The Pillion

Now a quick word about “the pillion”, Its hard to even imagine taking a trip like this without Sandra. In fact I don't know of another woman who would even consider a adventure like this. Sandra has always been a tower of strength, she has a sixth sense on the bike and has never complained at every left hand bend I managed to cock up and has always ridden perfectly every time I managed to nail a right hand one She is steady and thinks logically in the face of sometimes great difficulties, she has kept me sane. We have laughed, cried, nearly died, fought and loved on this trip. Sandra you have been wonderful and without you this whole thing would be without meaning..... thank you.

The Pillion.... My wife, who made this all possible

Trips, Tours and Tierra Del Fuego.... Job Done

Well we got settled into our 5 star cabin.... when I say 5 star what I really mean is totally basic accommodation. Four bunks in the space that should occupy two and not much else.

We managed to see our sister ship


A quick run round the ship and we were off, cruelly passing so close to the luxury liner we had believed to be our transport that you could see the pisco sours in the hands of the jolly and partying passengers. As we sailed on I managed to get to look around the ship's bridge and did my captain John Luke Picard, "make it so" to anyone of the crew who would listen. Oddly enough no one took any notice of me.

"Make it so Pugwash"

The trip went really well and I learnt an important lesson about our personal hygiene. As you know it's been a concern of mine that we were becoming a bit scanky on this trip. Wearing the same gear and footwear for 6 months in heat, cold, wet and dry does not make for a pleasant thought. I was wrong to worry. Being (for want of a better word) trapped on an ex Japanese tug with about 700 back packers with tiny budgets trying to travel a million miles on $20 keeps everything nicely in prospective. These people stunk. It was great knowing you're not the smelliest person in the world (we were still in the top 400 though).

As I had said before, the point of this trip was to sea the Glacier, and see it we did. This thing is incredible. It's the only (goes into Jeremy Clarkson mode) "advancing glacier in the world". You could see this thing from miles away and as we approached the sea water changed from its usual grey colour into a light diamond pale blue as the ice melted into the sea. Lumps of ice could be seen and bounced of the side of the boat. Humming the theme tune to Titanic we approached what can only be described as the most incredible site you can imagine, a massive wall if white and deep blue ice advancing into the sea. The pictures we took will never do it any justice, but it was wonderful. Our old tug, thinly disguised as a sea going vessel, came very close to it and allowed a very close inspection indeed.


Turning to look into the ships bar I could not believe it had a handful of die hard back packers in it, all with a copy of lonely planet, planning the next stage of their trip instead of enjoying the part they had planned at the last great event. What a waste I thought.

It was also on this boat that we met a bunch of New Zealand overlanders on bikes. We liked these guys straight away. Great personalities but completely inept at travelling around the world on motorcycles. This made us look good, which we liked. These guys had planned a four month break to tour South America on a selection of 650 cc motorcycles.

Nothing nicer than a load of bikes on a ferry. our friends from NZ got this right.


There had however forgotten to bring the original ownership papers for their bikes which meant there where basically trapped in Chile and unable to move to Argentina or Peru. Being the thinnest country on the planet this limited there routes somewhat. There ineptness was even more apparent as we rode of the boat. They had pre booked their hostal, which was good , and had decided to employ the old hire a taxi to find it, something Sandra and I had used on numerous occasions. The Taxi arrived and was given the name of the hotel, one of the pillions jumped in and off the taxi sped. Unfortunately not one of our new Zealand friends had the thought to follow it. It was hilarious watching there faces as they realised what had happened.

We stayed at Puerto Natales just for one night and headed east in some pretty awful weather conditions to take our crossing across the Magallanes straights. This famous stretch of water is nearly our last barrier to our final destination. The ferry ride was quick and cheap taking only twenty minuets or so. We had reached Tierra Del Fuego..... incredible. We then had a 40Km run to Carro Sombrero where we stayed the night again for the very final barrier which was 100Km of gravel road to the Argentine border.

We take our time on gravel road, one more spill would see both Sandra and my reserves falter and fade. It should be noted at this time that a continuous state of tiredness is now felt by both Sandra and myself. Sitting on the bike for nearly 7 months had started to take its toll. Even taking a day off does not get rid of this feeling. It starts to really eat into you and we were both getting weary. The gravel road went without issues, the 100km being done in 2.5 hours which will give you some indication of our speed.

