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Patience leads to virtue they say, or in this case, our car! After a lounging weekend of watching 3 or 4 world cup games, and exploring the underbelly of Guayaquil to find the cheapest food possible, we returned to the hectic shipping ports of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Having a pretty solid idea of what was to pan out for the day, we used our taxi driver Marlo again, to chauffeur us around, from port to port and weasel our way into people´s lunches to get our paper work signed, copied, and handed over to the right people. Our mission to get our car would require all the copies we had, and in addition, getting some of them stamped by the head Aduana office at the principle port of Marítimo. Then and only then, could we utilize these papers to have our car checked by the police at the INARPI port 1 where our car was parked. After this long and painful waiting process, we were finally able to drive the car out! The one officer who was evaluating our car had gone out of his way to skip his lunch, (something that seemed quite alien to this country). And after the process was all said and done he was still longing for a free lunch. Lacking the finances to feed this officer or us for that matter, Carl left him with a souvenir from Canada; a unique orange contraption with a whistle, a screw off lid to put things into, and a compass with a mirror.
Beaming in content and relief that we had our car, we followed Marlo our taxi driver out of the chaotic city of Guayaquil, and onto the highway that would take us to Peru. As a goodbye present for all of the money we had given him, Marlo, gave us some car boosting cables, because someone on the Panama side of the shipping process, had left the keys in the ignition slightly turned on, so as to keep the battery running the whole 4 days in the container. Thus the battery was dead upon arrival. However surprisingly the battery recharged significantly in our journey and we have had no use for the cables since. So as it passed, at for 4pm on Monday the 15th of June we started once again on our trek to the “end of the world”. Nearing the Peruvian border our only hopes were that it would bring us an easier passage than the last.
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries”.
Peru:
A short 4 hours later we arrived at the border in the dark; hoping this would potentially make our wait in the line for the Aduana check a bit faster. We approached in awe as there was no line up, and only one small shack for a police check. This would be our fastest and easiest border to cross yet, as we only needed to give 1 copy of the owner of the vehicle´s passport, license and registration. Amazingly all of this could be done within 25meters of this police shack, with the assistance of the Aduana police working there. Furthermore, we could also get our passports stamped for the migration into Peru in the same place. After a quick conversation about soccer and our long voyage ahead, they ushered us on our way. We gave each other a look of, “Did that really just happen?” Not to dwell on the past and over think what had just occurred, we exchanged our American currency into Peruvian Pesos and found a small restaurant to sit down and enjoy our first delicious meal in Peru; rice, french fries and crispy chicken, with a side of some of the best unknown green sauce one could ask for. After this we set out to find a nice beach somewhere to park the car and sleep to the sound of the ocean. Lucky enough for us, we found just the place with a municipal police shop not 10meteres away to watch our car, all for the small price of a 6am wake up call for a glass of water as payment to them for watching our car. This beach front access would be some of the last we would get, from then on in. The enormous sand dunes ranged from Volkswagen size to small apartment buildings. This would prevent any easy passage to the rough shores of the Peruvian pacific. As the ocean and climate were quickly getting colder, we didn´t mind the tease of splashing waves, instead, we tried humoring ourselves at the fact that we were in the middle of one of the largest deserts in the world. Stretching from Peru and into Chile, this range is called the Atacama Desert. Which is a part of the Patagonian Desert Region that ranks 7th in the World. For the most part, our journey in Peru was a smooth one, our view was mostly of sand dunes, sand hills, sand mountains, and the odd mirage of the distant ocean. Sometimes the odd shrub or cactus would appear; otherwise it was quite the desolate place, except of course when we entered a town. We could always tell when we were getting close to a town because small shrubs and trees would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and then there would be these massive irrigated fields for agriculture. At times you couldn’t even fathom that there were massive sand dunes about to swallow to these towns whole. Most towns were built into the sand mountains, just waiting to be devoured. Our second night was once again a lucky stop, just outside one of these small towns. We nick named it, a desert paradise, because it was equipped with palm trees, a small river, green grass, and a llama. We decided to pitch up camp on this welcoming ground and eat our first full meal that we had been lacking for 3 days. (Due to the fact that we had only been stopping in the desert for gas and whatever snack was there, maintaining the mentality of drive and save as much as we can so as to have enough money to reach Argentina). However this meal was rudely interrupted by a swarm of mosquitoes unlike anything we had seen since Canada. Since both of us were in shorts and t-shirt we were forced to inhale our food and return to our tent in frustration. The soft cool grass was welcoming, but the screeching lamas, were not. After a restless sleep we continued through the vast desert until we could drive no more, and this time pulled off onto a random sandy road about 1km off the highway. Here there were no sounds of screeching lamas, no sound of running cars or passing trucks, just the steady breeze and beat of our own hearts reminding us that we are still alive, and with each breath taken and every kilometer passed we inch closer to our destination, our dream.
