Moving Towards Cordova

We spent the last week riding out of the mountains and into the lowlands of Argentina. The landscape was rather dull with mostly cactus and flat flat scenery.

We spent Easter Sunday with a family in a small community of about 6 houses. They had three kids, tuna plants (cactus fruit), chickens and a house in construction. Martin and Maria were very nice and let us watch television. Nothing like watching an action flick with Jean Claude Van Damme!! There are a few universal truths we have learned on this trip and one is about television; no matter where you are, it is something people are willing to spend money on no matter how poor they may be. Anyhow, we spent a wonderful night chatting, showering and eating some hamburger!

The next day we landed into the outskirts of Cordova. We went in search of some camping in a small suburb town of Cosquin. Since it is the off season and we are going into winter most campgrounds are closed. We finally got some information about one that was still open and headed there. We met a couple taking care of the grounds and almost immediately they said we could just stay for free. Hugo and his wife Blanca, who said she was a bike tourist at heart, were pretty amazing people. They fed us pizza that evening and invited us to stay the next day to have an Argentine asado. Merilee and I agreed!! Why not! Well, because the next day they fed us and fed us until we could not move! Ribs both cow and pig, chorizo, ice cream and salads. Merilee and I typically eat very little meat but when offered it we usually do not decline. Anyhow, we both had chest pressure after so much food, and wanted to eat veggies for the next week. Hugo and Blanca are also holding us to coming back to Cordova and staying for some more time! One day!

Now we are in another town, Villa Allende, where we are staying with a friend of a friend that we met in northern Argentina. We went into Cordova to see the city and took a small tour of the church and cabildo (arts/municipal building). We went into the gothic cathedral of the city, which is seriously amazing. One of my favorite churches we have seen. Later we went to a free dance performance and saw a bunch of folkloric dances throughout Latin America and ....the tango! It was a bit too dramatic for me; put in amongst such happy smilely other dances, but I am sure I will come to love it. There really seems to be always something to do in this city.

Currently, we are co-habitating with a parrot that speaks about 3 words as well. Most mornings we wake up to hola....Hola...HOLA!!!!! The bird screaming in a very creepy way. It is gooood fun! Sadly pics seem to not be working again. :(

Less than 2000 Kilometers! (We think)

In honor of our less than mark we will retail a few stories of our last several days!

We stopped in a small town called Punta Balastos because we did not want to camp in the desert because of how many thorns there are. (You walk out to pee and instantly your shoes have 50 spikes in them youch!) We chatted with the police and he told us where we could find a store to buy a few things for the evening. When we got to the store the owner kindly met us and instantly asked if we were going to stay in the town that night. When we said yes, she said we could stay next to their house and have a shower. We proceeded to talk about many random things like if we like peanut butter and whether or not we are afraid of ¨middle eastern looking people¨. Anyhow, we passed a wonderful night with Manuel and Graciela!

Two nights ago we were in Belen. We wanted to buy walnuts because there are lots of them in the region. We went into a small store to see if they had any and the owner told us about neighbors who harvest walnuts. We went there and met some curious kids and Christina promptly invited us to two bags of nuez! They are quite tastey. And they go well with our pomegranets (spelling?).

Yesterday, we saw a sign on a house saying raisins for sale. We decided to stop in and ask about them. We were met by a real friendly women and her sister who just finished freshly drying raisins. They are best with the seeds inside. They also sent us off with four ripe pomegranets which are wonderful!

Dogs here in Argentina are oddly nice. When we stay in a campground often a random dog shows up and accompanies us everywhere we go...literally. In Cafayate a dog followed us to the stores, chased down motorcycles along the 1 kilometer walk into town and chased off other dogs that would be near us. Goofy. But, at times the dogs are tooooo much. For example, in Los Nacimientos a dog kept trying to come into our tent!! It was more than wierd though because it kept rolling over, and Merilee and I were sure there was something wrong with it. But it was just ubber friendly. Anyhow, to get rid of it we had to throw water on it and chase it down the road.