Much Better than the Dalton in Alaska but I was much slower.


The border crossing into the Argentine sector of Tierra Del Fuego went with out a hitch. We had thought it would be nice to stay in Rio Grande and take the short run into Ushuaia the next day. The town looked proper grim when we came across it so we decided to stretch ourselves and try and make Ushuaia.

Now I had no idea what this part of the world would look like. In my minds eye it was flat and featureless. Wrong, beautiful snow capped mountains and blue lakes and we were back on perfect roads so we made great progress that is, until the weather turned on us, so we decided to stay the night at a lodge some 100Km from Ushuaia.


A beautiful view from our room and a good nights rest saw us up and ready the next morning for our very last trip south. Great weather and great roads meant that it was done in no time. As we approached the town I waited and waited for the emotion to rise. Where were the tears, the hysterical laughter, the punching the air and whoop whooping. I simply was just glad to have reached the town. We had done it and we were still in one piece.

We had travelled over 23,000 miles on the shed some 2000 miles in a car, about 1000 on a boat and the same on a airplane. Part of the lack of whooping for me was that our trip was nearly over. We had come to enjoy this lifestyle and reaching Ushuaia meant it would soon be over. However, being so weary now, I was glad it would be...... all very odd and leaving me with very very mixed emotions.

We reluctantly checked into our hotel, (we thought it was in an awful part of town but it turned out to be a great location) and went the extra 22 Km to the end of Ruta 3, the furthest south you can possibly drive or ride. All gravel road this was a very nice run, then suddenly it was there, the sign at the end of ruta 3. I had seen this sign in so many pictures, read about it in so many books and seen it on countless adventuring videos. Now it was our turn to approach it, to see it for ourselves.

Our turn..... at last

It was then that it started to dawn upon us just what we had done. Still tired and weary we began to experience some of the feelings of completing something rather important to us. I have forgotten to mention that all this took place on Christmas eve exactly 199 days after we set off. We had our picture taken, did a Christmas video (see previous blog) climbed on the shed and went back to the town.

The next few days went by very quickly, we had been told that Ushuaia is a busy town at Christmas, but everything was shut, so getting a beer in a bar was out of the question. We met up with John a chap we had met in Panama and had quite a Christmas eve party with some other travellers, John's Hostal host cooking a wonderful BBQ.

Christmas day was spent with Mr Jameson our very favourite brewer of finest Irish whisky and generally chilling out and Skyping our families.

The day after boxing day we had arranged to go and see the penguins, another great day out. Bus then boat took us to a small island where these chaps live. It was incredible to be able to get so close to there creatures. Now it must be odd being a penguin, very frustrating in my view. Incredibly ungainly on land, waddling about like it's all a bit too much like hard work but in the water these guys are good. I mean really good. Fast, agile, stealth like. It was fascinating to see these creatures change from fat wobbly thing to instant dart like creatures in a split second. It must drive them nuts.

There are two ceatures in the picture that are not penguins, can you spot them?

One more night in Ushuaia saw us heading for home, our first purposeful ride north. Good weather saw the miles eaten away and we crossed back into Chile and spent the night at the border before doing the same 100Km gravel road to the ferry across the Magellan straights. It was odd, for the first time we where retracing our steps but it meant we were going home. As we waited for the ferry across the Magallanes straights we saw dolphins jumping out of the water around the ferry. It was wonderful to see them at last, something we had expected but missed seeing over the last 7 months.

The ride to Rio Gallegos was uneventful with our very final boarder crossing back again into Argentina. The next time we cross a border will be back in Blighty, something that both saddens and excites me.

Christmas greetings from Ushuaia

We want to wish all of our family and friends old and new a very Happy Christmas and also to send our best wishes for good luck, good health and happiness in 2010 xx

Volcanoes and old boats

From Las Lajas it was a short ride west to the Chilean border. Another easy crossing but with over 25Km of no mans land you start to wonder whether you have missed a control point or not. The border itself carried all the usual South American bureaucracy. Get one thing stamped to be told to move to the next window to get the next thing stamped and so on till everything that needed a stamp had one. Sandra did have to remind security to scan her bag, which they did and then it was time to move on. The weather was nice and the roads very good.