This vast desert would be our continuous view all the way to Nasca; a simple touristic town, just off the Pan-American Highway. It is here that we find ourselves looking slightly north for once. Nasca is where we would branch off the Pan-American Highway and drive to Machu Picchu. Having arrived in Nasca with plenty of day light we went searching for a hostel and a parking garage for our car. We asked a policeman where a good spot to park was, he drove his motorcycle around town and we followed him into a very nice hostel that we could stay and park in. It was cheap, out of the centre of the city, and perfectly just around the corner from the highway that we needed to take the next morning to go to Machu Picchu. The past day or so Carl had started to feel a bit off and could feel a cold coming along. It hit him the next day on our drive up to Machu Picchu. He had a small fever, cold hands, bit of a cough, and upset stomach. The drive up to Cuzco would take us 12 hours; here in Cuzco we would catch the train up to Machu Picchu. The problem, (like many we have come across on this endeavor) was there was a riot taking place in Cuzco, and they were not letting anyone into or out of the city. Lucky for us however, when we stopped to eat breakfast in the Andes we found ourselves talking with 3 very kind truck drivers. They explained to us what was going on, and better yet, a different route that we could take to by-pass these blocked roads and make it up to Machu Picchu. Instead of going to Cuzco we drove 20min north of Cuzco to a town called Ollantaytambo. The drive in was no easy task because the protesters had attempted to block these roads as well by tossing large rocks and branches to slow the traffic. Taking it nice and slow at night we were able to avoid all obstacles and arrive to our destination. We would have liked to take the Inca trail up to Machu Picchu, but with Carl being sick, our timeline, and budget, we were not able to do so. Also, you must book the Inca trail in advance to reserve space so as there is not too many people on the trail at once. This of course we did not know until we arrived in Peru.
Most people would have arrived to Cuzco or Ollantaytambo, purchased their train tickets and pre-booked their entry to Machu Picchu online before relaxing for the rest of the night. Then the next day woken up at a decent hour, made their way to the train station and with all tickets needed for the entire excursion, enjoyed a calming ride up. They would then arrive soundly into the ancient Inca city, where they would spend a few hours to take photos and relax in amazement at the beauty, craftsmanship, and the overwhelming power of the Andes Mountains surrounding them, before heading back.
Our morning/day on the other hand would go something like this: we would be woken up at 4:00am by the hostel receptionist; to eat breakfast, (this is because we didn´t have train tickets and needed to beat the lineup). Then we would be on the road at 4:30am chauffeured by a Taxi, to a small town 30mins away, to purchase our train tickets and entrance passes into Machu Picchu. However not being the first ones in line, we would be left with only one cheap option for that today; two backpacker packages of 46$ a piece, leaving the earliest as possible at 5:30am and being the last ones to return at 11:45pm. This pass would only cover our round trip of transportation, from this first stop being a 30min bus ride to the train station, and from there on a train ride of 1.5 hours to Agua Calientes; the base town of Machu Picchu. It would be at this highly touristic chaos of a town that we would find and purchase our entrance passes to Machu Picchu for 75$ a pop, as well as the second bus ride for 25$ apiece, which would take us up to the Gates of this ancient Inca city. Lucky for us there were not as many people as there could have been in this town, due to the protests and 3 day block out. After another 30min bus ride up to the Inca entrance from Agua Calientes, we were finally able to enjoy a solid 9 hours in the magnificent Inca city of Machu Picchu. We took naps, made peanut butter sandwiches, relaxed, and climbed every part of the Inca city. We spent time staring off cliffs into the mountains and imagining what this city could have been like thousands of years ago when one of the most advanced civilizations in the world filled its hills full of life. After this day of relaxing and spending time in Machu Picchu we began our trek back down to modern life. Finally returning to the first ticket purchasing town at midnight, our taxi driver who had taken us there in the earlier morning had returned awaiting our arrival to bring us back to our hostel in Ollantaytambo (nice guy).
