In fact, this bike has suffered so many problems that we even considered changing motorcycles (however briefly). But despite all of the problems we still love the thing and will give it credit for getting us all the way from Montreal to Ushuaia when other machines might have failed to do so. To keep it going it had to be infused with a steady stream of cash and patience but it did get us there, barely.

If you are a fan of long distance traveling of the “with your own vehicle” variety than you have probably seen pictures of the famous “end of the road” sign that is prominently displayed at the end of Ruta 3 in Ushuaia. If you are not a fan of long distance traveling of the “with your own vehicle” variety than let me be the first to tell you that there is such a sign, and yes, it is at the end of Ruta 3 in Ushuaia. In certain circles (you guessed it, the “with your own vehicle” clan) there is a tradition that if you travel the length of the Americas you go take your picture next to this sign. And since we are conformist at heart we could not resist doing so ourselves.

So without further ado, here is our picture. Keep in mind that we wanted a picture that is symbolic of our trip so far. Something that represents what we have gone thru to get all the way down here. Something that says, yup, that is what it took to get here…

But before we leave you, just a reminder that despite the fact that we made it to Ushuaia our goal remains to get to India so we are only half done.

And one more thing, we have started thinking about getting a sidecar. Why a sidecar you ask? Why the hell not we reply!

Brian

Our trip south wasn’t all high winds and gravel roads. We did get to see one of the most spectacular sights of our trip so far, the Perito Moreno glacier near El Calafate. The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the few on earth that is not yet receding. And it’s a big one! It has a height of 60 meters and is a few kilometers wide. Since it is in constant forward movement (up to 2 meters per day) it regularly sheds some ice with spectacular results.

But to get to the glacier you have to go through the Los Glaciers National Park. And as with most parks in Argentina you have to pay to get in, in this case 15$ per person. Seeing as we have already spent thousands of dollars in this fine country we decided that we would skip paying the fee by entering the park prior to opening hours (8:00am). This meant an extremely cold ride (below 0 degress celcius) but it was well worth it. Here are a couple of pictures of the glacier which we had to ourselves for a little while…

Brian

Ruta 40 is almost legendary among those who get around this part of the world with their own vehicles. It runs from the north of the country to the south and is mainly gravel except for the northern part of the country. To put things in perspective distance wise it is roughly the equivalent of going from Halifax in eastern Canada to Vancouver.

Our plan was to cover a relatively short stretch of the road, from Perito Moreno to El Calafate in 2 days, a total distance of 650 kilometers. We knew that there are only 2 gas stations along the way so at the top of our agenda was making sure we had enough fuel in case one of the gas stations was either closed or out of gas (not an uncommon occurrence). We pulled out all the stops by not only filling up our 22 liter tank but also filling up our 4 liter gas container, two 2 liter coke bottles as well as our two 1 liter metal bottles. This gave us a range of about 500 kilometers. The setup was not unlike riding a bomb on 2 wheels but after a while we got used to it. And as long as there wasn’t any wind to push us over we felt completely safe.

The day we left there was a weather alert for the region in which we were to ride that day : « high winds from 60 to 80 km/hr with gusts of up to 100 km/hr » Humm…

So there’s going to be a little wind. Big deal! Besides, I once read somewhere that the average sneeze goes something like 200 km/hr. And I never got hurt sneezing so off we went…

The start of the day was fairly easy with the first 50 kilometers paved. Even once we were on the ripio things went well. So after 123 kilometers of some wind and ripio we made it to the first gas station in the town of Bajo Caracoles only to find that it was closed. But after a 30 minute wait somebody finally showed up and after a coffee and a fill-up we took to the road. Once again things went well until we change direction and climbed unto a plateau. That’s when the mountains on our right sneezed for the first time. OK, maybe it wasn’t 200 km/hr but the weather alert warning of 100 km/hr gusts was dead on and for the rest of the day the wind was our constant companion.

We understood very quickly why this road is legendary. While the road is very wide in most places, the surface is covered with small rocks that accumulate on either side of the tracks left by the few vehicles that travel on it (we crossed about a dozen vehicles that day). The trick to staying upright is to keep the motorcycle on the track otherwise your front wheel will catch on the accumulated rocks and down you go. With a side wind of 100 km/hr this becomes a real challenge. So much so in fact that we often crawled along at 25 km/hr for kilometers on end. In total, it took us 14 hours to cover the 650 kilometers.