Chilians finest at work

It should be noted at this time that a lot of Sandra's and my conversations had turned to our inevitable return home. It really felt like we were close to the end of this adventure. We had promised ourselves so much on the trip and indeed had completed most of them, some things still remained undone. We wanted to spend Christmas in a cabin in the Chilean lakes, I was real keen to see the Chilean glaciers and we had promised ourselves a trip to Antarctica once we had reached our goal. However, funds had taken a big beating in Chile and were running a bit low. We had to make some big decisions and these would be made in Vilerrica ,our next stop in the Chilean lake district.

The ride to Vallica was real nice and it was astonishing just how much like England this was. If we were not on the wrong side of the road there was nothing to tell you that you weren't out on a Sunday ride somewhere in Hampshire.

The town Vilerrica is an astonishing little town dominated by a massive (if not still active) volcano. This volcano is just like you would see in a cartoon, perfect volcano shaped with snow running ¾ of the way down. The lake had crystal clear water and it was all picture postcard perfect, but we didn't buy any postcards....doh

We had decided to stay a few days in order to explore and plan the next bit. This was a wonderful part of the planet, and we took the short run the Pucon at the base of the volcano. Again lovely roads to a beautiful small, Swiss like town. We took the shed as far as we could up the volcano and took some great shots. Back in Pucon we were drinking coffee in a small café when the loudest siren in the world went off about 20 meters away from us at exactly mid day, This was the test of the “volcano's gonna blow....run” warning system and was exactly like the WWII sirens you hear in the movie,s. It made Sandra and I both jump and nearly caused an eruption of another kind.

Now, on our original plan we had no idea how much a trip like this would cost but now we have a good feel for our living and travelling expenses, we already knew that the Antarctic trip was impossible due to the exorbitant costs involved. We did have the funds to spend Christmas by the lake but this meant missing the boat trip to the glacier. Sandra and I had a little think and a chat.

Priority one was to have enough funds to complete the trip and get ourselves and the shed home. We both wanted to see the Chilean glaciers and as I did the sums on the back of a napkin in the café we both knew that Christmas by the lake would have to wait for another Christmas and another lake. It was time to get this thing done and dusted. So after three nights in Vilerrica we headed south to Puerto Montt, a fast a furious ride down the motorway some 220 miles to the ferry and the glaciers. This three day cruise would take us past some of the most wonderful scenery on the planet. We were both excited about it.

We stayed the night in a sea front hotel and ate a MacDonald.....not good. A few too many pisco sours saw us wake the next morning with what can only be described as the heads from hell. Now let me tell you about Pisco sours. We can't work out if they are native drinks of Peru or Chile, either way a good pisco sour is in my view one of the finest drinks on the planet. However, drink with caution as more than one sends your head to the far side of hell the next morning. I am making it my quest to be able to make a fine pisco sour on our return to blighty.

Once we had recovered our capability to see further than the back of our eyelids we looked across the bay to the wonderful pristine ocean liner that awaited us in the docks. White, sleek and gleaming in the sun this monster liner promised luxury beyond our imagination and we could not wait to get on board to try out the pisco sours.

The Promise

We got down to the boarding gate and checked ourselves in. Even more tedious south American bureaucracy to get the shed on board (she even had to be inspected for damage and dents prior to having getting clearance to ). After a lengthy process I was given a big white sticker and told to get her loaded. I followed the signs along the dock and was horrified to find I had booked the shed on to some old roll on roll off ferry. I stopped and had to ask twice if this was the right boat.

Oi Mate! wheres the pool

Built about seven hundred years ago this old tub was to be our luxury transport for the next three days.

The reality of budget travel, A proper old tub

I was gutted. The shed was placed in her spot and this time (remember the problems in La Paz, Mexico) secured properly to the ageing steamers deck. Our sea going part of the adventure had not got off to the best of starts.