We slept in the next morning to have a fresh start to a long drive back towards the town of Nasca and the Pan-American Highway. As it was the first time, the mountainous road of return was no easy task. On every turn, damaged guiderails and crosses marked the end for so many. Signs were placed before each turn, however more often than not, incorrectly or simply just not clearly marking how dangerous the turn up ahead really was. The one thing that we can both agree upon after this journey is that, we´re both good and able drivers and we both know and trust each other’s driving abilities. Sure, when you’re in the passenger seat, (and that much closer to the edge, and have that much extra time to stare and calculate the drop), it would seem a bit more rough and daunting, but, not once could we say that we ever encountered a “close call”. We arrived in Nasca and spent the night in the same hostel we had stayed in before, and once again, just around the corner was the highway that we would need to continue our journey south on. The next day we had to check our courses for University in an internet café that was located right beside some mud shack, and as the internet was a touch and go process, it took us some time to complete. Due to these implications we did not start driving to the Chilean frontier until noon. Despite this set back it only took us 2 days of straight driving to get us to the Chilean border, where we arrived with only one question at hand, would this border be as easy as the last? With one thought, one vision, and one destination left to conquer we held our breath for Ushuaia.
“It’s a funny thing to be satisfied and content, you never really know for sure when you are, but you know when you’re not.”
Chile:
The border was easier than Peru, no copies required, we simply had to fill out one piece of paper and have it stamped by a 2 different offices. We were in and out of the Aduanas in about 20min tops. Hello Chile. Yep the desert still stretched into Chile, so, our view didn´t change much, it was simply sand and mountains in Chile. Looking back on it now, there was this one traffic stop in Peru where we spoke with a man who had traveled all over South America and had lived in Chile, working for some large company of some sort. He had explained to us that the scenery wouldn´t change until we passed Santiago, Chile. He had mentioned that he was very successful in his business in Chile and that it was a very nice place. We believed him for the time being, and then once traffic started to move we pushed his words aside, simply because, he had given up his business adventure to sell peanuts on the side of a desolate highway in the middle of the desert. As it goes, the son of a gun was right, and there were still mounds of sand everywhere, and you know what!? It changed as soon as we got close to Santiago as the random peanut man had clearly distinguished to us. Maybe selling peanuts on the side of a highway in the middle of the desert is the life we are all missing?
We drove along the coast for the most part in Chile, interrupted the odd time by sand dunes now on the Highway, and like the last 3000kms we were driving with sand to the right of us, mountains to the left of us, and somewhere ahead of us was Santiago. The people we met and spoke with along the way were very helpful and kind. The roads were the best we had had on this trip so far; our belief to why there was this significant change is because Chile realizes how important transportation is for their economy and has come to terms that the death curves in Peru simply just don’t work for import and exportation of goods. These roads on the contrary would gradually curve and incline well before the mountain range, and before we knew it, we were driving again in the Andes mountains. These subtle roads would be the same coming back down. The only way to indicate our ascending or descending was the sound of the water bottles compressing and decompressing in the back. As we drove south it got colder and colder, so cold that we had to finally bring out the winter gear. At nights it would get as low as 5degrees, but being wrapped up in sleeping bags and inside our car, we were able to stay warm.