Speaking of over friendly animals though, once, we were riding through nothing but sagebrush and desert sand when we saw two dogs coming towards us. They were not barking, but being a bit evasive. We have learned that when dogs don´t bark they are usually more dangerous, but these dogs seemed alright and when they got alongside us they just trotted along. Then, all of a sudden, in the distance we see an animal SPRINTING towards us. It was about a kilometer away and running full tilt down the empty road. As it drew closer we saw that it was a llama. Merilee and I kinda got to one side of the road to let the running animal by, but then it stopped right next to us and started headbutting us lightly and smelling our legs and arms and just being plainly odd. We really did not know what to do with this friendly llama. Both the dogs and llama followed us until we made it to the turnoff for a small house where they stopped and perhaps waited for their real owners to get home and feed them.

Cafayate

Us with Connie and Andreas...where else but in a bakery!


scenery in between San Carlos and Cafayate


chatting with some motorcylists


view from our campsite outside of Angostaco




In our last blog we introduced our two friends Connie and Andreas. We, sadly, had to part ways in Cachi as they were heading on while Merilee and I were going to stay another day to rest, wash clothes and send emails. Well, we left Cachi and went towards Molinos and stayed the night just outside of town in a dried creek bed. Late in the morning we came upon two other cyclists and chatted with them for a while. All of a sudden a car pulled up and asked if we were Americans, and we answered a bit hesistantly ¨Yes.¨They then proceeded to tell us two Germans are cycling up and we could wait for them if we wish. Well, of course we waited and soon enough Connie and Andreas pulled up on their bicycles! Connie had gotten sick and they spent two nights in Molinos. Anyhow, we cycled with the two of them until we made it to Cafayate which is where we have to part ways for sure as they will be headed back north towards Salta and Merilee and I continuing our southerly route. Merilee and I were so happy to have cycling companions! It makes the trip that much more enjoyable. Connie and Andreas are kind and generous folk who share a love of wine and photography, of which there is plenty to taste and take shots of in this area of Argentina. They invited us to bottles of wine and cookies numerous times. They introduced Merilee and I to a new lunch meal of tunafish, ketchup and onion on french bread...it is quite tasty! Anyhow, this is a big BIG shoutout to Connie and Andreas for several lovely days traveling and getting to eachother together, and we wish the best for the rest of their trip and a safe journey back home! Thanks much!!!

The road through Southwest Bolivia...few options around


Hanging out at Laguna Verde with some jeep tours








Salar de Uyuni

And then there was Argentina….Part 3

Dried chile anyone?


Greenery finally!


After a month in high desert, it is hard to describe how amazing it was to see flowers and rivers and life again


Yes, that is our road...alright!!




We made it to the end of Paso Jama, but part of my sanity will always be lost forever there amongst the sand and vicuna. Never ever again! We crossed into the Argentinean territory and kindly the border guards allowed us to take in our potatoes as long as we cooked them that night. We stayed in an abandoned house behind a gas station and enjoyed feeling like we were inside for a change as the house had a roof and door. Still, 4500 meters is very cold at night.

We debated about the route we would take through the country. Argentina has a plethora of roads and we could actually not decide where to go! Finally we decided we took a ¨shortcut¨ down to route 40 through a salt flat. The road was more sandy that salty, but worth the effort for the feeling of being completely cut-off from the outside world. We spent more lovely nights camped isolated outside with just us, the stars and a wind break. We were running low on drinking water and so to save it we had pasta boiled with water from the salt flat…very tasty!

An example of Argentina: We made it to San Antonio de Los Cobres and here we found a small nice hotel. We talked with the owner about finding a cheaper rate for us and the 83 year old woman agreed to let us sleep in a constructed room for a half rate. She also let us wash our clothes and when we told her we like to make bread she said ¨I have an oven, you can make bread in there.¨ She was just too kind with us, and when we told her our route south she said ¨you are going to meet just the nicest people over there.¨ That is quite the opposite as to what people usually tell us, which is often that ¨people down the road are bad, but they are good here.¨ But, thus far people have been so nice to us here in Argentina.

