakar race whereas now we are in Arequipa, Peru, about 3500 kilometers north. Wait a minute, it was just last week.
So how did we get from there to here? Well, we drove as usual but what was different was the rather frantic pace with a few days covering about 700 kilometers.
But to get here there was a roadblock to blow past, a 4400 meter pass to go over and a vast desert to cross. First things first...

When we left San Rafael the basic plan was to blast through the countries we had already spent lots of time in and slow down for our favourites. This meant that Argentina, which we have spent over 7 months in, would be given little time. Same goes for Chile, we just wanted to zip through. For Peru we would have wanted to explore more of the interior but the rainy season means we have to stick to the Panamerican highway which is the equivalent of driving around a racetrack for thousands of kilometers, there is just so little variety in the scenery. So this means that by next week we should find ourselves in Ecuador where we hope to take things a little slower.

Now about the roadblock, police station, mountain pass and desert, here are some pictures along with explanatory captions.

The roadblock we came across in northern Argentina. It seems some local people were protesting the lack of jobs in the region. We slowly made our way to the top of the lineup of vehicles and, upon getting a nod from one of the folks manning the roadblock we drove over the branches that served as an obstacle. We still aren't sure if the nod meant go ahead and cross or if it simply meant hello...

The mountain pass is called Paso de Jama and rises to 4400 meters at the highest point. It links northern Argentina to northern Chile. Since we arrived at the pass too late for the border formalities we ended up spending the night in the village of Susques on the Argentina side where the local police chief was kind enough to let us pitch the tent at the back of the station. The following photo is of the road up the pass....

The desert is the Atacama desert and is considered the driest place on the planet...

Our next update should be from somewhere in Ecuador.

Brian

There are fanatics and then there are those that follow the Dakar. This past week, we have immersed ourselves among the latter. Everywhere we went we were greeted with cheers and even the occasional requests for photos. To see our bike you would wonder why. With the panniers on and the thing looking like a winnebago on 2 wheels you can't help but think that some of these fans need glasses since we look nothing like the competitors of the Dakar rally. But some of them evidently did think we bore a striking resemblance to these athletes. And so it was that as we were riding into San Rafael a few days ago after watching some of the racers go by we received an overly enthusiastic welcome into the city by more than a few of the thousands who had lined the streets. The video below was taken by Marie-France as we rode in...

Home base for our quest to experience what the Dakar race is all about was John and Annette's farm just outside the city. There we were among several other bikers who had gathered to this little oasis for the chance at seeing some of the competitors race by the city on this particular leg of the world famous race. We had a chance to once again spend time with Ken and Carol whom we keep bumping into these past 2 years, Bjorn, Danielle, Tony and Ina all of whom we met last month in Viedma, as well as Jerome and of course Javier from Dakar Motos. A great time was had by all...

Brian

Coming full circle

Last week marked an important (at least for us!) moment in our trip. For the first time since we left Canada over 2 years ago we are now “coming home”. The fact that there is no home to come to is somewhat problematic but, for the purpose of this text, let's say that home is anywhere in Canada. This means there will be no more returning to Buenos Aires, or Mendoza or anywhere else we ride through from now until we are back in the great white north.

It is a last chance to soak in the sights, see old friends that were made along the way and slowly (very very slowly) start thinking about exactly what we will do once we get back. I would be lying if I said we weren't feeling a bit melancholic about ending this trip. It somehow seems far too soon. There are just too many experiences to be had, too many things to see, too many pictures to be taken and of course too many people to be met. But the deciding factor, as with so many things in life, is money. When it runs out we are done. And right about now that looks to be the month of June, 2010. So until then, we will try and continue to keep our eyes, ears and hearts wide open.

Brian

We want to wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and to thank you all for following us throughout our adventures.

No better way to celebrate christmas than a big asado (BBQ)!

Marie-France and Brian

We decided to leave Chile and were snowed on at the top of the (very) long pass and then rained on once in Argentina. We had decided to cross the country to go see the penguins in Punta Tombo since we had missed them last time. So, after countless kilometers we made it...

Their babies were there also...