On our last night we stayed in a parking lot of a family owned restaurant. We knew it was going to be our last night in Chile, we also knew that we had to prepare ourselves for the upcoming amounts of meat once we reached Argentina. Deciding it was best to try and stuff our stomachs with some kind of meat, we got a Chilean Asado and a bottle of red wine. That night the family serving us this large BBQ of meat, allowed us to park our car behind their restaurant to stay the night, promising to be back in the early morning to open the gate and let us out. This however would not be our way of exiting their property the following morning. When they had finally not returned by 9:30am, Carl decided to go on a daring mission past some wildly large dogs to find another route off the premises. Successfully we managed our way out and were only a few hours away from the Argentine border. Stopping in San Felipe; one of the last large towns to pass through until Argentina, we managed to contact the González family in the Patagonian region of Argentina. These were good friends of Carl´s, where he had spent time living with them during his Exchange in 2004-05. They had offered to give us room and board for a while and also were interested in purchasing our vehicle. Unfortunately, we were greeted with bad news upon contact over the phone. The family explained how legally our car could not be sold in Argentina as it was a used foreign vehicle. So we were suggested to try and sell it in Chile where it was legal. However after talking with a car salesman from San Felipe, we were informed that for the age of our car and its millage, the costs of transferring ownership, and vehicle country status would out weight its purchasing price. Not willing to waste any more money or time we phoned the González family back and notified them of our arrival. Embarking once again on the Pan-American Highway to Argentina we were pumped for the unknown, and forgetful of our misfortunes. Dane however was not able to forget his upcoming cold, which of course could have only come from one person, Carl. Able to push the aching symptoms aside for a day, Dane drove us the 3 hours to the border, up 32 curves to the snowy peaks of the Andes Mountains and into Argentina.
Argentina:
Ahhh, mi amor, mi belleza, mi sueño….llegamos por fin. This Aduana was as quick as the last 2 and also very compact. In fact it was merely a drive thru to which we spent a maximum of 30mins. Our drive out of the Andes was as easy as our drive in, roads accommodating, people were nice and knowledgeable, and the signs were legible. At our first stop in Argentina, we were able to exchange what large Chilean pesos we had left, and put a full jerry can of gas into the tank. Continuing on our merry way, we found some pizza to eat and a gas station to sleep in. This would be our coldest night yet, where frost would cover every window. Yet with a decent sleep, we continued the following morning with conviction, as we were determined to arrive at the González´s house that day. And did we ever! Arriving at 11:15pm on a Friday, we were welcomed by hugs, kisses, delicious Choripan, and of course Carl´s favorite, cerveza de Quilmes! Feeling welcome and with full stomachs we were issued to our beds, soft, warm, and free of frost.
The following days would encompass the tedious tasks of trying to find a mode in which we could sell our car to the González family, and finding transportation to get us to Ushuaia, AL FIN DEL MUNDO and back to Buenos Aires! After seeing lawyers, talking with every person possible who might have a solution, and dreaming up imaginary ones. We were finally able to find a suitable mode in which we could exit the country without being penalized. With any luck we might get some money for the vehicle, the González family could still reap some benefit for the car, and we would not be held back by the Aduana at the airport. Long story short, it would seem the impossible became possible. Our bus rides to the end of our destination are paid for, our flights back to Buenos Aires (where Carl has yet more friends we can stay with) are purchased, and although we are not together for our final flight home, we have also paid and arranged for the last part of this journey. Looking back, it would seem that the days in which we were ahead of schedule, our budget that we had over budgeted for, has only seemed to give us the lea-way to overcome the problems that occurred. But no matter what has happened on this expedition we always arrived out on top, with all fingers, all toes, and every hair on our head. Ok so we shaved a few times.
“La vida no es sobre cuántos alientos tomas, sino por los momentos que quita su alientos.”
Photos will be updated soon, however the computer at hand is not able to upload...sorry for the inconvience.
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Nico
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Where in Argentina...?
Hey Carl! I followed your trip through this blog and it seems you guys are having the experience of your life. It´s really awesome what you are doing. Where in Argentina are you now? You are coming to La Plata right? when do you expect to arrive here?