It has been well over a week since I have been able to post to the blog, for a variety of reasons. For those of you with a map handy, I am smack dab on the 51st parallel of latitude South. I went out an bought a hoody last night as it is getting chilly, and I did not want to appear to be a crazy Canuck wandering around in my T shirt while all the locals and touristas are decked out in their woolies.
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I also endured my second bout of food poisoning last night, with a serious session over Ralph, the white phone. For those of you too young, I was puking my guts out. Last week, I had a similar situation, only I was evacuating from both ends. I think that the common factor is fish, although I can't fully remember if fish was my meal which triggered the terrible night or not. For all the ralphing, I could be drinking and have a headache too. I think I will stay away from fish, which is a shame because I am definitely in fish country. The host at the B&B told me that they have 38 kilogram salmon in the ocean here, which sure beats any big Springs which I have seen up north. The food poisoning, and that is what I am putting the sessions up to, are behind me, and I will hopefully not have any more sessions.
I have covered a lot of ground in the last week, and the downside to not making notes each day is that a weeks' travel can bring about a lot of experiences, both good and bad...I do remember that I had a good crash on the Ruta 40, and that I also had my first towing experience with the bike, having to tow another F800 over 40 kilometers. Luckily, the tow was not on the ripio, and it went surprisingly smoothly, all factors considered...more on the crash and my tow later...
We stayed in a nice little community with a great B&B. Kind of rustic, with these huge ferns for a garden. This is where I had my first encounter with Ralph, and I think it was after a fish dinner..
Speaking of fish, the community was very similar to Tahsis, in that it was at the head of a large inlet.
They had fish farms too. The road bordered the inlet, and the views were spectacular...
The road was gravel, and for the most part reasonably navigable. Again, it reminded me a lot of the Tahsis road, except I think our road sees more graders than this one does..
I took a side trip to see a hanging glacier. There were beautiful waterfalls coming out of the glacier as well...
The Chilean Park service is very organized. They even have signs telling you when and where it is okay to take a photo....
And then we started to climb...and climb some more...
These two cyclists were coming from the South, and had just endured a 20 kilometer hill climbing to the summit. I have seen numerous cyclists in all sorts of situations, and I marvel at their tenacity and willingness to keep chugging away, not to mention their packing skills...
And yet another hanging glacier....
I am trying to take a Horizons Unlimited shot that will win me a trip to South America. ( I hear the scenery is unbelievable)
So that is the reason for the gratuitous bike pictures throughout...
It was around this time that we had met a couple of Mexican dudes, Pedro and Jackob, and were riding with them.. They had rented two F800's in Mendoza...more on this later...
Pedro....
This cyclists guy had all the flags of the countries which he had ridden through. It made me tired just looking at them all...
More blue skies and another road to ride South...
I am a poor lonely Street Dog, and nobody loves me, and I haven't eaten in a week. If you don't give me something to eat, I will probably die right here in front of you....
Works every time says the Lab with the Smile and the bottomless stomach....
Watching a little street theater..
More roses in January....
We rode across some high Pampas to come to a ferry crossing....
The water is a beautiful glacier green...
The ferry guys are telling us the ferry is full...
Pedro convinces the ferry guys that motos don't take up space, and we are given permission to buy tickets..
Jackob on a yellow F800, not nearly as pretty as Blondy...
The lifeboats are not really up to BC Ferries standards...but it did not cost us an arm and a leg either...
View leaving the dock on our way for a 2 hour ferry ride...
Goodbye....and hello...
A fresh crop of apricots and a huge wheel which was part of the farm carts used locally
Ostriches....a smaller version thereof....
More ripio....
This World Heritage site was our goal. A site with 9000 year old hands painted on the rocks...we were now back on the high Pampas...
After considerable debate and head scratching, we decided that the lack of fuel, the chances of making the shortcut to the Cave over the ripio were not good. The availability of fuel was becoming an issue, and decisions about travel based upon the range of the bikes...
