After the arduous ride from Popayan we were hoping that the ruins at San Augustin would be well worth it. They are, after all, recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. I wish I could say that we were blown away by the ceremonial tombs that comprise the site but we were not. They are rather modest. But if you're into how dead people were buried 3000 years ago I guess you might find the site interesting. A few pictures of the statues and sarcophagus...

Tierradentro, another Unesco site several hours away, was more what we had in mind. Once again the road to get there was a bit of an adventure in itself and once again it is a site dedicated to the dead but in this case we found the area and the tombs very interesting.

The road to get there...

Burial sites:
First you go down...

Then you look at what is inside...

View from our room...

Brian

Our re-introduction to Colombia took the form of a rather harsh entry into the city of Pasto. After driving in circles for the better part of an hour we finally settled on a decrepit hotel on some unnamed street. The type of place that has a large padlock on the front door. As for securing the bike we found a paid parking just a couple of doors down. We knew we were in for a treat when we asked the attendant at the parking lot if we could retrieve our bike at any time. “Oh no sir, the parking lot is locked from 7pm to 7am. The night attendant does not open the door for anybody. You know, this is a very dangerous neighbourhood!”. Oh joy.

That evening, we spent some time up on the roof looking down upon the street as the prostitutes worked their trade and the drunks stumbled from point A to somewhere else.

But things soon got better as we made our way to Popayan the following day (we could not leave Pasto soon enough). Popayan is a beautiful colonial city that has much to offer in the way of museums and restaurants. They even light up the town square at night...

After a rest day in Popayan we headed off to San Augustin. We had read that this particular road could be challenging and it was. Despite the fact that San Augustin is only 140 kilometers from Popayan it took us a wopping 5 and a half hours to get there. Things started off well with the first 30 kilometers being paved and then the dirt started. But not just any dirt. No, this dirt road had potholes every 2 or 3 feet. And when there weren't any potholes there was mud. The road is not technically difficult but the going is painfully slow. Here are some pictures to better tell the tale...

While in San Augustin we met a nice couple who drove down from British Colombia on their motorcyles. Taz and Joel both ride Super Sherpas, agile looking little bikes that seem ready for anything that you could throw at them. Which is good because they were heading into the muddy potholed mess that is the San Augustin to Popayan road the following day. Here is the happy couple...

While we were having supper with them they mentioned that we should keep an eye out for Alisa whom they had been in contact with via e-mail. Apparently she was in Tierra Dentro (our next destination) and there was a possibility that our paths cross. Sure enough, the following day we met her moments after we arrived in town after another rather harsh road...

And that was our start to our second visit of what is turning out to be one of the best countries in which to travel (despite the sometimes challenging roads!).

Brian

There is something about Peru. And no, I'm not talking about that fact that much of it smells like fish. The something has more to do with how people drive in this country. For example, if you drive with your lights on, people coming the opposite way will flash theirs frantically to warn you of impending doom. The impending doom they are warning you about is the inevitable dead battery they believe will be the end result of your foolish attempt to be seen by other vehicles. You see, the fine people of Peru seem to be under the impression that it is not possible to have your headlights on and not drain your battery.

Another example. People in Peru like to honk their horns. This is especially true of taxi drivers who use their horns as a way of letting you know they are available for hire. So as you casually stroll down the street of your favorite city (you know, the one filled with thousands upon thousands of taxis) you end up getting honked at hundreds of times. It can, to say the least, be slightly annoying. Maybe somebody should tell them about the radical system used in the rest of planet earth. The system of the little yellow light on top of the cab. Off means not available and on means that it is. Real simple and some would say fail safe. But then again, turning it on would probably just drain their battery. Gotta love Peru.

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