Then we climbed our last 4900 meter pass. Abra del Acay is a sand road winding up to the top of the high desert with a descent into a green beautiful valley filled with farmers, trees and streams falling out of the Andes. Merilee and I were in paradise as we reveled in running water and the greenery. The descent was quite hairy though as an unstable road clung to the side of big drop-offs. Go brakes go!!! We had to stop and give our hands a rest from gripping the breaks so much! We made it safely though and also ran into the first cyclists going our way! Connie and Andreas are a couple from Germany on their vacation from work cycling around northern Chile and Argentina. We rode with them for two days from Saladillo to Cachi (where we are now). The first day we were headed to a small town. When it finally appeared about 10 kilometers off the main rode and in a round about way we decided to pool our food and water resources together and ride on. We made it to a small town, El Rodeo, and camped behind a community center and the next day rode into Cachi. We enjoyed two nights together having dinner and talking about any which thing. They invited us to dinner the second night. So cheers to Connie and Andreas for several lovely days together! Happy journey!!

Part 2!!

Eric, Emilio, and Natalia


Laguna Blanca, Bolivia


Creek in the desert....ahhhhhh water


Lake along the route to Paso Jama


Hello Chile!!!!!!!

Awesome, we made it to Chile! Oh, shit…to get our Chilean entry stamp and be legit and all that we had to plummet (cannot emphasize enough!) down 2500 meters to San Pedro de Atacama because there are no immigration offices at either the border with Bolivia or Argentina. So, within the course of 40 kilometers of hair-raising 70 kph descent we arrived at the lovely little town. It is quite touristy, but we enjoyed the utter luxury of a real campground complete with friendly staff, a kitchen, sinks to wash dishes in, picnic tables, hot water for showers (SHOWERS!!), great fellow campers, and not having to wear every article of clothing we owned just to stay warm at night. There were only two drawbacks – very expensive prices for everything, and the brutal climb back up the hill awaiting us. Luckily our time in San Pedro was quite lovely, so it was a nice little place to get cleaned up, wash the dirt and sweat out of our overused riding clothes, and enjoy the milder climate.

We were worried about the ascent to 5000 meters and the 160 km ride to the Argentine border…carrying enough food and water would be a price in weight that we would pay for dearly while struggling up the sharp grade for 3 days. Enter Emilio and Natalia, a lovely couple from Buenos Aires that we met in our campground. They generously offered to bring food and water to various kilometer posts along the route as they would be passing by us in a car on their way home. So, we were able to lighten our load a bit and still have fresh fruit and drinking water on the road. THANK YOU!!! Our last night in the campground was very enjoyable…Emilio and Natalia invited us to share a bottle of Chilean Malbec wine with them, and we each had our own improvised camping dinner (aka cook everything you have together in the same pot).

The next morning we chatted with other campers, did the last of our errands, got our exit stamp, and headed up the hill. Between 1 in the afternoon and sunset we managed to get to kilometer 31. The first 12 kilometers were lowest gear worthy, but still gradual and pedalable. Then the road headed straight up, and we zigzagged the whole rest of the day. Doug, sometimes in the Andes the hill never stops :c) Exhausted, we pushed our bikes off the road, ate lentil soup we had prepared in the campground, and fell asleep.

In the morning we set off again, swerving our way up the last 10 kilometers to the 4800 meter mark and less intense grades up to 5000. It´s the only time on the trip that Eric has said to me, ¨Let´s never do this again.¨ Emilio and Natalia caught up with us early, dropped us off some provisions, and we made arrangements to pick up more water at kilometers 50, 100, and the border. Again, thank you so much – we´ll see you in Buenos Aires!! Camping was very easy along the route, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. I can´t say enough how much we´ve really enjoyed the access to wild camping that we´ve had here in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. It´s so peaceful, the starry night skies are spectacular, and it´s wonderful not to have to worry about whether or not our stuff is really safe, or if someone will find us in the middle of the night.