Good Times and Bad Crimes

Well Malargue turned out to be quite a town with some very interesting sights. There was the Pierre Auger observatory, this place is not like your usual "lets look at the stars observatory", instead its a huge set of sensors set over 100,s sq kilometres which detect, measure and analyse ultra high energy rays from outer space. We pooped into the data collection centre where the receptionist promptly sent out of the long haired scientists to explain what the facility does and I wont bore you with the details. I did understand it fully..... honest, but the long haired scientist did speak quickly and I don't want to bog you down with details. Google it and let me know if you understand it. Still, it should be in everyone interest as tax dollars and pounds are taken from lots of countries to fund this programme.

Malargue also has a planetarium and we really wanted to see one of the shows so we bought ourselves a couple of tickets. The commentary was going to be in Spanish but we thought it would be interesting anyway. When we arrived for the 17:00 show we where the only ones in line and the only ones in the theatre so the planetarium operator switched the commentary to English just for Sandra and I. It was incredible. After the show he switched the planetarium to computer mode and took Sandra and I for a virtual tour of the known Universe. This was just astonishing, I had no idea we had plotted so much (or so little, depending on your point of view) of the universe. A really enlightening experience which kept Sandra and I in awe.... fantastic.

We had rented a cabin for the few days we where in Malargue and this gave us a chance for some more home cooking which now, so far into our journey, is something we really enjoy.

My mind was always on the next part of the trip. A lot of gravel road lay ahead of us as we made our way south. Still not fully over the confidence issues caused by Friday the 13th we set of south towards the Chilean border. This time I had done my home work and asked locals about the condition of the road. All glibly said it was fine, gravel yes, but no problem. I have come to know that the conditions are always worst than anyone will describe them so it was with high anticipation that we set of on the famous ruta 40 knowing we had 80 miles of gravel ahead of us.

The weather was good to start with and we did the first 20 miles on pavement, then the first stretch of gravel hit us. Now all this road once was tarmac but lack of funding makes maintenance impossible and the road switches from gravel to lumps of tarmac then gravel and sometimes our nemesis -sand - in the blink of an eye. You can always tell if we are anxious as Sandra and I hardly say a word to each other. I am acutely aware that Sandra's leg has not fully recovered from the Friday 13th off and I know one more spill would see maybe some more damage and potential an early end to the trip, so we went carefully and crossed the first 20 miles without a hiccup.

Crossing the Rio Grande miles from anywhere

The tarmac returned for about 40 miles, then the more serious gravel (can you get serious gravel?) started. This road at times just disappeared into a collection of rocks. I honestly cannot see how it can be classified as a road at all, still we persevered very carefully even having Sandra walk around some of the deep, and I mean axle depth sand we had to get through. At one point I even thought the weather would turn nasty


but it all held off for the duration. We had both learnt our lessons and together we made great progress and safely as well. The brand new tarmac started on the border of the next district and it was new and smooth and wonderful to ride on..... what a contrast..... but that's Argentina for you a land of contrast.

We went on to a little town called Barrancas a quiet little town with only gravel streets a small square two maybe three shops and a hostel. We filled up with fuel and decided to stay the night. We unpacked the bike, except for the tent gear on the back thinking it's a small town no one will steal that stuff, and headed for the showers and a cold beer. We met an interesting chap called Alberto who was a Geologist, originally a native Argentinian who is now a professor at a university in north America.

After this geology lesson from Alberto I became a professor myself

He was incredible interesting to talk to and was in town collecting rock samples from the surrounding volcanoes. He was happy to enlightene us on his work. Off to bed around 10:00 and up the next morning around 7:00.

I usually do a voice blog of the journey on a Dictaphone in the mornings and went out to check the shed for mileage for my report. I looked the bike over read the odometer and said what we did into the Dictaphone. It was only after I had finished that I had noticed the tent had been taken from the back of the bike.

Mortified I saw the hostel owner and asked them to call the police. This was our introduction to the Argentina criminal law system, something hopefully never to be repeated.

Not only did one copper turn out but a whole gaggle (what is the collective noun for police) of coppers turned out, taking statements and even looking for tracks on the ground.

Inspector Gomez of the Meter and his side kick Sargent El Lewis.

The owner of the Hostel looked on, a very worried man indeed and I was impressed that he cared so much but would find out later why he was looking so concerned. Anyway, I was dragged off to the local police station and fortunately Alberto came with me for translation purpose. Alberto proved to be a great help through all of this. Anyway, the top dog police chap typed out our statement on his Commodore 64 and asked both Alberto and I to sign it, It was all in Spanish so I could have been signing anything, but did it anyway. All very impressive to this point. Even the old Hostel owner was in the police station still looking very concerned for us...... or was he?

