tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73456684132168317842024-03-05T08:16:59.353-08:00Mark and Neil Trekin' SouthUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-87183245674134938742011-03-25T22:05:00.000-07:002011-03-25T22:05:37.785-07:00Until Next Time...Well, that's about it. We, and the bikes, made it home from Santiago without incident and with no surprises. We landed in Vancouver on Sunday morning and headed straight to Air Canada Cargo. The bikes were there and the guys there were really good but warned us that Canada Customs may not be available to clear the bikes until Monday. That wasn't great news but we headed back to Canada Customs at the main terminal hoping for the best. We lucked out because one of the girls in the office that day usually works in the commercial section that was closed on the weekends. She cleared us no problem and we headed back to get the bikes. For anyone following this story for the bike shipping info, it cost us another $100 dollars to Air Canada for handling the shipment. It was another reason to ship both bikes as one shipment. Shipped on seperate waybills it would have been $100 each.<br />
We put the bits and pieces back on the bikes and inflated the tires. Then Neil and I shook hands and thanked each other for the ride. (Yes, I made sure I thanked him for helping me pick up my bike numerous times.) Then we went our seperate ways.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqL4kbIL3UNWxW6OLRrkikc9_p4ZyfMq-YOmcUU4Uhdvt2g3ajJ-s22_0_Yl4QVfWy-RE7K1iuNhGuia2s51zWB1PxjgoLaDxYGFloDudjvi4gNz2i3oE4CuL9H8nZBqvZTNBx442370/s1600/IMG_3485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqL4kbIL3UNWxW6OLRrkikc9_p4ZyfMq-YOmcUU4Uhdvt2g3ajJ-s22_0_Yl4QVfWy-RE7K1iuNhGuia2s51zWB1PxjgoLaDxYGFloDudjvi4gNz2i3oE4CuL9H8nZBqvZTNBx442370/s400/IMG_3485.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All packed up and ready to leave Air Canada Cargo in Vancouver.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShSF37lf79aXcMGS2yBFHB3xbb-2OhJ0OMM384t9H6Nay0Gkwc-YQEsO6tyhXFzkg0DArclM8z14Di5G28wvn4genDX-ulhHfU0aOcYphr6yrD9TeuBcVrNFwKRkK8NP6EUUECfxIn1A/s1600/IMG_3484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShSF37lf79aXcMGS2yBFHB3xbb-2OhJ0OMM384t9H6Nay0Gkwc-YQEsO6tyhXFzkg0DArclM8z14Di5G28wvn4genDX-ulhHfU0aOcYphr6yrD9TeuBcVrNFwKRkK8NP6EUUECfxIn1A/s400/IMG_3484.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back in the Bike Cave a little worse for wear after 26,000 km but still worthy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, yeah, that was a damn good ride. Thanks for following along.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-17126165088679145492011-03-19T07:30:00.000-07:002011-03-19T07:30:26.369-07:00Goodbye MotosWe ended up picking a good location to hang out in Santiago de Chile. We were very close to downtown in Barrio Paris Londres. It turned out to be very inexpensive compared to other parts of the city. Probably half price for food and drinks here. That's good because it took a few days of internet searching to find someone to get our bikes home. I figured it would be cheaper to have them go home on a boat but it was difficult finding somebody to forward them and those that would were getting too expensive. We eventually found E-Plus Cargo here at the Santiago airport who would forward the bikes to Air Canada for shipping to Vancouver. We went out to the airport on Wednesday to meet the people at E-Plus and get a feel for the company so we would be comfortable letting our babies go with them. All was good so we returned to the airport Thursday morning and spent pretty much all day getting the bikes ready and all the paperwork done. All the people at E-Plus were great as well as the cargo handlers at the airport. It ended up being a little less than US$2300 per bike to get them home. Not too bad I guess considering how far it is and the preparation involved.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZE4HJK1kk2Yq23cn8y6VqfWNc-2CqTjVJ8URUdBWV__eAS_Fh03SZhSsVq7Ghy1SgXlwwca5iL0DusFiMtnfeUe39mscjBCHcXGjcWkwmefDG9a1_Jj9u1PWCgeKJ5vKDt5nOdWHfyUs/s1600/IMG_3441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZE4HJK1kk2Yq23cn8y6VqfWNc-2CqTjVJ8URUdBWV__eAS_Fh03SZhSsVq7Ghy1SgXlwwca5iL0DusFiMtnfeUe39mscjBCHcXGjcWkwmefDG9a1_Jj9u1PWCgeKJ5vKDt5nOdWHfyUs/s400/IMG_3441.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parking spot inside the hostel. They were very accommodating.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBccemCFPTnhyphenhyphenLBqvyGTTaz8tGVkDiSrBkw4Sq82w4MokuK5d2I33DrzPD2syeWlSqvOfHKkB_6XGHdFX0wKoWtzT6iLM673AuZdXoyM8ymqaxlHA4YHQBeHwR3YyPx57tLiVrEG7N5M/s1600/IMG_3442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBccemCFPTnhyphenhyphenLBqvyGTTaz8tGVkDiSrBkw4Sq82w4MokuK5d2I33DrzPD2syeWlSqvOfHKkB_6XGHdFX0wKoWtzT6iLM673AuZdXoyM8ymqaxlHA4YHQBeHwR3YyPx57tLiVrEG7N5M/s400/IMG_3442.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The street outside the hostel. Very quiet and relaxed around here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CC2QhdSagq33uM2SWwMgblpXe9_mCCSTphQENHuf-RaTM8sWeeVI3CZmykq7bYdTWdyJshux8lzt18Qzt02FQBaOT3lX__49nzQ7PJLX8KVNUh9wk4yKZKFhASGZ-97wS2xniQ608lw/s1600/IMG_3443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CC2QhdSagq33uM2SWwMgblpXe9_mCCSTphQENHuf-RaTM8sWeeVI3CZmykq7bYdTWdyJshux8lzt18Qzt02FQBaOT3lX__49nzQ7PJLX8KVNUh9wk4yKZKFhASGZ-97wS2xniQ608lw/s400/IMG_3443.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our home for 6 nights in Santiago</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPH5tLGWPccybSJEfmrDehJt3KuNYY22Hvj5K1_dgjDuElENBtxvINKNmOZY-nx3KVXXCUgHcmaAiaM5Y-A9fhm4jb4ZT_VyeGz9c7-VTD5vFyOKLvPgzpChyPEE6mD7wL0yJVXh0ROZs/s1600/IMG_3444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPH5tLGWPccybSJEfmrDehJt3KuNYY22Hvj5K1_dgjDuElENBtxvINKNmOZY-nx3KVXXCUgHcmaAiaM5Y-A9fhm4jb4ZT_VyeGz9c7-VTD5vFyOKLvPgzpChyPEE6mD7wL0yJVXh0ROZs/s400/IMG_3444.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting the export process at Aduana (Customs) at the airport in Santiago</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW04hMlw4IYKGjL0ssmY4w4hCQ4EslwuPRk_OidBXmUsqIyy52qOlH7FEVUbA2a_bwh7pW_qp_tJZnSPQdQ7iP2SOeNm0oi07Fk3eafW8XIcRPB73GOfEEY9Ifd6-DWYXWCe3dX0gW48s/s1600/IMG_3445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW04hMlw4IYKGjL0ssmY4w4hCQ4EslwuPRk_OidBXmUsqIyy52qOlH7FEVUbA2a_bwh7pW_qp_tJZnSPQdQ7iP2SOeNm0oi07Fk3eafW8XIcRPB73GOfEEY9Ifd6-DWYXWCe3dX0gW48s/s400/IMG_3445.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stripping the bikes down to make them smaller. Windshields, mirrors and panniers all had to come off and be packed in tight around the bike on a pallet. We were being charged for volume so every centimeter counted. We also had to drain fuel (had to siphon it out the top of the tank, yuk), disconnect our batteries and let all the air out of our tires.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgjAYNkbB2aEePpaZJr5mYlGiBrr0wyjBNLUqo-wshb7tIiHVz8Q0UQyQgm1KcXS-uNnUr5vJDZr92v4QA5Mh8FUG_O7N-LHEk5VhoGVdp0y-cLYwvRjz5O7-dbrz0Yg5jb0O8g3ZsgE/s1600/IMG_3446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgjAYNkbB2aEePpaZJr5mYlGiBrr0wyjBNLUqo-wshb7tIiHVz8Q0UQyQgm1KcXS-uNnUr5vJDZr92v4QA5Mh8FUG_O7N-LHEk5VhoGVdp0y-cLYwvRjz5O7-dbrz0Yg5jb0O8g3ZsgE/s400/IMG_3446.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cargo handlers did a nice job of securing....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBZ0FbdJTRZP2-CeIhbQSPW58yDXRAwaCevIVTcw_FYAaeVuutPd5ans1xm-AnXjTIRJ2Vq_lJDcmL5uqZ7kBnei_jsUUYVk5fHbY4fojh-rcNZNlIak8nc5DJAGgte0oZfibJh5-lOE/s1600/IMG_3447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBZ0FbdJTRZP2-CeIhbQSPW58yDXRAwaCevIVTcw_FYAaeVuutPd5ans1xm-AnXjTIRJ2Vq_lJDcmL5uqZ7kBnei_jsUUYVk5fHbY4fojh-rcNZNlIak8nc5DJAGgte0oZfibJh5-lOE/s400/IMG_3447.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...both of our bikes to their pallets.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgno9q1c9LkDWgEt2YrZigqWAZwJPKzySBjcBEYYaIF5I5_1VB7WX6ynjf8W5vEYxDdDn8xx_g2LhVvlAgKvXnvUxbTuysCAda9IVnjlzhB3rwKa4b-5gTC0RIyWAb22swa7QhEnyEzNa4/s1600/IMG_3448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgno9q1c9LkDWgEt2YrZigqWAZwJPKzySBjcBEYYaIF5I5_1VB7WX6ynjf8W5vEYxDdDn8xx_g2LhVvlAgKvXnvUxbTuysCAda9IVnjlzhB3rwKa4b-5gTC0RIyWAb22swa7QhEnyEzNa4/s400/IMG_3448.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little bit of shrink wrap to keep fingers out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw04a3bQd3Uy-c0j-o-FkdiRpikGExbNtCxy4I2Oujn5SCHchNZT36jsM8GXLQ04sQ3XM__J7A0mBGaWf0xV8L20GXE6ZqJyl26AAIpvswpDOg1iFGL726TTG36kf3PdgF5pbPB_X7GWY/s1600/IMG_3449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw04a3bQd3Uy-c0j-o-FkdiRpikGExbNtCxy4I2Oujn5SCHchNZT36jsM8GXLQ04sQ3XM__J7A0mBGaWf0xV8L20GXE6ZqJyl26AAIpvswpDOg1iFGL726TTG36kf3PdgF5pbPB_X7GWY/s400/IMG_3449.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the warehouse and ready to go.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEMaLSyv_5fEoeliI51fUMv0VhQIbhgxYohbkxiUIHTZillZ-M1azxx1Os0DErdEtqTDEpeDoeM1u9aMVLC6ovwLHCYB09YwiOn9beHYm8E_m0KwhruMELthdRICogoRoJ7VcWCCvKSo/s1600/IMG_3450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEMaLSyv_5fEoeliI51fUMv0VhQIbhgxYohbkxiUIHTZillZ-M1azxx1Os0DErdEtqTDEpeDoeM1u9aMVLC6ovwLHCYB09YwiOn9beHYm8E_m0KwhruMELthdRICogoRoJ7VcWCCvKSo/s400/IMG_3450.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the final payment. About $2,300,000 in Chilean Pesos</td></tr>
</tbody></table> After making the payment we headed back to town on the bus and Metro system. They have an awesome transit system here. By the time we got home it was time for a late dinner<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87iQR6CqRgLi2qghF9zJt9X_90325dBiYeRnSD8BPJM0ChdP4ovXtZt6N4Ja9nqSBpZxR8DPoM0z_p0-lFRbSv70jEiLaPBjE5K6ky7_3RTchcKlfoszuoRDN2_3nP6JPfdAa6mc2gLk/s1600/IMG_3453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87iQR6CqRgLi2qghF9zJt9X_90325dBiYeRnSD8BPJM0ChdP4ovXtZt6N4Ja9nqSBpZxR8DPoM0z_p0-lFRbSv70jEiLaPBjE5K6ky7_3RTchcKlfoszuoRDN2_3nP6JPfdAa6mc2gLk/s400/IMG_3453.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The MetroRed in Santiago</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGt-a38aT95kDMBnMYS-84qo5sQwad36Ve47BjxYvCwUgHCMP7viTRoMlDObd1txlJiJ4KsRXTwjJtWjba1U2Q3qmtTk-uy0SPOTKvhGx2R3w1z-XiDx7fFkI8D-fcYKxMb6JcD00o2Y/s1600/IMG_3451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSGt-a38aT95kDMBnMYS-84qo5sQwad36Ve47BjxYvCwUgHCMP7viTRoMlDObd1txlJiJ4KsRXTwjJtWjba1U2Q3qmtTk-uy0SPOTKvhGx2R3w1z-XiDx7fFkI8D-fcYKxMb6JcD00o2Y/s400/IMG_3451.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to put this in because I think Chile has a cool flag.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Friday, after getting tickets to get our sorry butts home, we spent the day being tourists. We used the Metro again to get across town to the bottom of Cerro San Cristobal. Its a small mountain in a big park right in the city. We took the tram up and saw the zoo and then up to the Santuario del Cerro San Cristobal. It's a giant monument on top of the hill overlooking the city.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5r8lqCbRPp_I2elZEFk8Mfd_vfjjVWmbPqVyQ9osms_0Fzrl7k01nqD3fzeS15J1Zdz3w00gYyUGJxSdu47xHQ3o6LT1-ISE2qNrCJ_oByeLKPNx2tCYiBCwUHwZ2HqaAsjDfwtdxGVc/s1600/IMG_3454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5r8lqCbRPp_I2elZEFk8Mfd_vfjjVWmbPqVyQ9osms_0Fzrl7k01nqD3fzeS15J1Zdz3w00gYyUGJxSdu47xHQ3o6LT1-ISE2qNrCJ_oByeLKPNx2tCYiBCwUHwZ2HqaAsjDfwtdxGVc/s400/IMG_3454.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close to downtown Santiago</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkrUrmOqg6nkrGcCJCFe-pCnkd-B5TbgSl1gfAb_Lkr-anoPZ-GI_uiC65gm3n4nYm889ajGTnYxpPfnGxjs8JOhSHRwig7tDZ9PWa8Q9PchKPPvwkHRff8TgLo5ulVVTnieNJEgKJ-4/s1600/IMG_3455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkrUrmOqg6nkrGcCJCFe-pCnkd-B5TbgSl1gfAb_Lkr-anoPZ-GI_uiC65gm3n4nYm889ajGTnYxpPfnGxjs8JOhSHRwig7tDZ9PWa8Q9PchKPPvwkHRff8TgLo5ulVVTnieNJEgKJ-4/s400/IMG_3455.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tram up Cerro San Cristobal, built in 1923 I think.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnFInH2JYtjR3BFKBhgG2-eUZXk2l9m_muz8gvT6cA59xaI2V8P3RK19VnPkbJ0nC1_nUk_gecXIuXvVEBWfjaWaMMRcshkXkI14XgPvs2I4DDwO9F3_KQH8NgSv1pEmrZLMUcD7-C7Q/s1600/IMG_3456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPnFInH2JYtjR3BFKBhgG2-eUZXk2l9m_muz8gvT6cA59xaI2V8P3RK19VnPkbJ0nC1_nUk_gecXIuXvVEBWfjaWaMMRcshkXkI14XgPvs2I4DDwO9F3_KQH8NgSv1pEmrZLMUcD7-C7Q/s400/IMG_3456.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Zoo. They seem quite social. Anyways...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVayhKPAtCYoOjeASh4PZz1ziWmn-JQowZj5tDByujJwKGKy3ukZtABZpMsGbzyBnUkH4UYDqd_3Pc0rQ3_nhqQn6WoLHxaKiallcY4o2ZgyLHzJJ5sI3NkVOXwSvgIYsD31Y21ZIlCQ/s1600/IMG_3457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVayhKPAtCYoOjeASh4PZz1ziWmn-JQowZj5tDByujJwKGKy3ukZtABZpMsGbzyBnUkH4UYDqd_3Pc0rQ3_nhqQn6WoLHxaKiallcY4o2ZgyLHzJJ5sI3NkVOXwSvgIYsD31Y21ZIlCQ/s400/IMG_3457.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the real ones look fake.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Tq_vVm6faDlSq1UCuWf2dz1-N0kpEtclE39cwChBbT5cFbmssHIZsmX7ZXYshUdqoenChxRMg4A6fRRsOnO6GKf1_Zf1px0cPHyD12KK5IIr4bnHag_pURt9Qh6dmE4YwHW644FyzRs/s1600/IMG_3458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Tq_vVm6faDlSq1UCuWf2dz1-N0kpEtclE39cwChBbT5cFbmssHIZsmX7ZXYshUdqoenChxRMg4A6fRRsOnO6GKf1_Zf1px0cPHyD12KK5IIr4bnHag_pURt9Qh6dmE4YwHW644FyzRs/s400/IMG_3458.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a pretty nice zoo as far as zoos go. There were lots of trees and the hillside setting made it interesting for walking around as there was always a different view of the city.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGRcwooc2qFHAU3O9-n_lhAAJuSnzRkWuiSw9pSe9rVH0oby4QbYkJYZCHOtXhP7BPOoy5YMN39pyjjAD1v0jx_bc2VuBgUVlCqo-h1Ki-EIA9yhnCteB9PY6ajq4ruvnn6pQ7nst5FQ/s1600/IMG_3459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLGRcwooc2qFHAU3O9-n_lhAAJuSnzRkWuiSw9pSe9rVH0oby4QbYkJYZCHOtXhP7BPOoy5YMN39pyjjAD1v0jx_bc2VuBgUVlCqo-h1Ki-EIA9yhnCteB9PY6ajq4ruvnn6pQ7nst5FQ/s400/IMG_3459.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I thought this was kind of funny. The Evolution of Mankind.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLlui3qO2N25RZTwp0XrGl3Xqb4jD993iySl8Z5DiTkbL9RbtgtmuRjAFEG-60FJVfYCfZEkFtNI8IWGvlpha3zg4qcXPx8gEhn5jL3gcLBv77l0nFiuxzeuSVNTsZ2ADIIlyUb16EKY/s1600/IMG_3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLlui3qO2N25RZTwp0XrGl3Xqb4jD993iySl8Z5DiTkbL9RbtgtmuRjAFEG-60FJVfYCfZEkFtNI8IWGvlpha3zg4qcXPx8gEhn5jL3gcLBv77l0nFiuxzeuSVNTsZ2ADIIlyUb16EKY/s400/IMG_3460.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the city from the zoo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNtCesE5KOuPIHnZWuI8wLe534R2H5uIE9BTWCWwASGI39YjUy4r9vVzHhPHpRG56vv_50A0qUwxAx9PcjvpKFmv4Lg3OJoa-5LgMoWzCi7hrctyLZSVoqe98SEvHfn-SGkYx_77Ahzg/s1600/IMG_3461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNtCesE5KOuPIHnZWuI8wLe534R2H5uIE9BTWCWwASGI39YjUy4r9vVzHhPHpRG56vv_50A0qUwxAx9PcjvpKFmv4Lg3OJoa-5LgMoWzCi7hrctyLZSVoqe98SEvHfn-SGkYx_77Ahzg/s400/IMG_3461.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santuario del Cerro San Cristobal</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqjEWu2hyphenhyphenhUEP2sNm4a39RjlVv3lPhQCuezYehoanitsHWbdETVdqjU5qvaWU4zJCh-qc-RE02guvBNbCn6siiq9DaVm9gqc76ZmfsaUX2ogXLTuYfNmaruCIo-15RG07GqsZRPcHJS8/s1600/IMG_3462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqjEWu2hyphenhyphenhUEP2sNm4a39RjlVv3lPhQCuezYehoanitsHWbdETVdqjU5qvaWU4zJCh-qc-RE02guvBNbCn6siiq9DaVm9gqc76ZmfsaUX2ogXLTuYfNmaruCIo-15RG07GqsZRPcHJS8/s400/IMG_3462.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking west from the Santuario</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOFm7xeU3yTlb-Xv7HftEtehwaVfqbWKEaE3o2BI4H_J57cRhnvRLfYGSV3NuQoj0KYi-JHdzdOWKJ6GibbevbfpDLGEFbMoCRCaC4qaKGtcYc0nLCCS4rntVgnb_ITEfSr0s8ecP7Cg/s1600/IMG_3463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOFm7xeU3yTlb-Xv7HftEtehwaVfqbWKEaE3o2BI4H_J57cRhnvRLfYGSV3NuQoj0KYi-JHdzdOWKJ6GibbevbfpDLGEFbMoCRCaC4qaKGtcYc0nLCCS4rntVgnb_ITEfSr0s8ecP7Cg/s400/IMG_3463.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And looking east across the city towards the mountains.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGvD1NhXkR9DtiDfMfrIzyuN0FuIQjH7ZAswI6DTJfKcodw6e4nYSCFMavKkTfoV0R9NqXI1uaJzQ9UBN_LQ7Lm6Ur8U6jum9g7izgNtnr5TD2LkENhpeiO-ViSqzUNJ1CG6xBPjvPhY/s1600/IMG_3464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGvD1NhXkR9DtiDfMfrIzyuN0FuIQjH7ZAswI6DTJfKcodw6e4nYSCFMavKkTfoV0R9NqXI1uaJzQ9UBN_LQ7Lm6Ur8U6jum9g7izgNtnr5TD2LkENhpeiO-ViSqzUNJ1CG6xBPjvPhY/s400/IMG_3464.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a lot of green space in the city</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPUPB7uKIyQTzh-EPcG-SjpSRTIwIiJa5NPMxHyC4uEMCMs9mLSvaJnFHrJ0jVDbmZfYXvJvmnmBfCaebRIVsOXF12LKvm1zubLH4W26NzwN5BOrorDn-aRkGenDnyEy-oS18phP2_N8/s1600/IMG_3465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPUPB7uKIyQTzh-EPcG-SjpSRTIwIiJa5NPMxHyC4uEMCMs9mLSvaJnFHrJ0jVDbmZfYXvJvmnmBfCaebRIVsOXF12LKvm1zubLH4W26NzwN5BOrorDn-aRkGenDnyEy-oS18phP2_N8/s400/IMG_3465.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little bit of street entertainment</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFVWgXEOGrLiLwu75D9FNWOF0PhXkfIeI-VQdZu3M7ssWKaqh7w9CfANCJKqaaKYYRwri0M-y4Nez_HbBQE8GLxt3txHpnF6RwvwFcWVVN2jx1euUk7tOgJUCiRX51fkQFA6H6_2yHpg/s1600/IMG_3466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFVWgXEOGrLiLwu75D9FNWOF0PhXkfIeI-VQdZu3M7ssWKaqh7w9CfANCJKqaaKYYRwri0M-y4Nez_HbBQE8GLxt3txHpnF6RwvwFcWVVN2jx1euUk7tOgJUCiRX51fkQFA6H6_2yHpg/s400/IMG_3466.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many moto parking lots downtown</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMs3SLgc3mQzgsmw-28W0dgaWD5FhGM6cJ03SCHq1dBKCtO92Ru9JFFSaPvpyOdIhWfiEEefPFPOe-w-6xG02EMDq0McE1jt1DAQNvxuPB_YjrlJEDOrZUIvVcgpR2LjFhlAX3nIhb_c/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMs3SLgc3mQzgsmw-28W0dgaWD5FhGM6cJ03SCHq1dBKCtO92Ru9JFFSaPvpyOdIhWfiEEefPFPOe-w-6xG02EMDq0McE1jt1DAQNvxuPB_YjrlJEDOrZUIvVcgpR2LjFhlAX3nIhb_c/s400/IMG_3467.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3000 pesos for two 750 ml bottles of very good wine. That's about 6 bucks US.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLYc90Ja-IutoLYGmzz-e-vUqXgbntw1mi5m7nN_TnvSpXcieFsLvJpFYviqof10q6cB-uCD6hM-0Z8k4ETiOG2B4b42sEtFwBJzIlpHlkobrJGJjVzzTWJbXH-QqnEirHRiCNDOUOfQ/s1600/IMG_3468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLYc90Ja-IutoLYGmzz-e-vUqXgbntw1mi5m7nN_TnvSpXcieFsLvJpFYviqof10q6cB-uCD6hM-0Z8k4ETiOG2B4b42sEtFwBJzIlpHlkobrJGJjVzzTWJbXH-QqnEirHRiCNDOUOfQ/s400/IMG_3468.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neils' guide book. It served us well but it's done.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, here we are on Saturday the 19th of March and we're all set to get on our plane back to Vancouver tonight. It will be nice to see the family again but I'm not really ready to go home. It felt really good to be on the bike when we rode to the airport for the last time the other day. I could have just kept on going; still not sick of it after almost 26,000 kilometers.<br />
Somebody made the comment that we made it to our final destination without too much drama. That's true. There were a few trying or exciting times but all in all it went pretty good. We had very few hassles with people or the police. It pays to be polite and treat people with respect.<br />
We were also having a good laugh about readjusting to riding at home. There's a few things we can't do at home that we have gotten used to here. For example:<br />
<br />
Passing even when there is oncoming traffic as long as it looks like there is room for the other guy to move over. They almost always do.<br />
Passing the police doing well over the speed limit and on a double solid line. Well, they did it first so...<br />
When stuck behind a slow moving semi-trailer truck climbing a hill, passing on the inside of the curve at a switchback.<br />
Lane splitting at traffic lights until there is no road left. Sometimes five or six lined up on a two lane road.<br />
Going where ever you want as long as nobody with a gun tries to stop you. Even then there could be exceptions.<br />
Always go to the front of the line-up.<br />
We didn't do it but the limit seems to be about five people to a bike.<br />
I could go on.<br />
<br />
I'll let you all know how things end up in Vancouver. Hopefully the bikes get there safely. Well, us too but we can take care of ourselves.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-15201927486918831982011-03-15T08:19:00.000-07:002011-03-15T08:19:22.769-07:00Santiago de ChileOkay, I guess it could happen. One of the Navimag ferries running from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales did run aground in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. It did manage to make it into port to off load the passengers but not without some difficulties as they had to do it under Coast Guard escort and with only one engine. It was a rude awakening for the poor passengers as they had to assemble at their muster stations in case the abandon ship order was given. Fun at 3:00 am.<br />
We were at the dock to watch the ferry land around 1:00 pm and it took until about 8 pm or a bit later for them to unload. We loaded at 9 pm and got settled into our rooms. The loading was interesting as we all got on this large open sided elevator to get to our deck. Foot passengers and motorcyclists at the same time. There were about 80 passengers total and about two thirds or three quarters of us were foreign travelers. The rest were Chileans. The ferry is a lifeline for the remote communities and all kinds of cargo gets carried including cattle and sheep and horses. It's a working boat.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXptK4piL08UgNqpig1Dm9e0spex_STrkey-FNlGpDDDYIgJEX0Az4A8n1c__7WnQK8T1bZ2U9N6dmSmpCJ-ClgqHIVY_ijx-h9y4s7uRjg0xbLHlJqzSUMxoT3UalZ2_LcfHxW8KqxK0/s1600/IMG_3325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXptK4piL08UgNqpig1Dm9e0spex_STrkey-FNlGpDDDYIgJEX0Az4A8n1c__7WnQK8T1bZ2U9N6dmSmpCJ-ClgqHIVY_ijx-h9y4s7uRjg0xbLHlJqzSUMxoT3UalZ2_LcfHxW8KqxK0/s400/IMG_3325.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Puerto Eden of the Navimag Ferries. The other vessel that shares this run was still in dry dock for repairs after running aground.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJKqbvLaFdRLxnJ-dl4OyJAmLZYbHoiV_LdrPxLRfdblw4nF3zIxmLR9Op0bL-fYBIYxtjsSg__E22r9r1NJzqxAcUXZtsHZ5Dv-tTt5ryJgF_mb7eQdpVSPf53kByTx_CHnWYnfOZe0/s1600/IMG_3326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJKqbvLaFdRLxnJ-dl4OyJAmLZYbHoiV_LdrPxLRfdblw4nF3zIxmLR9Op0bL-fYBIYxtjsSg__E22r9r1NJzqxAcUXZtsHZ5Dv-tTt5ryJgF_mb7eQdpVSPf53kByTx_CHnWYnfOZe0/s400/IMG_3326.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the dock unloading in Puerto Natales. Access to the upper deck is by a large elevator. You can see the semi-trailer trucks on the upper deck here. Try to get a feel for how big this boat is. I have a comment later about it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9THNY5OW_6pZ1MOY0Heqe_u5Co_f7OOqvBL1Ei2GqzLFwlYxSbHlOmByfvEfaBGPyOsQ8aXMk_MjkozMD7G7alcwwcexgfGIgOsU2m89tnxCY1DRdqpzXr5NrGbenEGTjzdjZsRLoac/s1600/IMG_3327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9THNY5OW_6pZ1MOY0Heqe_u5Co_f7OOqvBL1Ei2GqzLFwlYxSbHlOmByfvEfaBGPyOsQ8aXMk_MjkozMD7G7alcwwcexgfGIgOsU2m89tnxCY1DRdqpzXr5NrGbenEGTjzdjZsRLoac/s400/IMG_3327.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While we waited in Pto. Natales we watched this boat being returned to the water. They're just hitching the beaching gear to this truck. The bow and stern rig are attached together with ropes only.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w37_lWUXoCHnued92H5bIs3GEF1EUiE1ZgGifuO3Y4P9Wo0f45dPYN-VLDMpFzC7WMD9XkUOLo90HUzunDkKu48QRwAbOPnDG-ArbizF3-z2ylXSqwceJNhJnmUK6A8v89xLrh-dCcY/s1600/IMG_3328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w37_lWUXoCHnued92H5bIs3GEF1EUiE1ZgGifuO3Y4P9Wo0f45dPYN-VLDMpFzC7WMD9XkUOLo90HUzunDkKu48QRwAbOPnDG-ArbizF3-z2ylXSqwceJNhJnmUK6A8v89xLrh-dCcY/s400/IMG_3328.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the locals stop to watch. There is a diver standing in the water near the bow of this boat. He was attaching the beaching gear to this boat beside the boat ramp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleOE5rrBcfp0XOVbeHy46UmI6qTzOLnpCLMbmSgAI1Llc1AaOu1q9UdiA95yYIbTLzCaBrqiZflicYqMo7_IyFQ6MbLC3tguJBUQck5cCUjjxNnRS1toSYTk-ulVn-h61NNZIFoF4iI8/s1600/IMG_3329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleOE5rrBcfp0XOVbeHy46UmI6qTzOLnpCLMbmSgAI1Llc1AaOu1q9UdiA95yYIbTLzCaBrqiZflicYqMo7_IyFQ6MbLC3tguJBUQck5cCUjjxNnRS1toSYTk-ulVn-h61NNZIFoF4iI8/s400/IMG_3329.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carefully backing into the water.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmBkAfN0wTMSYitnOR4mDy1v_QXqWYkLsABRMlFze7HK9m0i9UmoygfJcCpaHAUlsK-AViWwmZQRMEyhUVDXkiZqcwrBD1wjL0fxlPHmMpcoffDVY1UYwuay1mzOncmyzHqdmEpSfMQs/s1600/IMG_3330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmBkAfN0wTMSYitnOR4mDy1v_QXqWYkLsABRMlFze7HK9m0i9UmoygfJcCpaHAUlsK-AViWwmZQRMEyhUVDXkiZqcwrBD1wjL0fxlPHmMpcoffDVY1UYwuay1mzOncmyzHqdmEpSfMQs/s400/IMG_3330.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost done. They just have to remove the ropes as the boat comes afloat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEWtsji3SIsrBQyreQsf4WHorLX_lKbxSDDUQld9ZbffKdPtCr-ODKQGicRE9dekgtZsDMcUfAINUVVMLdbhy0k3XCVKLw9haQFH2tuD3gLZ13CEserWI7av-0tuMuCPRz9NeesmLg6Y/s1600/IMG_3331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEWtsji3SIsrBQyreQsf4WHorLX_lKbxSDDUQld9ZbffKdPtCr-ODKQGicRE9dekgtZsDMcUfAINUVVMLdbhy0k3XCVKLw9haQFH2tuD3gLZ13CEserWI7av-0tuMuCPRz9NeesmLg6Y/s400/IMG_3331.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All done; with the truck dragging the beaching gear ashore.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7anJRauh_4jLdbJ9fOoK0By6wruUYyCW8Eqf2k-uQa8vRm_mbYKsOvTuBqwUgP8H6TBcFKXEG-66RjJQ5k5PRnLGrxkWf5AAs1tBXYa42qLDu89pHuIaD1-jFXs8AP-0iXFeslrFK-1g/s1600/IMG_3332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7anJRauh_4jLdbJ9fOoK0By6wruUYyCW8Eqf2k-uQa8vRm_mbYKsOvTuBqwUgP8H6TBcFKXEG-66RjJQ5k5PRnLGrxkWf5AAs1tBXYa42qLDu89pHuIaD1-jFXs8AP-0iXFeslrFK-1g/s400/IMG_3332.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was us crammed onto the elevator to take us to the upper car deck of the ferry. There are no sides or safety fences and the lift mechanisms are mostly exposed. Watch your toes and fingers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3PTwVAmn3vuqpJ3wn5qFESKg3Do_vk2AOEID3gKVW7k-C_84nb3fHfXcRyzdoOp5XgEKLM3nJBPqy29snTJaMZRu1SAQtSpmrqVg676-TFlbzpMroCBZhWhSo1lM6W7ImjGqhH3IaC8/s1600/IMG_3333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3PTwVAmn3vuqpJ3wn5qFESKg3Do_vk2AOEID3gKVW7k-C_84nb3fHfXcRyzdoOp5XgEKLM3nJBPqy29snTJaMZRu1SAQtSpmrqVg676-TFlbzpMroCBZhWhSo1lM6W7ImjGqhH3IaC8/s400/IMG_3333.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He looks impressed. Four of us in this room was cozy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We slept (or tried to sleep) while the ferry workers loaded the rest of the vehicles. This took most of the night and we were finally underway about 6 am. Breakfast was set for 8 am to be followed by a safety briefing. It started out as a nice day but the weather deteriorated quickly to nasty winds blowing between 60 and 70 knots. It was windy enough that the Captain would not permit passengers on the outside decks.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4Hofo7QtoYDHvMl3uEDOeh0yAODOf_MUP25MkmyLBAPFJ5dmEzv72EajUgA7i-6JZQAagvfEEmViK-C1OsCI69ZMSUX5TsgzKjSbwc3Aa9S55c_7lGNiiHvLvBiSFCiD3vcC9BCe3bk/s1600/IMG_3334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4Hofo7QtoYDHvMl3uEDOeh0yAODOf_MUP25MkmyLBAPFJ5dmEzv72EajUgA7i-6JZQAagvfEEmViK-C1OsCI69ZMSUX5TsgzKjSbwc3Aa9S55c_7lGNiiHvLvBiSFCiD3vcC9BCe3bk/s400/IMG_3334.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dawn on the morning of departure from Puerto Natales</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXsjhv1WIgVkqYn7AeBHU3qmsxEO35FFeYLn6GuJ5QzP6KGXn-9Su1C5Wst5p5iPAJSvbLZ_BrolVmHkGTWA2-xH7XekO5rHWX901hQTaCMUZAJ9LtYZwArKAnb54V2OrUwflRJAVG18/s1600/IMG_3335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXsjhv1WIgVkqYn7AeBHU3qmsxEO35FFeYLn6GuJ5QzP6KGXn-9Su1C5Wst5p5iPAJSvbLZ_BrolVmHkGTWA2-xH7XekO5rHWX901hQTaCMUZAJ9LtYZwArKAnb54V2OrUwflRJAVG18/s400/IMG_3335.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this was our narrowest pass at 80 meters wide</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMn33V4NSrow_pgklbUk06ULS48pcuz2VC5o-0MsgLCJ_Nz5ykiWZE5MVVXNnKN0hpmLUdxDcDlPXJuP-Z7UlW1qozI57fCPQlxNLQXJ1La2M83U6vajJIJH4fDNDiHpVXx5MfD17nyM/s1600/IMG_3336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMn33V4NSrow_pgklbUk06ULS48pcuz2VC5o-0MsgLCJ_Nz5ykiWZE5MVVXNnKN0hpmLUdxDcDlPXJuP-Z7UlW1qozI57fCPQlxNLQXJ1La2M83U6vajJIJH4fDNDiHpVXx5MfD17nyM/s400/IMG_3336.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cargo of a working ship. Lots of cattle and sheep. One of the regular passengers was on the ship last year in very rough seas when three cows were washed overboard from a truck like one of these. That's right.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cALvVW64FEf7J4_LV7Wld4HjLBLIxCBwFe9VJLL75OzBvcDaJGo4qn2D_TGQ1pczE47jkHp9osVwrUg-CKhEBxCsGdjfWXu2Hpk8sarKvQk962MJHATUUhOWz11y0Rj8_UcTmdUnCpA/s1600/IMG_3337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cALvVW64FEf7J4_LV7Wld4HjLBLIxCBwFe9VJLL75OzBvcDaJGo4qn2D_TGQ1pczE47jkHp9osVwrUg-CKhEBxCsGdjfWXu2Hpk8sarKvQk962MJHATUUhOWz11y0Rj8_UcTmdUnCpA/s640/IMG_3337.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nasty weather ahead but it looked nice from here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12yOSrnNScw1XPmggUtAaFeGJeTCPbYgcQBUWRjuiUp2OXOtw8lyzSUoWONy8-W1Q-uwIphpRlIAD7E_g6w6Nt4GQ5ptuRTTcbM2Wvm1d3sTVzYLfArY3adcGY5j2cQHOi2IqVDfLtPo/s1600/IMG_3338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12yOSrnNScw1XPmggUtAaFeGJeTCPbYgcQBUWRjuiUp2OXOtw8lyzSUoWONy8-W1Q-uwIphpRlIAD7E_g6w6Nt4GQ5ptuRTTcbM2Wvm1d3sTVzYLfArY3adcGY5j2cQHOi2IqVDfLtPo/s640/IMG_3338.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great scenery</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDXuGeEx2cW7FLAjG4Tqpqw5_dHINX22x-6gWC7FjQX2DBPRxXmnpHJNspB5XauENxLT17y0YkgDDLN5JL2itc_txnu8isu6qyziBJYhH-1yt1W8tpVwI2DOW_JfD7Kdkib3IPkCFLNU/s1600/IMG_3339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDXuGeEx2cW7FLAjG4Tqpqw5_dHINX22x-6gWC7FjQX2DBPRxXmnpHJNspB5XauENxLT17y0YkgDDLN5JL2itc_txnu8isu6qyziBJYhH-1yt1W8tpVwI2DOW_JfD7Kdkib3IPkCFLNU/s400/IMG_3339.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Patagonia icefields</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yx58boVgpgf8JxX4VquOKSo9XzHhHUb2hLkhj_L_C7HJ4aDKKMJCBGmsM8dat8BMWgpf80hRFjejLMaRbqrtKEOyNlqkTuAFDBPhj-kts0XCLvUe4t-kIJ8ZxTHWjlzHBgZCBZ7D_2s/s1600/IMG_3340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yx58boVgpgf8JxX4VquOKSo9XzHhHUb2hLkhj_L_C7HJ4aDKKMJCBGmsM8dat8BMWgpf80hRFjejLMaRbqrtKEOyNlqkTuAFDBPhj-kts0XCLvUe4t-kIJ8ZxTHWjlzHBgZCBZ7D_2s/s400/IMG_3340.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very nasty outside with winds around 70 knots</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW_lY7b9jtM_nAKX0CBh7tnAejQTZBjWKlxUBe4Oq-cov0i0x6B1iFpclxrp4B2kwlGiCMJCBFlrLeufRZeBJuYqQNkN7j80XE08go0aiA0DpB1tkCl6_okoz4_gMmjzbs6FvbWjz40Q/s1600/IMG_3341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW_lY7b9jtM_nAKX0CBh7tnAejQTZBjWKlxUBe4Oq-cov0i0x6B1iFpclxrp4B2kwlGiCMJCBFlrLeufRZeBJuYqQNkN7j80XE08go0aiA0DpB1tkCl6_okoz4_gMmjzbs6FvbWjz40Q/s400/IMG_3341.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting our safety briefing. We were a captive audience. Literally; as were weren't allowed outside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7cMS-CFiiVUKnFwZI9CkNyvoP6Sm_4t1g1qPBjpcxLSnCzwHvEuYrwnELqu1eQbilDd4ykBiJKGjEOw4ncu750HvlJK_2VJcV7WHiuQCxdDXHqIoXloi6hHEknqy54C8AiAepy-4FpWY/s1600/IMG_3342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7cMS-CFiiVUKnFwZI9CkNyvoP6Sm_4t1g1qPBjpcxLSnCzwHvEuYrwnELqu1eQbilDd4ykBiJKGjEOw4ncu750HvlJK_2VJcV7WHiuQCxdDXHqIoXloi6hHEknqy54C8AiAepy-4FpWY/s400/IMG_3342.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything with wheels on it was securely strapped to the deck and some of the semi-trailers on the top deck were strapped to keep from tipping over.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB5vsK01t_uxTIIeT4jNWVzrWYSogjGIpE8vhmvV56QcOOrVceTrZpw1ZNyd0mw7obWhOzZdwy6qfPSlsU5K7ojr7OvwBDdyu7Gmyui9Ssy7yaM7XM3V9gir9wshCs9a6UWpRUqGCBNY/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB5vsK01t_uxTIIeT4jNWVzrWYSogjGIpE8vhmvV56QcOOrVceTrZpw1ZNyd0mw7obWhOzZdwy6qfPSlsU5K7ojr7OvwBDdyu7Gmyui9Ssy7yaM7XM3V9gir9wshCs9a6UWpRUqGCBNY/s400/IMG_3343.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still quite windy but probably down to 40 knots or so.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was fun and interesting to meet and chat with other travelers. There were lots of backpackers and a few cyclists. There were people from Australia, The U.S., The U.K., New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, France, and of course Canada. Some had been traveling for years and others were just starting long trips around the world. I had to admire the cyclists who had already traveled most of South America. Pedaling a loaded bicycle across those mountain passes and the pampas in those winds would be a test of your mettle.<br />
