It’s a cliche. But it’s true. We live in a world of distraction. Every moment of our day ‘things’ are jumping out at us for our attention. Most of them do nothing to further what is most important to us and should be classed as shallow activities with little meaning to us. In this regard, social media…
No, I really mean that. This isn’t irony. A three day visit to the picturesque port city of Valparaiso in Chile turned into a testing moment of mental fortitude for me after my expensive camera and external disc drive with years of photos was swiped in a hostel I was staying in. I had been…
ARGENTINA. IS. MASSIVE. With only a 90 day time stamp it was inevitable that my route would have to take me back over the mighty Andes at some stage. With time in short supply I chose the pass next to Santiago close to the highest mountain in the Americas. Warned repeatedly by locals about the hideous amount of trucks and…
“Why?” Endless stretches of paved road disappearing into infinity. At times hours would go by and it was hard to tell if I had actually progressed. The death of my phone and thereby podcasts and various educational audio literature I like to listen to compounded the boredom to ‘hard to bear’ levels. All the while…
Mate, malavares, fiambre, ice cream, high quality beef, Malvinas, Maradona are all mainstream Argentinian experiences but one thing stands out above the rest for me: Of all the Latin American countries I’ve visited (there are a lot of them), Argentina can safely claim the nocturnal noise and sleep deprivation award by a considerable margin. No matter what…
After accidentally timing Paso Sico and San Antonio de Los Cobres perfectly with the busiest days of the year (or possibly ever), due to peak tourist season and flooding roads, it was a relief to finally leave. My route continued via the famous Ruta 40 and after climbing up a pass of nearly 5000 metres it descended for 260km down to world famous vineyards through dry rugged cactus terrain intermittently following a divine river oasis. It was spiced up further by crazy wild donkeys, beautiful shaded plazas, leeches (!) and incredible rock formations.
San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) – Socaire – Paso Sico – San Antonio de Los Cobres (Argentina) (see end of post for route map) I’ve come to the conclusion that high altitude mountain deserts are one of my favourite places to camp. Their potential for peace and tranquility enables a meditative experience that is hard to beat; the…
THE LAGUNAS ROUTE DETOURING FOR VOLCANO UTURUNCU on THE ALTIPLANO OF SOUTH WEST BOLIVIA
Cycling the sandy corrugated 4000+metre high desert roads of Southwest Bolivia for hundreds of kilometres is undoubtedly tough. You have three riding options: ride standing and exhaust your legs, ride seated at an excessively slow speed or ride normally and have your backside mercilessly pounded by your seat (perhaps fun for some?). I’d maybe add one more…go off road into the deep soft sand…
Why cycle 200+ kms across the largest salt flats in the world? The photos in this post might help answer…
I am staying in the famous La Paz Casa de Ciclista; perhaps best described as an open home for travelling cyclists (the homeless?). There aren’t that many in the world but virtually every single cyclist that travels the Andes seems to pass through here. Over the years, it has housed an eclectic mix of various characters from all walks of…