Inspector Gomez of the meter seemed confident there knew who had the swag at this point. Two well known lads, one under age, had been spotted near the bike at the time of this hideous crime. Great I thought, this is Argentina, send inspector Gomez around with some local cops put the frighteners on them and get my tent back...... eerrr no. We had to get a judges permission before anyone could talk to the younger of the alleged criminals We where asked to stay another day to enable the wheels of justice to turn and we agreed, being in no hurry what so ever.

Well to cut a long story short...ish the next day came and almost went, Sandra and I chilling until it was time to go to the station again in the afternoon. We were then told that the judge refused to sign any authorisation to question the alleged criminals as and I quote ?if we are wrong then it could have serious consequences for the old owner of the hostel in the way of reprisals? This meant the cops would do nothing and was clearly the reason the old man looked worried all day long. Not wanting to fuel any more fires than were already burning we gave up on the whole thing and chalked it down to experience. The next morning we left bright and early.

Now there are good things in everything. Without the weight of the tent , several sleeping bags , Thermorest mattresses., footprint, mossy net, pots and pans and pillows the shed became a well balanced bike, She was transformed and a joy to ride once more. It was a nice day and we cranked the old girl up and put her through her paces. A great confidence booster and I really enjoyed the ride to Las Lajas still on the famous ruta 40.

Another quiet little town some 30 miles east of the Chilean border, we decided to stay the night. It was a Sunday and we had about 15 minuets to check into the hostel and then finish some food shopping before the Supermarket closed . It was like supermarket sweep as Sandra and I flew around the store getting tuna, ham, cheese, bread , beer and wine for the evening's fine dining.

All this was a complete waste of time and money. As we got back to the hostel the landlord invited us into his home for a massive BBQ feast of Argentine meat and sausage including a favourite of mine, black pudding. We ate with his family and drank several bottles of fine wine, and although we had massive language problems we all got along really well and the afternoon slipped away nicely.

Our Host was upset that we did not have an Argentine sticker on the bike he went and got some for himself.

It's true to say that wherever we go we always encounter the kindness of strangers and its always a great experience.

The Shed sorted......and onto Argentina

With Richard heading back to Blighty we had to focus on our own next move. First of all the shed needed a well deserved service. Henri had given us the name of an independent BMW mechanic just outside Santiago to the north, Gabriel was a real find.


We had taken the shed there while Richard was still in town and, after some help off Henri for technical translation (Gabriel only spoke Spanish) left her in capable hands. Now the more observant of you will know I only take the shed to official BMW dealers as a last resort. I much prefer to find the independent expert for for several reasons. One - it's always more interesting to find these folks out, two - it's much, much cheaper, and three - you can pass on any mechanic goldmines to other travelers following in your footsteps (anyone can find a BMW dealer).

Well Gabriel turned out to be a bit of a find, once we found him that is. Tucked away in a northern Santiago suburb behind a shopping mall, the graffiti walls and the lack of signs hid well, a treasure trove of a workshop Gabriel had built up over the years. Crammed with BMW's both old and brand new, this chap knew his stuff and I felt we had left our bike in good hands. When Sandra and I went to collect the shed she was in great shape, For the technically minded of you we had the following done, now keep in mind the shed has done over 20k miles since her rebuild.

Engine oil and filter change
Transmission and final drive oil level check (oil changed in Ecuador)
Air filter change
Brake pads front and rear changed
Alternator belt changed
Oil sight glass changed (started to seep oil some 5000 miles ago)
Parrealever bearings adjusted (BMW's shaft drive is a complex affair.....give me a chain and sprocket any day)
Clutch adjusted
Throttle bodies rebalanced, ( these where never quiet right after the last service)
New plugs
Valves adjusted (the shed sounded like a bag of bolts in a tumble drier when she got hot)

It was wonderful picking her up. Gabriel did not charge the earth and, along with Richard bringing out most of the parts we needed from the UK, the work done was great value for money. When you ride a bike every day it deteriorates little by little and you don't really notice the deterioration, but when set up properly by an expert its a great feeling. The shed was back to her old sprightly self and was great to ride.