But that wasn’t the last of the wind. In fact, the next two riding days were particularly windy, not to mention the intense cold. Our first day after resting in El Calafate was to get to Rio Gallegos on the Atlantic side of Argentina. The following day we made our way to Rio Grande from where I am writing these words. If you know your geography then you know that Rio Grande is on Tierra del Fuego and is only 3 hours from Ushuaia, the most southerly place in the world you can drive to. So tomorrow we are off to complete the first leg of our trip after over a year on the road.

We would have liked to post more pictures of the last few days but the internet here is too slow to download images so that will have to wait a bit. Until then you will have to use your imagination. Just think COLD and WIND!

From El Bolson we headed towards Chile. It was a little hard to say goodbye to Argentina, one of our favorite countries so far, but our absence would be brief. Our goal was to keep heading south towards Ushuaia by taking the Carretera Austral that runs from the north of Chile to the south. This road is primarily ripio (gravel) and offers some of the best scenery in the Americas. It is one of the few positive contributions of Augusto Pinochet, the former dictator responsible for thousands of deaths.

Our first stop was the village of Futaleufu near the border with Argentina. The village is not on the Carretera Austral but the views were impressive. Kind of like Canada except bigger. But once we made it onto the Carretera the views went from impressive to stunning with snow capped mountains visible for miles. It may have been the distraction of the view that caused the crash.

But one thing is for sure, just a few hours after we got onto the Carretera Austral we started getting into trouble about here…

And this was the result…

Fortunately neither of us were hurt and the bike started up as good as new right after the fall, but it is clear from Marie’s posture that my reputation as a safe motorcycle driver may have suffered some damage.

A few hours later we arrived in Puyuhuapi without any further incidents. The village of Puyuhuapi was founded by 4 German settlers seeking a bit of adventure in a foreign land. What remains today are dilapidated houses and a couple of poorly stocked grocery stores. The following picture is of the town gas station, the only one for 100 kilometers in either direction…

But despite the desolation it still offered interesting sights…

The following day we made our way to Puerto Ibanez from were we hoped to board a ferry for our return to Argentina. But we got there a few hours too late and were told that the next departure was 2 days later. So we took advantage of the downtime to watch some TV in our hostel and catch up on world events. It was incredible! Politicians were making promises that they had no intention of keeping, celebrities were talking for the sole purpose of being heard and capitalism did not seem to be working very well. Who would have though that all of this would be possible in this day and age?

The morning we were supposed to leave was windy. Like, trees just barely hanging on kind of windy. In fact, the coast guard did not want to let the ferry make the crossing so we ended up waiting near the dock for hours and hours. Finally, after over 12 hours of sitting on concrete and looking at waves we were told to return the next morning at which time the ferry would once again try to leave. But we did meet 2 Austrians that have be riding their bicycles from Alaska to Ushuaia for the past year and a half!

The following morning the ferry did manage to leave despite the high winds and within a few hours we were back in Argentina in the town of Perito Moreno. We didn’t know it at the time but 2 days later we would end up having our most difficult day of this trip…

Brian

We’ve begun our trip south into Patagonia and all is going well. When left San Rafael 3 days ago we made our way to the town of Zapala. We had heard of Patagonian winds but this leg of our trip (still thousands of kilometers from the most challenging of Patagonian roads) gave us a taste of things to come. In addition to the severe cold we had to contend with the bike getting pushed off its course by unrelenting winds. The winds took their toll on both of us. When surrounded by nothingness, the only option to take a short rest is this, something Marie has taken a liking to the past few months…

We finally arrived in Zapala after 10 hours on the road, just as the sun was setting. The next day we left for San Martin de los Andes about 200 kilometers further south. This town has the reputation of being the playground of Argentineans that can afford to get there. Although the setting was spectacular, the town itself left something to be desired so the following day we headed into the Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. The road to get there offered some stunning views…

We eventually camped near one of the lakes…

Then it was on to El Bolson from were we are writing these words, a laid back town and one of our last stops before we go into Chile for the first time. Next up is the Parque Nacional Los Alerces.

Brian

In all honesty, the last few thousand kilometers were not the most exciting in terms of roads and scenery. Sure, we met some great people and had a good time, but in terms of motorcycling the routes we took left something to be desired. But all that changes for the next 4 weeks as we once again take to the road and head south into what has been described by many as some of the most beautiful scenery accessed by some of the most difficult roads to be found in South-America.