Quick question for the readers here; at night, does anyone know what the fuzzy looking haze near the Milky Way belt are (not clouds wise guys!)? They look like the Milky Way but are separate from the band you can typically see. Perhaps they are only visible in the Southern Hemishphere....

Check the Pics!

Bolivia...southwest somewhere


Laguna Colorada


Arbol de Piedra or Piedra de Arbol


Salar de Uyuni


Sometimes when the road disappears you take the tracks less traveled

Wow. I don´t even know where to begin. We´re so behind on blogging! Well, the quick and dirty is that we left La Paz at the very end of February, made our way through the vast, empty southwest of Bolivia, dropped into Chile for a few days, climbed back UP to Argentina, continued our way on lots of sand and shale roads, crossed our last pass over 4000 meters, and are now in Cachi eating lots of goat cheese, cookies and other treats to gain a bit of weight back - yay for food and water supplies!

Alright, well I´ll break this up into a few blogs so that if you get bored reading it all you can come back later when you have some more energy :c)
We were definitely ready to get back on the road after spending a month in La Paz. We stayed in several schools along the way to keep out of the afternoon rain and the evening chill. We passed Oruro just before it´s famous Carnaval celebration, so we were able to see some locals in nearby towns practicing their traditional dances, and we caught a few glimpses of the Anata Andina parade. The costumes are amazingly beautiful and elaborate!

Just south of there we met two French people, Marion and Xavier, and we kept running into them all throughout the rest of Bolivia. The road to Uyuni, a major tourist hub for 4x4 tours in the SW, was quite difficult, and we arrived completely caked in mud. There are strict water rations everywhere, so our bikes more or less have been dirty ever since. We had really hoped to ride across the Salar de Uyuni, but we were too early in the season, and it was covered with water. So, for the first time on this trip, we went on an organized tour. We hopped in a Toyota Land Cruiser with 4 Germans and headed out to see this bizaare, surreal, can´t-believe-your-eyes sight. Reaching the salar has been a landmark for our trip, and when I finally saw it I found myself so overwhelmed with emotion that I started crying in the passenger seat! After that I started taking photos like mad, and Eric actually enjoyed having some taken of him as well, which is quite unusual :c)

From Uyuni we headed south toward no-man´s-land and more tourists than we had ever seen anywhere. The roads were brutally difficult at times; completely ungraded, sandy, no clear tracks to choose from, and constantly having to get off the path to let 4x4s go flying by. Plus we were carrying about 10-20 kilos of extra weight each of food and water because there is virtually none to be had during 2 weeks of cycling, and I was still sick from volunteering at the school in La Paz. But, at night, we had the whole place to ourselves. Despite having spent time backpacking in the NW, I had never seen such light-pollution free skies in my life. However, we could only enjoy the view from inside the tent with our sleeping bags pulled up to our noses. The bitter wind and cold at over 4000 meters of altiplano is unforgiving! So we were always huddling behind some rock or old llama corral to get a bit of shelter.

Overall it was a fantastic experience, but I did have my moments where I lost it, kicking my bike, screaming thinking what the hell am I doing because I am not enjoying this at all. That moment came at a day spent pushing my bike up a 4900 meter pass with 50 mph wind in our faces and virtually no food. We couldn´t find anywhere to get out of the wind, so we had to shimmy inside a dry pump house through a 1x1 foot opening on the ground and hope that no water would start gushing in on us. Ah, the life.

We subsisted mostly on rice, quinoa, potatoes, carrots, and cans of tuna fish. We also purchased 30 candy bars in La Paz and carefully rationed them all the way through our ride. That was hard, especially for two Jonses. During the day, in exchange for all our hard work, we passed by beautifully colored lakes, geysers, hot springs, saw lots of wildlife, and now have the satisfaction of knowing that we did it. Hell yeah! Pat on the back :c)




Sad update...our computer is dying a slow death. We cannot fix it, therefore photo uploads are now dependant on internet cafes. The cafes are not so reliable, but it appears photos will be fewer and far between :( We have many good ones too.