Back at the hotel we needed to sort out the panniers and get the seat comfy. I had bought a touratech seat for the shed prior to leaving but unfortunately it is not holding up well and the foam is collapsing. Richard had brought a purpose made fancy sheepskin cover for the seat and, when we went horse riding I had obtained a sheep's fleece,fresh form the sheep, with the blood and gore still on it. Both would make excellent padding for the rest of the journey. This was almost a good idea until it rained, but more on that later.


This looked like a good idea at the time

It was time to leave Santiago. We had asked Henri if he would like to join us for the next day or two of our trip and it very nearly came off. However, some last minute hiccups prevented this from happening but we would have loved for him to come along.

Saying Goodbye to Henri

We had decided to make the crossing back over the Andes and into Argentina (our final last new country). Our destination was Mendoza. The ride started out with the usual confusing routes out of the city. It took us an hour this time, but we were soon heading north and then east towards Argentina. What a great road this turned out to be, mostly great surface, and great hairpins as we climbed out of Chile.

The view towards Argentina

We met lots of other over landers too, all heading our way. Right at the top of the Andes is the Chilean /Argentine border which was the easiest one to date. In fact we never got off our bike once, the Chilean guards just giving us a quick check then, after 20Km of no mans land, the Argentinian officials could not have been more helpful and cooperative even filling all our paperwork out for us as we sat on the shed......perfect.

Once we had completed all the formalities, we got off the bike for some lunch, the usual a Snickers bar and a drink of water. We were asked by a chap if he and his family could have a picture with the bike. Of course we obliged and had every combination of family and us taken.


It was a real pleasure to catch up with this Columbian family.

It was a nice ride to Mendoza and the city itself was a surprise. We had read that after a big earthquake the city was rebuilt with wide streets to enable rublbe to fall into should such a dreadful thing happen again. This meant most of the old buildings had gone but this earthquake resilience planning had made a beautiful widw tree lined streeted city which has a wonderfully relaxed feel about it. I did my usual thing of trying to find the best deal in town for a hotel only to go back to the very first one after two hours of looking. A shower and a few beers saw us at a street side restaurant and already begining to enjoy the charms of this city and pace of life in Argentina.

This first impression of the city and the country stayed with us and grew. We liked it here and decided to stay for a few days, we checked out the winery, we ate fantastic beef, drank a few beers and did a little shopping. We could definitely get used to this. All of this experienced in just delightful sunny weather, hot during the day but at night cool enough for the festivities to begin. We saw a great drum band and spent 20 minutes being entertained by them.

However, on the morning we decided to leave it was raining hard. I had checked the forecast and it was meant to be better as we traveled south, our destination being San Rafael. What a journey it turned out to be. Continual heavy rain, and I don't mean the heavy rain you get back home, this was like a monsoon but freezing cold.

This lasted the whole of the 150 miles to San Rafael. Now I know its just rain and we are on an adventure after all, but other factors mess with your head as your riding. One being your in johnny foreigners country and can't speak the lauguge well. You're remote, very remote (I looked for shelter on the way but there was simply none) In the UK you cant' ride for 10 miles without seeing a house or a town or a bus stop or a bridge or a million other things you can keep dry in. But in Argentina in the countryside...... nothing, not even other cars just massive open fields that go on forever. Praying the shed would not stop, and its a wonder it did not due to the rain, all that could be done was press on. I could not even see my speedo due to the rain so I had no idea how far the town was. Anyway cold and shaky we came to San Rafael and stopped at the first hotel, grabbed a set of keys and got into a warm shower. It rained the rest of the day, but we were now warm and dry.

Now I told you about the modification to the sheds seat, a mixture of synthetic comfort provided by the seat cover Richard had brought along and a scanky old sheep's fleece we had obtained when horse riding. Well let me tell you one thing, sheep's fleeces absolutely stink when wet. I am not talking about a bad odour that is unpleasant, I'm talking about foulness from the bowels (and I have chosen that word very carefully) of hell itself. One sniff and I nearly choked on my own vomit, it was unbelievable. Unfortunately the damage was done and everything in contact with the seat cover from hell stunk too. This was a very bad situation. The only solution was to wash everything and discard the fleece, which we promptly did.