The ships crew does their best to keep everyone entertained with daily briefings in Spanish and English as well as bilingual talks by naturalists who informed us of the different types of flora and fauna in this area of Patagonia.<br />
The food was basic but good quality and they even catered to people with special dietary needs. And there was a cash bar.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kA0IQ_uvCVim2DWfjDzw2MIJobXXoa0csVqj57hutNakLjz1hRWjSNsctit02hcap3dFs4uifbcSTc__tfdAAv74pXuIrPD_Rsf81P2ETe8Lo9M_0O5t712_pYAvYcX2cYS_pcEfT6E/s1600/IMG_3344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kA0IQ_uvCVim2DWfjDzw2MIJobXXoa0csVqj57hutNakLjz1hRWjSNsctit02hcap3dFs4uifbcSTc__tfdAAv74pXuIrPD_Rsf81P2ETe8Lo9M_0O5t712_pYAvYcX2cYS_pcEfT6E/s400/IMG_3344.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weather improved enough late on the first day so we could take a little side trip to see a glacier. I can't remember the name of it though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAS_L-TrHAVBJhREeWOJQIgzgCbSOvZhsb3ogEU9z98DM3T70UM0N11Ddw354qTNpgCWDYiD0jt1HJLQkw6i8N1yCBiPkqZM8hyphenhyphenuY-hLYVnJ1pylCB2qT5r4fdHtqW4T4wTUwCGUCyWAA/s1600/IMG_3345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAS_L-TrHAVBJhREeWOJQIgzgCbSOvZhsb3ogEU9z98DM3T70UM0N11Ddw354qTNpgCWDYiD0jt1HJLQkw6i8N1yCBiPkqZM8hyphenhyphenuY-hLYVnJ1pylCB2qT5r4fdHtqW4T4wTUwCGUCyWAA/s640/IMG_3345.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dusting of fresh snow reminded us that the seasons are changing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJKacBBWhyphenhyphenshMvFOtZBiX7Sj7o_z4XtQw5WR9W0Cde9vsxubs5s2FvcU5wQFbYyZfyBgoIsYuh34bN2HKjKjMcLc590xfkR21MWlxGuQu3-jR8MGsDSK67KF3BP6SCO8NLNwRQ2Pglr4/s1600/IMG_3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJKacBBWhyphenhyphenshMvFOtZBiX7Sj7o_z4XtQw5WR9W0Cde9vsxubs5s2FvcU5wQFbYyZfyBgoIsYuh34bN2HKjKjMcLc590xfkR21MWlxGuQu3-jR8MGsDSK67KF3BP6SCO8NLNwRQ2Pglr4/s400/IMG_3346.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the small coastal town of Puerto Eden that our ship is named after. We stopped here to pick up and offload some passengers and cargo on the morning of our second day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcUKvO63Sx179hkUarb3Cqhs532gq_IwCuNtuezDXrSmfuaK0a5nCUJD_0BYF7qxFcGLSaQkFu7_SokepL1kOTwWXY-YmDQFw11uxf7DuxRnz8Y7ktS897AWIkUWbU89ditJkhAd7ASg/s1600/IMG_3347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcUKvO63Sx179hkUarb3Cqhs532gq_IwCuNtuezDXrSmfuaK0a5nCUJD_0BYF7qxFcGLSaQkFu7_SokepL1kOTwWXY-YmDQFw11uxf7DuxRnz8Y7ktS897AWIkUWbU89ditJkhAd7ASg/s400/IMG_3347.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ship has been stuck on a rock here since 1963. It was carrying a load of sugar from Buenos Aires to Valapraiso, Chile. The captain sold the cargo illegally in Uruguay and hoped to scuttle the ship here to collect the insurance. What a boob. The wreck is now a navigation aid we're told.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0v-AiHvDwTcscAEx8nwk0Vf4Fr9S0q3DEqE00eLO7VCUTyvKoiusytK5OE-WnnWus_41T9bg_WQDFlbM7HV9kWBDoE9rj2hqDcRbkJ52NBQAX4mwyQbB6fMxYU_kMO_zeR0ACIw5WwGo/s1600/IMG_3348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0v-AiHvDwTcscAEx8nwk0Vf4Fr9S0q3DEqE00eLO7VCUTyvKoiusytK5OE-WnnWus_41T9bg_WQDFlbM7HV9kWBDoE9rj2hqDcRbkJ52NBQAX4mwyQbB6fMxYU_kMO_zeR0ACIw5WwGo/s400/IMG_3348.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even got tours of the bridge when they weren't too busy up there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>During the second day the passengers were being mentally prepared for the open ocean portion of our voyage. We were told that seas are normally 4 to 5 meters but we could expect higher due to the weather. They will cross in 9 meter seas but they have had to wait in sheltered waters as long as 2 days.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzO1MyssHaFdzf2zxSyee_MxS5Q3-JaGsvI32G2U4u8ocxoF99bb3w-v2E6NvmQ45vfKlbYj0N6Btz_IMLkCA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>That evening around 6 pm we hit the open water and it got fairly rough. Some people were sick within half an hour. It makes it more difficult to concentrate on not getting sick when you can smell someone else's vomit. Both Neil and I survived with no ill effects and I even managed to have a few beers with Pete from the UK. There was a poor showing at dinner though.<br />
I had never been on a ship in a rough sea like that. Going to bed was interesting as at times I felt almost weightless in my bunk. Fortunately I was just the right length for the bunk and my head and feet kept me braced from sliding around too much. When we changed course into a following sea the ride got a lot better. In the morning, in calm seas, we were told that the seas during the crossing of Bahia Penas had been about 7 to 8 meters. There was a full turnout for breakfast.<br />
The third day was uneventful and we had nice weather and calm seas. We did get word from the captain though about the devastating earthquake in Japan. There wasn't a lot of information but we were told of the tsunami warning. We would be in sheltered waters when the tsunami was forecast to hit the Chilean coast so there was no worry for us.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDA0rYYcZlgWLkSMutXb1kiDx7MJ_AJfJbJ1u5M1R24zd7UGs6sSEG2mF28l-XT_4vDy8QpF0bJEiyhu50LpbspcNd-46Umu9GkgDXfxR4tai21FT30t9CfHfe3EfPVxccN-Vy78NBvM/s1600/IMG_3349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDA0rYYcZlgWLkSMutXb1kiDx7MJ_AJfJbJ1u5M1R24zd7UGs6sSEG2mF28l-XT_4vDy8QpF0bJEiyhu50LpbspcNd-46Umu9GkgDXfxR4tai21FT30t9CfHfe3EfPVxccN-Vy78NBvM/s400/IMG_3349.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even had a little party for our last night on board. These were some of our new friends.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mvSYKj5bgsOkPmmlp-aAvXjpIJ4QNg-ODPxCqy4INlXQU3IS5UztabPffhovDxIQX3fLuGiHUxfKG5_Hb7x38Etw3VXC-u0AhqwyU-2nl5gspua7uNyX7SwbXesxnYZAHsgTOgitwT0/s1600/IMG_3351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mvSYKj5bgsOkPmmlp-aAvXjpIJ4QNg-ODPxCqy4INlXQU3IS5UztabPffhovDxIQX3fLuGiHUxfKG5_Hb7x38Etw3VXC-u0AhqwyU-2nl5gspua7uNyX7SwbXesxnYZAHsgTOgitwT0/s400/IMG_3351.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little more festive than the previous night. Thankfully.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We awoke on the fourth day (Saturday, March 11) in the harbour at Puerto Montt. We weren't permitted to dock until the tsunami threat had passed and spent the morning loitering in water deeper than 100 meters. I think we were unloaded by around 11 am.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpprWK1bBK7zK0MKmPBqI_xu4ao-NHL9jBGa9ZXx_bzXwTPPBGB35iws1I01yQ5FF9RhEXjTEWCFVZfPQxP-oSr1QjwsTigVQGTrPVlCHdWzZTmIjuivTsS9RIi-nk50FC8usIeTyFavI/s1600/IMG_3352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpprWK1bBK7zK0MKmPBqI_xu4ao-NHL9jBGa9ZXx_bzXwTPPBGB35iws1I01yQ5FF9RhEXjTEWCFVZfPQxP-oSr1QjwsTigVQGTrPVlCHdWzZTmIjuivTsS9RIi-nk50FC8usIeTyFavI/s640/IMG_3352.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near the loading dock in Puerto Montt</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGF_mmdEg5PnxEGjoYYeLQas4HjjBLlSvENgrkk2t-03_LoOP7y7hvWwC_WAI5XFRWNe3PBgbYpXe0r3hT4OupLVVY8ZLcgbKsKRIOHu_PfLi75nL6t1iChKqNA3APPOt9fBNG3KccLk/s1600/IMG_3353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGF_mmdEg5PnxEGjoYYeLQas4HjjBLlSvENgrkk2t-03_LoOP7y7hvWwC_WAI5XFRWNe3PBgbYpXe0r3hT4OupLVVY8ZLcgbKsKRIOHu_PfLi75nL6t1iChKqNA3APPOt9fBNG3KccLk/s640/IMG_3353.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerto Montt</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSiz_fsEP_7pLNa5cp1F_mxMNh1iIog7x65EDvPBAvJRpsKZShucMdmAtiTsQs7Sv-SO6nCdxXknXuJxSN-re32QpGkCQ87_I64Lr7iP-UkiVE8vfz6Wyy968v7z_qyrx98IjClCSPIA/s1600/IMG_3354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSiz_fsEP_7pLNa5cp1F_mxMNh1iIog7x65EDvPBAvJRpsKZShucMdmAtiTsQs7Sv-SO6nCdxXknXuJxSN-re32QpGkCQ87_I64Lr7iP-UkiVE8vfz6Wyy968v7z_qyrx98IjClCSPIA/s640/IMG_3354.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unloading process and a last wave goodbye.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrZjlnOn1QXz2Zk2OmdqKhRYP34nn0usnSgA1yBM8617Y9zEYLilvu5e-1PBxDR7gmDvFQ5yd6ZArbhN1yWKLukxl8E525cbagZsKRJY0EnoURoz4NiFzNJPUaoclG_5Ky1RPQ4fI28w/s1600/IMG_3355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrZjlnOn1QXz2Zk2OmdqKhRYP34nn0usnSgA1yBM8617Y9zEYLilvu5e-1PBxDR7gmDvFQ5yd6ZArbhN1yWKLukxl8E525cbagZsKRJY0EnoURoz4NiFzNJPUaoclG_5Ky1RPQ4fI28w/s400/IMG_3355.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down through the elevator to the lower vehicle deck</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We then got on the Pan American Highway Ruta 5 and headed for Los Angeles to spend the night. We were headed for Santiago by the most direct route as we weren't sure how long the seal on my final drive was going to last. Hopefully it would last for the 1200 or so kilometers we needed. We hadn't done much riding on the Pan American and while it was nice it was a little boring. Two lanes in each direction bypassed most of the towns enroute but did pass through lots of farmland and managed forests. There was lots going on here and it appeared quite prosperous. On Sunday we passed through more of the same and we rolled into Santiago fairly early and were in a hostel by 5 pm.<br />
Now we're on the hunt for a ride home for the bikes. Santiago is a good place to hang out though and it's not too expensive. Last night dinner with 2 beers and a bottle and a half of wine worked out to about US$33. Our hostel with beakfast is US$60 a night. Not bad.<br />
So, we are nearing the end of our trip. There will be a few more posts to wind it up but that's all for now.<br />
Talk to you in a few.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-17394773280663947742011-03-07T11:24:00.000-08:002011-03-07T11:24:56.272-08:00Torres del PaineAs I was saying, we had to hang around for a while in Porvenir as the ferry didn't leave until 2 pm. It gave us a chance to have a coffee, take a few pictures and check things out in the harbour. The landscape here reminds me of places in the Canadian Arctic or East Coast. Not too many trees around.<br />
The ferry system seems pretty efficient. The reservation system consists of a page in a notebook. I signed in for myself and Neil indicating that we had two motos. No money exchanged yet. At 1 pm on the day of sailing, two officers from the ship walk over to a small coffee shop to sell tickets from a booth inside. Vehicles then load as directed down a concrete ramp like a boat launch. The ferry is equipped with it's own loading ramp and the ferry schedule is adjusted to account for the changing tides. You don't necessarily load in the order you arrived and bikes aren't first here. By scheduled departure time everyone is loaded and we're under way. I noticed on our tickets that there was a fare for horses on foot. Try that on BC Ferries.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBC4wkXzJaliw_zrT_yjVYoLT1Mog1ZSWdGIWYjVzdLP6rEUOODVYKrmsn4r8kOwV39S_RtefT1jkSXgVmPesmyBJWo1Wl4jYy8fmph-gsD76LaiiCVy0ybfhb0zP34yd-8pWRuC2ohfk/s1600/IMG_3079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBC4wkXzJaliw_zrT_yjVYoLT1Mog1ZSWdGIWYjVzdLP6rEUOODVYKrmsn4r8kOwV39S_RtefT1jkSXgVmPesmyBJWo1Wl4jYy8fmph-gsD76LaiiCVy0ybfhb0zP34yd-8pWRuC2ohfk/s400/IMG_3079.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our ferry from Porvenir to Punta Arenas. They don't spend lots on the docking facility. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LI3zN2fcJAzDUYZxlGX03-t6NlYw-Au59tOWr_kws2VXuHK4T-oLtlxjqjgM225vGeONEpk05w_fwiuFhqU1O80QfThC8VSYLSnrRM9l6_UdYPbVbkF31XjmI6pbnvJuZorbiNiGknY/s1600/IMG_3080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LI3zN2fcJAzDUYZxlGX03-t6NlYw-Au59tOWr_kws2VXuHK4T-oLtlxjqjgM225vGeONEpk05w_fwiuFhqU1O80QfThC8VSYLSnrRM9l6_UdYPbVbkF31XjmI6pbnvJuZorbiNiGknY/s400/IMG_3080.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the active fishing fleet in Porvenir</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcL3qYELaizK1yHKkWKqPA3Jyb8y8IX-peKI89MWY4SvxUG67qWcM3-DNqI-_lOEqgaxCOA7kOZpb1Lnv9PMAMyXNYk4laLOvlG_CDa4uazaHkz1ORdj0_hsS9pVVCDynfXzX5jO7IFc/s1600/IMG_3081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcL3qYELaizK1yHKkWKqPA3Jyb8y8IX-peKI89MWY4SvxUG67qWcM3-DNqI-_lOEqgaxCOA7kOZpb1Lnv9PMAMyXNYk4laLOvlG_CDa4uazaHkz1ORdj0_hsS9pVVCDynfXzX5jO7IFc/s400/IMG_3081.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think it was sea urchins in these bags.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd-B9bi5fcJYr9mn54bacESiLFPTnVAC__v77wYyaSQPOLp4RVPVCIzD-o8UHmjrMCaz7AniVTvfPSQy8TPmxAG6cc0qFVYnt6-tMjfTLZtquUpivYa4kZoOi_3lhCONfHMcuh4OJH6M/s1600/IMG_3082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAd-B9bi5fcJYr9mn54bacESiLFPTnVAC__v77wYyaSQPOLp4RVPVCIzD-o8UHmjrMCaz7AniVTvfPSQy8TPmxAG6cc0qFVYnt6-tMjfTLZtquUpivYa4kZoOi_3lhCONfHMcuh4OJH6M/s400/IMG_3082.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bikes had to be well secured as it can get really rough. We were lucky though and had a smooth sailing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMyXLnhBdoeeaNv7Fo47ao5vasLm1Nc_mwUD6Cv0xB3oTLnqWnfBfOmNHjjhMVEWW5BAf5UTRaALoGkU2PlWaWZnciezllWk0PHsMoTUk4nRsSH6WFjyyEd8XCOF1DJp5PR-l9jCFbds/s1600/IMG_3083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMyXLnhBdoeeaNv7Fo47ao5vasLm1Nc_mwUD6Cv0xB3oTLnqWnfBfOmNHjjhMVEWW5BAf5UTRaALoGkU2PlWaWZnciezllWk0PHsMoTUk4nRsSH6WFjyyEd8XCOF1DJp5PR-l9jCFbds/s400/IMG_3083.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Considering the type of ferry it is, they do a nice job of providing for passenger comfort. Neil said if the passenger lounge had round windows and a rounded off ceiling it would look like an airplane.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicahFI_EV3GBn_woLKbxNj61VHT61VGlfI6HHOubHYsamjtsVKSeXc0u6ZpaAnhS0C7LhxYYYcRi3xwTaA1pYZ1RG3p8PlKvB4vIHAnUfhVQKyPbFwO0-Vs1xEGgV6qtxOZwD76Kqf1V0/s1600/IMG_3084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicahFI_EV3GBn_woLKbxNj61VHT61VGlfI6HHOubHYsamjtsVKSeXc0u6ZpaAnhS0C7LhxYYYcRi3xwTaA1pYZ1RG3p8PlKvB4vIHAnUfhVQKyPbFwO0-Vs1xEGgV6qtxOZwD76Kqf1V0/s400/IMG_3084.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ended up with a full load. </td></tr>
</tbody></table> So we had a good sailing across The Strait of Magellan and docked in Punta Arenas around 4:30 pm or so. We had already decided to spend the night here and ride up to Puerto Natales in the morning. We stayed at a hostel that had good parking for the bikes and was only a few blocks from downtown. I don't know much about Punta Arenas but it's a major supply center for the Tierra del Fuego area. The downtown area has lots of cool old buildings and the harbour area appears to have quite a few dry-dock facilities as well as a Navy base.<br />
In the morning, for some reason, it felt really good to get on the bike. Maybe because we had only about 250 km to go in the warm sunshine and the wind was blowing under the speed of sound. You might be getting tired of this, but; It was another awesome ride. We saw many sheep being herded in by...uhmm, not cowboys I guess but I don't want to call them sheepboys. Doesn't seem right. How about gauchos? It was funny to see even the sheep hiding from the wind in any hollow in the ground they could find.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwdvWWdUrkicuZibsC1mvX9vkmvxjLBBDtzXKbHOC8zu_fGtOXDuyC5thow8GxLuXkvcqKxS4_JqObPCkTB_b9mVH1nuYCXPu2SSeCzlzhninF_KoEIQtpp1CiFaacDEXeZCeJ3xPf3U/s1600/IMG_3085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwdvWWdUrkicuZibsC1mvX9vkmvxjLBBDtzXKbHOC8zu_fGtOXDuyC5thow8GxLuXkvcqKxS4_JqObPCkTB_b9mVH1nuYCXPu2SSeCzlzhninF_KoEIQtpp1CiFaacDEXeZCeJ3xPf3U/s400/IMG_3085.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horses still do lots of work here</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtTNNdZgHKh_aZmp97xq-hQS0m6hmMmjh0oq3VJJytbRGcoqyCY74V50sUNKmssMu3GSXdyz-jatyQNNlpuv2nrlkZWNi7Y0CclbHvcE5XcfcTeZq-rpkd2KLwhGuqCK1rpZB0qxopm8/s1600/IMG_3086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtTNNdZgHKh_aZmp97xq-hQS0m6hmMmjh0oq3VJJytbRGcoqyCY74V50sUNKmssMu3GSXdyz-jatyQNNlpuv2nrlkZWNi7Y0CclbHvcE5XcfcTeZq-rpkd2KLwhGuqCK1rpZB0qxopm8/s640/IMG_3086.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of sheep</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUWVpTKQpXsfDEXsmew5v5HiVOrHoeecL_al-orSLVul1wbFzXDr1vtMmZvEr5C3IramH5behMdcQ9uUlwGyZFidZR1VSXnLh5G9hDqx9wGG0ip4gJhj8a1M7wZ88JKWpWZuKSzHBetM/s1600/IMG_3087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUWVpTKQpXsfDEXsmew5v5HiVOrHoeecL_al-orSLVul1wbFzXDr1vtMmZvEr5C3IramH5behMdcQ9uUlwGyZFidZR1VSXnLh5G9hDqx9wGG0ip4gJhj8a1M7wZ88JKWpWZuKSzHBetM/s640/IMG_3087.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were starting to get out of the flat Patagonia and back into the mountains</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Puerto Natales is in a pretty setting with rolling hills as you approach from the southeast and beautiful mountains across the inlet to the north. We were here to catch the ferry to Puerto Montt on Tuesday evening. In the meantime we planned to spend a few days hanging out. When we pulled into town at noon we both had the idea to carry on into the park to spend a night or two there. One look at my back wheel however had us shelving that idea. I had noticed in Porvenir that the seal for my final drive had started to leak again but it seemed to be getting worse already. I had had it replaced once in San Diego, California already but for some reason the problem was back. It would be a pain in the butt to fix now so close to the end of the trip and I would probably have to get it to Santiago to a BMW dealer anyway. I'll have to try and milk it the 1000 or so kilometers to Santiago. So we checked in at a hostel here in Pto. Natales. Actually that worked out okay. It's a very relaxing and inexpensive place to stay. On Sunday we rented a small car to go see Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. It's another one of those places you have to see to appreciate. It seems a wisely developed park and there were lots of other tourists there besides us. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODRr3MPwUFaW8hh9PXfJlQxZwgG-XdabVGzTXwFlhQJLrtuak9JTClT4VZgp_9LtMmTborqlBO39MB5qYngVCUDdDzflFGj90pQEN8jdLa5m-gJY8jd95RTBgDeBHnOl-iTJBbVNyu6s/s1600/IMG_3088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODRr3MPwUFaW8hh9PXfJlQxZwgG-XdabVGzTXwFlhQJLrtuak9JTClT4VZgp_9LtMmTborqlBO39MB5qYngVCUDdDzflFGj90pQEN8jdLa5m-gJY8jd95RTBgDeBHnOl-iTJBbVNyu6s/s640/IMG_3088.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I doubt it's this calm here very often. This is the view from Pto. Natales to the north.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGsIoYUWRmBgFUPDAEmoV2hJKnQ9d4phjZ-bVe_007JFrm1Bip7ugiWRPG584gUcTW4gQr1_WAUtchliR0KLnbzzro7uanjxWym8yNRo-r_peOzfLtzE2iToLVQKPSHLASdfhcrTMbjI/s1600/IMG_3089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGsIoYUWRmBgFUPDAEmoV2hJKnQ9d4phjZ-bVe_007JFrm1Bip7ugiWRPG584gUcTW4gQr1_WAUtchliR0KLnbzzro7uanjxWym8yNRo-r_peOzfLtzE2iToLVQKPSHLASdfhcrTMbjI/s640/IMG_3089.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this is looking east along the shoreline in Puerto Natales</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPI7JQdK7hLeuUgD4mDKgWEz0yknwPmz_gCIpKEBip8xThevMyQKTer6WpBhmWzRfC6yF7vxnajztDhc4-ZnYv2ePSi2gKptQsNsfjZs1QkmuLNQnL9MJgGUglo632wg79saPCF0HGk4/s1600/IMG_3090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPI7JQdK7hLeuUgD4mDKgWEz0yknwPmz_gCIpKEBip8xThevMyQKTer6WpBhmWzRfC6yF7vxnajztDhc4-ZnYv2ePSi2gKptQsNsfjZs1QkmuLNQnL9MJgGUglo632wg79saPCF0HGk4/s640/IMG_3090.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first view of the Torres del Paine area</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xIi3M2rT42cgPWntg11pH5VacSeX-oldQ-2qP4UdasBqB4OxitE8M5PAOXdfSoI8QANGC2ztPW_7beWFoJ0VajBjPqkj1JcNc6HGcRvyhQuf0X_BnotjzqJGhresD-3nNYubAeLh2qU/s1600/IMG_3091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xIi3M2rT42cgPWntg11pH5VacSeX-oldQ-2qP4UdasBqB4OxitE8M5PAOXdfSoI8QANGC2ztPW_7beWFoJ0VajBjPqkj1JcNc6HGcRvyhQuf0X_BnotjzqJGhresD-3nNYubAeLh2qU/s640/IMG_3091.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weather wasn't much but the scenery was alright.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN18IHaFfrRDTuq2V6f9tz1yC38FP4RZgPiwq255dDw_isRMUYqfQOTEYLT2IBayVGPbUoAr0D3q-6V1OtuhdqNe0QN7-mCheqswF-28YrmtzwgyBPNtYDGt3uzwwj1BnVKgT-XGmfAys/s1600/IMG_3092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN18IHaFfrRDTuq2V6f9tz1yC38FP4RZgPiwq255dDw_isRMUYqfQOTEYLT2IBayVGPbUoAr0D3q-6V1OtuhdqNe0QN7-mCheqswF-28YrmtzwgyBPNtYDGt3uzwwj1BnVKgT-XGmfAys/s640/IMG_3092.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty cool, eh?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fVn1h-nmw6CWidotEZ-yTtIv8SByWgHM4P7ZRNyivCVllqK4ctUj3niFZFhSg9cy8eunZfRR4sfIxsK-Fi0wSLahGnFnVJaVTTs3_QtVx_gN3lY7BQRt4UXcQ5KmDSU0rJ5sQtR8cEs/s1600/IMG_3093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fVn1h-nmw6CWidotEZ-yTtIv8SByWgHM4P7ZRNyivCVllqK4ctUj3niFZFhSg9cy8eunZfRR4sfIxsK-Fi0wSLahGnFnVJaVTTs3_QtVx_gN3lY7BQRt4UXcQ5KmDSU0rJ5sQtR8cEs/s400/IMG_3093.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally! A Lesser Rhea. There are quite a few but they're a bit skittish.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajq7bXeh4eLBzo4JYxu26iJDEUH-ERdK7Y5JEIZoEXGJheRhUztYp5htFltlJUAodr6q2C1rrdGHUEAIwKdGUKikEXEiHEt-7eITKMieQAvoZFEKc77ZMs63u6gcY69UDAU6cVMTEtCc/s1600/IMG_3094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajq7bXeh4eLBzo4JYxu26iJDEUH-ERdK7Y5JEIZoEXGJheRhUztYp5htFltlJUAodr6q2C1rrdGHUEAIwKdGUKikEXEiHEt-7eITKMieQAvoZFEKc77ZMs63u6gcY69UDAU6cVMTEtCc/s640/IMG_3094.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There must be thousands of guanacos</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4q1PmiX71bnHu2zDlZUCYv8uv00q-fev5Df_cokiqROH4PR3VGoqW38nGk36HJWMPH2EWUwXxulQg9oIM5HB5FPloCajh5_dOCBvxP8SM-YIKXmwjYsRpggXFGX5mDb9oTDCU00NhVIM/s1600/IMG_3095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4q1PmiX71bnHu2zDlZUCYv8uv00q-fev5Df_cokiqROH4PR3VGoqW38nGk36HJWMPH2EWUwXxulQg9oIM5HB5FPloCajh5_dOCBvxP8SM-YIKXmwjYsRpggXFGX5mDb9oTDCU00NhVIM/s400/IMG_3095.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some people just have to go all out when they camp</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv-Pkp84ouV-DC4ngDq11Th7D0DZbw0kgBFPtAyPRe33lqHz4CS2i3auY6FLHw8E6ASN2-gk-csJy-u-yBtM0Nr38mj2RIM0zaMy6Pg-xhUrEx5yB4YFLp1b97HTaWEf4bE8WLAEUbCA/s1600/IMG_3097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTv-Pkp84ouV-DC4ngDq11Th7D0DZbw0kgBFPtAyPRe33lqHz4CS2i3auY6FLHw8E6ASN2-gk-csJy-u-yBtM0Nr38mj2RIM0zaMy6Pg-xhUrEx5yB4YFLp1b97HTaWEf4bE8WLAEUbCA/s640/IMG_3097.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was our car. I didn't even know Samsung made cars. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYvnPortOAQzEA_itl69caOSxl-cj86-55WNwjP6wzFkP4vH7VM0af9OWMoBacY46J-mNrevOC3Er1deVG_61DYBESoPihOqJNfxO0o5a6Ng1J1pGANjXIEJPmBGwKF2x7ffXWMxmU30/s1600/IMG_3098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYvnPortOAQzEA_itl69caOSxl-cj86-55WNwjP6wzFkP4vH7VM0af9OWMoBacY46J-mNrevOC3Er1deVG_61DYBESoPihOqJNfxO0o5a6Ng1J1pGANjXIEJPmBGwKF2x7ffXWMxmU30/s640/IMG_3098.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaucho rounding up horses a long way from the estancia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkEJH0n4hYlUjdhMw6lNgaU1EkgROBiSYQSbAA6VxKWu3yx8M6W4z0X1AWbhfT-Dbfc-il3lIkYso6eN4Mwzl39fUIQRMA6uJ-Kv06LDaoPDog8RmV068UMarj-eWAAJNwbm69JRG03c/s1600/IMG_3100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXkEJH0n4hYlUjdhMw6lNgaU1EkgROBiSYQSbAA6VxKWu3yx8M6W4z0X1AWbhfT-Dbfc-il3lIkYso6eN4Mwzl39fUIQRMA6uJ-Kv06LDaoPDog8RmV068UMarj-eWAAJNwbm69JRG03c/s640/IMG_3100.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lago Nordenskjold in the foreground with Cerro Paine Grande on the left with snow on it. I<i> think</i> the group of peaks without snow is the Cuernos del Paine. It's amazing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiPXEfXQHSnGnj6ivL7NlkWti09TtVG-nXRqVxIdEz9Rm5Xwk8LI1K59K3bz2ICCflZKod80QGcQeGmJg4G2xbbToyPjMYNGOLVYKIvncBan-xg1pDLq0QCAKrWnvTaO-UkFCK-2f4Qs/s1600/IMG_3101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiPXEfXQHSnGnj6ivL7NlkWti09TtVG-nXRqVxIdEz9Rm5Xwk8LI1K59K3bz2ICCflZKod80QGcQeGmJg4G2xbbToyPjMYNGOLVYKIvncBan-xg1pDLq0QCAKrWnvTaO-UkFCK-2f4Qs/s640/IMG_3101.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8X1h4TiNIQNu_8-SUxVlFe5Ub1YdX4fFuknfeIxIKbhWOZuKe4A2dDbO1wXSuEth4K6g92L3imf1tIcyYt7uW11EFwXBnqg4siwJ2mYaIX_TvKGuU-S3cleGjjRnkj5L2bhS9Dz4xCQ/s1600/IMG_3102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8X1h4TiNIQNu_8-SUxVlFe5Ub1YdX4fFuknfeIxIKbhWOZuKe4A2dDbO1wXSuEth4K6g92L3imf1tIcyYt7uW11EFwXBnqg4siwJ2mYaIX_TvKGuU-S3cleGjjRnkj5L2bhS9Dz4xCQ/s640/IMG_3102.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking north across Lago Pehoe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtO_kd11ZsVUMx4qqQe-raLsU6R0nA7dh8XpBGWCDaAVg8BmWfc17VuBDAnsyVoc_2EnQbsXCg1vNvqJJhZ037lbX_qJUY7vzygKwyTeR1F-nZuXspCh1E5Kn89NoiNiGmfy5kdGU4Mkg/s1600/IMG_3103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtO_kd11ZsVUMx4qqQe-raLsU6R0nA7dh8XpBGWCDaAVg8BmWfc17VuBDAnsyVoc_2EnQbsXCg1vNvqJJhZ037lbX_qJUY7vzygKwyTeR1F-nZuXspCh1E5Kn89NoiNiGmfy5kdGU4Mkg/s400/IMG_3103.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way back to Puerto Natales</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEA6Bl77skqn3vliZ3xknm7YvqLJ2RR61lA5H3qI_VoWGhBdALRp7Ff0vjditJqywp6TZ9R8Inqp0Zgvhq8-BOVEPo1AHl-innEOnll4k-0IFtq5IsE3EDjoCwSnQ-QGK1VQd1EXArAtY/s1600/IMG_3104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEA6Bl77skqn3vliZ3xknm7YvqLJ2RR61lA5H3qI_VoWGhBdALRp7Ff0vjditJqywp6TZ9R8Inqp0Zgvhq8-BOVEPo1AHl-innEOnll4k-0IFtq5IsE3EDjoCwSnQ-QGK1VQd1EXArAtY/s400/IMG_3104.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relaxing in the common area at the hostel</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQps1LFXz5boGJoptc5K9HZNQZZOzqxof0xYNIjmGaZ6Bf-Y4fKu9h2RjQ96tDxGHEh9zr_8pmgvOtJQcvxw0jqY8ysF-y6BdLVTM5bb4sKT1TXpVJBYs-CNcCa1eOFqoa7jDCVV2K95I/s1600/IMG_3105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQps1LFXz5boGJoptc5K9HZNQZZOzqxof0xYNIjmGaZ6Bf-Y4fKu9h2RjQ96tDxGHEh9zr_8pmgvOtJQcvxw0jqY8ysF-y6BdLVTM5bb4sKT1TXpVJBYs-CNcCa1eOFqoa7jDCVV2K95I/s400/IMG_3105.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good place to stay in Puerto Natales. Hostel Natales</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4WgJs_1kmW-uQ_lNptL4NjsQz0Jb41RILa2SknYWSvrNKq3rhnZvXFKooWWl-dZE3BQHGwMiAgujD0L2eNg3WWmuuHDhabCM9Nb9p_Ot0vJTd7aZWAZMozGgUNi2hE4-53H1jteyPos/s1600/IMG_3106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4WgJs_1kmW-uQ_lNptL4NjsQz0Jb41RILa2SknYWSvrNKq3rhnZvXFKooWWl-dZE3BQHGwMiAgujD0L2eNg3WWmuuHDhabCM9Nb9p_Ot0vJTd7aZWAZMozGgUNi2hE4-53H1jteyPos/s400/IMG_3106.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small cruise ship docked in Puerto Natales</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So you probably won't hear from us until the night of the 12th of March unless something really exciting happens before we get on the boat to Puerto Montt. Like the ferry running aground on an island before it gets here or something like that. Like <i>that</i> could happen.<br />
Chau.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-44483069698776051112011-03-04T05:26:00.000-08:002011-03-07T09:41:53.495-08:00Fin del MundoIt was a super nice morning when we left Rio Gallegos. It wasn't even windy yet. The terrain on the way to the Chilean border was pretty featureless except for all these small volcanic cones and their lava flows.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYQCR3CaFPxImMQZgo7dgXoC8OJkDGUoEAtrCYKb_4OiTb5rYNOqX4f9sUx2MqCSyeuizOgDt6q5AGzdByVjaqD8ob4ZM88GcDThKpZ2Hqua3HBgGVZuxOIDpZW9b6xNLiG72Oiy2PIg/s1600/IMG_2885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYQCR3CaFPxImMQZgo7dgXoC8OJkDGUoEAtrCYKb_4OiTb5rYNOqX4f9sUx2MqCSyeuizOgDt6q5AGzdByVjaqD8ob4ZM88GcDThKpZ2Hqua3HBgGVZuxOIDpZW9b6xNLiG72Oiy2PIg/s640/IMG_2885.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were several of these mini-chains of mini-volcanoes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmUGGlrYCP_2ow50SFSQInKoqOJf6gjJQeJP9O8iMzJhJ0hB8WMmqt2ybuWAoItjeY2Y3Ytb74F9JH_jpBls6F16Z1vVw-KfXMlC47bZFQDVTcHV6BMCuU2T5T3Q6I9a9JQ_4ZzUqqag/s1600/IMG_2886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmUGGlrYCP_2ow50SFSQInKoqOJf6gjJQeJP9O8iMzJhJ0hB8WMmqt2ybuWAoItjeY2Y3Ytb74F9JH_jpBls6F16Z1vVw-KfXMlC47bZFQDVTcHV6BMCuU2T5T3Q6I9a9JQ_4ZzUqqag/s400/IMG_2886.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These little volcanoes were pretty cool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So I'm not sure if the borders are more relaxed here but it seems to be getting easier and faster. The Chilean Aduana official even took the time to chat with us and confirmed road directions that had been given to us by some other bikers. After the border crossing we headed for the short ferry ride across the Strait of Magellan to Tierra del Fuego.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD52hxw0q7OoUemPVEOmf8BiQR9mC6sbBMRfE8SJgfbiDhw-504CEVeAPC2DWA9oANornj9zxWcNRjQecSccZ_9Ifs8EFHPxvY5aUJsB6CT2H2T_wF-poMVVNHuRk70T__t12s8GfrLtQ/s1600/IMG_2887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD52hxw0q7OoUemPVEOmf8BiQR9mC6sbBMRfE8SJgfbiDhw-504CEVeAPC2DWA9oANornj9zxWcNRjQecSccZ_9Ifs8EFHPxvY5aUJsB6CT2H2T_wF-poMVVNHuRk70T__t12s8GfrLtQ/s400/IMG_2887.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally got a decent picture of a guanaco. There were many. This one was daring me to come a little closer so he could kick my ass. I think he was the boss of the group.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sj7IMThcHz-1_zsvRQJGnVNFic7C5tjsTumFx4kAmazZjFFDDl1a-EoP5d8XcPUm-fjyq2stwtZlMXzqXYFv2S6TtiG5QtSDYS45RcgcUg8tTKecz1Ow3eDanJDbpP1foZkvJU9O8KQ/s1600/IMG_2888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sj7IMThcHz-1_zsvRQJGnVNFic7C5tjsTumFx4kAmazZjFFDDl1a-EoP5d8XcPUm-fjyq2stwtZlMXzqXYFv2S6TtiG5QtSDYS45RcgcUg8tTKecz1Ow3eDanJDbpP1foZkvJU9O8KQ/s400/IMG_2888.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ferry to Tierra del Fuego</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Getting a little local knowledge can really help sometimes. We turned off the paved road at Cerro Sombrero and got on the best gravel road of the trip. This road took us south to Onaisin to intersect the road to Porvenir. Most of the other traffic, except for trucks, took the main road to Rio Grande. We made good time on this road and quickly got to San Sebastian to exit Chile. Then on to the next San Sebastian to enter Argentina once again. It's kind of a pain but that's the way it is.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUI8AWgc9tQKmHewzlhet8bFbPFiDcg6IwzG40V4f-YHbR6Qfa5iJzhs5Eg0z9XDtgvaTrSDgHK2HMnpyokn2eXIZu-01MQ_NFpgGgmqZuaGzgk6D6pFF9Yq8_NaP6HGhx92B6oIrnsk4/s1600/IMG_2889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUI8AWgc9tQKmHewzlhet8bFbPFiDcg6IwzG40V4f-YHbR6Qfa5iJzhs5Eg0z9XDtgvaTrSDgHK2HMnpyokn2eXIZu-01MQ_NFpgGgmqZuaGzgk6D6pFF9Yq8_NaP6HGhx92B6oIrnsk4/s640/IMG_2889.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the road south of Cerro Sombrero. This is an average estancia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUq8Pb4nfyoGM1ob-w-F-nU8E8U7V0UVzZwsWxIMscJRR2M5fJ8IGEx9lxiJlGQjliMcqp8oM_2ZNDXt36lNYREef3MNNgtTFU7Aw94EDdVEwVgV4fevJLl04nRVzw6LzWQuKl2It31A/s1600/IMG_2890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUq8Pb4nfyoGM1ob-w-F-nU8E8U7V0UVzZwsWxIMscJRR2M5fJ8IGEx9lxiJlGQjliMcqp8oM_2ZNDXt36lNYREef3MNNgtTFU7Aw94EDdVEwVgV4fevJLl04nRVzw6LzWQuKl2It31A/s640/IMG_2890.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Fuegian countryside</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT27i8hJj6BQGI2sYg6W73QpXBHJZQcdThz6mEcKmfeKgtl1RsWDkE1GQSoaIKOrLigV9jz62VLBD_vo_4I7uJ062HDs3LAmkjyzJxcvET_KTOnYgFQLjUQVORXwUQXAXmPuKEJSnqA84/s1600/IMG_2891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT27i8hJj6BQGI2sYg6W73QpXBHJZQcdThz6mEcKmfeKgtl1RsWDkE1GQSoaIKOrLigV9jz62VLBD_vo_4I7uJ062HDs3LAmkjyzJxcvET_KTOnYgFQLjUQVORXwUQXAXmPuKEJSnqA84/s400/IMG_2891.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chilean border post at San Sebastian</td></tr>