After this visit we continued our road north towards Viedma for the 2009 meeting there. The meeting is actually in El Condor, 30km east of Viedma. We were about 25 persons from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Scotland and Switzerland. Here are a few pictures taken that weekend...

Our corner at the camp ground, we are on the left...

Tony is in a wheelchair, but it doesn't stop him and his wife from travelling. His motorcycle is the one right next to him with the orange cover on the sidecar.

After the meeting we went towards Buenos Aires and stopped in Azul for one night. Jorge, in Azul, has been helping motorcyclists since 1993 and has this small place for the enjoyment of everybody. It is Bob sitting on the bench...

People write where they are from on the walls...

We are now in Buenos Aires and will spend the next two weeks here with Brian's two brothers, their spouse and the one teenager.

Marie-France

We are now in El Condor, 30km east of the town of Viedma awaiting the informal meeting with motorcyclists from around the world which will happen on the 11-13th of December. Since our last post we covered lots and lots of kilometers. We will update after the meeting.

We are both doing fine altough our motorcycle will need some maintenance when we get back to Buenos Aires. The winds have been crazy at times but at least the weather isn't too cold here.

Marie-France

We've been in Chile twice now. Once last year when we went down the Carratera Austral and just last week. It is a very unique country that reminds us a bit of our province of Québec, minus the sunshine. In fact, we've spent a total of 3 weeks in the country at different times of the year and we don't really recall seeing the sun. We both think this is sad for the fine people of Chile, especially the children.

There is a saying in Chile that if a child sees the sun before his 6^th birthday he will live a blessed life. In fact, some of the young ones have never seen blue sky. Very sad indeed. So to help cheer them up we like to gather the young ones around and dazzle them with tales of what a day without rain can be like. This always generates squeals of excitement and requests to ”please tell us more about the giant ball of fire in the sky!”.

The horrendous, soul crushing, hypothermia inducing reality that is the weather in Chile might go a long way into explaining why houses seemed to have been built then never worked on again. After all, to paint a house you need a few hours of dry weather...

But given the state of public transit one can understand why people choose to remain in Chile...

At least there is hope in nearly every town...

Perhaps if we paint the hotel pink the tourists will not notice how incredibly grey the sky is...

But at least the teenagers have a very, umm, progressive sense of fashion...

Ok, I need to come clean. I may have stretched the truth a little... We only spent 2 weeks in the country and not 3.

Brian

Just a little message to say that we are currently in Chile and, if the weather permits, will be leaving tomorrow. We have been on the road a lot lately and haven't found much time to write a text! So more to come on Chile in a few days.

Marie-France

A short video of Talampaya national park - Un court vidéo du parc national Talampaya

After spending 3 days in Salta in the north of Argentina we started the long drive south. Our plan was to stick to the famous ruta 40 as much as possible as it would allow us to visit 3 national parks on the way to Mendoza.

So to start things off we left Salta and made our way to Cafayate, our third visit to this small town. To get there, we once again took the scenic Quebrada de Cafayate...

Usually when we start our riding day we set ourselves a specific objective as a destination. But the morning we left Cafayate we decided to simply go as far south as possible on our way to the first national park. Basically, the plan was to pitch the tent wherever we ended up at the end of the day. Here are some photos taken that day...

Talampaya National Park

Another day of discovery awaited as we left our makeshift campground on our way to Talampaya, a Unesco world heritage site. We were hoping to ride our motorycle around the park but were forced to take a tourist minibus as personal vehicles are not allowed inside...

Ischigualasto National Park

Visiting Talampaya only took 3 hours so we decided to try and make the Ischigualasto park on the same day. They are in relatively close proximity to one another but each has been recognized as a Unesco World Heritage separately as they are located in different provinces. We arrived too late to visit the park so instead we took advantage of the free camping to be had at the park entrance, the visit would have to go to the next day. We were not alone...

To visit Ischigualasto you need to be part of a convoy, in our case about a dozen vehicles of all types. Here are some pictures of our visit...

Leoncito National Park

After doing the 40 kilometer circuit we decided to try and get to the third and final national park that we wanted to see, Leoncito near the city of Mendoza. Once again it was a day filled with nice scenery and extreme riding conditions...

Brian