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billclayton - Bill Clayton

NEW TRIP---Starts in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on New Years Eve 2008--we will celebrate on Copacabana Beach--then travel for 50 days or so through Brazil, Argentina, Uruaguay to the Southern most point of South America - Tierra del Fuego--then back up the West coast of South America to Santiago, Chile....decompress for a couple of days in Santiago, then back to Denver about Feb 25, 2009.

I figure to miss most of the winter in Denver....oh that's too bad!!

This is another "Truck Expedition" run by Oasis Overland. <http://www.oasisoverland.co.uk/truck_expeditions/south_america/coast_to_coast/>

And....I was just looking at pictures of the "truck"....these South American trucks have real windows!! not like the hole covered with a tarp that we had in the mid East, with 120 degree wind blowing through the passenger compartment.

We camp out about 70% of the time on this trip, and expect to see some of the most spectacular destinations in these countries.

Hope you enjoy my blog

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Last Login: September 8th 2009

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by billclayton, order by Date newest first.

By billclayton
March 14th 2009

last 1600 Km to Santiago, Chile South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago

Cannon in Bariloche
US cannon from 1799

This is the last entry in the blog, describing the last 1600 Km of travel from the Moreno Glacier to Santiago, Chile where the trip ended for me. this last section of the trip is mostly a long drive on narrow, one lane roads through the spectacular national parks of Chile and Argentina in the Patagonian region. Highlights of this section are the Rio Futaleufu whitewater center, specializing in river trips, followed by the towns of Bariloche and Pucon, and finally a 500 mile superhighway drive to Santiago. The Rio Futaleufu whitewater center is a private hostel/campground/rafting cen [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
February 18th 2009

Truck stuck South America » Chile

The road along Lake Buenos Aires
very narrow, very steep,

So here we are, driving on this one lane dirt road......through spectacular scenery......along Lake Buenos Aires which is a huge lake. The road is very narrow and at times hangs over long, long drop offs to the lake below, and ocassionally there are cars and trucks and busses coming the other way. Our driver decided to take the route because it is very scenic, and he had never been this way before. At one point we were confronted with a tree that had fallen across the road, so with our onboard axe and some help from other travelers, we cut away [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
February 10th 2009

El Calafate - Moreno Glacier, Argentina South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz » El Calafate

Driving across Patagonia

The Moreno Glacier, El Calafate We arrived in El Calafate, a small but growing, tourist oriented town near several glaciers. The glaciers are the main attraction, and numerous companies offer glacier tours, glacier treks, boat trips up to the glacier, and other similar packages. Occasionally I would see an American, but mostly the tourists were South American or European, and most seemed pretty affluent. The restaurants and shops reflected this affluence. Souvenirs are priced double or more what they cost in the other cities we have passed through, and restaurant prices are generally d [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
February 8th 2009

Torres del Paine, Chile South America » Chile » Magallanes » Torres del Paine

Barca Ambassador
Near our Ghost Town camp

We have stayed at this nice hostel in Ushuaia now for 3 nights and it is time to move on, towards the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. To do that we must first exit Argentina into Chile, then exit Chile into Argentina, then exit Argentina again back into Chile. This takes most of a day, waiting at border crossings, carrying all of our stuff into the crossing office to be xrayed, throwing away any open cheese, apples, nuts, fresh vegetables or meats, and so forth. This means that some of our meals are made only with canned food, since [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
February 7th 2009

Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel South America » Argentina » Tierra del Fuego » Ushuaia

Patagonian Sunset

The city of Ushuaia now has 55-60,000 residents, depending on your source. It is growing very quickly and you can see the typical boom-town hodgepodge of new construction and older run-down houses and buildings still being used. Since Ushuaia is the jumping off place for Antartic cruises as well as boat trips in the Beagle Channel and is a backpacker/ trekker/ outdoors recreation destination, the stores and restaurants are oriented to a tourist customer. Prices for souvenirs are fairly expensive. Restaurants are good, but are expensive compared with the rest of Argentina. There are l [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
January 27th 2009

Buenos Aires, City of Faded Elegance South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires

Jesuit Community plan

Exploring Buenos Aires, the “City of Faded Elegance” PS. On the last entry I attempted to enter a video of Igauzo Falls. Apparently, this attempt failed, so I am attempting to enter the video again on this entry. hope it works. As you walk through the streets of Buenos Aires, it would be easy to sort of squint, blur your vision, and imagine that you are walking through any number of European cities. First of all, the residents don’t look like indians or natives; they dress in a more Euopean/western fashion. The architecture of the buildings, the layout of streets, [View Full Entry]

Our bush camp on the way to Buenos Aires

By billclayton
January 27th 2009

Driving to the Southern tip of South America South America » Argentina

only 2859 km to go

3 days of driving-Headed for Ushuaia, Argentina the southmernmost city on the continent. At about noon, we passed a sign giving the distance left as 2859 km, or about 1787 miles. This will be a long 3 day drive, with two bush camps (tents, no showers, cooking our food). The countryside is flat. Absolutely flat. There are no hills or mountains on the horizon. Lots of cattle on natural grassland, and it appears pretty dry. Not sure how much rain they get here, but it doesn’t look like much. Most farm houses/outbuildings are surrounded by a break of trees, and I [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
January 22nd 2009

Bonito to Iguazu Falls South America » Brazil » Paraná » Foz do Iguaçu » Iguaçu National Park

cattle is the main industry

Iguazu Falls, from Brazil and Argentina Left Bonito at 7:00 a.m.; on a long drive to the hostel at iguacu falls, usually this is a two day drive, with bush camping but they decided that if we did one day, then we could have a day in Paraguay…one more stamp on the passport!! So we will have two really long, hot days of driving. Drive started out really hot, then after lunch we drove into a torrential downpour, must have rained 10 inches in an hour. This part of Brazil is really pretty; small towns, neatly kept, big cultivated fields of [View Full Entry]

By billclayton
January 15th 2009

Snorkling in the Rio da Plata River South America » Brazil » Mato Grosso do Sul » Bonito

Visitors center at the Rio da Plata
this visitors center is nice, served a hot food buffet after the snorkling

Monday, Jan 13. The town of Bonito is fairly surrounded by clear water rivers, springs, waterfalls and other similar tourist attractions catering to trekkers and “eco tourists.” Today we traveled about 50 miles South of Bonito to snorkel and swim in the Rio da Prata river. This attraction, owned by a local “farmer” who owns about 3000 acres, has a well developed facility catering to visitors, with a snack bar and curio shop, picnic facilities, and well developed trails to and from the river. Sunscreen and bug repellent are not allowed, as they may contaminate th [View Full Entry]

Swatting Mosquitoes on the trail to the river

By billclayton
January 13th 2009

The first day on the truck--Rio to Paraty South America » Brazil

Order a beer by phone!
We need this in Englewood

Jan 4, the trip begins…. We left Rio bright and early and drove to Paraty, a seaside resort maybe 100 or so miles from Rio. The roads were bad, and the drive took 4 hours or so. We camped at a commercial campground with showers and a nice grassy area. It rained off and on for the 2 nights we were there. The next morning we took a tour boat out into the bay for snorkling, lunch, and sightseeing. It was cloudy and rainy the whole day, and we came back cold and wet. The snorkling was a big disappointment. The [View Full Entry]

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