</tbody></table>While we were making such good time heading for San Sebastian we had passed a few other bikers heading north who were giving us a thumbs-up and big waves. I was starting to get excited about getting to Ushuaia. When we stopped for gas in Rio Grande I suggested we keep on going. It was only 3 pm or so and there was only about 215 km to go. Neil wasn't hard to convince. I'm glad. I doubt I would have slept that night in Rio Grande.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqXyQJPI_2Wn4EdA9gsTM_OPDN5aKUEQyfMjDL8Q47QlriBMw8wF0e_I7nZ_Agc0Tp5r2lDZ5qLybeQDDLuQlxD8C6HshY7SSFoeKYht09yMCjreQIhuf3iyPakkkZyFq9WqtT_T8mp0/s1600/IMG_2892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqXyQJPI_2Wn4EdA9gsTM_OPDN5aKUEQyfMjDL8Q47QlriBMw8wF0e_I7nZ_Agc0Tp5r2lDZ5qLybeQDDLuQlxD8C6HshY7SSFoeKYht09yMCjreQIhuf3iyPakkkZyFq9WqtT_T8mp0/s640/IMG_2892.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between Rio Grande and Ushuaia the landscape changes dramatically.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MkMnMqiWArKgtnqISeCAS9XK5lpp7HLn0quRhzvucN_PcIAfocVB2_rt0YIRzveJaR5xjZrkgtIC70VvCpsiRxDqRaJyPV1O1Qe6eOHj5ifRF489y0wg7yEJfPIktFKRPWHkBRjCFb8/s1600/IMG_2893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_MkMnMqiWArKgtnqISeCAS9XK5lpp7HLn0quRhzvucN_PcIAfocVB2_rt0YIRzveJaR5xjZrkgtIC70VvCpsiRxDqRaJyPV1O1Qe6eOHj5ifRF489y0wg7yEJfPIktFKRPWHkBRjCFb8/s640/IMG_2893.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Ushuaia side of Garibaldi Pass.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It felt really good rolling into Ushuaia. That had been the real objective of the trip for me. It was time to celebrate.<br />
We spent a few days just hanging out in Ushuaia. It's an interesting place and there are tourists here from all over the world, as you can imagine. Cruise ships leave regularly from here to Antarctica. Many round-the-world sailors make Ushuaia a replenishing stop. Most of the people we talked to weren't your average travelers. One woman I spoke to briefly in a restaurant had been in Ushuaia since January waiting for new rigging for her sailboat. She had some kind of mishap while rounding Cape Horn and badly damaged her boat. She was trying to do a non-stop voyage by herself from Victoria, BC.<br />
We each did our own thing here during the day. Neil went for a tour of the town one day and did a boat tour to see some local wildlife the next day. I checked out the museum at the famous jail here. It was very large and I had to rush a bit to get through it in 4 hours. I took a walk up to the ski hill where they have a campground in the off season. I had emailed with a biker from the States on the way here so I met him there for a coffee. He told me about the big sign at the end of the road in Tierra del Fuego Park so I had to go do the picture. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMONRAgvo3vHwloRZbDBHVfIw7wKR04fjvdr_a0q3SL7ZloratHGHIABU8coD7HEmDMw7jGBIOlwv1__bszXgDGS_2nWDYObdYcUjW6BvKbRHgAcZLnliJQNGPV9_wiFxTnVOTsvF-Tq0/s1600/IMG_2894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMONRAgvo3vHwloRZbDBHVfIw7wKR04fjvdr_a0q3SL7ZloratHGHIABU8coD7HEmDMw7jGBIOlwv1__bszXgDGS_2nWDYObdYcUjW6BvKbRHgAcZLnliJQNGPV9_wiFxTnVOTsvF-Tq0/s400/IMG_2894.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back from the shoreline in Ushuaia towards the ski hill.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskyvC2aPOuDOdSO5uPXSZZMg8kE3wp0Yy2OwoQCcJCsfD2GrZ7_eZ8iFD4UblBbMOly9gTAb3U7_g3mDMWvd1vvnq2kyjuPromXomjgtj_MexyQW8FO6tTReRt8UAFpPF4cB6WZ9qebY/s1600/IMG_2895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskyvC2aPOuDOdSO5uPXSZZMg8kE3wp0Yy2OwoQCcJCsfD2GrZ7_eZ8iFD4UblBbMOly9gTAb3U7_g3mDMWvd1vvnq2kyjuPromXomjgtj_MexyQW8FO6tTReRt8UAFpPF4cB6WZ9qebY/s400/IMG_2895.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another monument to the heroes of the 1982 war. There is a lot of strong sentiment here about who the Malvina Islands belong to.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvr9FMGPdtcNfrJvupT68HH5dSZTt6RsMVzJu0itNZMqvaLFKKAI-Qn0TUxsc1Aonl4vgSOKHbfVW34I0DlRdn9dqdIU1MgpLeTOmE8_dtKDl-2Hu9D44nKdtyTNTZaJPw7RLKrQnSUU/s1600/IMG_2896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvr9FMGPdtcNfrJvupT68HH5dSZTt6RsMVzJu0itNZMqvaLFKKAI-Qn0TUxsc1Aonl4vgSOKHbfVW34I0DlRdn9dqdIU1MgpLeTOmE8_dtKDl-2Hu9D44nKdtyTNTZaJPw7RLKrQnSUU/s400/IMG_2896.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back to the east side of the harbour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0OriwkIcW7qNtZeAargYMHKYoOc5GuX3nAUxnw6G7XPriUK133nwJ1BrVuYwwJbze5RZzor_ATtM6X8Cg2lPD1V57esFriypNuEJhFphWQ6yjWvJ3QSBV4cX3wGeIEtilk96FLEScds/s1600/IMG_2897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0OriwkIcW7qNtZeAargYMHKYoOc5GuX3nAUxnw6G7XPriUK133nwJ1BrVuYwwJbze5RZzor_ATtM6X8Cg2lPD1V57esFriypNuEJhFphWQ6yjWvJ3QSBV4cX3wGeIEtilk96FLEScds/s400/IMG_2897.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old jail in Ushuaia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcYRWg9J0kP8hEgbbkNquZPJx4AJ4Uzh95Ej0tCOQxNp6gOsndf1als3_VLkKmCWLA73BPdfFPdVMnlZfQlXFMrw9ToqioimOH7lCbd8nJG4wCBv77aS0ovOPcT9NgCV_rY8BTk31wHI/s1600/IMG_2898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcYRWg9J0kP8hEgbbkNquZPJx4AJ4Uzh95Ej0tCOQxNp6gOsndf1als3_VLkKmCWLA73BPdfFPdVMnlZfQlXFMrw9ToqioimOH7lCbd8nJG4wCBv77aS0ovOPcT9NgCV_rY8BTk31wHI/s400/IMG_2898.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An un-restored section of prison cells in the jail</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjia9rAt_reuYz8VQMsqvoksEsxHw34g32oK9efi_5ckRzQbS7qbbx721O_FvVS0VDxNw5oJ1tDkAlaVsTFUee9WBq1-FlvGO_mdKYidJCt4ZsoW1B8m9vzwTuSmJoq3i8J7O3dDUyDKc4/s1600/IMG_2899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjia9rAt_reuYz8VQMsqvoksEsxHw34g32oK9efi_5ckRzQbS7qbbx721O_FvVS0VDxNw5oJ1tDkAlaVsTFUee9WBq1-FlvGO_mdKYidJCt4ZsoW1B8m9vzwTuSmJoq3i8J7O3dDUyDKc4/s400/IMG_2899.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the area they have fixed up for the museum. There were displays in nearly all the cells and common areas for three wings of the jail like this. I was really impressed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMV8yjPP6KUKuWd12k1QDBA4wBwBNPFdEGdSAROFU-KtOA8eJ2hImDlhxWlqPjdzpRTWk7pZfpUxfjrKq85veg86t0_1oG66PCiEHKuI9TR7JIl39aRn5BubEZXF3pbXvvqSE1HMZ_JA/s1600/IMG_2900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMV8yjPP6KUKuWd12k1QDBA4wBwBNPFdEGdSAROFU-KtOA8eJ2hImDlhxWlqPjdzpRTWk7pZfpUxfjrKq85veg86t0_1oG66PCiEHKuI9TR7JIl39aRn5BubEZXF3pbXvvqSE1HMZ_JA/s400/IMG_2900.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This shows one of the five (or maybe 6) wings of the jail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNppbNVZSTtwY3U3R3j3KPjMDIdBYILSv7C15r1RvKeTqr3XH3eQUuV75bxIdUFYhHWLvcIRqCqFsdJuurEGnYGp5u2QL2iT2G6BWW07kgqGO8Mp8Ae0pyZEfCBgvJFdnvHqxaYLuUbWA/s1600/IMG_2929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNppbNVZSTtwY3U3R3j3KPjMDIdBYILSv7C15r1RvKeTqr3XH3eQUuV75bxIdUFYhHWLvcIRqCqFsdJuurEGnYGp5u2QL2iT2G6BWW07kgqGO8Mp8Ae0pyZEfCBgvJFdnvHqxaYLuUbWA/s640/IMG_2929.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the ski hill looking back to Ushuaia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Piw4RhQnic7D9FFUB_5-WvlbGiUiCgW2Fa9qjCddaFmGc4Bs4_7mKNavU1Anzby49EP1viiySxefjUKdap7Z4g0Er9gmgjgCp7wiiDiW2KQxwwxG1S6xiIqZ3VVci9cKLzP_fHVo75M/s1600/IMG_2930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Piw4RhQnic7D9FFUB_5-WvlbGiUiCgW2Fa9qjCddaFmGc4Bs4_7mKNavU1Anzby49EP1viiySxefjUKdap7Z4g0Er9gmgjgCp7wiiDiW2KQxwwxG1S6xiIqZ3VVci9cKLzP_fHVo75M/s400/IMG_2930.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Ushuaia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8zHF6zgE09E3qO7kOUt3Fb9WINfFFBNsIeH2L6wouUQd3escYQYpfsft-h5-0bTQGnxiCfmz4cvsbT9rikJPJUoQfjVVFC-75jz1kddMRlcMKSEV9PiMwkPkwCO254y99qcaXmSf3VQ/s1600/IMG_2931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8zHF6zgE09E3qO7kOUt3Fb9WINfFFBNsIeH2L6wouUQd3escYQYpfsft-h5-0bTQGnxiCfmz4cvsbT9rikJPJUoQfjVVFC-75jz1kddMRlcMKSEV9PiMwkPkwCO254y99qcaXmSf3VQ/s320/IMG_2931.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fin del Camino</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Thursday morning we left Ushuaia to go to Porvenir, Chile. It was quite windy most of the way and I was glad the hundred and some odd kilometer gravel section from San Sebastian to Porvenir was in such good shape. Maintaining an even keel in such wind keeps you focused for sure. Other than the wind it was a beautiful day with nice scenery.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIe0sV9QCQbOtVrmDp5KOc7nWCdHOCae_zthtbI_sQwJ41vO0IbVcJVh0QFqXasffb0SUMowyEuzqRamRWfkjC4rulbqPXtbJo8G96mizLmvTgji7IyYcIqoJw4WNJallctzvhxp3PzME/s1600/IMG_2932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIe0sV9QCQbOtVrmDp5KOc7nWCdHOCae_zthtbI_sQwJ41vO0IbVcJVh0QFqXasffb0SUMowyEuzqRamRWfkjC4rulbqPXtbJo8G96mizLmvTgji7IyYcIqoJw4WNJallctzvhxp3PzME/s640/IMG_2932.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical scenery across the north of Tierra del Fuego</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdeFW-Sze1ikzRnNtmrTgqWLDd1YU0kcbfJ9Owolr9BlOCZNXA3r-OfSn9ith_JzL-rczmhki1RgobWYttt649kc6EJNo8-5lYugZXGbyMOKFBYyqxRyBWn1DPOuJ5C4gqPUw8ll_Qsw/s1600/IMG_2933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdeFW-Sze1ikzRnNtmrTgqWLDd1YU0kcbfJ9Owolr9BlOCZNXA3r-OfSn9ith_JzL-rczmhki1RgobWYttt649kc6EJNo8-5lYugZXGbyMOKFBYyqxRyBWn1DPOuJ5C4gqPUw8ll_Qsw/s640/IMG_2933.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bahia Inutil on the west side of Tierra del Fuego</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aa7Kz7361fpGpMR8bBxuZqzWEXqBKVaHnagYTjjDNbnKMQvS4cIMc7N5Iio6iRm3rf1CC07LE5QLtFeeh1AgdtTV32RVIo4JiHB8vyFXD3wYFrcYbZOVNlN6VNc_Lh6oSOLWvSOyIp0/s640/IMG_2934.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just east of Porvenir</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighng6Hp9T6L-EE9REKZAjjm5UDp2qlZTh8ep_I1PlRw6reRr2AfurxtIHUX4rFq1UhT0lEC6B7gWR4CY-UmDYvN0M3K0l7jI45UHznyjDd-5NVK_QPOmtGv68mW4RwoPNPFmcZ7d2eNE/s1600/IMG_2935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighng6Hp9T6L-EE9REKZAjjm5UDp2qlZTh8ep_I1PlRw6reRr2AfurxtIHUX4rFq1UhT0lEC6B7gWR4CY-UmDYvN0M3K0l7jI45UHznyjDd-5NVK_QPOmtGv68mW4RwoPNPFmcZ7d2eNE/s640/IMG_2935.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some pink flamingos. I'm pretty sure they weren't the plastic ones you put on the lawn. Although that would be a funny trick to play on us tourists.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So here we are in Porvenir, Chile. We will catch the 2 pm ferry to Punta Arenas this afternoon. Depending on how Neil is feeling we will either stay there or carry on to Puerto Natales. Oh yeah. We even got to go to the hospital here in Porvenir to find a medico for Neil. He had some weird throat affliction so they gave him some stuff for that. He's feeling much better today.<br />
Also, sorry for the long times between posts. Sometimes there's no internet. The hotel in Ushuaia wanted to charge us for internet use. That's the first time on the whole trip anybody tried to charge for wi-fi.<br />
Well, I'm too stubborn to fall for that.<br />
Chau<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-20673986984193742432011-02-27T12:25:00.000-08:002011-02-27T12:25:50.686-08:00Rio GallegosFirst of all, if your interested, I edited the last post to add a photo and some text about the road and the wind.<br />
Today we made the short hop (about 320 km) to Rio Gallegos after a lazy start. I even had a third cup of coffee. First time in a long time. Tomorrow the plan is to do the double border crossing from Argentina to Chile and back into Argentina. This puts us on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego at Rio Grande. <br />
We actually saw a bit of wildlife along Ruta 5 today. There were lots of Rheas and guanacos. We tried stopping to get pictures but they're a little camera shy. Or gun shy depending on your point of view.<br />
The best part was that it wasn't windy except for a few freak gusts. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPWgVTfcvnJywydz4pzUXvwIlpFKwPAneWc479SO_OhqOBcxFNz5-kVhyyFUcG2XjQ_OQEG1uw3OqckjKKhcauhwKvFsy56EleSuem0uK_0bimXMwZ20feyxU2it6arnoE1MIyC5wlAs/s1600/IMG_2798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPWgVTfcvnJywydz4pzUXvwIlpFKwPAneWc479SO_OhqOBcxFNz5-kVhyyFUcG2XjQ_OQEG1uw3OqckjKKhcauhwKvFsy56EleSuem0uK_0bimXMwZ20feyxU2it6arnoE1MIyC5wlAs/s640/IMG_2798.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Countryside southeast of El Calafate</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpN8s-17WhYWO6u3cwk-wAae6WHmgvAWegmuhmhWq34zo6EuOkmrFpGp-9s6tzKMrPDKBOFKPDIj2llid4g-2Hhsy3AGGUZAHbVtBiYATlJVSKEOpsficG28evhAsUKDU_6voCobjFoGc/s1600/IMG_2799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpN8s-17WhYWO6u3cwk-wAae6WHmgvAWegmuhmhWq34zo6EuOkmrFpGp-9s6tzKMrPDKBOFKPDIj2llid4g-2Hhsy3AGGUZAHbVtBiYATlJVSKEOpsficG28evhAsUKDU_6voCobjFoGc/s400/IMG_2799.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXaT7JsqMCI36LZ9KQf1Oobcbk6SFY4pf-r7KEvgOiZFWBFns_PIuvRjEYvQucepJOsxjo-70430A4CQIIuIsGAKM-dsKHrZsQvnZJptMfvuVUF82VrdO6bLWhbrRA8sUXXie5P4INFg/s1600/IMG_2800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXaT7JsqMCI36LZ9KQf1Oobcbk6SFY4pf-r7KEvgOiZFWBFns_PIuvRjEYvQucepJOsxjo-70430A4CQIIuIsGAKM-dsKHrZsQvnZJptMfvuVUF82VrdO6bLWhbrRA8sUXXie5P4INFg/s640/IMG_2800.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valley of the Rio Santa Cruz that runs out of Lago Argentino.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAMv3Q0VgzEOuLcigkHkW-hw4OYlkAPzWdkPwlJfb7QqnfBYT7ZrHnYMv_O347HZ8bbnxLSzJTEOzBMLNrPeu2aUAR1NoQGEAJX3LJMA9z9sKZRDgjw2Eg12ylZW6CAYFF_INpMRkA28/s1600/IMG_2801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAMv3Q0VgzEOuLcigkHkW-hw4OYlkAPzWdkPwlJfb7QqnfBYT7ZrHnYMv_O347HZ8bbnxLSzJTEOzBMLNrPeu2aUAR1NoQGEAJX3LJMA9z9sKZRDgjw2Eg12ylZW6CAYFF_INpMRkA28/s400/IMG_2801.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guanaco bums at maximum telephoto.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSxeVMc_d9jkf5EGPc3mHOEotJFvWlGeEx4wUIWZua9dT4sxKBE0qSx054_KU0Punyvv2Lgh6bbfjGczjHLOu8jShxzSqnEs6auSkbjXaam84AOIOyICwzLy84N32R77Gg0Eg-Fs1KIY/s1600/IMG_2802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSxeVMc_d9jkf5EGPc3mHOEotJFvWlGeEx4wUIWZua9dT4sxKBE0qSx054_KU0Punyvv2Lgh6bbfjGczjHLOu8jShxzSqnEs6auSkbjXaam84AOIOyICwzLy84N32R77Gg0Eg-Fs1KIY/s400/IMG_2802.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The waterfront in Rio Gallegos on the Atlantic side of South America.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hQ4RInhL3bffHJBQroMwLZAM-Jllao9NEnSFYLO9kPrtf4_naWVUCbMUZKtPfJqQZvfa552sXq21FcKgaH7Z2abVYCFk9iZ0qzXk_MkwM7JXAHsIN4Zo1G3a7snK7eof-gobHDPalEw/s1600/IMG_2803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hQ4RInhL3bffHJBQroMwLZAM-Jllao9NEnSFYLO9kPrtf4_naWVUCbMUZKtPfJqQZvfa552sXq21FcKgaH7Z2abVYCFk9iZ0qzXk_MkwM7JXAHsIN4Zo1G3a7snK7eof-gobHDPalEw/s400/IMG_2803.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A monument to honour the war dead who perished when the British sunk the Argentine battleship General Belgrano during the Falklands (Malvinas) conflict.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NnGY67_FTJhBwf32jX2EziQDBVSMyRGJfBvxXlRKXikCcaYq8UK0odM4w_aDUmsPnCkmR6oCVJ10NLGDtiUetzhuUy9Xwi4_ebzJGJ-93vmP9si85KP0WyfiOd1NFoPRHt3F-zDDrVY/s1600/IMG_2804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NnGY67_FTJhBwf32jX2EziQDBVSMyRGJfBvxXlRKXikCcaYq8UK0odM4w_aDUmsPnCkmR6oCVJ10NLGDtiUetzhuUy9Xwi4_ebzJGJ-93vmP9si85KP0WyfiOd1NFoPRHt3F-zDDrVY/s400/IMG_2804.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another to remember the pilots who died during the 1982 war. Interesting to see history from a different perspective.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Gotta go now. It's after 5 pm. Somewhere.<br />
Chau.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-36522907991292976572011-02-26T14:37:00.000-08:002011-02-27T11:54:42.355-08:00More Ruta 40 and PatagoniaWe left San Carlos de Bariloche after making a stop at the gomeria (tire shop) to drop of a small token of appreciation. The road continued south through Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi and P.N. Lago Puelo. It was very green and mountainous. That changed quickly though when we left the mountains south of El Maiten and rejoined Ruta 40 once again. We had to duck into Esquel to get gas and we crossed the tracks of The Old Patagonian Express. It's supposed to be the only long distance narrow gauge railway in existence and the southernmost railway in the world. I think it only runs as a tourist train now. Esquel, along with Trevelin were Welsh settlements and it looks like a really nice area.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TXTFK6ztC8FLlGC_8AV7F5kugx11EMqF7Wgt5VXPW3Evlxi1FUYPUGSFsUkKBnNbiN1Axz_9hkyAxSl88RN1hc5NKUF0jtgSqQo78Vu5ia4JfpO0Lyi7kzS2vIjHSGp4psFIkWCbacY/s1600/IMG_2762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TXTFK6ztC8FLlGC_8AV7F5kugx11EMqF7Wgt5VXPW3Evlxi1FUYPUGSFsUkKBnNbiN1Axz_9hkyAxSl88RN1hc5NKUF0jtgSqQo78Vu5ia4JfpO0Lyi7kzS2vIjHSGp4psFIkWCbacY/s400/IMG_2762.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenery in P.N. Nahuel Huapi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV58UPfmiQcPGlseuRGor5d2gV9x8q006Rjh5RBv__b-8Y3BqdfXowfL2khJFZzQuuqZINU5gk77RyP4GSEWeO4DkxUn5TP4O72mYi1AQCmfS9P8ToITegqFhtBsYHpM-rS2Pznl5ItJc/s1600/IMG_2763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV58UPfmiQcPGlseuRGor5d2gV9x8q006Rjh5RBv__b-8Y3BqdfXowfL2khJFZzQuuqZINU5gk77RyP4GSEWeO4DkxUn5TP4O72mYi1AQCmfS9P8ToITegqFhtBsYHpM-rS2Pznl5ItJc/s640/IMG_2763.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving the mountains behind south of El Maiten</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEvN9lz-LbYE9eDTsyGztUcWIbxYDGTuiq12-zEBlsIrMwvBw8jCNnNHijT0usbOyu3oPdN5qv-DS3uYCwJ2BQxfOoRp_AjqB2Bemnf7EETBIA2NvBYQMoM19-5vEvVu4Enjny0qp6bs/s1600/IMG_2765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEvN9lz-LbYE9eDTsyGztUcWIbxYDGTuiq12-zEBlsIrMwvBw8jCNnNHijT0usbOyu3oPdN5qv-DS3uYCwJ2BQxfOoRp_AjqB2Bemnf7EETBIA2NvBYQMoM19-5vEvVu4Enjny0qp6bs/s400/IMG_2765.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back on Rt. 40</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86X1OpgGOscdVVQwttYy6QT05ObNubZojgKxUPAzgfeMGWRNmKQLwsTztuw7j2IyeyC8oHE096kwG0_ZyYxQ6eOzXSI2ZcexZsifzGmHnB1nLAx_Zj6_45yF7kaI59WMfzG9oyJOwG6I/s1600/IMG_2778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86X1OpgGOscdVVQwttYy6QT05ObNubZojgKxUPAzgfeMGWRNmKQLwsTztuw7j2IyeyC8oHE096kwG0_ZyYxQ6eOzXSI2ZcexZsifzGmHnB1nLAx_Zj6_45yF7kaI59WMfzG9oyJOwG6I/s640/IMG_2778.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We saw lots of this along Rt. 40.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xSMYNZstXRXai1iiDSHS1DhxmY1lDU8vMdTzYShkzxkCTcSk9F5N4Y6nEd1Wp7ehWHAiu0ceIGs1gyL9Phs1jXxWxYFtxQMVLnfP8rLlNcr-oq57KLA0ary8cYtvDP2r79IUqw7asa0/s1600/IMG_2766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xSMYNZstXRXai1iiDSHS1DhxmY1lDU8vMdTzYShkzxkCTcSk9F5N4Y6nEd1Wp7ehWHAiu0ceIGs1gyL9Phs1jXxWxYFtxQMVLnfP8rLlNcr-oq57KLA0ary8cYtvDP2r79IUqw7asa0/s640/IMG_2766.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Esquel. Very pretty here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEno5WmoGfFjgSTt4tV9z0S9yygCx99CnC-swd5MvKB1SnYmwMB8IdF3PedpuXwvc468ImoWTY5WyO1bZaTbLQ4YNIjfQeTOe1BBqUrYklYe_6ffoyKRA_3Ii6hPos-8r4194qYUycC8Y/s1600/IMG_2767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEno5WmoGfFjgSTt4tV9z0S9yygCx99CnC-swd5MvKB1SnYmwMB8IdF3PedpuXwvc468ImoWTY5WyO1bZaTbLQ4YNIjfQeTOe1BBqUrYklYe_6ffoyKRA_3Ii6hPos-8r4194qYUycC8Y/s400/IMG_2767.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the Patagonian Express. It looks like the tracks for the train in Stanley Park.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We were going to stop in Gobernador Costa for the night but the gas station had a line-up and the girl at the hotel was really crabby. The place looked empty but she had no room at the inn for us. She kind of got mad at me for letting myself in. The sign said OPEN and the door wasn't locked. Go figure. So we kept on going. We ended up going to Rio Mayo for the night which set us up nicely for doing the next stretch of Rt. 40 the next day. While we were having dinner another biker showed up at the hotel. We invited him to sit with us at dinner and he gave us up to date info for our route the next day. He was from Santiago, Chile (actually Mendoza originally) and told us the road was very bad. However, he had made it from El Calafate to Rio Mayo in twelve hours. That's about 750 km. I thought he was a hero. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdIMtOVgeE5p34Awhds_F91iv2xlyezgdcO08HejW9MkocdKgTo0Lo9LshGF6ABhw-KAHYvGljEPcWwhKn-lotRXrj3uyvUI_T1BvwBkQR5sqgsCesQ2MjMis8J1rqEJ2v8fOLEr8ZjY/s1600/IMG_2768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdIMtOVgeE5p34Awhds_F91iv2xlyezgdcO08HejW9MkocdKgTo0Lo9LshGF6ABhw-KAHYvGljEPcWwhKn-lotRXrj3uyvUI_T1BvwBkQR5sqgsCesQ2MjMis8J1rqEJ2v8fOLEr8ZjY/s400/IMG_2768.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the highway south of Gobernador Costa with the mountains to the west. Most of this is range land for the estancias.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3Tbf05j50lmASNXiKztK2qS50p55hzMX-m8OPy3GXTHGLPEnfIjGvVhbbiM2PHF5sQSDjXEXZKcw4HdBiXXk7DW99CjZ0YrxwtC9USxtWj7QNw_-ZwNS0TmtXHKDGbdBKZtVKp5R4BA/s1600/IMG_2769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3Tbf05j50lmASNXiKztK2qS50p55hzMX-m8OPy3GXTHGLPEnfIjGvVhbbiM2PHF5sQSDjXEXZKcw4HdBiXXk7DW99CjZ0YrxwtC9USxtWj7QNw_-ZwNS0TmtXHKDGbdBKZtVKp5R4BA/s400/IMG_2769.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most hotel owners are very accommodating towards motorcyclists and will arrange parking so someone can watch the bikes all night. We were joined later by another Beemer from Chile. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>The next morning dawned clear and calm. We were worried mostly about wind as Patagonia is famous for high winds. The lenticular clouds over the mountains had me a little concerned about the wind coming up but hey, we're supposed to be having an adventure. Things went good for about two hours until my bike died and the back wheel locked up. Weird. It started okay but was resisting forward movement. Then there was a clunk and it was good. Somehow I think a rock got jammed somewhere in my rear wheel. So I started it up again and when I put the side-stand up the bike died again. A rock had also hit my side-stand switch and put it out of commission. It took us about 35 or 40 minutes to get everything sorted out and get on the road again. What are the chances of those two things happening at the same time? Good, I guess.<br />
We made good progress but the wind was starting to come up. It was pretty cool to see a herd of Rheas run across the road. They're like an emu. We stopped for gas at Perito Moreno with another planned stop at Bajo Caracoles. At Bajo Caracoles they had no gas. That happens sometimes. We figured that with our extra 5 litres each we could make Tres Lagos, the next gas station. That would be a total of 460 km and I thought our range with the extra gas would be 500 km. Close but possible. When we got to the cross road to Gobernador Gregores we re-evaluated our fuel and decided against the 72 km detour each way to get gas there. We could make it. I was pretty sure. I probably figured it out in my head every five minutes for the next 5 hours.<br />
Did I mention the wind? Holy moley it got windy. A few times it was all you could do to hold it in the rut in the loose gravel. Most of the time we were just riding in ruts in the gravel. Not too bad with no wind but we actually had to gear down in some of the gusts and really lean hard into the wind to keep the bike on the road. I found it pretty challenging. We also lucked out with the rain again. There was a lot of road construction and the detours were gross with mud. If it had rained we would have been camping. We ended up getting into Tres Lagos between about 6:30. I think Neil had under 20 km left in his tank and I had 40. Close enough. We had planned on staying the night at Tres Lagos but the gas station guy said it would be better to keep going. My guess is he wasn't the president of the local Chamber of Commerce. Anyway, we kept going towards El Calafate. Now the wind really started. If our helmets weren't strapped on good they would have been sucked right off our heads. Amazing gusts of wind. It was a bit of a workout. One thing that was kind of weird was riding downwind (with the wind) once we got on the pavement. It was like you were riding in a bubble because there was no wind noise or buffeting; just the sound of the engine. It gives you an idea of the wind speed as we were doing about 100 or 110 kph. The scenery was awesome though and we made it into El Calafate at 9:00 pm. It had taken us 13 hours to do the 735 km for the day. I just knew a beer was going to taste really good.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUl4zhsNx_W-Gx8IvLKzqsYMhyphenhyphenLcIigYBWkuQI93ClwYsK2r-M1RYPcBt8Rnd9Y6ctWS0pka4_CRY_5FOPMBU_WB-VnU-TR4v1L0EHLJ_Io8APbNfUZErLlYcuPPhtmNxnnkr-fJXFsQ/s1600/IMG_2770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUl4zhsNx_W-Gx8IvLKzqsYMhyphenhyphenLcIigYBWkuQI93ClwYsK2r-M1RYPcBt8Rnd9Y6ctWS0pka4_CRY_5FOPMBU_WB-VnU-TR4v1L0EHLJ_Io8APbNfUZErLlYcuPPhtmNxnnkr-fJXFsQ/s640/IMG_2770.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was right after we fixed my bike. This was a good section but you get the idea with the ruts. On corners the ruts kind of all merged together and you had to get all sorted out back in a rut after you got through the corner. It got more interesting later with the wind. We still managed to do 60 or 70 kph most of the time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZakBxJjdbwntfpZp9wY3j3H9mOubG0rRgZeU8cMzzU_pDH46EqvRslCc5y_OD-7ae6QC6oMW_A-w9zQoQxDKwSE0gDxyQivBz7altFFTXBZ9SY6VNoPB46ZiLAcLRuomJSjPdno3EJw/s1600/IMG_2771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZakBxJjdbwntfpZp9wY3j3H9mOubG0rRgZeU8cMzzU_pDH46EqvRslCc5y_OD-7ae6QC6oMW_A-w9zQoQxDKwSE0gDxyQivBz7altFFTXBZ9SY6VNoPB46ZiLAcLRuomJSjPdno3EJw/s400/IMG_2771.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gas station at Bajo Caracoles. We weren't the only disappointed bikers. See those clouds in the sky? That's not usually good news if you're hoping for calm winds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyzRcfJ8nnVV0o_2jrbC0UxBwUNsBO6duJC5HlkuHkhy89etF_Si9dh_58V-bYnK89GmKY0lCfmdv0dcIh3_VECYuj9m2vQmdpuYrfJ-tLmolCrJiHdBZX87KRrSp1Av4iKSHDZIhyphenhyphenhA/s1600/IMG_2772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyzRcfJ8nnVV0o_2jrbC0UxBwUNsBO6duJC5HlkuHkhy89etF_Si9dh_58V-bYnK89GmKY0lCfmdv0dcIh3_VECYuj9m2vQmdpuYrfJ-tLmolCrJiHdBZX87KRrSp1Av4iKSHDZIhyphenhyphenhA/s400/IMG_2772.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some heavy showers across Lago Cardiel. Again we were lucky to avoid the rain. The last bit of road north of Tres Lagos would have been impassible for bikes in wet weather. Just after I took this picture an armadillo ran across the road. They can run pretty fast considering they aren't built much different than a turtle.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNM8ArWVJZ_ZyFMYZQk9uEuOP2E9My9fO612OpA3CatGe7F2zdqzQLhBZCXL_4xEUsXcRr4d5OIM9C9GPiT9HDdmwmY8uzx_XRxYRT09zyqvnhuK_zbLWQXR3SdRGX4_xS-1oC1cJYGk/s1600/IMG_2773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNM8ArWVJZ_ZyFMYZQk9uEuOP2E9My9fO612OpA3CatGe7F2zdqzQLhBZCXL_4xEUsXcRr4d5OIM9C9GPiT9HDdmwmY8uzx_XRxYRT09zyqvnhuK_zbLWQXR3SdRGX4_xS-1oC1cJYGk/s640/IMG_2773.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't get many pictures for the day but this is a bit of scenery between Tres Lagos and El Calafate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>El Calafate is on the shore of Lago Argentino. It is a large glacier fed lake that backs onto the Andes in the west. The Glaciar Perito Moreno is quite famous and very accessible to tourists. We decided to spend an extra night here so we could go see it. It's very impressive.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0R_noXWvNhdzKHDn_lvjQg2mCteXJ8kx-uCMDN8Bir_qnnmJF77RTm4vkd_BA9wHrZ__yrqK0Lk28fMvYWkYrIIHmVNXp2X7DcdeCXEAzLRTZjHZV8hRdocEFK9vK5cK0keEwEZQ7P_4/s1600/IMG_2774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0R_noXWvNhdzKHDn_lvjQg2mCteXJ8kx-uCMDN8Bir_qnnmJF77RTm4vkd_BA9wHrZ__yrqK0Lk28fMvYWkYrIIHmVNXp2X7DcdeCXEAzLRTZjHZV8hRdocEFK9vK5cK0keEwEZQ7P_4/s640/IMG_2774.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the road into the Glaciar Perito Moreno from El Calafate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZS_JaqC4FheIsHEHOzn4voUKc39h9HMiHK2d4etn3cI045a1dEhX6vYK87cPpl0Fheeis8nI3XlDzbO7Vnc8YU42iSh8qgfZhsEi061kAY7ZpoX4OpyMP4wixYlvIi_vVGP544ZhgfY/s1600/IMG_2775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZS_JaqC4FheIsHEHOzn4voUKc39h9HMiHK2d4etn3cI045a1dEhX6vYK87cPpl0Fheeis8nI3XlDzbO7Vnc8YU42iSh8qgfZhsEi061kAY7ZpoX4OpyMP4wixYlvIi_vVGP544ZhgfY/s640/IMG_2775.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We thought this looked pretty cool...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBh4aBWzakpkkscRqEQG_JAHBL6-nS5HBx39bQTDtErZeHY7F0RqGta_NjaOdr9M0GVjXOxqSr9iVTFOuesvtEQwQ2Vuh9Q_sscEBd2Txezz5noQt09DMGjIFLWX6uLDD0nqZbIMuvwrQ/s1600/IMG_2776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBh4aBWzakpkkscRqEQG_JAHBL6-nS5HBx39bQTDtErZeHY7F0RqGta_NjaOdr9M0GVjXOxqSr9iVTFOuesvtEQwQ2Vuh9Q_sscEBd2Txezz5noQt09DMGjIFLWX6uLDD0nqZbIMuvwrQ/s640/IMG_2776.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...until we saw this. You can see the crowds on the edge of the dark foreground.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfukuNBNtGz2ucnm_FvomUCwBul1SDjmia_IWt3JNvnY9LPgmdhvkO1LUv5xrQSRhYBBpFSQE0AKGkTbWxXRRz0LuiM_zh3UeHnkZvZslfKkd3iqeKXpZmjpDE3S1Osq8l-vQoqC2o4A/s1600/IMG_2777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfukuNBNtGz2ucnm_FvomUCwBul1SDjmia_IWt3JNvnY9LPgmdhvkO1LUv5xrQSRhYBBpFSQE0AKGkTbWxXRRz0LuiM_zh3UeHnkZvZslfKkd3iqeKXpZmjpDE3S1Osq8l-vQoqC2o4A/s640/IMG_2777.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was well worth the visit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tomorrow, Sunday the 27th, we're off to Rio Gallegos on the Atlantic coast. This will set us up for crossing into Chile the next day. Talk to you then.<br />
