Nick: Well, suffice to say lesson learnt in Santa Cruz Province. This time we forked out and booked the best coach seats we could afford! Out bound this turned out to be a more plush, more horizontal seat with dinner, drinks, blanket and pillow included. We boarded the coach that evening after a rather hazardous experience which is shopping in BA: very easy to spend. The coach pulled away at 21.00 and started its charge North. The meal came, the movie played, and we slept as well as could be expected: and by default this was far more so than on [View Full Entry]

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Nick: Well, since our last entry it has been 10 days of good times, not so good times, ridiculous roads and spectacular views, but we are finally back, basking in the hospitaility of Eric and Emily in BA!! We have done over 1000 miles (1600km) since our last post and a lot has happened. Why so long in posting? Well, mainly because we were either busy or out of internet reach. After our last post we set off on the Ruta 237 toward Neuquen. This distance we covered in a day which took us along twisty roads where we had ridden [View Full Entry]

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Nick: Our last entry saw us clambering aboard a nice double-decker coach for a week of bikeless travel to the Southern corners of the country. We boarded and located our seats: "the best on the bus" as we were informed when buying the tickets. These were at the top in front with our backs to the stairs. During this journey we watched 3 films complete with English dialogue (spanish subtitles), stopped in various towns, travelled over 1500 km, cured and prepared the Maté cup I bought in Perito Moreno the day of our departure and experienced the time-travel chairs, as I [View Full Entry]

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We are writing very little this time and we are going to concentrate on our photos....well that was it... [View Full Entry]

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Pictures to Follow!! Nick: Almost full circle!! We are now back in Argentina after an interesting crossing of the border, and we are a mere 250 km South from Tecka, the small town that played haven to our somewhat tattered nerves 5 weeks ago. Since that time we have, of course, travelled through a significant part of Chile, reaching down as far South as Coyhaique (although not so far South when you look at the map!). Our feelings in our last blog were confirmed and the Carretera Austral, or at least the stretch that we saw, was indeed everything we had [View Full Entry]

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Nick: Well. Since we last posted and aired our concerns on the trip things have taken a turn: for the best!! We left the farm house after our last post and headed for Quellon in order to be in situ for the ferry crossing the next day, at midday. We rode into town, found a nice (in fact THE NICEST YET) cabaña and got ready for a meal. Whilst out we met up with a German couple: Dirk and Brita, who like us, had ordered from the restaurant menu and found themselves with a dish piled higher than it was wide. [View Full Entry]

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Nick: Our first view of Villarica was through a veil of rain. We found a spot to sleep and then set to investigating how we were going to discover the delights of Villarica and its surroundings. Our first full day in the area involved firstly scouting the Tourist Office, to no avail as any instructions/advice we were given was lost in the deafening music they had blearing out of the computer. So, we opted for a visit to Pucon, on the opposite shore and at the Volcano's feet. Once there we starting quizzing tour operators for their prices and service. All [View Full Entry]

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Nick: Its going to be a long one!! We left Santiago at a reasonable hour, the bike now shod with a new rear. Our first days riding in 4 was a gentle re-introduction to 2-wheel travel with a mere 125 mile (200km) jaunt to Curicó, a small but, apparently, pleasant town. We arrived and soon found that virtually all accommodation was being used by migrant workers employed in the vineyards, so we saddled up again for another 40 miles (60km) to reach Talca: a town supposed to benefit from a big city attitude. We rode through and on our second attempt [View Full Entry]

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Kriss: Santiago smells of exhaust gases and vanilla! The first is due to the population of 4+ million and the numerous cars/buses to take this lot around the town. The second one is mostly produced by the Crazy4Nuts or Nuts4Nuts trolleys on every street-corner... :) It has been nice to be in a big town again - to feel the pulse of life around us, people being busy or having fun. Chileans are quite amorous, kissing couples of all ages are not a rare sight here - but so far it's never been out-of-control snogging / making out, like you can [View Full Entry]

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Nick: Well, picture the scene. Two fools hurtling as fast as is possible toward a city 40 miles away, at 7am in order to meet a tour guide. Not strange you might say, but then you notice the first of the two is squinting into the peasoup fog all around him, in the morning twilight, wearing sunglasses…. As it happens said fool had been wearing said sunglasses for 18 hours already, the normal pair had gone missing the previous day…. And how did we reach this stage?...... We leave Valpo via the coastal road and see stunning coastline, atrocious driving, and [View Full Entry]

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