Having disinfected everything, including ourselves, we headed off into town for the now usual steak dinner and a few beers. My dad is a big steak fan and he would just love Argentina.

The next day saw the sun shining and a beautiful day. All clean and nearly smell free we set of for Malargue. Now this is not far but we are trying to pace ourselves for Christmas. We have decided to stay in the Chilean Lakes and as Chile is very expensive we are taking our time getting through this part of Argentina, so only a few hundred miles a day.

So here we are in Malargue. We have rented a cabin like house for a few days as we chill and prepare ourselves for the more serious business of riding off road for the next leg. However, it has to said that we really, really like Argentina. The pace of life is calm, its has friendly people, beautiful scenery and great (mostly) weather.

Santiago an Adventure of a diffrent sort

Well Santiago has turned out to be a bit of an adventure in itself. The short ride (100 miles) from Vina del Mar was easy enough, but nothing really prepares you for the big city after so many days on the road visiting small towns and villages. Our original plan was to meet Richard at the airport and follow his taxi to the hotel. Air France however had other ideas. Richard's connecting flight being impossibly close (in time) to his London / Paris leg meant the connection was almost impossible and Richard was delayed for 24hours.

So this left Sandra and I the very difficult task of finding a hotel in a monster city. I knew roughly the part of the city to go to and was within 4 miles of our destination when we decided to use the old 'lets get a taxi and follow it' trick. This normally works unless, as we did in this case, we get a crazy cab driver who makes sharp turns and sudden lane changes in traffic. Now all cabs in Santiago look the same and there must be 200 million of them. Luckily for me Sandra was sat in the back with a blue neck warmer out the window so I could see which was our cab, but it sure was hard keeping up. Still we made the hotel. A good nights rest saw us back at the airport waiting for Richard. It was great to see him again even if he had spent 16 hours flying in cramped conditions, Richard is well over 6 feet tall.

Now some strange things happen when someone joins your trip, full of energy and enthusiasm, living at a different much faster pace means that we had to step up a gear to keep up, things happen quickly when Richards around. I will try not to bore you with too much detail but having a few beers was top of the priority list, this happened, with the inevitable results.

Richard had insisted (although no one can quite remember why) on making a video blog like we had been doing at various times throughout the trip. The video below is the result, both blogger and cameraman being somewhat worst for wear. If anyone can translate what Richard is saying please let me know and we can add sub titles.

Like I said things happen at a much faster pace so it was no surprise to me, but still a great shock, that I found myself on top of a Chilean horse riding around the mountains with Sandra and Richard. Now I am NOT a horseman and find the whole 'out of control' thing a scary adventure. Sandra and Richard seemed comfortable, but I spent most of the time looking for the brakes, not that my horse was fast, it was actuaqlly much slower than the others.

One Horse, One Stream......No Clue

But what scenery (when I was brave enough to look) we went through. Keep in mind this was no walk in the park, or gentle ride in the fields on a old nag. It was across rivers and streams with tricky obsticals in the way on competition horses. I like to think I handled it all very well, but the video evidence shows this not to be the case. I was not good at this.

The Three Amigos

Richard managed a gallop and Sandra looked like she was born to ride. Me, I looked like Bill and Ben's Grandad struggling to understand which was the front of the horse.

Other excitement in Santiago was a Helicopter ride over the Andes sorted out by Rich and his good friend Henri. This was the most wonderful Helicopter trip I had taken, utterly breath taking and followed by an excellent lunch hosted by Henri.

One of the greatest views in the world

Henri and Juan Richardo both ardent bikers

It is always exciting to find people who are excited about the adventure and Henri and his friend Juan Richardo where always keen to hear us talk about our adventure.

Other things that we saw were the changing of the guard at the presidential palace

and visiting the Ocean Pacifco restaurant (when in Santiago visit this place, I wont spoil it for you by describing it, just pay it a visit) and what can only be described as a world class BBQ provided by Henri and his wife Laura.

As quickly as he came it was time for Richard to go, a whirlwind visit to the Chilean capital. Saying goodbye to Richard was harder than I thought it would be. It's always the case that in a friendship one always is a better friend than the other. In our case Richard is a much better friend to me than I am to him. I am grateful for this and privileged that he is my best friend