Chau.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-8747401181193109252011-02-23T12:24:00.000-08:002011-02-26T12:00:30.880-08:00Keep on keepin' on...South on Ruta 40 from Malargue we strayed into the mountains again for more awesome scenery. There were lots of ranches, estancias I guess; and a lot of oil and gas activity. These pictures are all taken in the valley of the Rio Grande through Bardas Blancas, Barrancas and Chos Malal.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSRJ5yt-Y-smFNgrR8aG6F982QCEWe_eGdr5qm5rqEKv7ThABEKjQCXhcz182UhRYli4e6EolgakFJVVERbrXAxnUc8id_kW2zD5mO9fCQ-wvhk2crKs2GGlw9to878qUzG0Ys9e3RLs/s1600/IMG_2641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSRJ5yt-Y-smFNgrR8aG6F982QCEWe_eGdr5qm5rqEKv7ThABEKjQCXhcz182UhRYli4e6EolgakFJVVERbrXAxnUc8id_kW2zD5mO9fCQ-wvhk2crKs2GGlw9to878qUzG0Ys9e3RLs/s640/IMG_2641.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see, we had a nice day to enjoy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYe0onSI6PAVdRpHC_PjffrvY6NfHKwPXVjhjkEiXYiG4Tt1q6zA7VrYQEkYbcWkwAuuT8KbpBqO5l3k02B-x20hbvnmacZ1uJMz6HRM7Hp_4bGdiJV1qn6w1byj777BdTz2M1AqomfE/s1600/IMG_2642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYe0onSI6PAVdRpHC_PjffrvY6NfHKwPXVjhjkEiXYiG4Tt1q6zA7VrYQEkYbcWkwAuuT8KbpBqO5l3k02B-x20hbvnmacZ1uJMz6HRM7Hp_4bGdiJV1qn6w1byj777BdTz2M1AqomfE/s640/IMG_2642.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bardas Blancas is barely visible at the base of this mountain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMAtnZQ_p_ndEpcBEZrcqBN30n9Q_RQk-4QCCplKZseTX_LqEUs0tgvRpsP6aM8MwEGOFv3uFhSKlJbgmWJz7IPcBhKeZ6cqK4xoWteGeetBGKYG4rp-GbxLSrhnh1HSIqFvYqk5wY30/s1600/IMG_2643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMAtnZQ_p_ndEpcBEZrcqBN30n9Q_RQk-4QCCplKZseTX_LqEUs0tgvRpsP6aM8MwEGOFv3uFhSKlJbgmWJz7IPcBhKeZ6cqK4xoWteGeetBGKYG4rp-GbxLSrhnh1HSIqFvYqk5wY30/s640/IMG_2643.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Bardas Blancas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPxCP7m6q5A-_hsz5hkdSHygnNuBIKOhTnu3kxXo9aMrK7UN61NRrFlKBQlG0FEcy6pcifPaM6idTqjDBTHev3DD9KsIJRVcZkEv7NI14RUD49M1nIGUqdHmD7ugAJUptOsXMJUh1F-w/s1600/IMG_2644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPxCP7m6q5A-_hsz5hkdSHygnNuBIKOhTnu3kxXo9aMrK7UN61NRrFlKBQlG0FEcy6pcifPaM6idTqjDBTHev3DD9KsIJRVcZkEv7NI14RUD49M1nIGUqdHmD7ugAJUptOsXMJUh1F-w/s640/IMG_2644.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the Rio Grande south of Bardas Blancas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB20y5WIUz82DYlAPsoQlxBaW19EE5-9GV7CKPkl3m6QAb15mWPK9ljTZY61aX1gzNMufo29ULd29gI7rwq7_LFFLQmolVx_jV4_1PzNZ6ukPaJDDUBXakDoB0WnZRP_6hFAbSs0Ikm20/s1600/IMG_2658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB20y5WIUz82DYlAPsoQlxBaW19EE5-9GV7CKPkl3m6QAb15mWPK9ljTZY61aX1gzNMufo29ULd29gI7rwq7_LFFLQmolVx_jV4_1PzNZ6ukPaJDDUBXakDoB0WnZRP_6hFAbSs0Ikm20/s640/IMG_2658.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also along the Rio Grande</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrejdsH8lmZRuqIBxBDKl8KarDFPEZgUnY86gwcYNoEtW5bV5h3izOHD1J-4RI-8XmqrzIpJvuQNryklhwvOO5dL3Cx214kYLYIdbGkvfS5djwu4LVRs8Jph2HvJLza-0ntPE5YSIuVI/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrejdsH8lmZRuqIBxBDKl8KarDFPEZgUnY86gwcYNoEtW5bV5h3izOHD1J-4RI-8XmqrzIpJvuQNryklhwvOO5dL3Cx214kYLYIdbGkvfS5djwu4LVRs8Jph2HvJLza-0ntPE5YSIuVI/s640/IMG_2659.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghytKxdpprwmQ0qysCgo-s4XTzxwSCEBjoCn2mN7SvLfKZVqiod-sGTzojcpAmdfXTkPLkCXyD8H6Dot4u7ifMxhS1U8kWoLfC5DlVZy4yc-FA_JM_F6BATk-CSrnw3I_6lPMk-zXG7-s/s1600/IMG_2660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghytKxdpprwmQ0qysCgo-s4XTzxwSCEBjoCn2mN7SvLfKZVqiod-sGTzojcpAmdfXTkPLkCXyD8H6Dot4u7ifMxhS1U8kWoLfC5DlVZy4yc-FA_JM_F6BATk-CSrnw3I_6lPMk-zXG7-s/s640/IMG_2660.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtghcri9pYb-Aydc_BvWf9hTj9lUb9SAMfhwyO-FHVwUC_OjQCCb-OYJLqcxo0eI6I2lVDNb5TAsvwMT3XowKIIQnFvGyEYtCSqlkVZPhIkN2RI8cK83fB3HwHuT-us_ndw8iAGHWYnk/s1600/IMG_2661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtghcri9pYb-Aydc_BvWf9hTj9lUb9SAMfhwyO-FHVwUC_OjQCCb-OYJLqcxo0eI6I2lVDNb5TAsvwMT3XowKIIQnFvGyEYtCSqlkVZPhIkN2RI8cK83fB3HwHuT-us_ndw8iAGHWYnk/s640/IMG_2661.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure but I think this is a huge ash flow. It looked like a glacier from a distance. I think it's from Volcan Domuyo near Chos Malal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We made it to Zapala on Monday night after a pretty easy and uneventful day. Once again we dodged a huge thunderstorm but it caught up to us in Zapala. This storm had thunder and lightning going every few seconds for about an hour or more. Oh, and a bit of rain too.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQgwmFM9bPidUAlX-yanzulxf3Seka-EUU-4ATv2u294ZzWMKC_nd6pXJ7NDLuwDVDSLhtwBOzoxkD_JRERkmpP2DD3s28nGEEAwRO48yuV0DQwOSLl9TsQDTQFKTIp4NpNYHDIGXQ7E/s1600/IMG_2662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRQgwmFM9bPidUAlX-yanzulxf3Seka-EUU-4ATv2u294ZzWMKC_nd6pXJ7NDLuwDVDSLhtwBOzoxkD_JRERkmpP2DD3s28nGEEAwRO48yuV0DQwOSLl9TsQDTQFKTIp4NpNYHDIGXQ7E/s400/IMG_2662.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="justify"><td class="tr-caption">The streets turn into rivers when it really rains. My fear is being caught on a muddy mountain road when a nasty storm like this hits. I think we'll be camping if that happens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Tuesday morning we turned off Ruta 40 onto Ruta 234 (good one eh, Gibby?) to travel the <b><i>Ruta de los 7 Lagos</i></b> in Parque Nacional Lanin and P.N. Nahuel Huapi. This road quickly leaves the arid high desert and seems to bring us back to Beautiful British Columbia. The rivers, lakes and streams are clear mountain water with lots of lush green forests covering high mountains. There are also lots of tourists here to visit Junin de los Andes and San Martin de los Andes. Both of these are trendy and attractive tourist towns that reminded me of smaller versions of Whistler or Banff. It looked like there was lots to do here both summer and winter. There were also numerous campgrounds which was a change from what we had seen so far. It would have been cool to hang out here for a while. Maybe next time.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi9ji5xe3SAM2APYB-n9-hEZpJnBKa2BiMYUjv9KpeWhDH5_KhJtdBBRKIrhCkUqJFAF0Mre0nuH2SFVBq4_NRNNYcJ8HBgJr5ey58VvZDXifOEPwUORuGrayjNM0I3yyRVbnYAAviUQ/s1600/IMG_2663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi9ji5xe3SAM2APYB-n9-hEZpJnBKa2BiMYUjv9KpeWhDH5_KhJtdBBRKIrhCkUqJFAF0Mre0nuH2SFVBq4_NRNNYcJ8HBgJr5ey58VvZDXifOEPwUORuGrayjNM0I3yyRVbnYAAviUQ/s640/IMG_2663.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A distant view of Volcan Lanin (3768 m) from Ruta 40 before turning off on Rt 234</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhyJskbtVnnBPt2mVtnbLcdkh390430JQX3XJMKfCjahtyAyxvgf4-Zzx0PNo3f4dVeuuI1h7TeRDIRK_O_V751ZR7gZ3QrFfc6RAwtbc2aL9hsXYFZ0QL9RQXENdtD2V2uMW_lQSpiI/s1600/IMG_2664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhyJskbtVnnBPt2mVtnbLcdkh390430JQX3XJMKfCjahtyAyxvgf4-Zzx0PNo3f4dVeuuI1h7TeRDIRK_O_V751ZR7gZ3QrFfc6RAwtbc2aL9hsXYFZ0QL9RQXENdtD2V2uMW_lQSpiI/s640/IMG_2664.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More interesting rocks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdcWXLivcLI8lkrDmZpWG__n3IqZa1ncySVUnVrd8dv1oT66TrA7eYTcoBbcrfDE6zKcEYPzqgB7dYRgc9PmMescpPhaAaC6i8N-sPnt4tawt59zYrXIVZ-ubxbtvHRWe7_Bo4BMMylE/s1600/IMG_2665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAdcWXLivcLI8lkrDmZpWG__n3IqZa1ncySVUnVrd8dv1oT66TrA7eYTcoBbcrfDE6zKcEYPzqgB7dYRgc9PmMescpPhaAaC6i8N-sPnt4tawt59zYrXIVZ-ubxbtvHRWe7_Bo4BMMylE/s640/IMG_2665.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Martin de los Andes on Lago Lacar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GIfcsWJpx7vm1sVMV51wYuYTPgE9O8jWH05sqgb49exiT3ssNAGIFhpvhlOo4RXMkQiclM0LPyd5jHJri3gQZGFhrwu7hKqa-WlwaB6LOX3FexrDdrwAIxajIby953hxG9Ijf3ruENg/s1600/IMG_2666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GIfcsWJpx7vm1sVMV51wYuYTPgE9O8jWH05sqgb49exiT3ssNAGIFhpvhlOo4RXMkQiclM0LPyd5jHJri3gQZGFhrwu7hKqa-WlwaB6LOX3FexrDdrwAIxajIby953hxG9Ijf3ruENg/s640/IMG_2666.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along Rt 234</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlKiV6Kk2uvIBpeOxzYXA-0zscBOGqyKNdE7PRDOvNYSYH4sei4SM-d-8Kbu0i4LYJ23Gex2U6ZT92xaMS_V5MNe1k51U8lGEPPWCNv2h-A8iDLt4R4bFNILv-Zc4UC9Y0p4C8nA07l4/s1600/IMG_2667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlKiV6Kk2uvIBpeOxzYXA-0zscBOGqyKNdE7PRDOvNYSYH4sei4SM-d-8Kbu0i4LYJ23Gex2U6ZT92xaMS_V5MNe1k51U8lGEPPWCNv2h-A8iDLt4R4bFNILv-Zc4UC9Y0p4C8nA07l4/s400/IMG_2667.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think we should start charging for this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM4mNmTFkk1rcfDRPRyD-Cn4GdgAArOLfgIzlHU0-Ir6o2XiODL60IW5hLJsoGUNKyY8wWneOyp25RDNBbcnCPJEGmQCbjzspBTAajgcJa3YWRO3maQu-LnIVWLcIKsJ0BTeQVRPdDVUo/s1600/IMG_2668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM4mNmTFkk1rcfDRPRyD-Cn4GdgAArOLfgIzlHU0-Ir6o2XiODL60IW5hLJsoGUNKyY8wWneOyp25RDNBbcnCPJEGmQCbjzspBTAajgcJa3YWRO3maQu-LnIVWLcIKsJ0BTeQVRPdDVUo/s640/IMG_2668.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't remember the name of the lake but this is taken standing in the campground. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>We eventually ended up on the north shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi and followed it eastward to arrive at San Carlos de Bariloche. Another bustling tourist town, there was no problem finding affordable accommodation. We'll end up staying here two nights. We had been a little concerned about our tires lasting the trip but I had developed a bulge on my front tire which made the situation a little more urgent. We also needed the services of a travel agent in order to get tickets for the ferry from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt in Chile. So that's what we did today. Neil got tickets and I found tires. We should be in Ushuaia in less than a week if all goes well.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xZd2s9-Sm5uTRGorQ7l-jwDE_LY846BqpiQ5XfPH-DOkEyNSep8o_BdKHzeHaN1J1SNFKi9mQ9Myu-pRm3u_HCo0yuwvqc2neDgYbEe1Efa2Eb3Y6_scbXEJ_61WGblXOOEb3KQew4s/s1600/IMG_2669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xZd2s9-Sm5uTRGorQ7l-jwDE_LY846BqpiQ5XfPH-DOkEyNSep8o_BdKHzeHaN1J1SNFKi9mQ9Myu-pRm3u_HCo0yuwvqc2neDgYbEe1Efa2Eb3Y6_scbXEJ_61WGblXOOEb3KQew4s/s640/IMG_2669.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lago Nahuel Huapi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ukHubgLrl9mkcpkh-KKyqkoIWh6_MfTI5z5VnNUrJ0P7Y27zTJsSu7Y0yR-23KWE41SJVp2xjhg1cJJZ-JCATz1G27JSbTSYUHwD2YYHZVJVpabA3YL8d5KK_7Zk3HEA9xT-y7FAexo/s1600/IMG_2670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ukHubgLrl9mkcpkh-KKyqkoIWh6_MfTI5z5VnNUrJ0P7Y27zTJsSu7Y0yR-23KWE41SJVp2xjhg1cJJZ-JCATz1G27JSbTSYUHwD2YYHZVJVpabA3YL8d5KK_7Zk3HEA9xT-y7FAexo/s400/IMG_2670.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a distinct European influence here in Bariloche.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgomiMZrUDufrdEdhA56ZcPDXDlY0PHNQyvWfj9Bsg5Enshro8gKUJhVH4uaCanf8g7wJrWq5KOEggc_aEbCiGmVeTVxmdi9eGEVnunBRYuAYHfs5mTa3e7G3FHVMRtXlwTqD0aKQJ8R0o/s1600/IMG_2671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgomiMZrUDufrdEdhA56ZcPDXDlY0PHNQyvWfj9Bsg5Enshro8gKUJhVH4uaCanf8g7wJrWq5KOEggc_aEbCiGmVeTVxmdi9eGEVnunBRYuAYHfs5mTa3e7G3FHVMRtXlwTqD0aKQJ8R0o/s400/IMG_2671.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the awesome guy who changed our tires in his backyard shop. It's half the fun finding people to get stuff done.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOGKpM_B8Bqwf2ixaR-7XczDw_PQNe0rO_tsomF4-kgB3sXqa3Bb3xBH-opYqsw2qOyIzCbTbQMnp6tFWWx3-c4x_86oK4VouZpVBBSR99NEj-RfTB9d75DQEUs6xDmRhyphenhyphenPQJRjwcnBg/s1600/IMG_2672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOGKpM_B8Bqwf2ixaR-7XczDw_PQNe0rO_tsomF4-kgB3sXqa3Bb3xBH-opYqsw2qOyIzCbTbQMnp6tFWWx3-c4x_86oK4VouZpVBBSR99NEj-RfTB9d75DQEUs6xDmRhyphenhyphenPQJRjwcnBg/s400/IMG_2672.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He had obviously done lots of Beemers and was very efficient at it. We were out of there in no time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So we'll keep headin' her south and I'll have more in a few days. <br />
Chau.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-90556853818358814932011-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:002011-02-20T13:34:44.972-08:00On the road again...It was nice to see my daughter in Jujuy and to see that she is having a great time with good families and friends. However, it's time to get back to the business at hand.<br />
After saying a quick goodbye we left Jujuy on Wednesday morning in a drizzly rain. We planned to take Ruta 9 but we missed the turn-off so stayed on the main drag through Salta and south on Rt. 68 through Cafayate. The scenery along the highway northwest of Cafayate was spectacular with really cool rock formations and lots of colour. Cafayate looked like it would have been a fun place to hang out but it was still a little early in the day to quit so we settled for Santa Maria as a place to quit for the day. When I was getting a room two bikers on BMW's from Penticton, BC stopped to chat. They were just starting their trip and had started in Santiago, Chile. It's always interesting to talk to other motorcycle travelers to get their take on what they've seen. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeMFTyV6CaAwpFjgLOqM8XBN35i2vxeyGypA3WBXOHehW7oonJOjlWZP8yeRRJJh-KPo0PM-H6xrJo7GM6vaExVkNCydy6zYrIk9csI4D5GqRZ03IeHntICPSjGNsb0eLYE5pqF_lfnY/s1600/IMG_2489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXeMFTyV6CaAwpFjgLOqM8XBN35i2vxeyGypA3WBXOHehW7oonJOjlWZP8yeRRJJh-KPo0PM-H6xrJo7GM6vaExVkNCydy6zYrIk9csI4D5GqRZ03IeHntICPSjGNsb0eLYE5pqF_lfnY/s640/IMG_2489.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiY1xJ405e_3u9_jDoOyMX1UIxzKs9dn6bDUr7nRwqRnh4g-KVEMvL4SK5VNd_VX2Lsu1dFEQOiOiHVu25uclqNd-q2gWcFuWNieMBzlIgRPT2Q179LhV-C_L8yTuK4hSxxp6mQ-9YByE/s1600/IMG_2490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiY1xJ405e_3u9_jDoOyMX1UIxzKs9dn6bDUr7nRwqRnh4g-KVEMvL4SK5VNd_VX2Lsu1dFEQOiOiHVu25uclqNd-q2gWcFuWNieMBzlIgRPT2Q179LhV-C_L8yTuK4hSxxp6mQ-9YByE/s320/IMG_2490.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped to take a picture and these guys wanted some of their own with our bikes. It happens all the time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3QORtYpQ8XPpBFDWaoqQstTTIR-P0XpgjHdE-rMkMXIue_9qC_YVF30G6CzTH6e0OS3sAApcpXStodnruvY4_LzbjPWz9A_07kOO0xyM-7cH5szPXzpQVFvXPXNGgo7F_LGPGg6kKAw/s1600/IMG_2491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3QORtYpQ8XPpBFDWaoqQstTTIR-P0XpgjHdE-rMkMXIue_9qC_YVF30G6CzTH6e0OS3sAApcpXStodnruvY4_LzbjPWz9A_07kOO0xyM-7cH5szPXzpQVFvXPXNGgo7F_LGPGg6kKAw/s400/IMG_2491.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Lots of sightseers at Garganta del Diablo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCrp0ElWXIcBUdHzjG1zIv-QTJWunz7iFIbOO5efuAdWAkBGhIkSUzHutCdZLl8JnSGnv3UC7Q8MLPe_Gjpkku0lSIfTjKFmZmHd_79tQny6UeOOvhf7gIf9v1Y7r3zEip9ALLCF5Mrc/s1600/IMG_2492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCrp0ElWXIcBUdHzjG1zIv-QTJWunz7iFIbOO5efuAdWAkBGhIkSUzHutCdZLl8JnSGnv3UC7Q8MLPe_Gjpkku0lSIfTjKFmZmHd_79tQny6UeOOvhf7gIf9v1Y7r3zEip9ALLCF5Mrc/s320/IMG_2492.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local wine sales at the roadside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxjYpWE2TkclNuDOjMKXtqkT7bBeOBc7q34srf8ufOwN6d7_2IlF13ofLDcoCEixcMFY1GE5lmRO7tm2Tul496WqhC_QLKCZnimOdLLCkZwsHkVA-wZeoRAdVFA2zSW5n4yOEAzeVPOs/s1600/IMG_2494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxjYpWE2TkclNuDOjMKXtqkT7bBeOBc7q34srf8ufOwN6d7_2IlF13ofLDcoCEixcMFY1GE5lmRO7tm2Tul496WqhC_QLKCZnimOdLLCkZwsHkVA-wZeoRAdVFA2zSW5n4yOEAzeVPOs/s640/IMG_2494.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northwest of Cafayate on Ruta 68</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHmnspPIYkSnS32nkKSZGmPL6CGSBa8nH17MF_M6rzr7uxVa1qyevcQqLr6gvUMenqsx9KQKYcF8LrZ5sw4YkOZGpwDECvekieTTi3udirFa7BCrDBAGWDJaEecvRegERtJAR9MEbdaI/s1600/IMG_2495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHmnspPIYkSnS32nkKSZGmPL6CGSBa8nH17MF_M6rzr7uxVa1qyevcQqLr6gvUMenqsx9KQKYcF8LrZ5sw4YkOZGpwDECvekieTTi3udirFa7BCrDBAGWDJaEecvRegERtJAR9MEbdaI/s320/IMG_2495.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picking a room in Santa Maria.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>On Thursday morning we got up to sunny skies and fresh snow on the mountains. We had joined the famous Ruta 40 at Cafayate and planned to follow it all day to Chilecito or beyond. It's great riding but you just never know what your going to get as far as highway conditions. Even some of the primary routes can be washed out or covered in water. This was no exception and there were several good river crossings and spots where there was only a single lane due to washouts. We made good time to Chilecito so continued west to Villa Union for the night. More great riding here but we were lucky to sneak between two large thunder storms. If we had been caught in the rain on this section we would have had no fun. Much of the road bed was composed of this red mud that was nice when it was dry but would be hell in the rain.<br />
Just before Villa Union we were watching what we thought was a rain storm just to the south of us. It turned out we were watching a dust storm developing and it passed just outside of town after we were in our room. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09e9RwG6AbbWQhWfT2gUu6pegAAkmvSlDIV1dmpsYDj8X9R0gODdn7nKfNThFq02h9mZFw9b9zEkCefFQu2jsZM-BvCzeJ0Q9XD17ZVIWBgRJLbWHbgz3bhnVRLYTmZbxp-DlrNrvNU8/s1600/IMG_2497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09e9RwG6AbbWQhWfT2gUu6pegAAkmvSlDIV1dmpsYDj8X9R0gODdn7nKfNThFq02h9mZFw9b9zEkCefFQu2jsZM-BvCzeJ0Q9XD17ZVIWBgRJLbWHbgz3bhnVRLYTmZbxp-DlrNrvNU8/s400/IMG_2497.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South of Santa Maria</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlHsZJljk4xCq_mGzYjP1T5i2nhk2DQfwjQjZ6TQvF5ywK8JixDI449A3rvAINoTtGPWVvrAengy4AsBKB441fL-Kpq3clxfudb6NUzWlxfn2W3aQL8HIGR-aHHEgbQXFVjT_aZCcI90/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlHsZJljk4xCq_mGzYjP1T5i2nhk2DQfwjQjZ6TQvF5ywK8JixDI449A3rvAINoTtGPWVvrAengy4AsBKB441fL-Kpq3clxfudb6NUzWlxfn2W3aQL8HIGR-aHHEgbQXFVjT_aZCcI90/s400/IMG_2498.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGW0ng9gGxNqIZRdti94ldVXA05sjJB6Udk0Ix_hVzdlC6zKfKBALTOaEa4FRac5VOnRZ-lPMrlojXjfAqqLPD6PAIu54FRftGypOSibbUo-SUIAqUaZ0NiiX5xefPJ8X7MtuVCx0nv8/s1600/IMG_2499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGW0ng9gGxNqIZRdti94ldVXA05sjJB6Udk0Ix_hVzdlC6zKfKBALTOaEa4FRac5VOnRZ-lPMrlojXjfAqqLPD6PAIu54FRftGypOSibbUo-SUIAqUaZ0NiiX5xefPJ8X7MtuVCx0nv8/s400/IMG_2499.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along Ruta 40 north of Belen</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3Nfh40sX8IQnWqLa1Jh1PW8dnP6Zlhyphenhyphen3Th-TjDqkZjefbS710_uf4mcAb6yGuZrPnUzJ0Y0EY7yKRrVqycGtNh9vr3M0dK2zHk93rO3urHJqqQ4472BGPhKViKB3hLVBx4JOD4BegzA/s1600/IMG_2500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3Nfh40sX8IQnWqLa1Jh1PW8dnP6Zlhyphenhyphen3Th-TjDqkZjefbS710_uf4mcAb6yGuZrPnUzJ0Y0EY7yKRrVqycGtNh9vr3M0dK2zHk93rO3urHJqqQ4472BGPhKViKB3hLVBx4JOD4BegzA/s640/IMG_2500.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West of Chilecito and Nongasta. It's in a National Park but I can't remember the name of it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BRM9gi-IHukUBb8LiaKwIGYrrndVZYom24Zskhsq-771FLH3ulaEdtXd5B7eugT28u2i5MCSOgmvxUhk1cFeOapowlvPyKPKQBQkJUfNaFEIRs0yODMd8XadJDv5tWwsoTeXNU0N8rc/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BRM9gi-IHukUBb8LiaKwIGYrrndVZYom24Zskhsq-771FLH3ulaEdtXd5B7eugT28u2i5MCSOgmvxUhk1cFeOapowlvPyKPKQBQkJUfNaFEIRs0yODMd8XadJDv5tWwsoTeXNU0N8rc/s320/IMG_2501.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The guy (on the left) had started his cycling trip in Alaska about a year and a half ago. His girl friend joined him in Lima, Peru last September. We met them west of Nonogasta, Argentina</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJtXJWktvMtL3_C1WXcsE7q_nAQ-kXHduNqCftgdTj_z0z8oBjtjMq3AAmUAVfk8Xe1Y5JvlYVdCsmxmXbzHvwSbygCIHJsIthTQXygfm8U1leh1mczcK8e04Q8wIQZ7INGVKEK6aCbQ/s1600/IMG_2502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJtXJWktvMtL3_C1WXcsE7q_nAQ-kXHduNqCftgdTj_z0z8oBjtjMq3AAmUAVfk8Xe1Y5JvlYVdCsmxmXbzHvwSbygCIHJsIthTQXygfm8U1leh1mczcK8e04Q8wIQZ7INGVKEK6aCbQ/s400/IMG_2502.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the park west of Nonogasta</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZIL4e0UfDEci8ySIoYWxNDyy5mLi2YjoqzeCxjYHq7nAngWJ4k-Fv5s5nNplZLJmhpY_AFFZT2DwbIcKxKNgXQeRzlf09Kn6xTuy8lJEIW3ypgZzq_C3al1YmkzlhXBOGLuqxif04p8/s1600/IMG_2503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZIL4e0UfDEci8ySIoYWxNDyy5mLi2YjoqzeCxjYHq7nAngWJ4k-Fv5s5nNplZLJmhpY_AFFZT2DwbIcKxKNgXQeRzlf09Kn6xTuy8lJEIW3ypgZzq_C3al1YmkzlhXBOGLuqxif04p8/s400/IMG_2503.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This road was good going today</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkfuTSSxLMfnKNo_512nHgBSjTb32g9PnOgsQPfJfqbv2a8kr2vGWhA3qq_PnaJKwQC6LNlX7F6NMCNxduYi5OLe3x18erRYiiOR-0GfqI-TFNfGnnFE2NynX9S38L42CclETrl5BtjI/s1600/IMG_2504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkfuTSSxLMfnKNo_512nHgBSjTb32g9PnOgsQPfJfqbv2a8kr2vGWhA3qq_PnaJKwQC6LNlX7F6NMCNxduYi5OLe3x18erRYiiOR-0GfqI-TFNfGnnFE2NynX9S38L42CclETrl5BtjI/s320/IMG_2504.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clowning around a bit. Gotta have fun sometime.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Friday we got up to the sound of fairly heavy rain on the roof. We took our time having breakfast then headed out for Mendoza. We got about 35 kilometers south of Villa Union along 40 when we were stopped by a river running across the highway. There were already a number of cars and trucks parked by the roadside and it was still raining. We joined the crowd hoping for the rain to stop and the water to go down. As far as we knew at the time this (Ruta 40) was the best route for us to take. There was a smaller rubber-tired front end loader working at cleaning out some of the other floodways and when he was done he came to help vehicles across the river. At first he led some of the transport trucks across. Then he would cross parallel and upstream of some of the smaller vehicles like four wheel drive pick-ups. Eventually the water got too high and nobody could make it across for a while. The loader operator even offered to carry our bikes across the river. We tried to load mine in but the loader bucket was an awkward size and the risk of damaging the bike was too high for my liking. The loader operator even offered to build us a loading ramp if we could get a truck to carry our bikes across. We waited around for about 5 or 6 hours but no luck. We headed back to town and got our room back. Then we went for drinks and appy's. What else are you supposed to do?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1FDQWkPt6MThW4OXUENWN-1Nb5JI9LJRnPPu6NNjn6K4WHj4yqJGcvSucUgNTWFhNNFaKbMZliK_L1yVaiPrsY2gPYhre9DxhbjNEkOKQuREgIMdlRXxbICsWglBif0hMFDfb87LlS8/s1600/IMG_2505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1FDQWkPt6MThW4OXUENWN-1Nb5JI9LJRnPPu6NNjn6K4WHj4yqJGcvSucUgNTWFhNNFaKbMZliK_L1yVaiPrsY2gPYhre9DxhbjNEkOKQuREgIMdlRXxbICsWglBif0hMFDfb87LlS8/s400/IMG_2505.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bummer</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJODKn-mB8ADCNwqBjdTIXrSH26_eNRoW-N6SLJnUSoEikH0FTHNcofcyZan9uDxo8rKNlELpgHpkNv4jiB3jP2whXkjAM3iAUYf4pA57Sc8RDJlwPCOLG_FpgP7updqDnPSyBqZDFKI/s1600/IMG_2506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJODKn-mB8ADCNwqBjdTIXrSH26_eNRoW-N6SLJnUSoEikH0FTHNcofcyZan9uDxo8rKNlELpgHpkNv4jiB3jP2whXkjAM3iAUYf4pA57Sc8RDJlwPCOLG_FpgP7updqDnPSyBqZDFKI/s400/IMG_2506.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The loader operator was a really good guy</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj48L0Ult9sL4gERufcddyiPhMNFw17skaD5uonJvBLnPsBoWzETYmy9wlpWDgXweGawGkKBSaKiislOQVsIRegN06O4Of2S9iwe9tY1UTTdRCpyH3uDx9dCbIfRzwiCTqGhmrF5rk5Jg/s1600/IMG_2507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj48L0Ult9sL4gERufcddyiPhMNFw17skaD5uonJvBLnPsBoWzETYmy9wlpWDgXweGawGkKBSaKiislOQVsIRegN06O4Of2S9iwe9tY1UTTdRCpyH3uDx9dCbIfRzwiCTqGhmrF5rk5Jg/s400/IMG_2507.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More cool rocks on the way back to Villa Union</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKBpJx1yrNmuPVHjv-NgMuD-OVpbHaytgT2teQwLUrR86pdfxDDDnM36nz3OynExklGa3qVpixA8Pbvic2b8BJKKNoJe082ynTAn1rELt5dU7o_JcDuXr-qyHg0cweTi-fAYLObruA6E/s1600/IMG_2508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKBpJx1yrNmuPVHjv-NgMuD-OVpbHaytgT2teQwLUrR86pdfxDDDnM36nz3OynExklGa3qVpixA8Pbvic2b8BJKKNoJe082ynTAn1rELt5dU7o_JcDuXr-qyHg0cweTi-fAYLObruA6E/s400/IMG_2508.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not bad for $17 eh? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>After our appetizer we went for dinner and then it really started raining. It wasn't looking good for the good guys. We had asked around though and determined there was an alternate route to Mendoza which we ended up taking on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, during the heavy rain in the night the sand had washed away under my double-stand and my bike fell against a wall. Not too bad but the fall broke my right hand mirror. That was a drag.<br />
The road ended up being really good and after a few more hours of rain we had a nice ride into Mendoza. It's a very modern and attractive city with lots of trees and and green space. We also had our first glimpse of the true pampas of Argentina. This is a big place, Argentina.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pWeyS59xqnjF2W3AQfnkEzPBN0jWFIe1SLmm2igHEA1nVRJqIdnfruHdddNymERaujeAFIo6o5RwKI-4ykxFWlu5FsuCRH5yUsaI3Hnqh71pbNnhAfnGhI6_AKjmj799IjDVv3xpr3w/s1600/IMG_2520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pWeyS59xqnjF2W3AQfnkEzPBN0jWFIe1SLmm2igHEA1nVRJqIdnfruHdddNymERaujeAFIo6o5RwKI-4ykxFWlu5FsuCRH5yUsaI3Hnqh71pbNnhAfnGhI6_AKjmj799IjDVv3xpr3w/s400/IMG_2520.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the main streets in downtown Mendoza.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FAQZzsHr-V-AMfvLM5kuTuxylYD6mEQyFSXNJz-cMejAGmyBS5YplyDvE2Lc5SY7oKvogu1SoXwDoEXoOinHsUyFevxz7eUqUBZp9mfPVQPi7edMQOKfL824gt7tVrson1kfJF2pbus/s1600/IMG_2518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FAQZzsHr-V-AMfvLM5kuTuxylYD6mEQyFSXNJz-cMejAGmyBS5YplyDvE2Lc5SY7oKvogu1SoXwDoEXoOinHsUyFevxz7eUqUBZp9mfPVQPi7edMQOKfL824gt7tVrson1kfJF2pbus/s640/IMG_2518.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Argentina is a big country.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDimOZ6VYZOqcammrEuIdd-S_8I8u_Hy9L6AKSefLly4v1V0k_WQq8Dq5aqCCzNFA9MNBfIn2fqIYJNlc7eh2cUptoiB83I-gXOry-4TYe5QDL1GhRkTNWb86sxpNBna3VwvYQ2d7EFA/s1600/IMG_2519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDimOZ6VYZOqcammrEuIdd-S_8I8u_Hy9L6AKSefLly4v1V0k_WQq8Dq5aqCCzNFA9MNBfIn2fqIYJNlc7eh2cUptoiB83I-gXOry-4TYe5QDL1GhRkTNWb86sxpNBna3VwvYQ2d7EFA/s640/IMG_2519.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And also beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tonight, Sunday, we're in Malargue and back on Ruta 40. Not sure where we're going tomorrow. That will be dictated by the weather I suppose. Some of these roads are horrendous in heavy rain.<br />
Anyways, that's it for now.<br />
ChauUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-8812766811490203972011-02-14T20:40:00.000-08:002011-02-15T07:34:37.908-08:00San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>San Pedro de Atacama is a tourist town to the north of the the Salar de Atacama. There are many tours you can take from here to see the fascinating geology and geography of the area including volcanoes and hot springs. The way the layers of the earth are being uplifted here makes it seem as though it's happening while you watch.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuttngJYU6o3HDs1yKF3rl_V1wEqjG2YEGt898UyFeFQihSaARyRwMiiD4OSicAao0DmavqiqJ5J3F-W_vF55NzBfCvos25GKnKZdFVaQdQV2QyPkSFk8iQv3yjERIIC74ft7TLnlZ_0k/s1600/IMG_2318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuttngJYU6o3HDs1yKF3rl_V1wEqjG2YEGt898UyFeFQihSaARyRwMiiD4OSicAao0DmavqiqJ5J3F-W_vF55NzBfCvos25GKnKZdFVaQdQV2QyPkSFk8iQv3yjERIIC74ft7TLnlZ_0k/s320/IMG_2318.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We got up early on Saturday morning to complete the exit formalities at the Chilean border post right in town. You actually exit Chile at San Pedro; 160 km before the frontier. There was already a line-up and we were in time to hear the news that the Paso de Jama to Argentina was closed due to snow but that it may be open by noon. We went for a relaxing breakfast and came back at 10:30 hoping to be close to the the front of the line. As usual we ended up talking to a few other travelers including a guy from Germany who was motorbiking his way around South America on his older BMW 1000. We ended up waiting in line until nearly 1 pm before we got word the pass was open. By this time the crowd was getting impatient and there was lots of <i>"closeness"</i> as we tried to hold our place in line. Long line-ups seem to generate the worst qualities in people.<br />
We ended up being nearly the first to leave for the pass and we found the road to be bare and dry as we climbed to the 4200 m pass. It was awesome but a bit chilly at about 0 deg C. We had expected the worst conditions but found a very nice road under blue skies with fresh snow on the peaks. We even saw herds of guanacos near the summit of the pass. They are the wild ancestors of the llama. They may have been vicuna (ancestors of the alpaca) but I don't think so. Someone can correct me if I'm out to lunch on this. Sorry, no pictures.<br />
Because of the late start we were in a bit of a rush as we had a border crossing to do and we were hoping to make Jujuy before dark. It's too bad as this was one of those days where I could have taken about a thousand more photos.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxc3gFZVArepb84YIX379zGE7Y8DEME3Ve9LRBSa3FEGOymAp54sz9RMacLR_c_S8VDRyZjkB6LSZsBoUwVLNNYwsjZpvwaGHjvVIj-sdW9LWuDEB-TcuydR4VAfCHoqILh6-BlWvWR4/s1600/IMG_2319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPxc3gFZVArepb84YIX379zGE7Y8DEME3Ve9LRBSa3FEGOymAp54sz9RMacLR_c_S8VDRyZjkB6LSZsBoUwVLNNYwsjZpvwaGHjvVIj-sdW9LWuDEB-TcuydR4VAfCHoqILh6-BlWvWR4/s400/IMG_2319.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking Northeast from San Pedro just after dawn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAwawJLcJq9VDoLwqRrMGlEr6Iv8JL_xYCVW6vPqjjwpQEGPFFI1BsdzPaBgeoTUrGhzJgadFFGNzHBLUb_pLQypHc5i8Ehid5aBtXZsXCSAFntg3kpkM64bg7-vQc3v2kyNWscYfFxk/s1600/IMG_2282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAwawJLcJq9VDoLwqRrMGlEr6Iv8JL_xYCVW6vPqjjwpQEGPFFI1BsdzPaBgeoTUrGhzJgadFFGNzHBLUb_pLQypHc5i8Ehid5aBtXZsXCSAFntg3kpkM64bg7-vQc3v2kyNWscYfFxk/s320/IMG_2282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chilean border post at San Pedro de Atacama</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhWvPJB5DEdSUo56gML-LANY3vTPtfnu6OT15pZPy4IqvwWUgAZqqf2IwJGJOmQ6_dMgz4xAzvzYU8Pf66ih_zct5bABUuQyn916UfrjW3-VDkVj4yFWzqA-GeIsNf90Vna6q80vQMIc/s1600/IMG_2284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhWvPJB5DEdSUo56gML-LANY3vTPtfnu6OT15pZPy4IqvwWUgAZqqf2IwJGJOmQ6_dMgz4xAzvzYU8Pf66ih_zct5bABUuQyn916UfrjW3-VDkVj4yFWzqA-GeIsNf90Vna6q80vQMIc/s640/IMG_2284.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somewhere on the Chilean side of the Paso de Jama up around 4000 m asl</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGAEL446vbbG4Ner-xFZoPM0WU5Vo8PaI_ESeD2mOB1Ad47WQMKxGUQt9hwoVpu0ztipXkq3gmGMq-qi4zu6VY0PqBvaSxXtziiDaJrxLOu8c1JvAxMvTLsLgL4KVIGtttoXjPfj2Ngg/s1600/IMG_2283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGAEL446vbbG4Ner-xFZoPM0WU5Vo8PaI_ESeD2mOB1Ad47WQMKxGUQt9hwoVpu0ztipXkq3gmGMq-qi4zu6VY0PqBvaSxXtziiDaJrxLOu8c1JvAxMvTLsLgL4KVIGtttoXjPfj2Ngg/s640/IMG_2283.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still on the Chile side of Paso Jama</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dm_KZ_B91Ethvu9WJIw9eCht4II9dwqFDQI-oVCdi_R2ndfD6ZimTrpWe-frCw1e5rck5SzJXxS3eLu51Mw8K-BLaTl9EbO68MREUst9-JEbkycmoyvD5TCgukVbaOJLGaCsKA38SsU/s1600/IMG_2285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dm_KZ_B91Ethvu9WJIw9eCht4II9dwqFDQI-oVCdi_R2ndfD6ZimTrpWe-frCw1e5rck5SzJXxS3eLu51Mw8K-BLaTl9EbO68MREUst9-JEbkycmoyvD5TCgukVbaOJLGaCsKA38SsU/s640/IMG_2285.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of Chile west of Paso Jama</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEWW59uxSy_sQ2v_5mjg-LVNGgNVGqWRG9RT9uEXiJOKziEL0BAcXGWTq5UcWN4-dt-A0ldOv3-odgtSbUdHRGBbCnlX5k78NLzi2lkmBAXr3lz6KHbbfdH18K1bj6fqoH96De2viBBA/s1600/IMG_2287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEWW59uxSy_sQ2v_5mjg-LVNGgNVGqWRG9RT9uEXiJOKziEL0BAcXGWTq5UcWN4-dt-A0ldOv3-odgtSbUdHRGBbCnlX5k78NLzi2lkmBAXr3lz6KHbbfdH18K1bj6fqoH96De2viBBA/s400/IMG_2287.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Salinas Grandes in Argentina</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Because we got such a late start we ended up staying in Purmamarca about one hour from Jujuy. It was a cool town and we ended up seeing another of the bikers here that we had met at the border in San Pedro. He was an Argentine who had been to Ecuador and had stopped to get a photo of himself in front of El Cerro de los Siete Colores. The Mountain of Seven Colours is one of many colourful mountains around the Purmamarca area.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Msa_eD3u7U0j53k2gTZTMroKPtWNRUAO9xOzwLocD4EfwteeprlmsOGMyyD9sXcnyNB5b5RAEKLJkLAGZ3Ez3HZq94eTMtTbrklLFQeaCffSrNvjF8xz4QadKALPGF8IW3zXnYeTkXs/s1600/IMG_2288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Msa_eD3u7U0j53k2gTZTMroKPtWNRUAO9xOzwLocD4EfwteeprlmsOGMyyD9sXcnyNB5b5RAEKLJkLAGZ3Ez3HZq94eTMtTbrklLFQeaCffSrNvjF8xz4QadKALPGF8IW3zXnYeTkXs/s400/IMG_2288.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Cerro de los Siete Colores</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>It was in Purmamarca that I finally got in touch with my daughter Kirsten, who is in San Salvador de Jujuy on a Rotary International Student Exchange. I hadn't seen her for about six months and was really looking forward to seeing her. We got into Jujuy around 10:30 am the next morning and rode to the house of her present host parents; Ivanna and Hugo.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAiYR8MxWaMMc_Gwlf-bdTz2gjC-0tYfUG-dS6JeN9v8C00a6qPmyjYCEfkrp-hKdhBKDdiM2k8aJHRULObMfX3JppswZBc-BUf8pzaKmNYf6WesoU0QdzNVXsfCBZTpVizNBfinP4Bo/s1600/IMG_2289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAiYR8MxWaMMc_Gwlf-bdTz2gjC-0tYfUG-dS6JeN9v8C00a6qPmyjYCEfkrp-hKdhBKDdiM2k8aJHRULObMfX3JppswZBc-BUf8pzaKmNYf6WesoU0QdzNVXsfCBZTpVizNBfinP4Bo/s320/IMG_2289.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil, Me (actually smiling), Kirsten, Ivanna and Hugo. Kirsten's good friend Carley took the photo. Carley is on exchange to Jujuy from Pennsylvania. </td></tr>