From San Rafael, where we have been living for the past month, we head down into the lakes region. Having spent the better part of the past 6 months in very arid regions it will be nice to see some greenery for a change. From there, we will head into Chile and drive down the famous Carretera Austral for about 700 kilometers. This bit of road has a reputation as being heaven on earth when it is dry or a nightmare if it is wet (most of it is gravel and dirt). The problem is that the region receives 4000mm of precipitation per year (that’s 4 meters folks!). After the Carretera Austral we head back into Argentina for the final run down to Ushuaia. Once again road conditions risk being challenging as Ruta 40, the road we will be taking, has ended in injury for more than a few motorcyclists. To make matters worse the road is barren for most of the way with only strong winds to keep you company.

If all goes according to plan we should be arriving in Ushuaia, the “end of the world”, around November 25th. After a few days of rest (and celebration) we will take the much more tame ruta 3 all the way back up to Buenos Aires. Until the next pictures, here are a few of the past few weeks…

Marie-France learning to drive a tractor...

Wild asparagus on the farm...

Water day on the farm...

Mother nature showing her might...

Brian

On October 2nd at approximately 1:36 pm in the town of San Rafael, the world lost a great champion of keeping motorcycle travelers awake in the middle of the night. He didn’t have a name but his behavior was such that he will be remembered by all who came too close to him.

I wish I could tell you that the end was swift but beheadings seldom go as planned. To say that his last minutes were spent in quiet reflection on a life well lived would be misleading. But I am comforted by the fact that in his last moments his closest friends were by his side, looking on with a high degree of concern, if not for him than for their own future. This may sound strange but my greatest worry on that crisp October afternoon was not for him but rather for his friends. I saw in them kindred spirits who, like all of us, are merely searching for answers to life’s biggest questions.

Does God exists? What is the meaning of life? Why do I have to take calculus if I will never use it in real life? Do chickens cry? I don’t claim to have the answer to all of these questions but if you are like me and have wrestled for years to find answers I can tell you now, chickens do cry.

Since that fateful day I have had the chance to think back to the events that led to the delicious chicken curry. Once again questions arose as they often do. Should I have swung the axe harder? What is the difference between a rooster and a chicken? Why can I no longer approach the pen without causing a disturbance? When are we having chicken curry again?

But let us go back to when it all began.

While we were in Buenos Aires at Dakar Motos, we meet quite a few motorcycle enthusiasts. Among them were Ken and Carol, a couple from Australia who have spent years traveling on their motorcycle around the world. They have met some fascinating people during their travels among which are John and Annette, a British couple who also traveled around the world by motorcycle a few years ago and decided to settle in Argentina and bought a farm in the town of San Rafael. Introductions were made and a few weeks later we arrived at John and Annette’s farm were we continue to enjoy good company and learn about farming. Our days are spent helping out on the farm during the day and spending our evenings talking about everything under the sun, playing cards, planning our route to Ushuaia and generally having a good time. Since we arrived, we have learned how to drive a tractor, how to irrigate the land (not as easy as it may seem) and of course we’ve spent some time with the animals on the farm…

Which brings us back to the rooster. You see, the plan was simple. I was to take an axe and, while Marie held down the chronologically challenged rooster, I would extract revenge (oops, I meant to say “ease his transition into the other world”). In order to ensure that the procedure went well we were even shown a short video of a previous attempt at killing another rooster. On that occasion things went wrong. Horribly wrong. So armed with an axe and a clear example of what not to do we set about the task at hand. Marie was somewhat hesitant to assist in the “procedure” so Annette stepped in.

I would rather not go into details about what happened next but suffice to say that the second swing of the axe did the trick.

If this true story was as difficult for you to read as it was for me to write, please join me in a moment of silence for our nameless champion of sleepless nights…

RIP
2008-2008
THE rooster 

Here we are, in San Rafael, helping on a plum farm.

You are probably wondering how did this happen to us and we are still asking ourselves the same question. Well, as it happens when travelling, you meet people who know people and in the end you get invited to help on a plum farm. The farm is owned by two ex-motorcyclists-around-the-world from England who decided a few years back to change their living style. We are helping them, and preparing our way down to Ushuaia (we decided that we are not ready for full time farming yet).

We will give you more details next week!

Marie-France