Monday, December 31, 2012

Feliz Neuvo Ano de Chile

Goodbye 2012, and hello 2013.

2012 was good to me and my Family, and here's hoping for a repeat of the good times.  After moaning about altitude and cold, it seems that Chile has offerred a lot of the opposite: many miles of the Pacific, and yes, lots of Sun...

Before we leave Cusco, lets be clear that the Blond seemed to want to go with just anybody...



After leaving Cusco on Christmas Day, there was some riding to do....

 Through more mountain passes....

 Some high altitude plains....
 to Lake Titicaca...
 Where we met the three Kuwaitis again, on their South American trip...

Lake Titicaca in the background...
 Height of land at 4500 meters....

 And then we ran into Terry and Scott from the Steel Rat and rode with them for a few days....




Did I mention the drops into hidden valleys??


We all ran our tanks dry and had to rely on extra fuel containers.  Gas stations are sometimes hard to find....

Dropping down to the Pacific

Huge, mountainous dunes back up the road and the Pacific...







Terry and Scott from San Francisco....






Starting to look a lot like a desert, to me....



Ran into some more German explorers in another UniMog.  They had just come out of Boliva....



These guys are going to the Dakar....


A former town in the middle of the desert.  They used to produce salt for a living....



 Middle of the Atacama desert....



 Finally drop down to the Pacific again...

Some boats, a town, and some water....







 These coastal towns of Chile are prime targets for Tsunamis.....

A watchtower for the fishermen...

Some serious cannons....




Taltal was established the same year British Columbia became a province... some history here no doubt...

 Some colour and life after the dead, dry, Atacama...











And then back onto the desert for a day of riding....

 and then dropping back to the beautiful Pacific....

Did I mention that gas stations are hard to find?
 New Years digs.....


Party hounds...

 Do you remember this shot, Boys???  And then I told you the story about the hole in the sky.....


 Fresh crabs...



 Even fresher scallops...





 Happy New Year to Everyone....  Have a great time, be safe, and don't eat any funny mushrooms...