</tbody></table> We had coffee and cakes at Kirsten's house then Hugo helped us find a hotel. After we got changed we headed across town to the home of Kirsten's original host family. We had been invited to attend a birthday celebration for the Grandmother of the family. We got there just in time for asado and an awesome lunch. There was a large gathering and I can't hope to remember everyone's name. We were treated like family and it was good to know that Kirsten had been taken care of so well. It was a lot of fun with lots of music, dancing, laughter and good conversation. Thanks Nanci and Family.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyl1O4pTxdciZrl0831suCqTy6MXxusSv9h5nj_S509xoitw8iDkpzeCkRw7dii5vs5G_P0x-vpIBdPVM4nxEFMvEPolYiSMEwQyu9aMomR7keOPkdqDCA0IvQXwWDEmo0-mxQMP-Uak/s1600/IMG_2290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyl1O4pTxdciZrl0831suCqTy6MXxusSv9h5nj_S509xoitw8iDkpzeCkRw7dii5vs5G_P0x-vpIBdPVM4nxEFMvEPolYiSMEwQyu9aMomR7keOPkdqDCA0IvQXwWDEmo0-mxQMP-Uak/s400/IMG_2290.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A large happy family.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVStA7eMOGTARB5vypeQRc95G0ZFFaz-wq_uVeTDg5M0IzhWbkPWaftNsoOU53wqylseHz9lLZHh2JqJoe_YOKdNpQ4em1AnN0-gyJJQLnwMWoBja8Jvz2PZyDmB9TGkxmf0qi96Q8DY/s1600/IMG_2291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVStA7eMOGTARB5vypeQRc95G0ZFFaz-wq_uVeTDg5M0IzhWbkPWaftNsoOU53wqylseHz9lLZHh2JqJoe_YOKdNpQ4em1AnN0-gyJJQLnwMWoBja8Jvz2PZyDmB9TGkxmf0qi96Q8DY/s400/IMG_2291.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did say large family didn't I?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2mD4PwrnWXzcBaPnNI0Tmru9WmgymBmiC_M2lmNJivrB00AnTqeIJQkBXN0qSVUvWEGNdG7jxEBgvZiBuB322IKNHUmyGKqATd7vg3Tzki0huhVFvnCIuAXLPGOHvttHfMFRsuCu9H8/s1600/IMG_2292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2mD4PwrnWXzcBaPnNI0Tmru9WmgymBmiC_M2lmNJivrB00AnTqeIJQkBXN0qSVUvWEGNdG7jxEBgvZiBuB322IKNHUmyGKqATd7vg3Tzki0huhVFvnCIuAXLPGOHvttHfMFRsuCu9H8/s400/IMG_2292.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday dance with Grandma Catty </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekf24t4zwWMzxKOoB-E3_1KH9ndZl643475mxrXmF8CwuHoowB25pFL-xo2MyuOUUz5ZkfcudGkJUSjPp51bzOWPuNRXbSp8LhGU4_hwhOuk8ANc5x9zUuZmN9YaTOs7o-YMmV1g6Vqw/s1600/IMG_2293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekf24t4zwWMzxKOoB-E3_1KH9ndZl643475mxrXmF8CwuHoowB25pFL-xo2MyuOUUz5ZkfcudGkJUSjPp51bzOWPuNRXbSp8LhGU4_hwhOuk8ANc5x9zUuZmN9YaTOs7o-YMmV1g6Vqw/s320/IMG_2293.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much for good clean fun. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnm-lGt4d4L0PG9z7GrX4C1qEb9C8DAa02i5XYtl003TeYFPQ9nDw06cOFm-3jGf-mKoXQKJhETth8vTf1GUD3bwWFEhx8dwcR6c86KFkS6hyphenhyphend6eju2bmCIEEEmvc1dN_d2Th6yFjSxNo/s1600/IMG_2321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnm-lGt4d4L0PG9z7GrX4C1qEb9C8DAa02i5XYtl003TeYFPQ9nDw06cOFm-3jGf-mKoXQKJhETth8vTf1GUD3bwWFEhx8dwcR6c86KFkS6hyphenhyphend6eju2bmCIEEEmvc1dN_d2Th6yFjSxNo/s320/IMG_2321.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a lot of trouble in a small package. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DjWdyM379-jw_IuLrrCzYqk3B80UpJw6YX9YrzsPcqc4VMF5AOV2SmWNOaa6Q4GtoOzblqFOwsW84xwPZCiNixXADrXkErZ7oqL4Ij8Xvjs5bRRW6G41gSHOjsDkFEIXnYl6t4UgQyk/s1600/IMG_2294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DjWdyM379-jw_IuLrrCzYqk3B80UpJw6YX9YrzsPcqc4VMF5AOV2SmWNOaa6Q4GtoOzblqFOwsW84xwPZCiNixXADrXkErZ7oqL4Ij8Xvjs5bRRW6G41gSHOjsDkFEIXnYl6t4UgQyk/s400/IMG_2294.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muchas gracias!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Today we had a relaxing day getting a tour of San Salvador de Jujuy from Kirsten with a great lunch and more good conversation at the home of Hugo and Ivanna.<br />
In the afternoon we met with some members of the local Rotary Club at our hotel and we had a nice visit and chat while we heard a few stories about the girls and we told a little of our trip so far. I can't say enough about Rotary International and the great opportunities they provide for kids to go on exchange visits all over the world. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacWMECmGqr66u5Fk5ACRZIi_KrHzaOAeOar5Y8boVnTw_pOs9Dcs6uIjDF9bXYqyuvZu8IVPWT2zgojo3wijTbB-5p0siQTR1vkakpKH4lItig1xuUoYyus-LWo81ON4iT7owSaOmfMM/s1600/IMG_2316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacWMECmGqr66u5Fk5ACRZIi_KrHzaOAeOar5Y8boVnTw_pOs9Dcs6uIjDF9bXYqyuvZu8IVPWT2zgojo3wijTbB-5p0siQTR1vkakpKH4lItig1xuUoYyus-LWo81ON4iT7owSaOmfMM/s400/IMG_2316.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a nice meeting with some of the members of the Rotary Club of Jujuy. From left to right are: Marta (Youth Exchange Officer), Hugo (incoming Club President), Neil, Carley, Aida (Club President) and Kirsten and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge8_iCJb8Mzg-KGCnDhibPNSVlxYuwZDfuCevV-7G4bjWsA8VnRnV5OsuUmAb_TArXOAA9q6kHHP1XoIdAyccWSlB-hLc2pQdraUuYWwZcUJRWehYlIWqW_L7uT3QTTC_t6hZ-xMu3mLQ/s1600/IMG_2317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge8_iCJb8Mzg-KGCnDhibPNSVlxYuwZDfuCevV-7G4bjWsA8VnRnV5OsuUmAb_TArXOAA9q6kHHP1XoIdAyccWSlB-hLc2pQdraUuYWwZcUJRWehYlIWqW_L7uT3QTTC_t6hZ-xMu3mLQ/s320/IMG_2317.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirsten, myself and Carley, my new daughter.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>They say that once you've been to Jujuy you'll always come back. I think I understand why. <br />
That's all for now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-74435968815555121522011-02-14T03:22:00.000-08:002011-02-14T04:10:42.677-08:00More Decisions and off to ChileWhen we were in Ollantaytambo we talked to some other bikers who had advised us that the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia was under water right now. Apparently their friend had taken five days to travel across in a foot of water. It would still be nice to see it but coupled with the weather (lots of rain) we chose to forgo traveling to Bolivia. We are down to about six weeks left of available travel time and we would rather save a bit of time for Patagonia side-trips. <br />
So after Puno we traveled along the shore of Lago Titicaca to Desaguadaro which is the border entry point to Bolivia from Peru. From there we planned to head for Tacna on the Pacific coast for a border crossing the next day into Chile. There was a lot of traffic and people around the actual border crossing and we idled back and forth a few times through the crowds trying to find a gas station. We finally decided to head towards Tacna hoping one of the small towns along the way would have gas. We had already been side-swiping some heavy rain showers and the mountains ahead weren't looking too friendly with the look of snow showers. It was also getting colder. We eventually stopped to put on more clothes and I even put on my heated vest. I'm glad I did as soon after that we hit the rain. It kept getting colder and when we crossed the 4800 meter pass we were just below the snowline. Through the mist we caught a few glimpses of the terrain around us and it was very barren but colourful. Kind of like the pictures you see of Mars. This is when it started getting really foggy and we were soon down to about 40 or 50 kmh with eyes straining to see the road. The fog continued for a long time and we didn't really get to see a thing for many kilometers. When we did break out of the fog it was short lived and we were back into it thicker than before with the road now slippery with mud and sand. On top of that the wind was pretty gusty. We never did find a gas station either but the long descent from the pass added quite a few kilometers to our tanks and we rolled into a gas station in Torata after about 420 km showing nearly 100 km remaining on reserve. On level ground we probably would have had about 75 or 80 km left in our tanks. <br />
We got back on the Pan American and made it to Tacna about 5 pm but took nearly two hours to find a hotel and arrange parking. While I was out looking around for a room Neil was back at the bikes. As I crossed the street headed back his way I could see a police car parked near us and a policeman talking to Neil. The policeman was taking Neil's documents and threatening to fine us for parking in a yellow <i>No Parking</i> zone. The cop in the car looked like he was writing a ticket. Neil and I both questioned why no one else around us was getting a ticket. Everybody parks wherever they feel like. They were also only going to fine one of us. I think the young cop was trying to shake us down but the older guy in the car wasn't into it and they eventually let us go.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59FwXBcL46vYqRQUp95Ym55dQmzSPKYlGXgF3mm_wKe9Za7KH-g0dlKiULyESFClMJIJnGI6CSuuT4ZKCq3e9V_HBW3npkibR2sqJxxuKnzScnG0tAzWeKVcojj5p2l7aWdePRq3Jf0Q/s1600/IMG_2134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj59FwXBcL46vYqRQUp95Ym55dQmzSPKYlGXgF3mm_wKe9Za7KH-g0dlKiULyESFClMJIJnGI6CSuuT4ZKCq3e9V_HBW3npkibR2sqJxxuKnzScnG0tAzWeKVcojj5p2l7aWdePRq3Jf0Q/s400/IMG_2134.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lago Titicaca</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFATLH2UVp1OhrTj374_k2Wszgri8otV3cMyVe7D4ScM3fqnhSmD7aj7i3J3uhuSrMhZ_oQHTWBJillr3uFV9J-VgkzKTgpa4nnkzTlOu-eNciEDiJ9F-olkz4s4uSF1eX_mRGlm9CmE/s1600/IMG_2135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFATLH2UVp1OhrTj374_k2Wszgri8otV3cMyVe7D4ScM3fqnhSmD7aj7i3J3uhuSrMhZ_oQHTWBJillr3uFV9J-VgkzKTgpa4nnkzTlOu-eNciEDiJ9F-olkz4s4uSF1eX_mRGlm9CmE/s400/IMG_2135.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lines on the hills in the background are stone walls or fences. Miles and miles of them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVhZ3bxKWOjvmVyUEdydMFjEG0evVmIO6-P2FUPGXQBnY_qyZrFfJsOWMBChpZWVdEoXVuE7O-Sbq4Q-EtmW73gkx2VeNUqWrQidjzyUgkyA7InPPVDhSzByMNijtCCW7zLswOlxCXUU/s1600/IMG_2136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVhZ3bxKWOjvmVyUEdydMFjEG0evVmIO6-P2FUPGXQBnY_qyZrFfJsOWMBChpZWVdEoXVuE7O-Sbq4Q-EtmW73gkx2VeNUqWrQidjzyUgkyA7InPPVDhSzByMNijtCCW7zLswOlxCXUU/s400/IMG_2136.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We saw lots of llamas and alpacas. We even saw a few vicuna (I think) but didn't get a photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJGoJLc5x7-Q_n477YnNxadiYduXtdcB0mIrg6zGFF-KfRneVyKJU5ANyU-aequ77_K09zaIfP26FkyJz3GFLvzanv-mNuozgJSx2mH19Ugq_szJfyB7vBZZK5tUy_m38QUQhDz1h2wg/s1600/IMG_2137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJGoJLc5x7-Q_n477YnNxadiYduXtdcB0mIrg6zGFF-KfRneVyKJU5ANyU-aequ77_K09zaIfP26FkyJz3GFLvzanv-mNuozgJSx2mH19Ugq_szJfyB7vBZZK5tUy_m38QUQhDz1h2wg/s400/IMG_2137.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWN8Kutr-wTf30shz5UlO-Y-tM4daLQs9F1Ptd7ZazxBr6h1e7az59GkL-fc7Px7roVrdb7U0G9PxkEP49qiIEFEW_wQW7Ywrc7XlC4l665Dr1BHnYjQP2cvr4kbU7f6QB943XMB0M-LQ/s1600/IMG_2138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWN8Kutr-wTf30shz5UlO-Y-tM4daLQs9F1Ptd7ZazxBr6h1e7az59GkL-fc7Px7roVrdb7U0G9PxkEP49qiIEFEW_wQW7Ywrc7XlC4l665Dr1BHnYjQP2cvr4kbU7f6QB943XMB0M-LQ/s400/IMG_2138.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking toward the pass in front of us.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0rOtelLyz3d6aMP1tUV8H4l6cEGq4_ZtLT6LW_eh0TsZXz5cLbWFwhO8HTACKtbdy_a60NPpj1Q8d7z13Md6K3ouk9Z2GCaqCWu6wsBfQGbNk6Bvczffwo0kHGRXedFMBvzsGpkVYv4/s1600/IMG_2139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0rOtelLyz3d6aMP1tUV8H4l6cEGq4_ZtLT6LW_eh0TsZXz5cLbWFwhO8HTACKtbdy_a60NPpj1Q8d7z13Md6K3ouk9Z2GCaqCWu6wsBfQGbNk6Bvczffwo0kHGRXedFMBvzsGpkVYv4/s400/IMG_2139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our first stop out of the fog with the road unwinding below us.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofOW__w-EXmzsYGQpg7OmK-lfKSIvK1_Y_4VoU8CvlEMPTPQsoroFrFRNrJjVHDgyhvRP1bze8hjQeJlIwCWHs45nA3g7FSAE9eCnan_q88rV-JBIHdcK935Jq48X8mx35yC_oHcKww0/s1600/IMG_2140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofOW__w-EXmzsYGQpg7OmK-lfKSIvK1_Y_4VoU8CvlEMPTPQsoroFrFRNrJjVHDgyhvRP1bze8hjQeJlIwCWHs45nA3g7FSAE9eCnan_q88rV-JBIHdcK935Jq48X8mx35yC_oHcKww0/s400/IMG_2140.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was very barren and dry on the Pacific side of the pass near Moquegua except for these very green valleys. Some weren't much more than gullies really but very lush.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQwUmx1g8qr2SWLe3fQPVyJYZaxs4X-0qU0YH1SMvBHqeEfkEkXWcE8cAGRbESiGs961XVSKYy39wCic3ul3mIdDR3YigZfYP1kv57pj0iBnVwOMiXm31gv_IHRiGT61KhC8UjRcUjjk/s1600/IMG_2141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQwUmx1g8qr2SWLe3fQPVyJYZaxs4X-0qU0YH1SMvBHqeEfkEkXWcE8cAGRbESiGs961XVSKYy39wCic3ul3mIdDR3YigZfYP1kv57pj0iBnVwOMiXm31gv_IHRiGT61KhC8UjRcUjjk/s400/IMG_2141.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back towards Moquegua</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We had a bit of a slow start in the morning due to a language problem. My grasp of the Spanish language prevents me from detecting the subtle difference between "you can stay until 9 am" from "we don't open until 9 am". <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9XDnCp8BKOed5VvSaDlPZwWZmxuTognrE1JZ-2H-aEFBCSc2aZA9yuNDYRtgFEAIStK5keWeDXfJGSo-OhzVBU-bZ6znS8okUmbJRMJgiyjr-FXgH1tFI60KqxEv8ARItfFVUsDQEXY/s1600/IMG_2142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9XDnCp8BKOed5VvSaDlPZwWZmxuTognrE1JZ-2H-aEFBCSc2aZA9yuNDYRtgFEAIStK5keWeDXfJGSo-OhzVBU-bZ6znS8okUmbJRMJgiyjr-FXgH1tFI60KqxEv8ARItfFVUsDQEXY/s320/IMG_2142.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the gate to open.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The border crossing into Chile was a breeze and we met some nice people in the line-up. There were a group of bikers from Brazil on their way to Mach Picchu so we exchanged road information. After some hugs and handshakes we navigated through Arica and were into the desert for a short but windy ride to Iquique. Iquique is a fairly large town in a pretty dramatic setting on the coast and there are lots of tourists there. It has a huge sand dune for a backdrop that looks about as big as the city. It has very nice beaches with huge waves pounding in from the Pacific. It would be a nice place for a holiday but it's kind of expensive.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3OZhu7klHc8USq6Sxb-hBp9jUXg-2xEes4Mp5DzK97YzMHY2AEBrd0ej1QcJii4haZEaf9M88rwf5vika0LO7OhSwk-SjZatvqzUVY9UyNtHQ1sKZOhP2Gq3xujMSHZ_RQ9Iq3j4rxI/s1600/IMG_2143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3OZhu7klHc8USq6Sxb-hBp9jUXg-2xEes4Mp5DzK97YzMHY2AEBrd0ej1QcJii4haZEaf9M88rwf5vika0LO7OhSwk-SjZatvqzUVY9UyNtHQ1sKZOhP2Gq3xujMSHZ_RQ9Iq3j4rxI/s320/IMG_2143.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this trip has been good for Neil. He's looking younger every day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpEXT4EJeCtYxrXoe35M2JBQWy0uvWJ5PZzctq2RjyD9MohhkZG4h96TmpdiJyY_2pMx1j2zsyfmvMaEZiB6QLQa2pQgkWDRTQT7wyk4z-_tp6eFSFo7Fw_jr0ZlR7sUB10Qfx9_sbG8/s1600/IMG_2144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpEXT4EJeCtYxrXoe35M2JBQWy0uvWJ5PZzctq2RjyD9MohhkZG4h96TmpdiJyY_2pMx1j2zsyfmvMaEZiB6QLQa2pQgkWDRTQT7wyk4z-_tp6eFSFo7Fw_jr0ZlR7sUB10Qfx9_sbG8/s400/IMG_2144.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm no expert but I'm calling this a desert.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguTBJhLvYDnLkefxrwNNV13REj9MKw7At5_485Tem1LUjX_T53K9vjbV1Xp5l6xjkToAbphvfqPkMn2xQIM5rwOO3zbDml7o9jmStXyDOV7m8j6fwW1YpKu3RG3kHC0NGtz4SZb87LC8/s1600/IMG_2145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguTBJhLvYDnLkefxrwNNV13REj9MKw7At5_485Tem1LUjX_T53K9vjbV1Xp5l6xjkToAbphvfqPkMn2xQIM5rwOO3zbDml7o9jmStXyDOV7m8j6fwW1YpKu3RG3kHC0NGtz4SZb87LC8/s400/IMG_2145.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDt2oJoUT0AkDrKAfb8jsEoOk34qJ55DD9kAzmz9qnfO6QZ5p0yM8gNfQK9Rt9t5B9CMkjTql8riMcZmxyHIAotU3_eJiO7OcmBLPcXEMpyuwjP9Kc_HbC-LRJFXEWJbWNVY-YaNzpeU/s1600/IMG_2146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDt2oJoUT0AkDrKAfb8jsEoOk34qJ55DD9kAzmz9qnfO6QZ5p0yM8gNfQK9Rt9t5B9CMkjTql8riMcZmxyHIAotU3_eJiO7OcmBLPcXEMpyuwjP9Kc_HbC-LRJFXEWJbWNVY-YaNzpeU/s400/IMG_2146.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting the idea?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgNBz_ULLRreA35dyXSz6WMwaGP61-xyQweCelR9Stxk05i7qopMG7_rUFdly4EYpfss0x1ix8Tpah7XNYDXIWQl72mGwI8z5uBYPr1IRBPo9ns3eH3sKOW7mP8PQ_Ga-UOOynYzIK0o/s1600/IMG_2147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgNBz_ULLRreA35dyXSz6WMwaGP61-xyQweCelR9Stxk05i7qopMG7_rUFdly4EYpfss0x1ix8Tpah7XNYDXIWQl72mGwI8z5uBYPr1IRBPo9ns3eH3sKOW7mP8PQ_Ga-UOOynYzIK0o/s400/IMG_2147.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2WpY5RQLlqysSAR-XK6ULSlhzU9u11c917fjMTxE35vKknZyj2Q7bnkvgMn80tk3owDEcf4avZ7_z4Vq3xv1cxEp5_3q5wlNSWfRbB8Dmwdh-hAmsSk0meZ5clQTEbC9cVZnNexqynw/s1600/IMG_2148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2WpY5RQLlqysSAR-XK6ULSlhzU9u11c917fjMTxE35vKknZyj2Q7bnkvgMn80tk3owDEcf4avZ7_z4Vq3xv1cxEp5_3q5wlNSWfRbB8Dmwdh-hAmsSk0meZ5clQTEbC9cVZnNexqynw/s400/IMG_2148.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach at Iquique. Awesome waves.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In order to hit the border right for the crossing to Argentina we figured we had two short days to get to San Pedro de Atacama with one night in Tocopilla. We planned on a relaxing start so Neil went for a walk on the beach before breakfast and I was going to work on the blog. I went down to the lobby and noticed a lady cleaning up breakfast dishes. Hmm...what time is it? We'd had a two hour time change without realizing. No problem. We got away well before 11 am and had a beautiful ride on good pavement along the Chilean coastline. The contrast between the huge sand dunes coming down onto the surf pounded rocky shoreline is beautiful to see. We did get pulled over by the cops again though. And again, all they wanted to do was ask where we were from, where were we going and take pictures of us and the bikes. Pretty easy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1rRrDgW_rPbjoU1FNpEAoCYObn5EV45aLK-1bvthDom2OyqC8jo9bvqxYTXLYwv5aY2pnWmYIBmjT6-EJAZUJuwjAoJXSNblMmLFlPZM9Vytx9dj7hgBGyDMH8v_XBRCb0hvGp0_jn8/s1600/IMG_2274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1rRrDgW_rPbjoU1FNpEAoCYObn5EV45aLK-1bvthDom2OyqC8jo9bvqxYTXLYwv5aY2pnWmYIBmjT6-EJAZUJuwjAoJXSNblMmLFlPZM9Vytx9dj7hgBGyDMH8v_XBRCb0hvGp0_jn8/s320/IMG_2274.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between Iquique and Tocopilla on the Chilean coast</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdybQNkcxDMpJnOGt0LyJQLg2DhnZ395HHwzcNHtC2R3NeEkpG998XIK0A_cEDs_QXUlZshR7ec3VkemuXRY7otiBnepVDSpxfMAOo57PuWb6u-xzGsjgt9BMDJV77bdkaTYtytDizD0/s1600/IMG_2275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdybQNkcxDMpJnOGt0LyJQLg2DhnZ395HHwzcNHtC2R3NeEkpG998XIK0A_cEDs_QXUlZshR7ec3VkemuXRY7otiBnepVDSpxfMAOo57PuWb6u-xzGsjgt9BMDJV77bdkaTYtytDizD0/s320/IMG_2275.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chile</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kjH2uKlndYNIcyI5TQlaZ2WW92aVboO8JkzIZiGgq2e7Ln11YoSLdnQq1VYpxcyNThm6n7KPEh-VuX02M4MAbzzFKa_khpJppOeydek3O_7yR_CksS00i9z99Ml5rn6vPA1OVwK2T0M/s1600/IMG_2276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kjH2uKlndYNIcyI5TQlaZ2WW92aVboO8JkzIZiGgq2e7Ln11YoSLdnQq1VYpxcyNThm6n7KPEh-VuX02M4MAbzzFKa_khpJppOeydek3O_7yR_CksS00i9z99Ml5rn6vPA1OVwK2T0M/s320/IMG_2276.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Chilean coastline. It was a nice day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Tocopilla looked pretty industrial and unattractive so we got gas and kept going. Apparently, it's the site of a very large coal powered generating station with ships delivering coal and leaving with loads of iodine, phosphates and other minerals I think. We followed 5 sets of transmission lines across the start of the Atacama desert as we headed for Calama and San Pedro de Atacama. They take away from the scenery for sure. There isn't a lot of traffic here and it seems pretty lonely and desolate with some very long straight stretches of highway. Okay, Tocopilla to Calama is lonely and desolate. After that it got better.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisk0xrc2G5EiKSwkE4LpN8i1njy1pfl72hvXaCTxmYGBJh2GXo0YWGuxrTDPYLpQGtX-tDy3ItYNL192ZY0JQT_9tk-UHO7dTs9-vbNqkzN0sGQOey95Bh9ENu98R3Cd_rCHlUxjJZvQ/s1600/IMG_2277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgisk0xrc2G5EiKSwkE4LpN8i1njy1pfl72hvXaCTxmYGBJh2GXo0YWGuxrTDPYLpQGtX-tDy3ItYNL192ZY0JQT_9tk-UHO7dTs9-vbNqkzN0sGQOey95Bh9ENu98R3Cd_rCHlUxjJZvQ/s320/IMG_2277.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southeast of Calama headed for San Pedro de Atacama</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53NiG2h7czuXTmssy1BMIMwcFw7lZTYlMIAB7trMafDy_rCC1Nes9S1CaUQneM7z90P-07VAxG2-8fmkTBwGxSDfjypSZKi42c8W2jS2bh-CA9XXeivr7Sj1dDpPWn9veUIlZpKU2CEA/s1600/IMG_2278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53NiG2h7czuXTmssy1BMIMwcFw7lZTYlMIAB7trMafDy_rCC1Nes9S1CaUQneM7z90P-07VAxG2-8fmkTBwGxSDfjypSZKi42c8W2jS2bh-CA9XXeivr7Sj1dDpPWn9veUIlZpKU2CEA/s320/IMG_2278.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5GHu6813-Gdnz0huLpVsJ0lPEqioSA7E0rGPCFkgWkOacxriS7GvMD1Nn0SvCokNyNkeCTzY4QHeO5yFOTPz1FtrEb-iUxAhkPF-Ow4FL9dC8tVK3PBhdcTEscPA0wNlkjYD3UamKyU/s1600/IMG_2279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5GHu6813-Gdnz0huLpVsJ0lPEqioSA7E0rGPCFkgWkOacxriS7GvMD1Nn0SvCokNyNkeCTzY4QHeO5yFOTPz1FtrEb-iUxAhkPF-Ow4FL9dC8tVK3PBhdcTEscPA0wNlkjYD3UamKyU/s320/IMG_2279.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the eastern edge of the desert towards San Pedro the geography gets pretty interesting</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdngHj7F6wwLr3gltJsgEhOh5tAL7CuBo2e2YIgBqwmEponCCyoEPsawwJQACfpFGh3p7pTjc0hUPDDDigNyr2vQrH5ydscqCUd7uGkQV3wZzYVjkeUMo_Oh3RvQA5WhZ6Yl4iIO6WKXs/s1600/IMG_2280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdngHj7F6wwLr3gltJsgEhOh5tAL7CuBo2e2YIgBqwmEponCCyoEPsawwJQACfpFGh3p7pTjc0hUPDDDigNyr2vQrH5ydscqCUd7uGkQV3wZzYVjkeUMo_Oh3RvQA5WhZ6Yl4iIO6WKXs/s320/IMG_2280.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner in San Pedro started with some kind of crushed tomato salad. It was good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That brings us to San Pedro. I'll get back to you later today. I have something else to do right now.<br />
Chau <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-50963440229737641952011-02-08T21:12:00.000-08:002011-02-08T21:12:29.434-08:00Wow!We had thunderstorms and heavy rain most of the night in Huancayo so it was nice to listen to while I digested my Cuy (guinea pig) dinner and worked on the blog. In the morning there was fresh snow quite low on the mountains but it looked like it was going to be a nice day so we headed for Huancavelica and hopefully the high pass towards Ayacucho. Because of the rain there were lots of slides that had come down on the road. It's amazing how fast the road crews here get on the job as we had only minor delays and made Huancavelica in good time. When we were getting gas in town there I asked a policeman about the road we were headed for. Basically he said its okay unless it rains then it's really bad. It only looked like it might rain so we thought we'd go for it. The policeman even had another cop jump on the back of his bike and they escorted us through town to find the road. It's a good thing they did. It would have taken us at least half an hour to figure it out. After they said goodbye and left us they turned around and came back to tell us that it could get <i>really</i> bad if it snows. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3dWvTgs3oDYEtctw5GMx7BBp56nCh1ICCJoEHUVG0qMdDJ00unzNmgJgjpb1Mj5ST4UMw0mpfYsRugU_gjRIKwnCKkrhX0VlNbzuWOvYBRtEd7VtfOCBqjHQ17GEkW825fhhuLre1vY/s1600/IMG_2004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3dWvTgs3oDYEtctw5GMx7BBp56nCh1ICCJoEHUVG0qMdDJ00unzNmgJgjpb1Mj5ST4UMw0mpfYsRugU_gjRIKwnCKkrhX0VlNbzuWOvYBRtEd7VtfOCBqjHQ17GEkW825fhhuLre1vY/s400/IMG_2004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South of Huancayo and the weather was getting better.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KO2KRqwaAZH8cCVclnFXvJKzvYmmon3yqc9yRremqinzjUu53pItU-K1efkr6l4SNrkr1WRM5SVw4xMg9j2w7rDIasoywiB-YxW67DJcOg8w0XSde47K4JC8Vz-vnrENP2OGbiELGO4/s1600/IMG_2005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KO2KRqwaAZH8cCVclnFXvJKzvYmmon3yqc9yRremqinzjUu53pItU-K1efkr6l4SNrkr1WRM5SVw4xMg9j2w7rDIasoywiB-YxW67DJcOg8w0XSde47K4JC8Vz-vnrENP2OGbiELGO4/s400/IMG_2005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weird rock formation. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5zdRP8lQU1zpLM9LtR4-aQqfo9syHUhpP9xVNUhpBQoXBiaHtwVBaZC1AG4mNRpc_zZ_CP65Nx9sLHn7V6q2BIiAPMsS9E1IabJsxuC42EJT83Cx991KoagETkH3zM-_OG1ihHNXe-Y/s1600/IMG_2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5zdRP8lQU1zpLM9LtR4-aQqfo9syHUhpP9xVNUhpBQoXBiaHtwVBaZC1AG4mNRpc_zZ_CP65Nx9sLHn7V6q2BIiAPMsS9E1IabJsxuC42EJT83Cx991KoagETkH3zM-_OG1ihHNXe-Y/s400/IMG_2006.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I snapped this from the edge of the road while we waited for crews to clear a slide. That road is down by the river. The farms go way up the mountain. I'm pretty sure people have to walk up there because we couldn't see any roads, only trails.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqPYmT3wrCbmXUF-wYO16CceLtV1uxmgmOD3e0J8Y9tdjFBBlFInxLHRd5ugJ4C-_DbX2A9x7fbabjl8nhVGWHd7woC1aHPRqxC5x-Z5CRY4iUApTIm6m3NmxyNHNgfcIaCcUgKXm4Z4/s1600/IMG_2007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqPYmT3wrCbmXUF-wYO16CceLtV1uxmgmOD3e0J8Y9tdjFBBlFInxLHRd5ugJ4C-_DbX2A9x7fbabjl8nhVGWHd7woC1aHPRqxC5x-Z5CRY4iUApTIm6m3NmxyNHNgfcIaCcUgKXm4Z4/s320/IMG_2007.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our helpers in Huancavelica.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We started climbing (getting the idea? it's always a climb or descent) out of Huancavelica on a pretty good road but we could see a storm brewing ahead so we were laying on the throttle pretty good. It didn't matter. Pretty soon it was raining and hailing. It was nice there wasn't much traffic. That should have been a hint. We only saw buses and trucks and not many of those. We crossed this altiplano near Pucapampa that's supposed to be the highest (4500 m) habitable altiplano in the world. There was a small village there but we didn't see anybody and didn't stop for pictures because it was hailing way too hard. There were hundreds of llamas grazing here in the open range and the guidebook said we might even see the rare and highly prized ash-grey llama. We saw quite a few of them. We went through the main Abra Chonta pass (4853 m) but the goal was to turn off here and hit another pass. Our guidebook said this was the highest drivable pass in the world at around 5059 meters above sea level. At the turn off to the pass we stopped to confirm directions from some truck drivers. They thought we were nuts but we headed up there despite the crappy road and the fact that it was now snowing. It was only a three kilometer detour but it was a bad road and we met three trucks coming out of a mine somewhere. Neil went right to the pass but I found a good spot to turn around about 300 meters before the summit and waited. The lightning on the ridge above the pass also influenced my decision. Actually, my head was throbbing a bit too. From the altitude I suppose.<br />
We got out of there and headed toward Ayacucho. The road continued to get better but there were heavy thunderstorms with rain, snow and hail. We went over yet another pass, the 4750 m Abra de Apacheta, and the rocks were all kinds of amazing colours. A sunny day to come through here would have been awesome. Even though we got rained on pretty good, we were very lucky to avoid the worst of the storms. Somehow the road always turned down a different valley just as it looked like we were gonna get it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImTjt2rDcsK3cctRIIvkK1r01I5wtXvSQld4rLMfDPrvAJFYBNHRqEyJjsrUoH-wdmDpmhuYxxMTHEJYeE-2upI2usBNaDW9O4gSQbNgaBToJif1r3471ZYxMlRvp4Z3iyI42tXYzIHI/s1600/IMG_2008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImTjt2rDcsK3cctRIIvkK1r01I5wtXvSQld4rLMfDPrvAJFYBNHRqEyJjsrUoH-wdmDpmhuYxxMTHEJYeE-2upI2usBNaDW9O4gSQbNgaBToJif1r3471ZYxMlRvp4Z3iyI42tXYzIHI/s320/IMG_2008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first llamas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xpVpRrPDrqWP9vw1oEZxruGQVMv9xXRtUvnBsNmIVt52tlCcHsrWLog2JvEm8E8Rz9hIRLpAhIa4RV22BTY1mbQ-0olOshWGR4JTeQ-pKwXFiCgyF6TgifhWFQlbVPAa0wVdUxy6m28/s1600/IMG_2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xpVpRrPDrqWP9vw1oEZxruGQVMv9xXRtUvnBsNmIVt52tlCcHsrWLog2JvEm8E8Rz9hIRLpAhIa4RV22BTY1mbQ-0olOshWGR4JTeQ-pKwXFiCgyF6TgifhWFQlbVPAa0wVdUxy6m28/s400/IMG_2009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7elxhnXks0l35Ba2uLBCJxW5MGlapoP8lGdImzBY7klKSQYTtbI5Izlhp8xOUiHjdsskrWfzxvDzMDLCukPPiMz_S9MPVOPtjUm75MRAPL9dQteHhRZUcVoISkWGdCTWGYZOHhMtP6Dk/s1600/IMG_2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7elxhnXks0l35Ba2uLBCJxW5MGlapoP8lGdImzBY7klKSQYTtbI5Izlhp8xOUiHjdsskrWfzxvDzMDLCukPPiMz_S9MPVOPtjUm75MRAPL9dQteHhRZUcVoISkWGdCTWGYZOHhMtP6Dk/s400/IMG_2010.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the altiplano near Pucapampa.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJx7GnHLp1HZnIDSF8nny9ymQgqPx1wOrwzhd4v6sR89pNmscxImTLlGcSEFe1iOw-3vMWXE8zVyA4rhJ8iH-85_3NEe6IQGdhjVZuGlDfW7Ei5BibvRNDitzVbxk73aR90aR9hWzlgI/s1600/IMG_2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJx7GnHLp1HZnIDSF8nny9ymQgqPx1wOrwzhd4v6sR89pNmscxImTLlGcSEFe1iOw-3vMWXE8zVyA4rhJ8iH-85_3NEe6IQGdhjVZuGlDfW7Ei5BibvRNDitzVbxk73aR90aR9hWzlgI/s400/IMG_2012.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the Abra Chonta pass (4853 m) and between thundershowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHz_mkZgriLYe_-gO1GLLiUag_hEoeKx_JI5IpeX3FtkiRq2rqBJKHnki33aKEfn_lrV6G1OB2CpMqvjdjiMwatx9IywK9TOaEiRrOa3GEiWl6m5dZqReTON4ZFogOVRSm2zKQ45-4GfU/s1600/IMG_2013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHz_mkZgriLYe_-gO1GLLiUag_hEoeKx_JI5IpeX3FtkiRq2rqBJKHnki33aKEfn_lrV6G1OB2CpMqvjdjiMwatx9IywK9TOaEiRrOa3GEiWl6m5dZqReTON4ZFogOVRSm2zKQ45-4GfU/s400/IMG_2013.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the highest drivable pass (5059 m). Neil was just around the corner with the lightning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QXYzhJAEE-6cauAvnuuURl498L-PQFARUHc2YkU2deSY9z2ox6mBYanYYfhqFNCN_rrmP98aFyjrerw7bsoVNZYx0mQIG6lK7xbPhLAxA0LV2a2eWH1X_BWhx7r7n-b0k2VMZ_gXPkU/s1600/IMG_2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QXYzhJAEE-6cauAvnuuURl498L-PQFARUHc2YkU2deSY9z2ox6mBYanYYfhqFNCN_rrmP98aFyjrerw7bsoVNZYx0mQIG6lK7xbPhLAxA0LV2a2eWH1X_BWhx7r7n-b0k2VMZ_gXPkU/s400/IMG_2014.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed for Santa Ines and another thunderstorm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lopRUUkOteaR6Ules1q4forJsUUqRxv4c6RJHAQnQ5zYgUzsx6tKprZbnO0wJ5XVO4FAWi9bGre5imFsA8KodZZZNH_37eYcnSn0mx4mRKNiACgluuVrIw0avi0vPSKgymjBj0cc0L8/s1600/IMG_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lopRUUkOteaR6Ules1q4forJsUUqRxv4c6RJHAQnQ5zYgUzsx6tKprZbnO0wJ5XVO4FAWi9bGre5imFsA8KodZZZNH_37eYcnSn0mx4mRKNiACgluuVrIw0avi0vPSKgymjBj0cc0L8/s400/IMG_2015.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ArRgbB6t6KHOqB0TVOWEzncRLVJxpuD4xr_qD5GXn_jEgr8J6GNHEZ2Stac37NbS1cqoZtuxfD7UHSDr979gYxoei-binkoM_POPm7vNqmPiVuvb2xBxfjLCi5CGH_XFc2vVtVljHyQ/s1600/IMG_2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ArRgbB6t6KHOqB0TVOWEzncRLVJxpuD4xr_qD5GXn_jEgr8J6GNHEZ2Stac37NbS1cqoZtuxfD7UHSDr979gYxoei-binkoM_POPm7vNqmPiVuvb2xBxfjLCi5CGH_XFc2vVtVljHyQ/s400/IMG_2016.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dodging another storm.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sduRxX0W41PuTfXilDUjUenKP-fXT6FTtrd_LZva9PcuOJOpTp_dqO01d38S9MqC0uDVmWU8tRZ-ER3CfuemiGUoAk_aNvVZUjPRsJiCfUGmj89PG7MBPQVxlCdoZ4EN00GqOcixTpc/s1600/IMG_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sduRxX0W41PuTfXilDUjUenKP-fXT6FTtrd_LZva9PcuOJOpTp_dqO01d38S9MqC0uDVmWU8tRZ-ER3CfuemiGUoAk_aNvVZUjPRsJiCfUGmj89PG7MBPQVxlCdoZ4EN00GqOcixTpc/s400/IMG_2017.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I first came around the corner I thought this was a waterfall. It was some huge mineral deposit. It looked like it was all formed by a little spring coming out of the ground near the top center. Pretty cool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We kept at it and eventually hit pavement which was nice as we now had to make a little time. It kept raining until just before Ayacucho where it cleared up and was absolutely beautiful. Back in the film days we called it a Kodachrome day. I was wishing I had my old film camera. The sky was so blue and the mountains were so green with these really dramatic and brilliantly white clouds. Pretty awesome. I just couldn't capture it on the digital camera. On the last ridge before we descended into Ayacucho we could look back and see the blackness of the storms we had left behind. It was a good thing to leave behind.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhriyt3177afrL54MTffs7QCREXC5TjnkGNSaqq6O8bpS2JqLwa31prB5z63iYyqfrhLG3ZeSGESynAOx_eIDjxhd-ksnVOcBD97VyP1zRMp_JEqodClDoAUaruOh4FJKeYYYEWozXX4/s1600/IMG_2018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhriyt3177afrL54MTffs7QCREXC5TjnkGNSaqq6O8bpS2JqLwa31prB5z63iYyqfrhLG3ZeSGESynAOx_eIDjxhd-ksnVOcBD97VyP1zRMp_JEqodClDoAUaruOh4FJKeYYYEWozXX4/s400/IMG_2018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSbTfV_2lXg5c6ru2sikn6F3D6qPW3-mznZweIOw31lCqaSgUMuKgYNaSZXP94UISUkI-UzGJ9dhXwOk2-9nCUk7gWFRfr01zYqhj9-a1N1_fvjEMnar46ApF393gN6kcHLtARguqUW4/s1600/IMG_2019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSbTfV_2lXg5c6ru2sikn6F3D6qPW3-mznZweIOw31lCqaSgUMuKgYNaSZXP94UISUkI-UzGJ9dhXwOk2-9nCUk7gWFRfr01zYqhj9-a1N1_fvjEMnar46ApF393gN6kcHLtARguqUW4/s400/IMG_2019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8Rw7H071mA_ToqOFwN55WnQhiyRAkHUhYLfc4cjwbOIAQCFUIuQRgMw3frw2-hmZiNiuyhofGM_E2KnAQJNQteT4tcxQayOnUpXnbPA00FbsCTnZa3JtEZ6Lhr1jpR_xnhgkmlGRCU8/s1600/IMG_2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8Rw7H071mA_ToqOFwN55WnQhiyRAkHUhYLfc4cjwbOIAQCFUIuQRgMw3frw2-hmZiNiuyhofGM_E2KnAQJNQteT4tcxQayOnUpXnbPA00FbsCTnZa3JtEZ6Lhr1jpR_xnhgkmlGRCU8/s400/IMG_2020.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming down the hill into Ayacucho.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We found a good hotel right near the town plaza in Ayacucho and listened to more thunderstorms while we ate dinner. It rained most of the night again. In the morning we hunted again for the road out of town toward Andahuaylas and Abancay. Did I mention that you need to be a clairvoyant to find your way around down here? There are very confusing road signs and almost no street signs. The easiest way is to just ask someone on the side of the street. They are usually very happy to help as long as you engage in a little small talk about where you're from and where you're going. The road started out not too bad but eventually deteriorated into a quagmire. I dumped my bike on a slimey corner coming up the hill out of Ayacucho and pulled the mounting bracket of one of my sidecases. I'd already figured this might happen and used a ratchet strap as a temporary fix to get us going again in quick time. The road continued to get worse and the construction crews along the way found us a little entertaining although they gave us a lot of encouragement. It took us a 9 hour day to do the 250 km to Andahuaylas and we crossed over two 4200 meter passes enroute. We were both bagged at the end just from being so totally focused on not falling in the greasy mud of the road. I was kind of ticked off too because I'd fallen again when my wheels went on opposite sides of a log that was buried in the mud. It was all funny after but I was pretty much covered in mud from the tuck and roll. We went for Chinese food that night and I could barely finish my beer I was so tired. Unfortunately, for some reason, my camera didn't record any of the pictures I'd taken that day.<br />