Doran consults a saved page on his Macbook, in the middle of the Pampas...
The day is getting short, although it does stay lighter longer down here....
Much of the Caraterra was paved, but there were sections where we had to ride on the ripio, which is another name for crappy ungraded gravel, with sometimes poor results. Doran had just put his 1200 to sleep on the ripio...
The day was coming to an end, and we still had not found anywhere to stay...
We finally found a small settlement in the middle of the high Prairie. Not any gas available, so another problem...
This French cyclists had taken 10 days to cover what we rode in 1 day. As I said, I have to admire the cyclists determination....
Safe in a dorm for the night. Can you imagine the snores coming from the room??
There is some beef on that bone, somewhere...
Sunset on the high Pampas of Argentina...
Biker stickers everywhere...
A typical breakfast of bread and coffee...
Considerable debate over the next campaign. It was decided that the Cave of Hands was unreachable with the lack of gas...
We were headed for Tres Legos...
Local guanoco
Lots of straight roads ......
The guanacos have a fence to clear on each side of the highway...
And sometimes they don't make it....
Another day, and another long ride...
I needed to buy this extra fuel cell in order to keep Blondy happy and running...
Lunch on the high prairie, Mexican style...
Jackob cooks....
Not too much traffic to bother us...
Oops, I am supposed to be going the other way...damded Ripio....
The pannier release system does its thing...
As I said, damded Ripio...
I wonder where those guys are so I can get Blondy off my damded foot????
Well, like they say, without pictures, it didn't happen....
Shit!!!.....
Hmnn, that tear wasn't there ten minutes ago....Damded Ripio!!!
I could have sworn I was going the other way....
Finally, back to business. I think that Blondy needs to lose some weight...
Have I mentioned the damded Ripio???
Dirty girl!!!
We run into a young German couple coming the other way, and inform them that there is no gas north, so they reverse tracks. Apparently they are heading to Cartegena and the Steel Rat sailing in April....
Scenery is changing a little bit, although the Ripio still sucks....
I figure in a couple more years, the Ripio will be a thing of legend...
Large parts of Ruta 40 are paved, but inaccessible to cars....(and some bikes)
My Metzler looking pretty sad...
Blondy is heading in the right direction....South...
Where did I lose those guys this time???
They don't look lost....
Finally....
Pedro prepares a great Mexican breakfast, after scoring some black market fuel at 10 pesos per liter...buggers cannot be choosers..
Then the fun begins.. I had packed my electrical cables for 10,000 kilometers. Now they were getting some work, trying to boost Jackobs' bike. They had already replaced the alternator before they left Mendoza. Nope... the battery is junk....
A nearby gas station without gas or batteries provides shade for the local watch cat. Plan B is to have a battery come from Mendoza....yikes..
Maybe there is one in town, and Pedro is off searching....
Blondy rests in the shade...
What now???
Pedros' fuel pump on the other F800 is toast! Decisions are made that Blondy will tow his bike the next 40 kilometers into the mountains, where calls can be made...
That is a long tow....
Finally some mountains and a change in scenery...
Very pointy mountains, huh?
The tow strap that I have been carrying is put to good use, and Pedro gets into El Chalten without further incident...
Some waterfalls south of El Chalten. The others went hiking, but my foot is still not able to handle long walks...
Then it is off in a southerly direction....
Goodbye El Chalten...
These Nemo tents of the guys are perfect for motos: no poles....
I think that I see an iceberg...
That is the worlds' biggest glacier that is still growing...
Some older BMW's...
The front wall of the glacier is 60 meters high...
Grinding away on the rocks below...
And then back to the road again, away from the Glaciers...
Esperanza brings some rain and a change in the weather. I haven't ridden in rain since Panama, so this is not a big deal....
Blondy finally finds a tire shop in Peurto Natales...
Gringo is not a gringo, but because he has red hair, his knickname is Gringo...go figure...
I didn't know that Charles had time to build a hotel, but I guess he did...