On Saturday morning we got up to the sound of more rain. For some reason we thought is was paved road from here but <i>Ohhh No</i>. We had about 138 km of gravel to get to Abancay and the kid at the gas station said that takes about 6 hours. Awesome. We took a wrong turn out of town and it was super greasy and slimey and I was starting to think about staying put until the road dried up a bit. Luckily we sorted it out and the road wasn't too bad for the first while. Then of course it got really foggy. I may have mentioned before that people like to drive on the wrong side of the road at blind corners. Well, they do that in the fog too. Not too sure why but it definitely adds a twist to the ride.<br />
At one point I looked back in the mirror and Neil wasn't there. We had just crossed a creek so I figured something must have happened there. I pulled over to run back to the creek and realized we were at about 3500 m ASL or so. About halfway back to the creek I was huffin' and puffin' and couldn't run anymore. Luckily, a local had stopped to give Neil a hand with his bike. He'd bumped up against a rock during the crossing and couldn't hold the bike up and it settled into the creek.<br />
In general it wasn't a bad ride but it took us about four and a half hours to do the 138 km to Abancay. From there it was an uneventful but nice ride to Ollantaytambo. The climb out of Abancay was pretty cool though with all the switchbacks. I didn't count them but if you have a look at Google Maps it will give you some idea of how twisty the road is. When we parked in the town plaza in Ollantaytambo some people gave us some advice where to stay as it was the only place they could find with parking for bikes. It turned out 3 biking couples were staying at the same hostel as us. It was kind of cool because we got to exchange stories from the road and where to go and where not to go. Except for us, everybody was headed north. One couple from England (who had sold everything to do it) were in their second year of travel and had shipped their bike to South America after traveling through Africa. It might be cheaper to send the bike to South Africa rather than Vancouver when I'm done. Wouldn't it? Hmm...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkxilC27BBcJ-RUxsBZwKT7rqpkZOc1_jE6tv30r11PZzUERQzlfsOWAIx2e6K8Cl2ov7IxvN5V8rzSL9pJSdbrrk5QgP5cCMDOZ9HyF629mUxJ3DgvemZUIeTNmpJDU0cVGhcnA6Too/s1600/IMG_2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkxilC27BBcJ-RUxsBZwKT7rqpkZOc1_jE6tv30r11PZzUERQzlfsOWAIx2e6K8Cl2ov7IxvN5V8rzSL9pJSdbrrk5QgP5cCMDOZ9HyF629mUxJ3DgvemZUIeTNmpJDU0cVGhcnA6Too/s320/IMG_2021.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost needed a bath and it got worse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYwSGdsZJ5F0xRa06iHrgv3TAGOiEF2GgxvzHkxdJLoCM_74HK9gEiSZo9WniUuCbP2pgCKeL5yU8mmSus5rWVDXwug1w7iQB-rEdUBZpCyJLx1GRGSbGovdK4h5MHrt6X73mIPf5Zpo/s1600/IMG_2022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQYwSGdsZJ5F0xRa06iHrgv3TAGOiEF2GgxvzHkxdJLoCM_74HK9gEiSZo9WniUuCbP2pgCKeL5yU8mmSus5rWVDXwug1w7iQB-rEdUBZpCyJLx1GRGSbGovdK4h5MHrt6X73mIPf5Zpo/s400/IMG_2022.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road was awesome until the fog rolled in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmsF-wcr5W1TvgOgvMf1MhbQ3t7ddVgu6e3kZ_QJlpqf4zi2HCkx6BUuC07qEx_vNyRjy2w9df8tyATwxRS-2bVIeZW6beNlW-BTgPMMo1oIsfDy81sFHqLKnQGtYiZyxWMI_NVvygj8/s1600/IMG_2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmsF-wcr5W1TvgOgvMf1MhbQ3t7ddVgu6e3kZ_QJlpqf4zi2HCkx6BUuC07qEx_vNyRjy2w9df8tyATwxRS-2bVIeZW6beNlW-BTgPMMo1oIsfDy81sFHqLKnQGtYiZyxWMI_NVvygj8/s400/IMG_2023.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the road to Abancay. You can see a farmer working his potato crop.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0vM5QMrvV7byo_GwEjxDXoEZ82LzilPVpMTX9WilvnhtwV2TvXQLuSbC5uLycYEv6YsZQSjafsWzgdFwkiDLkfdzFiyKF_dGv6k_2INKbOrvCtmKU75PvUzK9lg8mSHZnMRvsf-tcpE/s1600/IMG_2024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0vM5QMrvV7byo_GwEjxDXoEZ82LzilPVpMTX9WilvnhtwV2TvXQLuSbC5uLycYEv6YsZQSjafsWzgdFwkiDLkfdzFiyKF_dGv6k_2INKbOrvCtmKU75PvUzK9lg8mSHZnMRvsf-tcpE/s400/IMG_2024.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's almost perfect now. Foggy and muddy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyxpbKPBQ5kxBknq2BjC6xlFOPCngglxHxdj4hwJFYtqlyUc0KJ_IwxZeJWm7xu_KpMsnlUHyGZah-jDdPoKv8Cdw8GrLvTophQwzJpUMfPs-N1KlRxPEH16avkdtN520AcawcVMSLkQ/s1600/IMG_2026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyxpbKPBQ5kxBknq2BjC6xlFOPCngglxHxdj4hwJFYtqlyUc0KJ_IwxZeJWm7xu_KpMsnlUHyGZah-jDdPoKv8Cdw8GrLvTophQwzJpUMfPs-N1KlRxPEH16avkdtN520AcawcVMSLkQ/s320/IMG_2026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had stopped to take a picture and this Toyota truck stops. These guys pile out and want pictures of themselves sitting on my bike. The guy with the camera wanted to know if my bike was for sale. If the road was any worse it would have been.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnN6wE2yLx9sC_oW1F3P0HsOF5syxlO-xBhyphenhyphenJielGdpJLxfrUmZP46FTEg1BiZW_nMqHvdylzMWWl0YQV1sopMi0rtXqsjecS0mIMuQvIUB-jVVfYu0glTbVYYMgPw9-OGqNUYhRcsaE/s1600/IMG_2027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnN6wE2yLx9sC_oW1F3P0HsOF5syxlO-xBhyphenhyphenJielGdpJLxfrUmZP46FTEg1BiZW_nMqHvdylzMWWl0YQV1sopMi0rtXqsjecS0mIMuQvIUB-jVVfYu0glTbVYYMgPw9-OGqNUYhRcsaE/s320/IMG_2027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical house for this area.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhk73uLH2r8zYJLbeCsTG38hUFKPuYYfWMMK8TwEYyQfwBrHuBU9TZLv0VSalDuFaH91VxieCnFg9n1MDM_13TahAZZDYbzwKbUwliCqeTbnNRm70ZF_0-0udXtr-lTQz7-4z2YFQypk/s1600/IMG_2028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhk73uLH2r8zYJLbeCsTG38hUFKPuYYfWMMK8TwEYyQfwBrHuBU9TZLv0VSalDuFaH91VxieCnFg9n1MDM_13TahAZZDYbzwKbUwliCqeTbnNRm70ZF_0-0udXtr-lTQz7-4z2YFQypk/s400/IMG_2028.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the very many villages we passed through. I still can't get over how populated it is here. Everywhere.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGzFURuONqEk6dUGHPXyvR6l2DRN9Fac8g4hc71F3IfI9ZfTIl02K9zEyWDOMIQ4mrRn5nT27QuD4LKsjf_jew69B1zA3KqfqD9CaDKI6tN1pvaoI0jV8TQGf3_NkHGthKZY6qM1zSeE/s1600/IMG_2029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGzFURuONqEk6dUGHPXyvR6l2DRN9Fac8g4hc71F3IfI9ZfTIl02K9zEyWDOMIQ4mrRn5nT27QuD4LKsjf_jew69B1zA3KqfqD9CaDKI6tN1pvaoI0jV8TQGf3_NkHGthKZY6qM1zSeE/s400/IMG_2029.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0RDTp11vomDewBNUf35ZFQ9SzsgIYCswef5tqTwstpw8NRIzmmV7BK_VjDcM8l35sE90-4dx4XZ0nIlSLTtlmRNeJdOPkRfs3_w3cFXXlArzs1_YHWbX2hmCH602_aJ9MYKEI1zJkIak/s1600/IMG_2030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0RDTp11vomDewBNUf35ZFQ9SzsgIYCswef5tqTwstpw8NRIzmmV7BK_VjDcM8l35sE90-4dx4XZ0nIlSLTtlmRNeJdOPkRfs3_w3cFXXlArzs1_YHWbX2hmCH602_aJ9MYKEI1zJkIak/s400/IMG_2030.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abancay is the brownish area near the top center of the picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YdJLcuRXbVOs6J6cQoJY0w26nb-o7LNSxVBTViBHIQ5_w0B2vvbokOyUI8944oql46BjzLzPjXWUuXFYXoHU0r2Eg6XLDqb-46S3t3tz9WINV6Bnib1e9jtRYGVdFktYxdFMwAvbyrU/s1600/IMG_2031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YdJLcuRXbVOs6J6cQoJY0w26nb-o7LNSxVBTViBHIQ5_w0B2vvbokOyUI8944oql46BjzLzPjXWUuXFYXoHU0r2Eg6XLDqb-46S3t3tz9WINV6Bnib1e9jtRYGVdFktYxdFMwAvbyrU/s400/IMG_2031.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rio Apurimac between Abancay and Cusco</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ollantaytambo is a very small town 90 km by road northwest of Cusco. We chose to stay here because it's a convenient place to stay before heading to Machu Picchu. We actually took Sunday off because we were so tired from the previous 5 days riding. I know...<i> Booo Hooo!</i> Anyways, it was a good place to hang out. I got some Christmas shopping done and there was lots of ruins right here in town to look at.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PYxxswe_ih4L-p9PsVZc_LWxicmNz1yBfeGp561USuFxh-SiYw9-NfWPuiYy10OPLfd290PZdnOsg-uiJ6NwOzaN06yE5x4vHsngH6UkpRfoGM9sU2Z8108p8C9sNTZ9rZPheUpkdJg/s1600/IMG_2032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PYxxswe_ih4L-p9PsVZc_LWxicmNz1yBfeGp561USuFxh-SiYw9-NfWPuiYy10OPLfd290PZdnOsg-uiJ6NwOzaN06yE5x4vHsngH6UkpRfoGM9sU2Z8108p8C9sNTZ9rZPheUpkdJg/s320/IMG_2032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a typical street in Ollantaytambo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWazJeP5toMlnrR7rdVJc3oBYPGA0GN6k1LSzLt5L_ovOXkPlcPTFSaK3UOKIHREbZSX-Gy_Pmq500MxjSRrTaq1C-KuNudliqivVm3ynz0JSTG4NkLvAt9n-_ZP4FvYtX0u4osf0Zvcw/s1600/IMG_2033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWazJeP5toMlnrR7rdVJc3oBYPGA0GN6k1LSzLt5L_ovOXkPlcPTFSaK3UOKIHREbZSX-Gy_Pmq500MxjSRrTaq1C-KuNudliqivVm3ynz0JSTG4NkLvAt9n-_ZP4FvYtX0u4osf0Zvcw/s400/IMG_2033.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above Ollantaytambo looking across from some ruins to other ruins on the other side of town.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCIwbLp2WEvW8DU1mWdm6nUCXqAfh-xlPg7SdxvbBTZyyDuZAG7eLzSrRFrpncy_ElNoZb0hFBrVCiqaLoqf2bumgnFdqxoTY0WOUdBRbAuX_yrNyOxKPxu_hfyDBefiGybyVQS6RDPU/s1600/IMG_2034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCIwbLp2WEvW8DU1mWdm6nUCXqAfh-xlPg7SdxvbBTZyyDuZAG7eLzSrRFrpncy_ElNoZb0hFBrVCiqaLoqf2bumgnFdqxoTY0WOUdBRbAuX_yrNyOxKPxu_hfyDBefiGybyVQS6RDPU/s400/IMG_2034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruins overlooking Ollantaytambo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMQSPFmbc_B7t0IarqpWE4EKidARBzuuABTjIGuRhZOenl3TDiHwH8puwyEJIRcBzn3vn1BJAlS40YVL6Y7Yv3ZHrlbbQuDWuBQCpuh3F-Ze3TjY7z0hPstzgbAh3APHzi55Y57pH0wk/s1600/IMG_2035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMQSPFmbc_B7t0IarqpWE4EKidARBzuuABTjIGuRhZOenl3TDiHwH8puwyEJIRcBzn3vn1BJAlS40YVL6Y7Yv3ZHrlbbQuDWuBQCpuh3F-Ze3TjY7z0hPstzgbAh3APHzi55Y57pH0wk/s400/IMG_2035.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is really someones front door in Ollantaytambo. The stone is Inca original and it's very common in town.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHNo7Q29_ODqwp79flN0UKSL7NbLCikPxs8-PEiovEsYoV8OekGfxfZgc1XvQXKo16Upvil4eGCTSIAnCWzJ0AZf_HrfRoaPLzmijBPtWa8WkV3jnMNqP1aXSz2T4qAhwzkv6WQktGH8/s1600/IMG_2036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHNo7Q29_ODqwp79flN0UKSL7NbLCikPxs8-PEiovEsYoV8OekGfxfZgc1XvQXKo16Upvil4eGCTSIAnCWzJ0AZf_HrfRoaPLzmijBPtWa8WkV3jnMNqP1aXSz2T4qAhwzkv6WQktGH8/s400/IMG_2036.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Inca handiwork.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Monday we took the train to Machu Picchu. I don't even know what to say about it. It's incredible. You just have to go see it. It's not just what the Incas built, it's where they built it. It's amazing. We hired a guide for two hours and it was well worth it. He said it may have only taken 90 years to build what we see. If you go, take the train ride. It's a pretty cool way to see the dramatic drop of the gorge of the Rio Urubamba and the transition from the semi-arid Ollantaytambo area to the cloud forest around Machu Picchu.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5SRy6Ks15PoWSvD4_w_ZJEQCcDECWl-YutsKFljEF4Kq5aBrkiTzhRZWTKwTUg7wtg8W-1FEQi6bilFb1mq20X7PkhXYLMqDvyYH-1S1Zix-G4qJ95bDzRZ8ECrDtDlRZCZzG44HTlE/s1600/IMG_2037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5SRy6Ks15PoWSvD4_w_ZJEQCcDECWl-YutsKFljEF4Kq5aBrkiTzhRZWTKwTUg7wtg8W-1FEQi6bilFb1mq20X7PkhXYLMqDvyYH-1S1Zix-G4qJ95bDzRZ8ECrDtDlRZCZzG44HTlE/s640/IMG_2037.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XlvRkVTbi1256G_zf_2DiDPHXzJnuvrp7yEQLYMJeFpNdgXktnKTVWwa8BcUNkzJw3kQwfa2aV8dUfFjV-d4J8JLZXbO3p4Nmd67fIzjG_gNpyJXdzzcQCIhq7FcMj1r0AMcqHbZjHw/s1600/IMG_2038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XlvRkVTbi1256G_zf_2DiDPHXzJnuvrp7yEQLYMJeFpNdgXktnKTVWwa8BcUNkzJw3kQwfa2aV8dUfFjV-d4J8JLZXbO3p4Nmd67fIzjG_gNpyJXdzzcQCIhq7FcMj1r0AMcqHbZjHw/s400/IMG_2038.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was stonework on the royal buildings. They got the best. Naturally.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjKsMRze4tCabd8Aw_kAOxtEsTHkvPVCoLTsEaRiJMuTyGzXOj5OTnxi3i7c5JcSV7yfXT6t_3vczql73wFUvPb9TR_Ya7H8pZsVB7FuJNlINeKmIEx7CQpiBLmG5dtiDzPTuNbY6i1I/s1600/IMG_2039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjKsMRze4tCabd8Aw_kAOxtEsTHkvPVCoLTsEaRiJMuTyGzXOj5OTnxi3i7c5JcSV7yfXT6t_3vczql73wFUvPb9TR_Ya7H8pZsVB7FuJNlINeKmIEx7CQpiBLmG5dtiDzPTuNbY6i1I/s640/IMG_2039.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBg9xE2WJWL8ObBEnhL0c81jXjG5QdIyK27SLafAtMkK7PX62bBfRn2Ml5IwNuj4wAiahDp5j90tN2DWb8FBEYYCP5RbPJPZCGN-Wd6BumOeIqdpn7cHaWznw457ra9MFHKBJBIeNHkY/s1600/IMG_2040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBg9xE2WJWL8ObBEnhL0c81jXjG5QdIyK27SLafAtMkK7PX62bBfRn2Ml5IwNuj4wAiahDp5j90tN2DWb8FBEYYCP5RbPJPZCGN-Wd6BumOeIqdpn7cHaWznw457ra9MFHKBJBIeNHkY/s640/IMG_2040.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone advised us to walk up to the Sun Gate for the view and put everything in perspective. I'm glad we did.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3SLRaI8ev9ZJgEDDTVx3Gimkp51ycgMjAYhyjF92OCBnoXq7N6-Py37nSqTDbB3CWeZJuTwdlegfXIZcCvBPBpBWLFv7s_VHvmbtwDQdSZd_W34s6B96HVfxd2c0GmmEqNRIhafAfdU/s1600/IMG_2041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3SLRaI8ev9ZJgEDDTVx3Gimkp51ycgMjAYhyjF92OCBnoXq7N6-Py37nSqTDbB3CWeZJuTwdlegfXIZcCvBPBpBWLFv7s_VHvmbtwDQdSZd_W34s6B96HVfxd2c0GmmEqNRIhafAfdU/s640/IMG_2041.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can walk to the top of the pinnacle in the background to see more ruins. It usually takes about an hour. The record up is about 30 minutes. The record for coming down is held by a German tourist: 12 seconds. It's pretty steep.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrycX1ED9gO1GNJMwQeIb49PDirJQ37butkjlpf0RUkgZ9QxmY9NkFJKIEt2m01BJdOuqr1aHh2_PkULhQPUIowWI3NUeLCXLHJeouWk_92k5QI0IoVK8jwsT17lVdKamwUHc8MoIvy_s/s1600/IMG_2042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrycX1ED9gO1GNJMwQeIb49PDirJQ37butkjlpf0RUkgZ9QxmY9NkFJKIEt2m01BJdOuqr1aHh2_PkULhQPUIowWI3NUeLCXLHJeouWk_92k5QI0IoVK8jwsT17lVdKamwUHc8MoIvy_s/s640/IMG_2042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-iTI7MzTq2kvB0fEoA9-eLW1zbzvnqSFm3Q67tBkvpZ4rwdQ0dTUvntsL32m1Yz015fowHo28lfrEShrb_CKbE9hgSsRmN0cHqiaa4hOCT9NvqSPAga_axNSpqG1wSYM9Wtnt2rjxvc/s1600/IMG_2043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-iTI7MzTq2kvB0fEoA9-eLW1zbzvnqSFm3Q67tBkvpZ4rwdQ0dTUvntsL32m1Yz015fowHo28lfrEShrb_CKbE9hgSsRmN0cHqiaa4hOCT9NvqSPAga_axNSpqG1wSYM9Wtnt2rjxvc/s640/IMG_2043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyotc2TPXmERI52pbzH6PQLx2lr9PcmLeOa9DZOmEOMsr2gER7_nzmYaFFyeT5uCvE1i4KSQzXrpvqbyQ9ccqq1El28OZ1aioqklO8bn98EJNzG2H903X2ZgMINUf0O0Eg78abKckuQVg/s1600/IMG_2044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyotc2TPXmERI52pbzH6PQLx2lr9PcmLeOa9DZOmEOMsr2gER7_nzmYaFFyeT5uCvE1i4KSQzXrpvqbyQ9ccqq1El28OZ1aioqklO8bn98EJNzG2H903X2ZgMINUf0O0Eg78abKckuQVg/s320/IMG_2044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the train ride back to Ollantaytambo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswnq-lKj-em0Qw8NObftS-XJidTTgvB1xCEk0UjcKI5ug38zGLTNWEg1G61tJR1XNxmWRZ-FmcZt1hgXe8Afj4JBn7K6iMNro0BEpd-YNZu2PS8BZszVV-EmKXAgHxe4chmFGcDd9TA8/s1600/IMG_2045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswnq-lKj-em0Qw8NObftS-XJidTTgvB1xCEk0UjcKI5ug38zGLTNWEg1G61tJR1XNxmWRZ-FmcZt1hgXe8Afj4JBn7K6iMNro0BEpd-YNZu2PS8BZszVV-EmKXAgHxe4chmFGcDd9TA8/s320/IMG_2045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some entertainment on the train ride.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>In comparison to the previous week, today's ride was pretty boring. We followed a wide river valley past Cusco to the 4312 m Abra La Raya pass southeast of Sicuani. From there we continued to the city of Puno on the shore of Lago Titicaca at 3800 m above sea level.. The scenery was still beautiful, just different. It kind of reminded me of the Alberta foothills. It was a 500 km ride in the rain and wind and hail with temperatures around 4 deg C. It seemed pretty easy compared to what we'd been doing.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0hLWOcbkMCh0yxRSf5t-V0Jh7RqAeOpREO__cEOFOXxfEoWtgaomG6_GG0BOeWMGHWnpnGtx1YHtZcS6K7YxbebAAW4PvJySWwKee4v9ZPrHaPBKEaJKNo0Sb7xX13qxapZVCWErd9A/s1600/IMG_2074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0hLWOcbkMCh0yxRSf5t-V0Jh7RqAeOpREO__cEOFOXxfEoWtgaomG6_GG0BOeWMGHWnpnGtx1YHtZcS6K7YxbebAAW4PvJySWwKee4v9ZPrHaPBKEaJKNo0Sb7xX13qxapZVCWErd9A/s640/IMG_2074.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOAtYPVO-rwA5a18BmP1zhUV3Dnvcylff_AVdGKBPp-J0uezCMeszCiTxidrt9hSop84eRsiWxWb4OFhZfgKCh3_CDK3BjWBgcTyJYM5SJ0WY5T16FoiB0tJwM8Oc5jcxhpGk0GZjtds/s1600/IMG_2075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOAtYPVO-rwA5a18BmP1zhUV3Dnvcylff_AVdGKBPp-J0uezCMeszCiTxidrt9hSop84eRsiWxWb4OFhZfgKCh3_CDK3BjWBgcTyJYM5SJ0WY5T16FoiB0tJwM8Oc5jcxhpGk0GZjtds/s400/IMG_2075.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMvD4s6BtcLB1WzR5DZq2GsGJ4V2bgqcCuNSqZ7oW-Ew7s6OTOAaiwxhzmVjcQG4TBwj3ceBPvRMFV4PmqNdqlVjno3HNE6CPUQfPez5RoYsHm_8N72AJFh_RNW7QJF4WOvYaxZM0Zwc/s1600/IMG_2076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMvD4s6BtcLB1WzR5DZq2GsGJ4V2bgqcCuNSqZ7oW-Ew7s6OTOAaiwxhzmVjcQG4TBwj3ceBPvRMFV4PmqNdqlVjno3HNE6CPUQfPez5RoYsHm_8N72AJFh_RNW7QJF4WOvYaxZM0Zwc/s320/IMG_2076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of Neils' friends.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>See you in Chile.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-45690653788622490302011-02-02T20:20:00.000-08:002011-03-25T22:35:35.430-07:00We left Huaraz on Tuesday morning under beautiful sunny skies. There was a dusting of fresh snow on the mountains and it was a bit crisp in the city. After a few traffic delays for road construction we got ahead of the traffic and kept following the Rio Santa southeast along Hwy 3N. The traffic stops for construction are hilarious. People sit in the line-up and honk their horns constantly. It doesn't hurry things up but it must make them feel better. We eventually came into a huge high altitude plain (altiplano) with awesome views of the 5000 meter peaks of the Cordillera Blanca. It was hard not to just park and look at the views. As it was there were lots of stops to take photos.<br />
We had spent a good deal of time trying to figure out which route to take and how long it was supposed to take. The map I had showed a paved road from La Union to Cerro de Pasco. Neil's map showed no such road. So we asked around and the owner of the hotel we were in lent us his Peru road map-book. His map kind of jived with Neils map and the hotel owner gave us some times for traveling the route. Basically, 6 or 7 hours from Huaraz to La Union on a paved road of about 194 km. From La Union to Huanuco was going to be another 6 or 7 hours for another 135 km or so of paved road. That's too much for one day so we thought we'd be spending the night in La Union. There wasn't supposed to be much there for accommodation but we'd find something. That was the reason for all the photo stops. We weren't really in a hurry.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4vtQPpdUEyl0NZGEREntp_fZIKUZ_1kUOkTYAeY7Aem7WMH2wT5Za-6ubanTKWDueDTNT5FGkTZv-sm_uVOsdp8sK3_1vbVkniBlIScsp2Ivy0RdJiaPEYU1Q6jCd4qwhsC2iGUvyMs/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4vtQPpdUEyl0NZGEREntp_fZIKUZ_1kUOkTYAeY7Aem7WMH2wT5Za-6ubanTKWDueDTNT5FGkTZv-sm_uVOsdp8sK3_1vbVkniBlIScsp2Ivy0RdJiaPEYU1Q6jCd4qwhsC2iGUvyMs/s400/IMG_1578.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bXA1p54zurx6DQf0BMPQo-szhHauXmyNAMVM53BYD2-ymyqEg8HWFc_cdGq9Kqb1ks3uu-gQY65NPlWymqvt9SEp8USlgASNoiUFWm_hMqiH6a9LoeFTh_q1hoFAhEWKcoRVpiOWyYI/s1600/IMG_1579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bXA1p54zurx6DQf0BMPQo-szhHauXmyNAMVM53BYD2-ymyqEg8HWFc_cdGq9Kqb1ks3uu-gQY65NPlWymqvt9SEp8USlgASNoiUFWm_hMqiH6a9LoeFTh_q1hoFAhEWKcoRVpiOWyYI/s400/IMG_1579.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQ5po-BeY4nd4cMRs328Jh7b3an2rkrQks6W4pMLUgsguTx7n9mk1VEB4vYx9CID4quwzljdkotmJxt7BjxhY116mazjmWM2mfD5uV2x5ECeZ-6zpCggd7anRwfSsbuGf7_RnLUj-ZAA/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQ5po-BeY4nd4cMRs328Jh7b3an2rkrQks6W4pMLUgsguTx7n9mk1VEB4vYx9CID4quwzljdkotmJxt7BjxhY116mazjmWM2mfD5uV2x5ECeZ-6zpCggd7anRwfSsbuGf7_RnLUj-ZAA/s400/IMG_1580.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoT0xRBSbUxHsbVOg4YH87iIhTpUvh2f6EcVI5UPSKbS-yysdALp0TxHkk6A_7cuXf5BVt8-4yUpK6JZ7RqSz_G4JXm3puTmE0SAIzuDO-mH-DscOXhAqeNBzDdGVL_Eq1s6HQ1KoQQ0/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoT0xRBSbUxHsbVOg4YH87iIhTpUvh2f6EcVI5UPSKbS-yysdALp0TxHkk6A_7cuXf5BVt8-4yUpK6JZ7RqSz_G4JXm3puTmE0SAIzuDO-mH-DscOXhAqeNBzDdGVL_Eq1s6HQ1KoQQ0/s400/IMG_1581.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZsB3T_B3NyyrJAZsjnJEishTvrOhduwfbiPD9zMQND0Q-GPxYqKY1uSLctOWbGTn9m9bBxjVuEKAYNMr12KZ4n75MkkOaB1I41iTTRNQB6FTN9tTbMZHPgqhU2Q68RayLG75RHh1iZs/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZsB3T_B3NyyrJAZsjnJEishTvrOhduwfbiPD9zMQND0Q-GPxYqKY1uSLctOWbGTn9m9bBxjVuEKAYNMr12KZ4n75MkkOaB1I41iTTRNQB6FTN9tTbMZHPgqhU2Q68RayLG75RHh1iZs/s400/IMG_1582.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbijK3n4zVGRvY-00YCs6u7Z-mAayHnp4cWNtYl2QpNjggSh2AltdrvcbVWmSwuixbgsYGlGNIka5w3sJqo8Jtrzkp0MhleuAtUhPFEMzf9YEygaw0jBSeVgS0Il_puhvzG7a-HGRtG7M/s1600/IMG_1583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbijK3n4zVGRvY-00YCs6u7Z-mAayHnp4cWNtYl2QpNjggSh2AltdrvcbVWmSwuixbgsYGlGNIka5w3sJqo8Jtrzkp0MhleuAtUhPFEMzf9YEygaw0jBSeVgS0Il_puhvzG7a-HGRtG7M/s400/IMG_1583.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqOxU1zUkJfMQHOnNqgzz0tPufdgXDop0LOle11n754Xh7vSOCnw3csYLpaCvjOxqS10q5w_NFzV9GeQ5l94NptX6gYFnqZF0xg6Zryj563TYtSS6xoklkQAsriR-VwTMtj9MRwpPd2I/s1600/IMG_1584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqOxU1zUkJfMQHOnNqgzz0tPufdgXDop0LOle11n754Xh7vSOCnw3csYLpaCvjOxqS10q5w_NFzV9GeQ5l94NptX6gYFnqZF0xg6Zryj563TYtSS6xoklkQAsriR-VwTMtj9MRwpPd2I/s400/IMG_1584.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgRimR3f4wyFw5FDK0P6kRLIXhNypjo-I0U1qBXvH7hf1HORnLtwozjq3FhcPqo9yhWa0A6ZeoOGXzGbD5bWuzdGkOz_VHw6IK8JLRkiHTRPXyYb1B54wx8NtTS4Q4GIJm7I_SCv7xhM/s1600/IMG_1585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgRimR3f4wyFw5FDK0P6kRLIXhNypjo-I0U1qBXvH7hf1HORnLtwozjq3FhcPqo9yhWa0A6ZeoOGXzGbD5bWuzdGkOz_VHw6IK8JLRkiHTRPXyYb1B54wx8NtTS4Q4GIJm7I_SCv7xhM/s400/IMG_1585.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77Dl249KK6NRpcm0AirPZNtICm40BLA9lVBzGI8t2JvUXN19e_UU5lYeVa-Gg138yI6ftOO0rAPEoOiyZVm5i9JmOeGsZ67ruI-3H07WcxeRDR14ggUJyLP1mHhJtRJHT1N4O_6Bp7TU/s1600/IMG_1586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77Dl249KK6NRpcm0AirPZNtICm40BLA9lVBzGI8t2JvUXN19e_UU5lYeVa-Gg138yI6ftOO0rAPEoOiyZVm5i9JmOeGsZ67ruI-3H07WcxeRDR14ggUJyLP1mHhJtRJHT1N4O_6Bp7TU/s400/IMG_1586.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
After we left the headwaters of the Rio Santa we entered another drainage for some more jaw dropping scenery. We were now headed northeast toward La Union. This part of the highway was in really good condition as it was built and maintained by a mining company. As we climbed the drainage the weather started to deteriorate and we had to put rain gear on. I started keeping an eye on my thermometer now because we were getting closer to the snow that had looked so nice about an hour ago. It was about 2 or 3 degrees Celsius in mixed rain and snow when we crested the Abra Yanashalla Pass at 4720 meters (15485 ft). I was amazed at how good our bikes were performing at that altitude. The engine wasn't pinging at all. I think it was a good thing that it was so cool out. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBvwXsilu4nAQs8gbOuQhNzQrRTPR3yjG8HLtKArl6hLQkcIlmrw6tXbdQxbIV9eMJo8WgBwAFmopeuNEIVOTi1R-fehwWmcpV1XM37fJFJ4I_X-x9MBu8tWqlZ3qbQEJ9fRRsyS1sg0/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBvwXsilu4nAQs8gbOuQhNzQrRTPR3yjG8HLtKArl6hLQkcIlmrw6tXbdQxbIV9eMJo8WgBwAFmopeuNEIVOTi1R-fehwWmcpV1XM37fJFJ4I_X-x9MBu8tWqlZ3qbQEJ9fRRsyS1sg0/s400/IMG_1587.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on the town of Aquia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtHlbJN0XGsYPU7KGMvWc_fVWUSy3hJGcRH-TAKi7YqNlYthzxLIMKb05UA1QJ0COzQbqxXtA3h7WVIVaZ1_zsPFPa7d25zTw-p_KCf7DweF-ilgch_eEtOIOzW2QDonTwNjsTySJbE34/s1600/IMG_1588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtHlbJN0XGsYPU7KGMvWc_fVWUSy3hJGcRH-TAKi7YqNlYthzxLIMKb05UA1QJ0COzQbqxXtA3h7WVIVaZ1_zsPFPa7d25zTw-p_KCf7DweF-ilgch_eEtOIOzW2QDonTwNjsTySJbE34/s400/IMG_1588.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the terraced farms going way up the hills.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchbXJH14B34KIFHHWWEiS7N24jET7vVrSPJVUfa46zQONleCJYpIPf0JXnj9NJcZmRlIHXpmCqyFCe3_JNDwMwyDbQOcYcv804zkYAE2aiLZVvGglAHpBhYYwsGPYTpE7qbFif8Zptv0/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchbXJH14B34KIFHHWWEiS7N24jET7vVrSPJVUfa46zQONleCJYpIPf0JXnj9NJcZmRlIHXpmCqyFCe3_JNDwMwyDbQOcYcv804zkYAE2aiLZVvGglAHpBhYYwsGPYTpE7qbFif8Zptv0/s400/IMG_1589.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More cool mountain folding.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFvwbkkCVi1ZvVXig4YSfF6NL2Hh7_NqD_fWAuMnrtJq0OMj13gpJdlwjFogYUmaprgsDFN0BkrZKwRrewMIi3sPRKfBLDK2IcLlpxuBk4VYtTXnxWhf-mA56j_to00mCUX0zOrWlDJA/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFvwbkkCVi1ZvVXig4YSfF6NL2Hh7_NqD_fWAuMnrtJq0OMj13gpJdlwjFogYUmaprgsDFN0BkrZKwRrewMIi3sPRKfBLDK2IcLlpxuBk4VYtTXnxWhf-mA56j_to00mCUX0zOrWlDJA/s400/IMG_1590.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just before we crested the summit of Abra Yanashalla Pass elev. 4720 m.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was quite a relief that we didn't have to climb any higher or we'd have been in the snow. That really sucks on a motorcycle. Eventually the rain let up to just showers and we had a nice descent toward La Union. We stopped for gas in Huallanca (if you're paying attention it's a different one) and the guy at the gas station told us only three more hours to Huanuco. Hmmm. There's maybe a chance we could make it to Huanuco today. I asked again in La Union and was told 5 hours to go. Even at that, it was now about 12:30 so we decided to go for it. It was quite a road. It was paved the whole way except for the parts that weren't. Those parts were muddy. Both Neil and I agreed it was the most mountainous, narrow, twisty road we had ever been on. That includes all the logging roads we've ever been on. There were lots of stretches that would have been a tight squeeze or even impossible for a truck and a motorcycle. And there was no pulling of the road. You were either on the road or down in the river. Make that way down in the river. It was pretty freaky looking down, so I didn't. The locals honk their horns as they approach the blind corners to warn oncoming traffic. It works as long as you both don't honk at the same time. And I'm not sure why but well over 50 percent of the time when you met somebody coming around the corner he was either right in the middle of the road or completely in your lane. It was starting to piss me off after a while. To top it off it was raining and the rivers were quite high. And, most of the switchbacks were covered in this muddy clay, making us go around them in first gear. It was a good ride but demanded your full attention. Yes, I could feel a beer coming on.<br />
We took very few pictures of the descent to Huanuco because of the conditions. It's too bad. You could easily spend two or more days taking pictures and hiking to the cultural areas along this 135 km section of road. Almost the whole way along the road are villages, farms and houses. We had to stop or slow for livestock many times. It was hard to tell just how old some of the homes were. Most of them were built of mud and straw (<i>taipo de pelao</i> I think) and they could have been centuries old for all I know. Some were built with rocks. There were quite a few abandoned huts with the wooden floor stringers long rotted away and only a bit of the walls left standing. The farms seemed to go from valley bottom to the ridge tops. It really looks like people have been here (as they have been) for thousands of years.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwozYL25uPIXWtX_xb392DCe_6FN3Ec1SYD1ZZqTMn1czMlKwib9b2owBIsrTQJ0YnOgGvSAMc6O0V3Dnr1gDKXTnexQnts8Ymn5Pf9kZoowcgZvMw24EQsjZKcUlRcNGfSdFEoH_q8gs/s1600/IMG_1591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwozYL25uPIXWtX_xb392DCe_6FN3Ec1SYD1ZZqTMn1czMlKwib9b2owBIsrTQJ0YnOgGvSAMc6O0V3Dnr1gDKXTnexQnts8Ymn5Pf9kZoowcgZvMw24EQsjZKcUlRcNGfSdFEoH_q8gs/s400/IMG_1591.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed for La Union.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt2WNs8Pn4HDLViinDBu_deczgBufPfK11rY2eojrTy7B5pCBOWujm-qLgWtlLyD6iROs1NrM-iI1N5THmhAFV7CEH9Ba1T3GkOZ1nq1nFIyH87xZ_WcIhJdBIER0Eb0qHAv7Wcb1Jlk/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt2WNs8Pn4HDLViinDBu_deczgBufPfK11rY2eojrTy7B5pCBOWujm-qLgWtlLyD6iROs1NrM-iI1N5THmhAFV7CEH9Ba1T3GkOZ1nq1nFIyH87xZ_WcIhJdBIER0Eb0qHAv7Wcb1Jlk/s400/IMG_1592.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You feel really small here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rwcsanPN5Norn-Oq8r6jdBeCXMBtQ7AiBZM7KRYZP1by3oTq3plHj1C9GBNOZNdyF8mXOvXqgCEng2zxEld_5t0j_Nuio4DVOzgCaqvKFHYO2QiM9pAwshtqW6XaQi7KSryrkwBP3_o/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3rwcsanPN5Norn-Oq8r6jdBeCXMBtQ7AiBZM7KRYZP1by3oTq3plHj1C9GBNOZNdyF8mXOvXqgCEng2zxEld_5t0j_Nuio4DVOzgCaqvKFHYO2QiM9pAwshtqW6XaQi7KSryrkwBP3_o/s400/IMG_1593.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhN-lVPBNVL2K3c0cGYcA_5RAzYokUqc7PHhskjFauq4K_Oz387dTcgLJF2kFd6bjpqcyLOHZDVtLYIcNJARgRmIHThY2Jk_F_PW2NVhLDH6gh7TPGpdXBB5L7PgQmGFBfDLf3hqugEe0/s1600/IMG_1594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhN-lVPBNVL2K3c0cGYcA_5RAzYokUqc7PHhskjFauq4K_Oz387dTcgLJF2kFd6bjpqcyLOHZDVtLYIcNJARgRmIHThY2Jk_F_PW2NVhLDH6gh7TPGpdXBB5L7PgQmGFBfDLf3hqugEe0/s400/IMG_1594.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes there were pigs, cows, sheep, goats and dogs all walking along together like a family. I even saw a duck chasing a pig.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURKVvNIzzYe8Z2318NKi8dIGGVyRQ4FHH5z2iib1DPJ4TqE0B7lsVXriuFK8LrCmZrF2HHIrD53mMh0l5gJIlhpH4RdT-7_ypMNOAv5cecgkKlNNu6Yc2UfPBf4VoEgKjbIcCtJRb0F0/s1600/trekin+south2+505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURKVvNIzzYe8Z2318NKi8dIGGVyRQ4FHH5z2iib1DPJ4TqE0B7lsVXriuFK8LrCmZrF2HHIrD53mMh0l5gJIlhpH4RdT-7_ypMNOAv5cecgkKlNNu6Yc2UfPBf4VoEgKjbIcCtJRb0F0/s400/trekin+south2+505.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had been having such a good day. One part of the road with no pavement and the mud was trying to suck our boots off our feet. There were lots of muddy spots. Only one prang-up though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When we got into Huanuco we parked in the main square and as I went to go look for a hotel a print shop owner ((Marco) came up to us and offered to print off a map of the region and in return only wanted some photos of our trip. More nice people. I cased out the hotels and had to laugh as I crossed the street back to where we parked the bikes. There was quite a crowd around Neil and the bikes. There must have been 40 or more people asking where we came from, where we were going, how long did it take, how big are the bikes? We answered questions as best we could then tried to leave to go park the bikes. No one wanted to move until we started moving the bikes into the street through the crowd. While we waited for people to move a few guys would reach in and give our throttle a twist. They just wanted to feel the power I think. We had a good laugh about that.<br />
Today we headed for Huancayo. I'd hoped we could make it to Huancavelica but we ended up leaving a bit late and we made lots of photo stops. Again, we made a long climb and got gas at Cerro de Pasco. It's a small mining town at 4330 meters asl. It was raining off and on and it was cool at about 5 deg C. We rode along the shores of Lago de Chinchaycocha in Parque Nacional de Junin for about an hour at about 4000 meters asl. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVl68TN898NbePbhmkq43PZJqMWptzZo1Rcfyb9Di82Iu_WJyAbFpfjWgzUHlDtm9-3uG1OInE-W3CEKr6NXt5nxnxEqOL3AdJuu-NYjw0RdWoAaMByc06mdJvuOl5QN5tL7P0_f4uQ4/s1600/IMG_1595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVl68TN898NbePbhmkq43PZJqMWptzZo1Rcfyb9Di82Iu_WJyAbFpfjWgzUHlDtm9-3uG1OInE-W3CEKr6NXt5nxnxEqOL3AdJuu-NYjw0RdWoAaMByc06mdJvuOl5QN5tL7P0_f4uQ4/s400/IMG_1595.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The high water from rain in the mountains. All the rivers look like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGVoZrwiu4pWjPG6E48qNOd0aTGXvBWd22FmahRCp21xkmDECDdFVnD7G2CQWmQL3iDAgJlWMaFWSQiYpn4gZbsaO2UJB7AZqS3MhvBKWSBLFYSUCYw6AF1RMKw48tmIprhE2gdRVrv8/s1600/IMG_1596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGVoZrwiu4pWjPG6E48qNOd0aTGXvBWd22FmahRCp21xkmDECDdFVnD7G2CQWmQL3iDAgJlWMaFWSQiYpn4gZbsaO2UJB7AZqS3MhvBKWSBLFYSUCYw6AF1RMKw48tmIprhE2gdRVrv8/s320/IMG_1596.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerro de Pasco</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyT-Z6iPI4EywRyey8SFqsCWFhBDvnbtHoChZNh7PPIxP3hb3lhBzf7NJ9Px_NHD09vjDeWh3HunwET36FInNhpPO7x9cXL07rrl0Em_YXVz0yZS4iSQvPCqgqxh6EqnS9yZ9zdLGWOI/s1600/IMG_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyT-Z6iPI4EywRyey8SFqsCWFhBDvnbtHoChZNh7PPIxP3hb3lhBzf7NJ9Px_NHD09vjDeWh3HunwET36FInNhpPO7x9cXL07rrl0Em_YXVz0yZS4iSQvPCqgqxh6EqnS9yZ9zdLGWOI/s320/IMG_1597.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyp3lr3ymI4ebrAJ7IucH-tQmqOglstjTA2eGHZ0_kE3jYHNtbPzGq0ujafWcxZSuf3dHMwBUVY1cp_B3jqrg1ZY9vAgVUvfuARlFlOQ9nLiz_1n8l2SkYMew_Y6-6q2WplGOPDy0rS7s/s1600/IMG_1598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyp3lr3ymI4ebrAJ7IucH-tQmqOglstjTA2eGHZ0_kE3jYHNtbPzGq0ujafWcxZSuf3dHMwBUVY1cp_B3jqrg1ZY9vAgVUvfuARlFlOQ9nLiz_1n8l2SkYMew_Y6-6q2WplGOPDy0rS7s/s400/IMG_1598.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lago de Chinchaycocha</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpBCNivA9E1wdDnociFCsihnVTGTXHl6ndOG5gMtNOOhQZqaEfpo-YBFvovjkP-2MYaRtnAqYktnTrVF0fdDR9f2Lv5c9IXWnKVLcunPi5aD1tJOr55y1c2dRPMDIyqk-9_NLwsmJILY/s1600/IMG_1599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpBCNivA9E1wdDnociFCsihnVTGTXHl6ndOG5gMtNOOhQZqaEfpo-YBFvovjkP-2MYaRtnAqYktnTrVF0fdDR9f2Lv5c9IXWnKVLcunPi5aD1tJOr55y1c2dRPMDIyqk-9_NLwsmJILY/s400/IMG_1599.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lago de Chinchaycocha</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKI_we0Y1k71_aClPzdTpDim1K8FGKyLiDUZ2x0EOYI0SZ1U-WKq78SCWQes7PULGvoz91C9vQcEa9vxwhzwXvojBPO7bk-UUi_4M8TjVVLktsQLooqlGKj7ZONtVxgITm9JTJ56iwkJw/s1600/IMG_1600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKI_we0Y1k71_aClPzdTpDim1K8FGKyLiDUZ2x0EOYI0SZ1U-WKq78SCWQes7PULGvoz91C9vQcEa9vxwhzwXvojBPO7bk-UUi_4M8TjVVLktsQLooqlGKj7ZONtVxgITm9JTJ56iwkJw/s400/IMG_1600.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the descent from Lago de Chinchaycochah. You can just barely see the line of the railway in the distance behind the truck. It looked pretty steep for a rail line.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We then started following a valley descending off the lake towards La Oroya. The topography was fascinating because of all the cool examples of mountain folding. There was also a railway following the same valley. I think it is used to service the mines at Cerro de Pasco and La Oroya as well as others. Mining is a big thing here and we saw both large and small operations. Some of the smaller ones we saw the men were using only hand tools to extract the ore from open excavations.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHYxsvCjLsUQGDlufFtuwbdw69OnSZQqwCVDceiJevSESgE7cPGxZiHMJwqF06bxkKCOzz_NKaunbE2QUVDt__sGf22YgvK5zosNeO5x3rfLEnPto_4CE2KOM7HMNC5wP3-wWkh1zmyo/s1600/IMG_1602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHYxsvCjLsUQGDlufFtuwbdw69OnSZQqwCVDceiJevSESgE7cPGxZiHMJwqF06bxkKCOzz_NKaunbE2QUVDt__sGf22YgvK5zosNeO5x3rfLEnPto_4CE2KOM7HMNC5wP3-wWkh1zmyo/s400/IMG_1602.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming into La Oroya. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnOL5l28vKTSnKD-NUqjrXT4hck8Ph5nkXfczAqZ-9NNjS4TEHbnIqFVpyXyEZqogC9Cr3PlZWKAF3CexHnLpKCGLQtXcMf9uHBqJ4I5YcgZr6zCrtDecyzTJK8hnXYraTaKVqxxQwEg/s1600/IMG_1603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnOL5l28vKTSnKD-NUqjrXT4hck8Ph5nkXfczAqZ-9NNjS4TEHbnIqFVpyXyEZqogC9Cr3PlZWKAF3CexHnLpKCGLQtXcMf9uHBqJ4I5YcgZr6zCrtDecyzTJK8hnXYraTaKVqxxQwEg/s400/IMG_1603.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild rock formations right in La Oroya</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrd7X_z_Lsy1AmPahHr2X9cZiX1epBEGG2QBxwrxt2cPmiZgL8NSE0uzGxQ2mSopfQv33LOOEGvLKLrHZ8NS-J9FrPUNtbFXHkGEzK7HjhljvlgUiPrpNByxZxhyphenhyphenk-jCgrYXEEK0brjww/s1600/IMG_1604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrd7X_z_Lsy1AmPahHr2X9cZiX1epBEGG2QBxwrxt2cPmiZgL8NSE0uzGxQ2mSopfQv33LOOEGvLKLrHZ8NS-J9FrPUNtbFXHkGEzK7HjhljvlgUiPrpNByxZxhyphenhyphenk-jCgrYXEEK0brjww/s400/IMG_1604.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The smelter in La Oroya. Not sure what's going on now but La Oroya has had some bad press as one of the ten most polluted cities in the world. It sounds like the new owners are trying to clean up their act.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHiduVVm78N48CsSGsI1Rq5kN7yNVhFq-dJCwln0-xAbjA_mpeiGJ-0Wa5Ht8p2sRGIt_yEveNoROxgwl52i9E2IEddzCoII01avLODqPKurrmcQYD0OMcSncWu5dZWN9Loe6lRsyHnw/s1600/IMG_1608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXHiduVVm78N48CsSGsI1Rq5kN7yNVhFq-dJCwln0-xAbjA_mpeiGJ-0Wa5Ht8p2sRGIt_yEveNoROxgwl52i9E2IEddzCoII01avLODqPKurrmcQYD0OMcSncWu5dZWN9Loe6lRsyHnw/s400/IMG_1608.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of this kind of stuff near La Oroya.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So that's it for now. Tomorrow we're going to see if we can get the bikes over the 5000 meter mark. I hope it doesn't snow.<br />
ChauUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-67752181294116729132011-01-31T12:25:00.000-08:002011-01-31T12:25:14.183-08:00Huaraz, PeruWe decided to take a day off today to do laundry and kick back. Our hotel being so nice and affordable had a major influence in the decision making. We're in what I would consider a high 3 or even 4 star place that has hot water and toilet seats. Wahoo! We get our own room with breakfast for 48 soles each. At about 2.7 soles to the dollar thats pretty good.<br />
We just wandered around town today and took a few pictures. Huaraz is a center for trekking and climbing in the mountains of the Cordillera Blanca. There are supposed to be more than 20 mountain peaks near here that are over 6000 meters (20,000 ft). It's the wet time of year here so it's the low season for tourists. That's good for us. This morning the mountains around town were covered with a fresh dusting of snow but they were hidden by cloud most of the day. Right now the sky is black and we're getting thunder and lightning. Must be the pattern as that's what it was doing when we showed up yesterday. Here's a few pics from the day.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFYuNjfX91KqshxlIHzf68ls2__zPT5bIsZNt69MYDSka8mNo_SY3aayiYErf8bpu5y-X6mvdfkkmjMbddtIJrG8LZNh0e8JjSAT9fUS4VW4hC8h6PJ_v4TQ6SjFK7H7knmqXwlGYYQs/s1600/IMG_1417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFYuNjfX91KqshxlIHzf68ls2__zPT5bIsZNt69MYDSka8mNo_SY3aayiYErf8bpu5y-X6mvdfkkmjMbddtIJrG8LZNh0e8JjSAT9fUS4VW4hC8h6PJ_v4TQ6SjFK7H7knmqXwlGYYQs/s400/IMG_1417.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy had a monkey trained to dance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyZokSccRKfJpK0R5HJ0Dzkc3SG9Avo8QvZglIeMV0JsZNBVs2t3wrQHImAiowFl5MoIKXcRZgbqE-w_fsN3H6aFWOJiFExmRC5Mhn8_6B4ZNNRqjsphpjIt1Lfj51ajcvLfVxG5n6q0/s1600/IMG_1418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyZokSccRKfJpK0R5HJ0Dzkc3SG9Avo8QvZglIeMV0JsZNBVs2t3wrQHImAiowFl5MoIKXcRZgbqE-w_fsN3H6aFWOJiFExmRC5Mhn8_6B4ZNNRqjsphpjIt1Lfj51ajcvLfVxG5n6q0/s400/IMG_1418.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It seems like the streets are always bustling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92O9__X-6AjNBXLUs4Tz168zXTl_SvZgP0EYiiRZ9JeOMRJFogMiMXzTwmOoUmoh6SanQrj0T-Lvu5BR_YprAPbbcaANvgi5vu1dHW2k4Uh5hTy0EnV3wQ3gGFLYmtrwaghC3Rm5PpEQ/s1600/IMG_1419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92O9__X-6AjNBXLUs4Tz168zXTl_SvZgP0EYiiRZ9JeOMRJFogMiMXzTwmOoUmoh6SanQrj0T-Lvu5BR_YprAPbbcaANvgi5vu1dHW2k4Uh5hTy0EnV3wQ3gGFLYmtrwaghC3Rm5PpEQ/s400/IMG_1419.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFTb75f-3P9ReK-Dnsp6c-K3vlC0i1ijJQmwtKIaOCBpAG4LJ_4b5R8_ERePHV-q3XLrX8fE8SIH1JK6OMNCfwQXkjESayFXnKL8RMSJCSlvkocsU5LTjVeJIiWuaPDXSZDQXG7NpSsU/s1600/IMG_1420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFTb75f-3P9ReK-Dnsp6c-K3vlC0i1ijJQmwtKIaOCBpAG4LJ_4b5R8_ERePHV-q3XLrX8fE8SIH1JK6OMNCfwQXkjESayFXnKL8RMSJCSlvkocsU5LTjVeJIiWuaPDXSZDQXG7NpSsU/s400/IMG_1420.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally managed a few shots of some ladies in traditional dress. The clothing varies by region. In one area of Ecuador all the women we wearing the same kind of white hat and black clothing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X9qWyAWClNAdnF190EZXLor6ucv0Xuu9H2MhA79TqZBmn5s4VhOak0MMaw5ENDbaSIvERPAKs9xipkCIIo-ptpEm2hU11kaASwfTI3TjNQwBK2TjzGEYbnX0Gahg5QPuiV2xxsPoKeU/s1600/IMG_1421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X9qWyAWClNAdnF190EZXLor6ucv0Xuu9H2MhA79TqZBmn5s4VhOak0MMaw5ENDbaSIvERPAKs9xipkCIIo-ptpEm2hU11kaASwfTI3TjNQwBK2TjzGEYbnX0Gahg5QPuiV2xxsPoKeU/s400/IMG_1421.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are a lot of entrepreneurs here. This guy was building doors from scratch in his tiny shop. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pvv29Iav-dpQneGqAmK78o4UBMe4RBpCFAjuicX9w3EzWYpXm-MZiCaALwspf4d0MH4G3ZUZhlUkkJevyAUr7lk-B6iPknTKmhqozJ_KxkGnvIJi-HgPTBFXOOxv4yaHDgUdcyXSSqs/s1600/IMG_1425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pvv29Iav-dpQneGqAmK78o4UBMe4RBpCFAjuicX9w3EzWYpXm-MZiCaALwspf4d0MH4G3ZUZhlUkkJevyAUr7lk-B6iPknTKmhqozJ_KxkGnvIJi-HgPTBFXOOxv4yaHDgUdcyXSSqs/s640/IMG_1425.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some peaks of the Cordillera Blanca north of Huaraz.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCBSdg4HAAWK3VHgDwVMjwij4V90onG2t3HUfe_-ht-ZlREOiDwZypAJxdeMZh5RwaSbx7-fpVuDDrT0dEbkJx0wWQTZE9Oniedc47v12Bn5t5_Lq0yH6r0XZKlSVcsaV_oViQ_3Y970/s1600/IMG_1423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCBSdg4HAAWK3VHgDwVMjwij4V90onG2t3HUfe_-ht-ZlREOiDwZypAJxdeMZh5RwaSbx7-fpVuDDrT0dEbkJx0wWQTZE9Oniedc47v12Bn5t5_Lq0yH6r0XZKlSVcsaV_oViQ_3Y970/s400/IMG_1423.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeCImYVC8-3Z6G8iT018XujxECRvHhNk03sxiwdI6NGF267yjagomCMSJsIR3w66geVyWBaOT2tLmZblLNgtQw2BJE9Yi_33OKSzWC-ArwkWbd-c5Cx5gpINw5-NMo0VJI0xWom339q8/s1600/IMG_1424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeCImYVC8-3Z6G8iT018XujxECRvHhNk03sxiwdI6NGF267yjagomCMSJsIR3w66geVyWBaOT2tLmZblLNgtQw2BJE9Yi_33OKSzWC-ArwkWbd-c5Cx5gpINw5-NMo0VJI0xWom339q8/s400/IMG_1424.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Later...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-32925584999673644952011-01-30T16:26:00.000-08:002011-01-31T10:59:13.764-08:00Rio Santa, PeruWhen we we're riding into Piura on Friday night we noticed a lot of people riding in the back of these big open trucks and small crowds of people on the side of the highway. <i>A lot</i> of people. It looked like they were coming to or from work on these huge farms in the area. There were also many trucks loading and unloading various kinds of produce at various places along the highway. Anyways, it's obvious agriculture is big business here and it employs a huge number of people. There were big shanty towns on both sides of the highway so I suspect most of these workers are migrant. Their living conditions didn't look that great as some of the shelters were palm thatch walls and had no roof. There wouldn't have been any plumbing either. We were warned about safety in this area and this is probably part of the reason. You know...desperate people, desperate acts. I'm not judging or anything. It's just interesting to see.<br />
On Saturday morning we left Piura and headed across the Desierto de Sechura. It's about 200 kilometers from Piura to Chiclayo and it's all desert. Unfortunately, at least from the highway, the beauty of the desert is ruined by the sight and smell of garbage along the side of the road. It looks like the garbage gets trucked out from the city and just dumped in the desert, even right along the highway. It's hard to believe nobody can see how wrong this looks. It was still nice to see the desert but it would have been nicer without the garbage. When we got south of Trujillo we hit the coast and the sides of the highways became less cluttered with trash. Good thing. It was getting depressing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg235q-2EvkdXSJahRKAuiKSz8jtU5VgbRpvGJ_J7HYtVfZXbVAdquOh-6aGHhFbs7nBKD-DqfOMYv0I5ydKpNZPTZmtl1bMGy8vSEPUHnDhEyqDeReEsXXJszggfZs9njF3oDAKVuucg/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg235q-2EvkdXSJahRKAuiKSz8jtU5VgbRpvGJ_J7HYtVfZXbVAdquOh-6aGHhFbs7nBKD-DqfOMYv0I5ydKpNZPTZmtl1bMGy8vSEPUHnDhEyqDeReEsXXJszggfZs9njF3oDAKVuucg/s320/IMG_1367.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desierto de Sechura</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtWmL7E1E33G4rISmdRJuDaoe4Pr-UzJmnWdjxYidI_Ze3P0JF0DuWeBUPd_2mf1Xq94xbAbBvMd3afUpA6YSbMqJKrcmIc3QCluSZ42sZBpQDjarvPy9eXq1pyfPp-ZcjyiEM3ekJrM/s1600/IMG_1368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtWmL7E1E33G4rISmdRJuDaoe4Pr-UzJmnWdjxYidI_Ze3P0JF0DuWeBUPd_2mf1Xq94xbAbBvMd3afUpA6YSbMqJKrcmIc3QCluSZ42sZBpQDjarvPy9eXq1pyfPp-ZcjyiEM3ekJrM/s320/IMG_1368.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A major mode of transport here. Everywhere here. We saw one heaped about three times the height of this. Unbelievable.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTk2FUgN7I6oM2lNVuD0k3pygaZAWXDy2zP6lVbztAETTC4HOebBLAvk4ViSIsCgFSCWOKjbetyyjqypcdG4nbTtegxKk1Q0K7185yXo37snKJMhDC_Nk-tRurIEOLwzQIpo9Lx1eDdtI/s1600/IMG_1369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTk2FUgN7I6oM2lNVuD0k3pygaZAWXDy2zP6lVbztAETTC4HOebBLAvk4ViSIsCgFSCWOKjbetyyjqypcdG4nbTtegxKk1Q0K7185yXo37snKJMhDC_Nk-tRurIEOLwzQIpo9Lx1eDdtI/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This truckload wasn't bad. We saw one with a load that overhung about a third of our lane.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGrhPdlhMfChTRo-NE3fc0lbcgzdAJE887QOAy4TdAWVF65odHYRvJX4lxM6hu6Pl3V3fR09Au2cvGmSMBkt8UKgP_j-CNQT0l7CwR-cECbjkKqupRyDFsVI_9jaIp6dtQLkMLBcS0WM/s1600/IMG_1370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGrhPdlhMfChTRo-NE3fc0lbcgzdAJE887QOAy4TdAWVF65odHYRvJX4lxM6hu6Pl3V3fR09Au2cvGmSMBkt8UKgP_j-CNQT0l7CwR-cECbjkKqupRyDFsVI_9jaIp6dtQLkMLBcS0WM/s400/IMG_1370.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjuv4mAP6Yt6Zw2dWc-PKBTZFXVLOTP1-874vGO1X62iL1vOfOL048X0fGO9uDSpdCqDhwjCwWbnDojnQQNdlPgQmBiz8pSJp9ubnVZcwMGlahGcRowNNZntdikJxOZMS_V-_keKkTbU/s1600/IMG_1371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjuv4mAP6Yt6Zw2dWc-PKBTZFXVLOTP1-874vGO1X62iL1vOfOL048X0fGO9uDSpdCqDhwjCwWbnDojnQQNdlPgQmBiz8pSJp9ubnVZcwMGlahGcRowNNZntdikJxOZMS_V-_keKkTbU/s320/IMG_1371.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of dunes driven by the wind off the Pacific.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6bbNzn27BvNSNa8wx9fep9MLAuaYShl0wm5A0vv4tiJ5priVxEpl1sQX4crcbNlf9gXZgBlOMH2_uXKy3UXfU_9M19zILZi8NaPk9cBD169da5oPsMmEM_y3ZUpuFLZESuLJYG3665Y/s1600/IMG_1372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6bbNzn27BvNSNa8wx9fep9MLAuaYShl0wm5A0vv4tiJ5priVxEpl1sQX4crcbNlf9gXZgBlOMH2_uXKy3UXfU_9M19zILZi8NaPk9cBD169da5oPsMmEM_y3ZUpuFLZESuLJYG3665Y/s320/IMG_1372.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, it was beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We were planning to leave the coast the next day and head inland so we stopped at Santa. It's a very small town on the coast near the mouth of Rio Santa. For such a small town it had quite a few hostels and we found very affordable accommodation. It was a really nice town but you couldn't tell from the highway. That's one of the things we've found along the way. Sometimes you have to take a closer look. You know...the book and the cover thing. We were able to park the bikes in a very nice garage where Neil changed a couple of spark plugs. His bike has been farting a bit so he thought he might have a cracked plug from the overheating in Acapulco.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgBMQCAfwXm8iBiZYT8jszOgAn0jOfHeKCAFpU_2e60Z_JzxxuNzTcw930dbTsniadoE_C1SmmmzFVdhjY-iRpgiC8WtN4alBgiX_CvwrCRaOCXMbwIGYy98AJhwijpektwEInK1IRfE/s1600/IMG_1373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgBMQCAfwXm8iBiZYT8jszOgAn0jOfHeKCAFpU_2e60Z_JzxxuNzTcw930dbTsniadoE_C1SmmmzFVdhjY-iRpgiC8WtN4alBgiX_CvwrCRaOCXMbwIGYy98AJhwijpektwEInK1IRfE/s320/IMG_1373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicer than Wade's garage. Real ceramic tile. Sorry buddy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlhgIRiQ8IF7rYysdjBmQSLOs_-9QsFThuxN8v0qrgeHzX06zhHp43ALpqL3AVlVFwYXbwX4Fg9DLxOA5XHPy4wisim8b8sHegR1_hOwVvwT_UkoI5F5N6lMBnv2Y71LXqa7Df5W1OMc/s1600/IMG_1374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlhgIRiQ8IF7rYysdjBmQSLOs_-9QsFThuxN8v0qrgeHzX06zhHp43ALpqL3AVlVFwYXbwX4Fg9DLxOA5XHPy4wisim8b8sHegR1_hOwVvwT_UkoI5F5N6lMBnv2Y71LXqa7Df5W1OMc/s320/IMG_1374.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm thinking of buying a toilet seat and carrying it like a spare tire.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
This morning we were on the road before 7:30 and had an incredible ride up the Santa Valley to Huaraz. I think it was about 260 km but it took us until 1:30 or so and included about 100 km of rough gravel. Words don't do it justice so I won't try.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv6Awp-GAqLAuIt818cQHDKEbUXinK2ktauI0IfS2pvsmSNHW73z2zm_I9LjJrjEVSfPMei_3buFbJW3fkwPzz50AtjFpx9Offl67GZqlFGa8oSnKL1tuk-cie4KmVrNABO1EkeIUH0U/s1600/IMG_1375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXv6Awp-GAqLAuIt818cQHDKEbUXinK2ktauI0IfS2pvsmSNHW73z2zm_I9LjJrjEVSfPMei_3buFbJW3fkwPzz50AtjFpx9Offl67GZqlFGa8oSnKL1tuk-cie4KmVrNABO1EkeIUH0U/s400/IMG_1375.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice paddies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLsfN4P_BzXKAfoGwl31bEDOrpEJHV_6ypD524-YYykwl6jTu8uL4Y5akl0MrEAEGVmIHK2GzmQnb6Wkvvo2yoESoxAGS45iqbfT3C22o4Ev3XMHrHMmB2op-9xrQsUUzGEWLhSAFOTk/s1600/IMG_1376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLsfN4P_BzXKAfoGwl31bEDOrpEJHV_6ypD524-YYykwl6jTu8uL4Y5akl0MrEAEGVmIHK2GzmQnb6Wkvvo2yoESoxAGS45iqbfT3C22o4Ev3XMHrHMmB2op-9xrQsUUzGEWLhSAFOTk/s400/IMG_1376.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy7h-Ph_d70YdFFUNXt-dRrj5JgmhTsQ4RuN_tKkGCkaGNGiyd6Kzjlq9CZgi2QmqiV0hb7xwI7tl-aMhOyUusKK6OREypuWPrrENXRy3wMQirZnvLAKSqGeJ-N-DFCfbQqsPWl_d1Fs/s1600/IMG_1377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy7h-Ph_d70YdFFUNXt-dRrj5JgmhTsQ4RuN_tKkGCkaGNGiyd6Kzjlq9CZgi2QmqiV0hb7xwI7tl-aMhOyUusKK6OREypuWPrrENXRy3wMQirZnvLAKSqGeJ-N-DFCfbQqsPWl_d1Fs/s400/IMG_1377.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0c9Wx6li57hYfIk5D_BXyrBLeRZmY86UjkR-Cb0GJWjsGnb0pcuTD9rZ7CMKA9Ii3UtvnM_GNaO0yw-jQPU-f8EjTy8I9JagaaZTV6t-vJGuCjvXGcPiBQurYmbSTvSqkSs0ZSa2uKa0/s1600/IMG_1378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0c9Wx6li57hYfIk5D_BXyrBLeRZmY86UjkR-Cb0GJWjsGnb0pcuTD9rZ7CMKA9Ii3UtvnM_GNaO0yw-jQPU-f8EjTy8I9JagaaZTV6t-vJGuCjvXGcPiBQurYmbSTvSqkSs0ZSa2uKa0/s400/IMG_1378.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJOfYdFSjazj8m15cHTsgYTpyVL460mVR1ehpGDx_K3S7YlD39D-m9czHyVs37PdyhiRVogR70sApmO6RpKDpJNq3ezJrvC3V7OSdVkKybja0mro7Se9YcULdFdGKw790BO9xl4luLD4/s1600/IMG_1379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJOfYdFSjazj8m15cHTsgYTpyVL460mVR1ehpGDx_K3S7YlD39D-m9czHyVs37PdyhiRVogR70sApmO6RpKDpJNq3ezJrvC3V7OSdVkKybja0mro7Se9YcULdFdGKw790BO9xl4luLD4/s400/IMG_1379.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They don't let just any idiots up here. Only some.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIsKgrycWgWkAiP7Lsd6pmOvGrfRXnz_DD7EXxNZu9863XhXgeQJNI64gHa-N07CnZ1PLWgeKGc5cU4-gTRQQGotKcLzQlKQUN9fhGhwfkbenXvtdDLIvyOLfiE0qXvwKb8zdLhBgFiQ/s1600/IMG_1380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIsKgrycWgWkAiP7Lsd6pmOvGrfRXnz_DD7EXxNZu9863XhXgeQJNI64gHa-N07CnZ1PLWgeKGc5cU4-gTRQQGotKcLzQlKQUN9fhGhwfkbenXvtdDLIvyOLfiE0qXvwKb8zdLhBgFiQ/s400/IMG_1380.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is for my daughter Meagan. Cool folds in the rock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGp-jYLsc73e5NjzrHXJVkt0FhHmpTlOVqu_jVnxBHpTNV-GKT4RKOzqamVZcZO5-OFTFvtgLNg7EeFy3iBX6GQzAKo5Fm6QMYzbSY5TkOmEq639Qdv228Q1SZSzxGhSNGTaBgKME1OT8/s1600/IMG_1381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGp-jYLsc73e5NjzrHXJVkt0FhHmpTlOVqu_jVnxBHpTNV-GKT4RKOzqamVZcZO5-OFTFvtgLNg7EeFy3iBX6GQzAKo5Fm6QMYzbSY5TkOmEq639Qdv228Q1SZSzxGhSNGTaBgKME1OT8/s400/IMG_1381.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A village along the way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijT7S6bGwP-VRW1r6tGYCiq9Y19bi4orGfMQWWBCzLTb44SKheSDle7HIHeifOgHiB4NbI9gYC1spnaHXi3flDPLPl6Sph48Gj_4KSGTjiy_xJi9B8QNIumzEAleD2qbnY6HCo_A1XuZk/s1600/IMG_1382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijT7S6bGwP-VRW1r6tGYCiq9Y19bi4orGfMQWWBCzLTb44SKheSDle7HIHeifOgHiB4NbI9gYC1spnaHXi3flDPLPl6Sph48Gj_4KSGTjiy_xJi9B8QNIumzEAleD2qbnY6HCo_A1XuZk/s400/IMG_1382.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where's Neil?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwGZDMnkYVsvtuHoojvzOaA7CfouHE3Gs4-crt63LQfAQ_ONTc1ZJgeNKa5qjsEwRlAHZE4SOfWGkK4RskbQM4djXqXxG1C121VUQosVowWfT5SkwZshXb-hdqR6VoiaOSbLt1uWR2yo/s1600/IMG_1383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwGZDMnkYVsvtuHoojvzOaA7CfouHE3Gs4-crt63LQfAQ_ONTc1ZJgeNKa5qjsEwRlAHZE4SOfWGkK4RskbQM4djXqXxG1C121VUQosVowWfT5SkwZshXb-hdqR6VoiaOSbLt1uWR2yo/s400/IMG_1383.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another one for Meg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEC-lwaPxNGgDndORzmE6STxs8od7MA9ZV84qBp1K913yYNYV6qMdKAht7T9IwdkgNHysTcq6gvRkMnVEuEZDMId5hQV_ZSkILeoOVV0N2mcZ5L1bAdfOtC5Eo7Xc7XHg8HC-xxBMHCM/s1600/IMG_1384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEC-lwaPxNGgDndORzmE6STxs8od7MA9ZV84qBp1K913yYNYV6qMdKAht7T9IwdkgNHysTcq6gvRkMnVEuEZDMId5hQV_ZSkILeoOVV0N2mcZ5L1bAdfOtC5Eo7Xc7XHg8HC-xxBMHCM/s400/IMG_1384.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The horizontal line is the road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgIu1mzQuMgvNjdIPW57MjVzpDNSCvT_wy-cfksBjRIYMrGnING9hMa6nrJXQj63Z9OuhzWwBnFiBB3ujxrZQBW9K8F9K-9u_CVtESkkIGHJwKvFf2HeJaiWzzcxak0pJiBcwIA2zQHk/s1600/IMG_1385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgIu1mzQuMgvNjdIPW57MjVzpDNSCvT_wy-cfksBjRIYMrGnING9hMa6nrJXQj63Z9OuhzWwBnFiBB3ujxrZQBW9K8F9K-9u_CVtESkkIGHJwKvFf2HeJaiWzzcxak0pJiBcwIA2zQHk/s400/IMG_1385.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were a few coal mines like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5mF2CGHTCh0gF-2OudkQLhX8AZk2H1vqKcOvVRX_hUPa_2-jaTGKjWYfSQpO4C1TMs9s5FS5rhZa9viC7flFpOTbeo_uAT2hq4x4bp2GJd898H48-QNK45JwMA7C5eY_GFDIlwv0Klw/s1600/IMG_1386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5mF2CGHTCh0gF-2OudkQLhX8AZk2H1vqKcOvVRX_hUPa_2-jaTGKjWYfSQpO4C1TMs9s5FS5rhZa9viC7flFpOTbeo_uAT2hq4x4bp2GJd898H48-QNK45JwMA7C5eY_GFDIlwv0Klw/s400/IMG_1386.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were so many tunnels I didn't count. They were all a narrow single lane. Some were quite long and all were dark. Some had buses in them. That was awesome.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRvnwrlV52uvU4l4G-TYKMz7IlZI01qjPzUajeScJmMS1jUplMxQrAuM8LzUXqnVlMGmzpi3W2yd1lelmt47MSZ5UIttL2iJii9FAogeFdzJxp5W7s8ViLUYJI4FqaJR64SM_4XX7u28/s1600/IMG_1387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRvnwrlV52uvU4l4G-TYKMz7IlZI01qjPzUajeScJmMS1jUplMxQrAuM8LzUXqnVlMGmzpi3W2yd1lelmt47MSZ5UIttL2iJii9FAogeFdzJxp5W7s8ViLUYJI4FqaJR64SM_4XX7u28/s400/IMG_1387.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdsS10H17e4yMLS4rlmf87dqBCqp0qXuWU5NhHYOTmx_192xBDdEJeth3sYD-wsYBCI0aHHVe8oygOH-0DbYAb-xZbEvUgz0-4ca0mx2CBGLbDexTAn99WUifw3tg5_bvyg2Xi4myUnk/s1600/IMG_1388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdsS10H17e4yMLS4rlmf87dqBCqp0qXuWU5NhHYOTmx_192xBDdEJeth3sYD-wsYBCI0aHHVe8oygOH-0DbYAb-xZbEvUgz0-4ca0mx2CBGLbDexTAn99WUifw3tg5_bvyg2Xi4myUnk/s400/IMG_1388.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-JKeFR0qEfQ-1EF_UWjhunbkkpnybYtRbOQ1SpjpQlctIcnrhf-zMTBGYXPezlT9FNdqKPXn1GWOvaVauHOf6admyF82PR1Gd5DKJxFOzGxc7KAEjFlXgrja0lCOqv_jQGBICnHdCY8/s1600/IMG_1389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-JKeFR0qEfQ-1EF_UWjhunbkkpnybYtRbOQ1SpjpQlctIcnrhf-zMTBGYXPezlT9FNdqKPXn1GWOvaVauHOf6admyF82PR1Gd5DKJxFOzGxc7KAEjFlXgrja0lCOqv_jQGBICnHdCY8/s400/IMG_1389.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another village. Sorry, can't remember which one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH1l1OxnLB0K1unfSnJvHXoPvTtSjBBH9ASE15aXSyMMA2xqH0qYzCpVlIhKHrD85lj3YFssGlBqw2pgEY2SgXouNseZnERJjr-rrKNtsklkS37euaaYcJYN27cGXkyR3WI3hiXUyE3k/s1600/IMG_1390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvH1l1OxnLB0K1unfSnJvHXoPvTtSjBBH9ASE15aXSyMMA2xqH0qYzCpVlIhKHrD85lj3YFssGlBqw2pgEY2SgXouNseZnERJjr-rrKNtsklkS37euaaYcJYN27cGXkyR3WI3hiXUyE3k/s400/IMG_1390.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINgA1ORUXu4EdUvyoVCzeQ-M5CYHBB-FwV6F1usP_Brq9Cng3EWH7CELtErfzFW2DAJzJWKoZ42V1A6VNJHLQA3WAMvfxN_w2hHz1C8jTYNclNlSLUDIaPSCn-q_0UwzUki6xsdeBs48/s1600/IMG_1391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINgA1ORUXu4EdUvyoVCzeQ-M5CYHBB-FwV6F1usP_Brq9Cng3EWH7CELtErfzFW2DAJzJWKoZ42V1A6VNJHLQA3WAMvfxN_w2hHz1C8jTYNclNlSLUDIaPSCn-q_0UwzUki6xsdeBs48/s400/IMG_1391.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huallanca, Peru. Duke Energy is a big thing here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxl319rWzmQdfLtz5sAf67zDWW09N1FWCJkO1qV9DZ9jOoj-P11Uo741N4U4RUss_etKIZbTkN48kbKBpW-m1ocFh2FQCNS0fBTkMBWMrFSc-iU_QnPu5c24oq7OxIesu1sL7eOY83erQ/s1600/IMG_1392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxl319rWzmQdfLtz5sAf67zDWW09N1FWCJkO1qV9DZ9jOoj-P11Uo741N4U4RUss_etKIZbTkN48kbKBpW-m1ocFh2FQCNS0fBTkMBWMrFSc-iU_QnPu5c24oq7OxIesu1sL7eOY83erQ/s400/IMG_1392.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So there is this cable going to the other side of the river for a cable car. It was hardcore. Not sure how they got it across as it was a long way above the river and a long way across. Not sure if you can get the perspective here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKj2Gm_16qXyE4ct8ioF1O765RboceGvF4E-SWCBqheBVELni8U9578kvmnP-OdAQ9EIkknJPXGyPYKv7SvT0Wb5tdc6kR-YwsxL_v2G9S7-bbUycRAPBvOWssDAKD3eQGPXPbd1dxWnM/s1600/IMG_1393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKj2Gm_16qXyE4ct8ioF1O765RboceGvF4E-SWCBqheBVELni8U9578kvmnP-OdAQ9EIkknJPXGyPYKv7SvT0Wb5tdc6kR-YwsxL_v2G9S7-bbUycRAPBvOWssDAKD3eQGPXPbd1dxWnM/s400/IMG_1393.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is zoomed in on the other side. See the stairs going up to the right? There must be something really good up there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uTPBgKv_cdxitM8fr_zH8iNagVNBjtXoZX-JA5cqR8th3wko3gRlTU9LyauPLxYv0Gbz_XctOfvYGzFt_B2tP5n_YyNMr46bbSPCwRTzjrQR6-dFMPQB0YBrMhXuEi0OfyXpWDvzk3A/s1600/IMG_1394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uTPBgKv_cdxitM8fr_zH8iNagVNBjtXoZX-JA5cqR8th3wko3gRlTU9LyauPLxYv0Gbz_XctOfvYGzFt_B2tP5n_YyNMr46bbSPCwRTzjrQR6-dFMPQB0YBrMhXuEi0OfyXpWDvzk3A/s320/IMG_1394.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiding from the rain in Huaraz, Peru.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq23HWMFahrpNO-f8PTWrre0xwAlE7GPUt0ac60eOJKMBISJPt7jgZi7WFH9cxOhHppULBgFdNyYC-OzBZKuMqFXz7YNDPtzGyKIleoVlF21e0WJtW7VdMxpW04vFl_nvG5trIgk0tgdg/s1600/IMG_1395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq23HWMFahrpNO-f8PTWrre0xwAlE7GPUt0ac60eOJKMBISJPt7jgZi7WFH9cxOhHppULBgFdNyYC-OzBZKuMqFXz7YNDPtzGyKIleoVlF21e0WJtW7VdMxpW04vFl_nvG5trIgk0tgdg/s400/IMG_1395.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the room in a Huaraz downpour. At 3091 meters above sea level it can get cool in the rain.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That's all for now except....<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Birthday from Peru Michele!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-48564097072691502212011-01-28T20:11:00.000-08:002011-01-30T16:29:38.067-08:00Goodbye to Ecuador; Onto PeruWe left Cuenca in good time on Thursday morning and had another awesome ride on good highways with light traffic. The highways are very well designed. They have nice banking in the corners with a constant radius so they are perfect for motorcycles. It's nice to be able to use all the rubber on the tire and not have little chicken strips on the side. We stopped for gas near the summit (a little over 3000 m) between Cuenca and Loja and met another rider on a BMW1100GS from Germany. We ended up riding together for a while then he caught up to us again in Loja. We chatted for a while on the street while Neil went to Western Union. Rudolf leaves his 1100 in South America and comes every year to do some riding. He has a 1200GS he keeps at home in Germany. I think his wife must really love him.<span id="goog_432490601"></span><span id="goog_432490602"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4amCDE9jq312hybwaElVqeBvvGeVocrq2mwww8vPXPLvGu2Tfi3IXcEchH12DUj9S_l8VtTbliCAVRx3bTtT6572GGjNNWEMYnKfpoHUA2wQQK7NNc_He5eaeL5NXsj48VMxqpMeicXA/s1600/IMG_1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4amCDE9jq312hybwaElVqeBvvGeVocrq2mwww8vPXPLvGu2Tfi3IXcEchH12DUj9S_l8VtTbliCAVRx3bTtT6572GGjNNWEMYnKfpoHUA2wQQK7NNc_He5eaeL5NXsj48VMxqpMeicXA/s400/IMG_1261.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't get enough of this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OajOT1dWFdp2n6a9cg2epOtaU1phl36I4oMctZd4_u0iGaRoPAEliZQQckLyycUtYWFwf2vXIAEmesipgr_2-_E8OxgkLA7BtJ2d2F8sjhPUsprFRspepHNB30Z7AeQQCfGXWZ9dkF8/s1600/IMG_1262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OajOT1dWFdp2n6a9cg2epOtaU1phl36I4oMctZd4_u0iGaRoPAEliZQQckLyycUtYWFwf2vXIAEmesipgr_2-_E8OxgkLA7BtJ2d2F8sjhPUsprFRspepHNB30Z7AeQQCfGXWZ9dkF8/s400/IMG_1262.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice roads in Ecuador</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjzXh9NgQUuES27sJbkGibCQZYVpqcqVvyWUlhj6WLkRvaDzNFmmZYsw1IzML2cXYgUx5C1EyIktGOcQXeSVc691CNurRliGVWcsY_FlEJrgrY2MdVb_AFRt6qFvebELNJe4ZIZRkpw4/s1600/IMG_1263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjzXh9NgQUuES27sJbkGibCQZYVpqcqVvyWUlhj6WLkRvaDzNFmmZYsw1IzML2cXYgUx5C1EyIktGOcQXeSVc691CNurRliGVWcsY_FlEJrgrY2MdVb_AFRt6qFvebELNJe4ZIZRkpw4/s320/IMG_1263.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rudolf...no wonder he's smiling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After Rudolf left another passerby on the street started chatting.We ended up exchanging phone numbers and emails and he gave us advice on a hotel in Loja. Leonidas wants to do a moto trip some day and wants to keep in touch to hear of our travels. He also gave us some good advice on the road we were planning to travel into Peru. Altogether I think we spent almost an hour and a half talking on the street in Loja. <br />
Our destination that afternoon was Vilcabamba where we ran into Rudolf again. We ended up staying at the same hostel as him. For $25 for two including breakfast and hot-water how can you go wrong?<br />
Our plan was to continue south on this road to cross into Peru at a very quiet and somewhat remote border crossing. We had read that the road could be rough and sometimes muddy so we made some inquiries in the town. Leonidas, in Loja, had already warned us about the road. After the usual town hall meeting regarding our routing we decided that as long as it didn't rain too much we should be okay to take this route through Zumba into Peru. Apparently when it rains there are a lot of mudslides.<br />
It started raining around 7 pm that night. While we had dinner with Rudolf it rained. We even had extra drinks hoping a hangover might make the sky blue in the morning. It didn't help. The drinks and chatting were good, but it didn't help. It continued to rain all night, sometimes heavy.<br />
We decided to take everyone's advice and head to Peru by a different route. As we left Vilcabamba towards Loja the rivers were noticeably swollen with muddy water. I think we probably made the right choice. Thanks Leonidas.<br />
We got back on the Pan American planning to stay on it to the fronterra at Macara. I made a wrong turn in the town of Catamayo and we ended up taking a secondary road that took us through Gonzanama and Cariamanga. It was a mountain road that ran in part along some very high and precipitous ridges. In spots the road had washed away and there was not enough room for two cars to pass, with a sheer drop on either side. The amazing thing is people have homes all along this road. I fear for them in case of an earthquake. We stopped and ate our packed breakfast in this cool city, Cariamanga, perched on a hillside. I tried to buy a coffee from a street vendor there but she gave it to me for free; wouldn't take any money for it. Nice people. We had some heavy rain and dense fog after that which made for slow going but we got to to the border just after noon. It took about an hour for the formalities and we headed for Piura in Peru. We had been strongly advised by everyone not to stay in Sullana as it was not safe. We had a nice ride through desert landscape and saw a lot of domestic goats, pigs and donkeys just roaming free along the roadside. Yet another reminder of the dangers of riding at night.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT54dsimGFIXf_NekidkW_o9233V6n4eTmOSuEIRQlVmm43oH6c6YXqEwUJdZkthyphenhyphenK0_-U2y6MOF_ecXa8pRIibk-UWzs8phjDqjO0pozEKImQdwaJnCEJVDZzahl210l18tR8vxbel88/s1600/IMG_1260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT54dsimGFIXf_NekidkW_o9233V6n4eTmOSuEIRQlVmm43oH6c6YXqEwUJdZkthyphenhyphenK0_-U2y6MOF_ecXa8pRIibk-UWzs8phjDqjO0pozEKImQdwaJnCEJVDZzahl210l18tR8vxbel88/s320/IMG_1260.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The night before we had seen two of these donkeys walking by themselves down the middle of the road carrying loads of sugarcane to the small mill. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLmknPAwJaluFVORqycDjF7yISSeElJlh0Daq9yk9ItqNhwLCmRQ1qC74-n_QheiB1at48Hv8hLgjMclTSUbYNFwgqv_ygu2QZHkilPjlhIaUJcwvZW9wfgkEq6TxZWwX_FiYdcVxfQ4/s1600/IMG_1264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLmknPAwJaluFVORqycDjF7yISSeElJlh0Daq9yk9ItqNhwLCmRQ1qC74-n_QheiB1at48Hv8hLgjMclTSUbYNFwgqv_ygu2QZHkilPjlhIaUJcwvZW9wfgkEq6TxZWwX_FiYdcVxfQ4/s320/IMG_1264.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gas station in Vilcabamba</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Z9ad3I5khLhxjVBsdoO3AGnkLc8K_aPPxziEv4MWOK3VbBKuuPsxnDKOIaJfQmMcCQdZ6ZSrIdQ-Yee5fxwDK4w1vUglzdNZFZd02HWrPXTOx-kvVD_h6zA0bJAK2AApR-xYAWVdgsM/s1600/IMG_1265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Z9ad3I5khLhxjVBsdoO3AGnkLc8K_aPPxziEv4MWOK3VbBKuuPsxnDKOIaJfQmMcCQdZ6ZSrIdQ-Yee5fxwDK4w1vUglzdNZFZd02HWrPXTOx-kvVD_h6zA0bJAK2AApR-xYAWVdgsM/s320/IMG_1265.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got a free coffee here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkuls0lYpt7VenqExq_Qiha_a6NtYZXWNaGK8CVLDKVpNz9MdWWCDUDXIXSeMp7slXIAFGkXZRvo8CXVOgWiv5Xhnjkgj4KlTpqeG-H-nTw-b-KY8nVKcMVEaz-a0T6Lbkv1gs3itZoc/s1600/IMG_1266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkuls0lYpt7VenqExq_Qiha_a6NtYZXWNaGK8CVLDKVpNz9MdWWCDUDXIXSeMp7slXIAFGkXZRvo8CXVOgWiv5Xhnjkgj4KlTpqeG-H-nTw-b-KY8nVKcMVEaz-a0T6Lbkv1gs3itZoc/s640/IMG_1266.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice riding.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiec7e6xYFwR_tmZrfEVThKC5xoxQh6SSWfwMOJQMkunY5fb1aAOw87L0qBsZZ0pNAqGqmflorFo9nS9PRqQd-igajPdTWA3LSlIJ7T5BaigRVRMTSCRFw9NEdV8CHndsI-6JXzB5Pk83g/s1600/IMG_1267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiec7e6xYFwR_tmZrfEVThKC5xoxQh6SSWfwMOJQMkunY5fb1aAOw87L0qBsZZ0pNAqGqmflorFo9nS9PRqQd-igajPdTWA3LSlIJ7T5BaigRVRMTSCRFw9NEdV8CHndsI-6JXzB5Pk83g/s640/IMG_1267.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the side of the road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIkfA9b_wTT6MKvuoQLdQiDtfe_ShCE7FiPy-xpQ2DFG3wsL7ZJp01xsn537FnXdP8W5KdQAFq4i8zxL2Jl8RvHWLrmD2Ts41hLJRuIAe6Y6WBZSjWKhQ60Z6dCEZtPg8n4VuXnfK2ng/s1600/IMG_1268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIkfA9b_wTT6MKvuoQLdQiDtfe_ShCE7FiPy-xpQ2DFG3wsL7ZJp01xsn537FnXdP8W5KdQAFq4i8zxL2Jl8RvHWLrmD2Ts41hLJRuIAe6Y6WBZSjWKhQ60Z6dCEZtPg8n4VuXnfK2ng/s320/IMG_1268.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Cv72eAPMo5KfDMby67xEPhy8K8tNBcsPYybWvmq2FCkz3pTWbc-jyTmf77aJy-Ddy9Ds7ZHmt2kRbWFCAJwUeiyS98Rlxrgq4Go0EJb5f7NNuHd3Je44g2i0LDctgHnJ1iAZvYMZuLA/s1600/IMG_1269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Cv72eAPMo5KfDMby67xEPhy8K8tNBcsPYybWvmq2FCkz3pTWbc-jyTmf77aJy-Ddy9Ds7ZHmt2kRbWFCAJwUeiyS98Rlxrgq4Go0EJb5f7NNuHd3Je44g2i0LDctgHnJ1iAZvYMZuLA/s320/IMG_1269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kind of a lame photo from the bike but that's pretty much the scenery from Macara to Piura.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sorry, no underwear pictures today.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-82612067998742482992011-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:002011-01-26T20:52:38.418-08:00Crossing the EquatorHeading south of Otavalo we came around a corner on the highway to see a mountain that reminded me of Mount Rainier near Seattle. It is Volcan Cayambe, and at 5790 meters above sea level is the highest mountain closest to the Equator.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8APwfZKSE_WGBRe97jm_wPpVOp5Gax2gNka-UlKQ5bbKo-vG1QivBoqNuEqVUhzkE_z_2KY7juVDV6kE6NKfcenFJq1Logd-VT2gr6SPSZX-N1PZUgiY_7zIpeF5lUhfEHv2OpKhywcw/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8APwfZKSE_WGBRe97jm_wPpVOp5Gax2gNka-UlKQ5bbKo-vG1QivBoqNuEqVUhzkE_z_2KY7juVDV6kE6NKfcenFJq1Logd-VT2gr6SPSZX-N1PZUgiY_7zIpeF5lUhfEHv2OpKhywcw/s320/IMG_1211.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volcan Cayambe (elev. 5790 m)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It's a good thing Neil was paying attention or we would've gone right by the Equator without stopping. (I was busy looking at the map trying to figure out where we turn next.) We talked to a couple of tourist information people at the little park there and apparently where the Equator is marked by the monuments is only a historical reference. The actual Equator is about 150 meters away and even that moves from time to time. Considering the time period when they originally surveyed the location I think they did pretty good.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCQ5a1VbG6w81a8KLrKaR6yTxVgkTaFkJtmEDsjTxKFmvGrjwBdmZwOAnQiIRmf9mXcEtJ29A87volrUy2HplCM5qOinpHirIwcILS3VyFKBWW_dIBs3tC5GqBurwOZhboPoSWR5pCDo/s1600/IMG_1212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCQ5a1VbG6w81a8KLrKaR6yTxVgkTaFkJtmEDsjTxKFmvGrjwBdmZwOAnQiIRmf9mXcEtJ29A87volrUy2HplCM5qOinpHirIwcILS3VyFKBWW_dIBs3tC5GqBurwOZhboPoSWR5pCDo/s320/IMG_1212.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil standing by the Equator.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We left the Pan American Highway just south of the town of Cayambe to head over the Panallacta Pass. This would take us into the Amazon Basin. It was nice and cool going over the pass as it is at 4064 meters above sea level. We stopped at the summit for a photo and to add a layer. Now I've been higher on my bike than in a helicopter (that was Mt. Waddington at 4019 m).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIrXvzjnXmyAG33fbI2ioOCR7I3W9FShtO7R9_ObW0GpGwlr6VceRGwd9GzTDXU5nCv5na9UTh9ovYokTDEREcaQDCFgJE_azcroyzs1PCSVtuS5DvLPpWEgI4vSCM1IY8Rb0E2GeytY/s1600/IMG_1213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDIrXvzjnXmyAG33fbI2ioOCR7I3W9FShtO7R9_ObW0GpGwlr6VceRGwd9GzTDXU5nCv5na9UTh9ovYokTDEREcaQDCFgJE_azcroyzs1PCSVtuS5DvLPpWEgI4vSCM1IY8Rb0E2GeytY/s400/IMG_1213.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Papallacta Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Jel0pWfk3u0IUeM0oY38QCKtdhe0JgGcJvwD6VRNSffzSg6zcytfO-69K_16L340CLmjfC3NgIjyd-PIu7qw82sHBocMJrISjb0BTd07U4-oZtTGCI_OG0bXiCQLIvUJuPeAh5J7gok/s1600/IMG_1214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Jel0pWfk3u0IUeM0oY38QCKtdhe0JgGcJvwD6VRNSffzSg6zcytfO-69K_16L340CLmjfC3NgIjyd-PIu7qw82sHBocMJrISjb0BTd07U4-oZtTGCI_OG0bXiCQLIvUJuPeAh5J7gok/s320/IMG_1214.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4064 m ASL in Papallacta Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ChO6kXdYJaru27C235SPh9zBXy-XchqrsAuDFFv3AupeHwylRmddf0E3P2TNQjqWVOErofb-Ks9MjXaTPyK9QjkbrYnHmFgMsD0htppZPZY0nSGPMFWQbpWnltMpYPn-rtMIfp84pFw/s1600/IMG_1215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ChO6kXdYJaru27C235SPh9zBXy-XchqrsAuDFFv3AupeHwylRmddf0E3P2TNQjqWVOErofb-Ks9MjXaTPyK9QjkbrYnHmFgMsD0htppZPZY0nSGPMFWQbpWnltMpYPn-rtMIfp84pFw/s320/IMG_1215.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highway heading down the east side of the Andes from the summit.<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2A-Q3FRBjLgIEdt98oT-NAR5kO2BOs5zyj-54DlQ8B-lntST6hAiySbeysP7Inxy7w2cujUb_I7EiUU8cuuRIILcwYiE1r3fEhJ5wCOyamFbB2LrC7VoVSl-vmwuHuDLhMJqgof-i_k/s320/IMG_1216.JPG" width="320" /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWbHOSTME365hx0sw9m2sCognvrTfI1kd1QdqLmjgmSt4XPS22AkZ1z0w2ROGy3HJQxtzc_5YE_MjReSjhfzc6DEDMxKNQA48LxHhuPYFmV1x1j_fM0snfPE17Bm1pSw7f5QLG6Q5Vw8/s1600/IMG_1217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWbHOSTME365hx0sw9m2sCognvrTfI1kd1QdqLmjgmSt4XPS22AkZ1z0w2ROGy3HJQxtzc_5YE_MjReSjhfzc6DEDMxKNQA48LxHhuPYFmV1x1j_fM0snfPE17Bm1pSw7f5QLG6Q5Vw8/s320/IMG_1217.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> It was a nice long descent (as you can imagine) and the change in vegetation was dramatic. We were getting down into the Amazon jungle. It seemed like we had come a long way down when we came to a roadside stop and our jaws fell open at the vista before us. We couldn't believe it. The photos can't do it justice. All of a sudden we were looking out over the Amazon Basin, or at least a part of it. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFiQ6T8Ni2NF3CbguK1yBnEDqKGxly5yyk0Ge6JBpiu6D_d5WSRkdQibxedU_Xg7lpI3EuoDAYkdhNq7Dx4mlYBGTRag9rw6nKWBz_y9jgvjhR4YMj1LmdNj6kZ7dlwfYFJqqn00kWvM/s1600/IMG_1218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFiQ6T8Ni2NF3CbguK1yBnEDqKGxly5yyk0Ge6JBpiu6D_d5WSRkdQibxedU_Xg7lpI3EuoDAYkdhNq7Dx4mlYBGTRag9rw6nKWBz_y9jgvjhR4YMj1LmdNj6kZ7dlwfYFJqqn00kWvM/s400/IMG_1218.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first real view of the Amazon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We took a few more photos then headed for Puyo, a small town of 25,000 where we found a room in a hostel for $20. After dinner a young guy from next door to the hostel came over to offer to guide us on a tour the next day. It sounded pretty good so we planned to meet early in the morning for the 90 minute ride back to Misahualli on the Rio Napo. Hector didn't have a vehicle so he rode on the back of my bike. In Misahualli we met another guide who took us downriver in his boat to a couple of small villages. The first village had a bit of a zoo and museum and another guide there showed us around. We were only there about 45 minutes or so which seems ridiculous. It's pretty cursory considering the subject matter. I could spend a week looking around just in that little village. It was still pretty interesting and the guide showed us some of the local wildlife they had there as pets. He also told us a bit about some of the plants they use for medicine and showed us around their museum of native (sorry...indigenous) artifacts. Next, we went back up the river to another village where the locals did a dance for us and the shaman cleansed us. They also fed us an awesome lunch of fish, rice and some kind of plantain. I felt kind of silly watching the dance and taking the cleansing. It's not like your actually taking part. You're just getting the tourist show. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaCtQ7IeX2TOIa9iYHAbmtEv1WZEYcg09spy1mBC5P-6_NWJVTmP2VBmz7epJv9XqbyT5NpMoXXpWvTxNn7lUa_6v6BNNfn2qkGmesOyg0faIjhOXmwQG-5vmQDV02L61t50mGcVzXDg/s1600/IMG_1220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuaCtQ7IeX2TOIa9iYHAbmtEv1WZEYcg09spy1mBC5P-6_NWJVTmP2VBmz7epJv9XqbyT5NpMoXXpWvTxNn7lUa_6v6BNNfn2qkGmesOyg0faIjhOXmwQG-5vmQDV02L61t50mGcVzXDg/s400/IMG_1220.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our boat on the Rio Napo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh6ovJ1Gm8a5eOTrUoNBKQvmmXNVNilMdpE1qoS5zKNxQiLyFr1lCWHX8Tmp5mbpWAnqRPLkRhv0gOmngxz5OiFycBqRqkhD9-WETUp3JekRSUTqsk9E3mMgKLGeeQ86qDllYbQxrvWI/s1600/IMG_1221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh6ovJ1Gm8a5eOTrUoNBKQvmmXNVNilMdpE1qoS5zKNxQiLyFr1lCWHX8Tmp5mbpWAnqRPLkRhv0gOmngxz5OiFycBqRqkhD9-WETUp3JekRSUTqsk9E3mMgKLGeeQ86qDllYbQxrvWI/s400/IMG_1221.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shooting the rapids.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmhq1VS2tTkrU1a12e0_RYSeCZMxWxuIwCivqfdXrgqoOvMUnvDzyL8lz-3JJT9-RIma9FAop-DmvU8f5gIRE_9cwGMPJ6J81qQr3wi0-t1rDnBOazQlQFHgfKCuL-Oiy4JSIt2mXEic/s1600/IMG_1222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRmhq1VS2tTkrU1a12e0_RYSeCZMxWxuIwCivqfdXrgqoOvMUnvDzyL8lz-3JJT9-RIma9FAop-DmvU8f5gIRE_9cwGMPJ6J81qQr3wi0-t1rDnBOazQlQFHgfKCuL-Oiy4JSIt2mXEic/s320/IMG_1222.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neils little buddy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Nte6zhQXTW8Jukqmt4HsbzUBhvg8shEc40FSUIZfBrfEyK_qai0zsXqI1c6_Tfwfl1zNyKwK8GkiLNgDF9vA6wDD_MGBBuB0lCZSJoymfC5-t33J_A_J9XHvudK9I84KSWT6-FHuma4/s1600/IMG_1223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Nte6zhQXTW8Jukqmt4HsbzUBhvg8shEc40FSUIZfBrfEyK_qai0zsXqI1c6_Tfwfl1zNyKwK8GkiLNgDF9vA6wDD_MGBBuB0lCZSJoymfC5-t33J_A_J9XHvudK9I84KSWT6-FHuma4/s400/IMG_1223.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were all over the place. Pretty cool.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN0wyjqOnIzTXo2YfNv32BPPsbe0t5muON7D1NjEGwNfOSYS8wrPO3sDw96Mk28VbdzV_2yNSBSOntFb-b7pO1anyXORmFpttVC1LhGT42xvdCQQdnBoISFkmS8GU1PKacumZdKCQhm0/s1600/IMG_1224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN0wyjqOnIzTXo2YfNv32BPPsbe0t5muON7D1NjEGwNfOSYS8wrPO3sDw96Mk28VbdzV_2yNSBSOntFb-b7pO1anyXORmFpttVC1LhGT42xvdCQQdnBoISFkmS8GU1PKacumZdKCQhm0/s320/IMG_1224.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They said this was a type of jaguar. It was a young one and still wanted to suckle on the guides finger.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bmNMUHfYVq53YHPh_A2APb4_1IGWruIKv9MpsCOtTYaeZYvjw_tmkjPCdNK2Ou5GGPlVq_Vq-Te6MdbnSx4M2sVQKN2SL9xQk_LiTYoQBf8yr-diaaTVJy_B1FC6LTB6yE4GPyMaxyk/s1600/IMG_1226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bmNMUHfYVq53YHPh_A2APb4_1IGWruIKv9MpsCOtTYaeZYvjw_tmkjPCdNK2Ou5GGPlVq_Vq-Te6MdbnSx4M2sVQKN2SL9xQk_LiTYoQBf8yr-diaaTVJy_B1FC6LTB6yE4GPyMaxyk/s320/IMG_1226.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little less cute.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPF_qOoAWGlI1CCOTnRGY9anZBo6wa0nDxplAsxn6SysF4Jeu098357zL5ZFiTn9MQBcPlnQrwV-BVHP_ijczVFewBF3MGX_LwLc5lwAOmD-kfga6ccN-LXxWeUN3cHRb0RyKssPxj-w/s1600/IMG_1227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPF_qOoAWGlI1CCOTnRGY9anZBo6wa0nDxplAsxn6SysF4Jeu098357zL5ZFiTn9MQBcPlnQrwV-BVHP_ijczVFewBF3MGX_LwLc5lwAOmD-kfga6ccN-LXxWeUN3cHRb0RyKssPxj-w/s320/IMG_1227.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neils cleansing only took a few minutes. They told me to make another appointment.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzzeJG4qVfgLSDG1weHIsgCl7Rfmp9dkQRVqsAdJzaD8RNza3CZjfMp3CcEs4UddneBS2Y30QMT9pJi7FqYk0U4sxAz8FFYy22QS9ywpIrOIw0BS3orFA8-Pu_vCcgjXCl5QrttCNduc/s1600/IMG_1228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzzeJG4qVfgLSDG1weHIsgCl7Rfmp9dkQRVqsAdJzaD8RNza3CZjfMp3CcEs4UddneBS2Y30QMT9pJi7FqYk0U4sxAz8FFYy22QS9ywpIrOIw0BS3orFA8-Pu_vCcgjXCl5QrttCNduc/s320/IMG_1228.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our dance troupe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Dwd1h8GkFT5BGfixwLgY0nkm04zY8Nz1G817JbeQbpXrtrEdA1ckR8Le-npkF00tIf5Z1mbPaRqOcZmzpT6OBhURaXkX23QI_hxiVeVSb-mSwpByjN3F3SxYvimHUwm9HfCO5CgLm7o/s1600/IMG_1229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Dwd1h8GkFT5BGfixwLgY0nkm04zY8Nz1G817JbeQbpXrtrEdA1ckR8Le-npkF00tIf5Z1mbPaRqOcZmzpT6OBhURaXkX23QI_hxiVeVSb-mSwpByjN3F3SxYvimHUwm9HfCO5CgLm7o/s320/IMG_1229.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy lunch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Hector then had us back on the bikes for another hour ride to the end of a gravel road where he took us to an indigenous reserve that was run like a park. It was an awesome river and we went for a nice swim.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAhy-CJtxjC7Tev1lq3nnSTWnRowCr3MGxi1m8hmGvdBgwbHJ3LQKJ225A-oMbTEbehUk0KMWXBdeoHJhXXLPy_mJA1wKuBr3UJCcJ_Q9F_7casTNPEAxsd99sW5uOcoAXNw4i6dDlYU/s1600/IMG_1230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAhy-CJtxjC7Tev1lq3nnSTWnRowCr3MGxi1m8hmGvdBgwbHJ3LQKJ225A-oMbTEbehUk0KMWXBdeoHJhXXLPy_mJA1wKuBr3UJCcJ_Q9F_7casTNPEAxsd99sW5uOcoAXNw4i6dDlYU/s320/IMG_1230.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end of the road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzrgLX2THpVvq_uDSAyciAmQur7xTp3FeX_NRnlmisIfyBACNtrRmvf8CmP0L0MXDsCNomCsbeKHi2dTZ5KTeW-4YVpKVtw_AN3I0T5E7oRGbdRP39YH4IZrhvdvixza6sdmFwJUMxZY/s1600/IMG_1231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdzrgLX2THpVvq_uDSAyciAmQur7xTp3FeX_NRnlmisIfyBACNtrRmvf8CmP0L0MXDsCNomCsbeKHi2dTZ5KTeW-4YVpKVtw_AN3I0T5E7oRGbdRP39YH4IZrhvdvixza6sdmFwJUMxZY/s400/IMG_1231.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkFiwT5tb8QSzwzz3TdfDMbmYfaOCecsFtuK9Ju88WFg1pVfX2IIybO0LdTxIZscKdGiR3KmhrhshME2HDYzidneM4pukj92GUB8trsahiy3Mq4z_hZBd1nfaisxulBMbFzuEKS-3NLg/s1600/IMG_1232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkFiwT5tb8QSzwzz3TdfDMbmYfaOCecsFtuK9Ju88WFg1pVfX2IIybO0LdTxIZscKdGiR3KmhrhshME2HDYzidneM4pukj92GUB8trsahiy3Mq4z_hZBd1nfaisxulBMbFzuEKS-3NLg/s400/IMG_1232.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizvByaPgrjAyY6BWcKvRIdBnv81MtFZ9wek588uI8_goAe227AfySaCFkXAK2ZKuyGxbRFAl5rH_s9m2fzKP4qIvZP4Tgvm9QzTBn-NE82GHYUSzF5e7eEAEUI_nd3sr3twMHddks-EC0/s1600/IMG_1233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizvByaPgrjAyY6BWcKvRIdBnv81MtFZ9wek588uI8_goAe227AfySaCFkXAK2ZKuyGxbRFAl5rH_s9m2fzKP4qIvZP4Tgvm9QzTBn-NE82GHYUSzF5e7eEAEUI_nd3sr3twMHddks-EC0/s320/IMG_1233.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even spotted the rare Amazonian Albino Chicken.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Today we left Puyo southbound on highway 45 to head back into the mountains. We don't have the greatest map (hey, it's not like we're going far) and we just ended up following some road signs to Cuenco. What could go wrong? We made a right turn at a little town called Mendez and ended up on this deserted crappy gravel road full of washouts and potholes and clinging to the mountainside thousands of feet above a raging river.<br />
It was perfect.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5QJbmLJTCfwdpTSyJC7YzQ3tKFwKMXI6Qw0Q6Rv_fIWv30ZhEZQKqHD4x7GoCn5qoUeyQCxayVQ3pc0GwbcBHmRp-vN3IarNqJo6lT73QadKbudhsq_Uven1iJiGNXOBs-p0JfOtFKw/s1600/IMG_1235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5QJbmLJTCfwdpTSyJC7YzQ3tKFwKMXI6Qw0Q6Rv_fIWv30ZhEZQKqHD4x7GoCn5qoUeyQCxayVQ3pc0GwbcBHmRp-vN3IarNqJo6lT73QadKbudhsq_Uven1iJiGNXOBs-p0JfOtFKw/s640/IMG_1235.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I actually got butterflies a few times from looking over the side of the road. Holy Crap! It was a long way down.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yEbYzy3GnYb5YjFX8uSCFB4tB093j1TSGG3maevEyxQl9hYzYI-zboXGRiwXuMBWE5YTVvEHaLbPv7VLUNXEPOTEdRWOaDLpnnvOwg54HMSfug8TYRWRrSZiQqDjVKob9Fbp89AqKPo/s1600/IMG_1236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yEbYzy3GnYb5YjFX8uSCFB4tB093j1TSGG3maevEyxQl9hYzYI-zboXGRiwXuMBWE5YTVvEHaLbPv7VLUNXEPOTEdRWOaDLpnnvOwg54HMSfug8TYRWRrSZiQqDjVKob9Fbp89AqKPo/s640/IMG_1236.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It amazes me how much of the land is occupied and cultivated.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdxc87viYXLbaQ-W-Fa7ozER9I7UoX_4CdAyn61e4hzdqAZGrsZE3b_g__F80e9p2nbGrn71KT2-hyhBqqDg8m3gA39fbtwgvU7lIP83l2_seWMlHHLvDKeeE19a8JRTNxnsveHBh3NE/s1600/IMG_1237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdxc87viYXLbaQ-W-Fa7ozER9I7UoX_4CdAyn61e4hzdqAZGrsZE3b_g__F80e9p2nbGrn71KT2-hyhBqqDg8m3gA39fbtwgvU7lIP83l2_seWMlHHLvDKeeE19a8JRTNxnsveHBh3NE/s400/IMG_1237.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It doesn't matter where you are, you can still flag down a bus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Hopefully we'll be in Vilcabamba, south of Loja, tomorrow (Thursday) night.<br />
Bye for now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-29189082983255799622011-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:002011-01-23T13:58:05.034-08:00EcuadorWe got away from Pasto before 8:00 am on Saturday to be at the border near Ipiales before it got too busy. The main highways in Colombia are generally very good and we had a nice ride to Ipiales with more beautiful mountain scenery. The border crossing was a breeze and free; a nice change from Central America. Both sides took us about an hour or so and everybody seemed quite friendly and relaxed. We met a helicopter pilot from Kimberly, BC who works for Abitibi. He's working in Peru but was on holidays with his two daughters and his wife. They were traveling by bus and loaded down with back packs. Once across the border we tried to find a side road that parallels the Pan American Highway but it was too confusing to get on to and we ended up back on the main road. The country changes drastically with the changes in elevation. We started out in lush green hillsides and passed through a very arid section that reminded me of the Similkameen Valley near Keremeos. We spent last night at a great small hotel in Otavalo, Ecuador. It was cloudy and cool when we got here yesterday with a few rain showers so it was a nice change.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAaQew2DzHNAzZTT9LRy0W4t7QdIQTBYZfq2tGHmb_c2C7thgfZmug56qxIT66eI-oh32NJA4kleF8-1wDUPdtFll6P7f9YTEzSO-rjsnC_wKF66xjp1tuHz749Jnwl_48fHxvgLnQPM/s1600/IMG_1004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAaQew2DzHNAzZTT9LRy0W4t7QdIQTBYZfq2tGHmb_c2C7thgfZmug56qxIT66eI-oh32NJA4kleF8-1wDUPdtFll6P7f9YTEzSO-rjsnC_wKF66xjp1tuHz749Jnwl_48fHxvgLnQPM/s400/IMG_1004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ecuador just south of the Colombia border.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieO10_3zOszgrAUcaz7j55KhQtKQPQddz9CBf4_Tjm4o_ERCXDLYFpXqmwNetHhSNbBT63wDxjIMzEfCm2yWOWALHlth8aXlEjfGsnrTRfVmrGbYm4QkFgLqTMl3xLhCw7RO_3hqB7swQ/s1600/IMG_1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieO10_3zOszgrAUcaz7j55KhQtKQPQddz9CBf4_Tjm4o_ERCXDLYFpXqmwNetHhSNbBT63wDxjIMzEfCm2yWOWALHlth8aXlEjfGsnrTRfVmrGbYm4QkFgLqTMl3xLhCw7RO_3hqB7swQ/s400/IMG_1005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More arid area north of Ibarra</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pYFmsqTYrnj22rrOrs-TbPsV2SoZ06dC7d-UYyoqAfzkF51B9ZrEv1fmRs1ibOZIxq9uPmbMgFC82E9V2MeVF4__nTKcDmCXHA4eOZL8NjODoFA2stWitU0NvjFouLC0NahI6PRxBvc/s1600/IMG_1006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pYFmsqTYrnj22rrOrs-TbPsV2SoZ06dC7d-UYyoqAfzkF51B9ZrEv1fmRs1ibOZIxq9uPmbMgFC82E9V2MeVF4__nTKcDmCXHA4eOZL8NjODoFA2stWitU0NvjFouLC0NahI6PRxBvc/s400/IMG_1006.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They looked prettier from a distance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Wf6kJRhQrb8y-kn-O2UrD0WWAsTEPiZHow4QGNctkuzSTPftGpuj-Ex4tgj8Va35vC6AddLH_Z7Q0UdURy6YH10l_c92cjEFFMr-mEixgE7-hSocMLrznDDYm7R0qAResOtsvFM7_1s/s1600/IMG_1007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Wf6kJRhQrb8y-kn-O2UrD0WWAsTEPiZHow4QGNctkuzSTPftGpuj-Ex4tgj8Va35vC6AddLH_Z7Q0UdURy6YH10l_c92cjEFFMr-mEixgE7-hSocMLrznDDYm7R0qAResOtsvFM7_1s/s400/IMG_1007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lush farmland was only about an hour ride from here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvteYj7792gqTtNxfeNxBz9vpuhOhX5Zfpl5X_jYPP7BNymlpCJ9GmMOi-H118GwCa6FChV3yRIr0kP9kHcgSfdO4L8htkcCOgP2z_v9PL4s-y8I7ihJ-qFtBho1UVg-Fx5u5e3K7R-8/s1600/IMG_1008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvteYj7792gqTtNxfeNxBz9vpuhOhX5Zfpl5X_jYPP7BNymlpCJ9GmMOi-H118GwCa6FChV3yRIr0kP9kHcgSfdO4L8htkcCOgP2z_v9PL4s-y8I7ihJ-qFtBho1UVg-Fx5u5e3K7R-8/s320/IMG_1008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a food stall in the market.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> It always smells so good in the markets. Besides the food cooking there is lots of fresh fruit, veggies, spices and herbs. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Otavalo is dominated by Cerro Imbabura. It's a volcano that looms over the town. It's a good reason to be religious. If it ever gets active it won't be a good thing for the town. Otavalo is famous for its market and Saturday is market day. It was very busy in town. There are a lot of Indigenous people here who wear their traditional clothing in the normal course of life. That goes for both men and women. Also, most of the guys have long hair tied back in a ponytail.. It's really cool to see. I had heard or read somewhere that they don't like to have their picture taken. I guess if people keep walking up and taking your picture because you're so short (some of the people here are about 4 feet tall) or your clothes are different it would get a little annoying. I also read they think the photo takes away a part of them but I don't know about that. Anyways, I kept the camera in my pocket most of the time but there was an older man selling puppies and I thought it would be okay to take a picture of a dog. Nope. The man, who was picking up the puppy, turned away from me and said "no photos". So that was that. We also spoke to a woman from Belgium who was taking a scenic picture with a cow in it and some guy got really mad at her. She said she gave him some money to quiet him down. Hmmm...maybe that's it.<br />
<br />
I was a bit surprised at the huge number of tourists here. It's only a short distance from Quito and buses come up here for the day. There's lots of Europeans and Canadians and Americans. Even in our small hotel we met people from Vancouver and Victoria. It's been quite a while since we've seen this many tourists.<br />
We met a local guy in a bar last night who spoke very little English but we had a good time talking to him. I'm pretty sure he invited us to his place for a party tonight. He was trying to explain that we weren't considered Gringos here. I think the term is a little more derogatory around here. Again, the people are quite friendly.Well, except for the picture thing.<br />
Today we went for a long walk to see a nice waterfall and a lake near town. It felt good to stretch the legs a bit although we probably got a bit too much sun. Speaking of that, the sun is almost directly overhead now. We are only a few kilometers north of the Equator so that will be another milestone for us. I was showing someone on Google Maps last night where we started our trip from and I had the map panned out to show North and South America. The cursor for our location was almost on the Equator and that's when it dawned on me just how far we've come.<br />
We also met some guys from Boston today who are here doing some mountaineering. It sounded like they were on an organized tour and had taken a day off. They had rented motorcycles in Quito and come up to Otavalo for the day. They'll be climbing to as high as 20,000 feet so were doing progressively higher mountains every few days in order to acclimatize. Neil had a good chat with them because they were in the contracting and building supply business.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRNIy58V2vN4A2GDBW1Ohdb-QCA29EdvziAd0oNYbvl84GKRtWFeZrpux2Yz7SdRn0rMKFOJlH8eR4Yt90zWDC0PxQIO3jxu8y2Mp6DtKcQwtn4ZaNAJwlc8DxnWsrhTXKfWY2KdfKZM/s1600/IMG_1031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRNIy58V2vN4A2GDBW1Ohdb-QCA29EdvziAd0oNYbvl84GKRtWFeZrpux2Yz7SdRn0rMKFOJlH8eR4Yt90zWDC0PxQIO3jxu8y2Mp6DtKcQwtn4ZaNAJwlc8DxnWsrhTXKfWY2KdfKZM/s400/IMG_1031.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way to the waterfall, Cascada de Peguche</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWG4XdsqS9Vt3qQclQNyXdrtDpbpFGj5L3LgEJkfB4WlVx0Uyx-iux0LE_HjW5ErlPIT-y6TltMxzxIgfvY6rY2I5cQKGQ31JooI4H4Tf0MnIXliBbicPV5-a9wky6abXOT4n77U1ap4o/s1600/IMG_1032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWG4XdsqS9Vt3qQclQNyXdrtDpbpFGj5L3LgEJkfB4WlVx0Uyx-iux0LE_HjW5ErlPIT-y6TltMxzxIgfvY6rY2I5cQKGQ31JooI4H4Tf0MnIXliBbicPV5-a9wky6abXOT4n77U1ap4o/s400/IMG_1032.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here it is. It's very popular. Even with the locals.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7JzHu6WRrdKLOlpRYqMgkMTrxXIk7WlMtQWXNKU5zDihWq1drZOFrt3cdVY4M6WfRFDloIAwPeMEcAAf3_yKbEN2-_u8aZXcHfIVRsDf3Uca-zXgJo-7UTD6Ccxz5LtUlexDhEN-8wI/s1600/IMG_1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7JzHu6WRrdKLOlpRYqMgkMTrxXIk7WlMtQWXNKU5zDihWq1drZOFrt3cdVY4M6WfRFDloIAwPeMEcAAf3_yKbEN2-_u8aZXcHfIVRsDf3Uca-zXgJo-7UTD6Ccxz5LtUlexDhEN-8wI/s400/IMG_1033.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top of the waterfall someone had carved a tunnel to get past the cliff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJp1AKXAhWL_L9-4D2L_G3WvqLWIy6PazMv4LIdymO09092e0lrAfXOY7ZAWt6jGAZB5oE4VuvuM9xc4R38dVmljRfLoBmHwn9yl1rFnYPFd6km7EGiHXUldIUQ3sq_Lsgqh5vxc9uLc/s1600/IMG_1034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJp1AKXAhWL_L9-4D2L_G3WvqLWIy6PazMv4LIdymO09092e0lrAfXOY7ZAWt6jGAZB5oE4VuvuM9xc4R38dVmljRfLoBmHwn9yl1rFnYPFd6km7EGiHXUldIUQ3sq_Lsgqh5vxc9uLc/s400/IMG_1034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the trail to the waterfall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VudD3PixHQdZraHvuaAmqdSKq4QF-WjZK5v88BHKX6SE10fNUEUrhMXmO1XJdCbVWOGNMkR-6TSZqgGxCYCJwRhoAFTVq7fcloX4PpiBKH1g50Q0ZH9bmmZzTyfUfzwM-YHCVrozH7s/s1600/IMG_1035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VudD3PixHQdZraHvuaAmqdSKq4QF-WjZK5v88BHKX6SE10fNUEUrhMXmO1XJdCbVWOGNMkR-6TSZqgGxCYCJwRhoAFTVq7fcloX4PpiBKH1g50Q0ZH9bmmZzTyfUfzwM-YHCVrozH7s/s320/IMG_1035.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil sneaked a picture of me drinking rum in the bar last night.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QGOjWrQI8wiRr1hTd0R6AgqAa9IBtocTBiXiY6TmMcOz2dgu0Ok17kD2hkujb-KKcEeVxTBbKFmrlZnX7ds313ycLhBQ7NoG7tnGx2Z4giQScsFtOB3Tb3Z3T4s7px9U6xAWwIPIOMk/s1600/IMG_1036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QGOjWrQI8wiRr1hTd0R6AgqAa9IBtocTBiXiY6TmMcOz2dgu0Ok17kD2hkujb-KKcEeVxTBbKFmrlZnX7ds313ycLhBQ7NoG7tnGx2Z4giQScsFtOB3Tb3Z3T4s7px9U6xAWwIPIOMk/s400/IMG_1036.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Otavalo from near the highpoint of our hike.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFtpc66RizpOmflXLwQVkMfW8fXr1JMxLE0ZbTBKdxRlTINZaUGBPrFTK3Ihr43eAVFhVW7wS8lKq87ny7nqEvUf5f-0G4-XypMkNTE_aipm1uo3RNOo_DQbpayc6Bygt46z6ZH4FM80/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFtpc66RizpOmflXLwQVkMfW8fXr1JMxLE0ZbTBKdxRlTINZaUGBPrFTK3Ihr43eAVFhVW7wS8lKq87ny7nqEvUf5f-0G4-XypMkNTE_aipm1uo3RNOo_DQbpayc6Bygt46z6ZH4FM80/s400/IMG_1037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how small his shadow is?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3QkwfYM-ruiWeV6-sc0AbFJmVnYUYA-N_J9tOD7NaYR7sm274N7xBbjV2QGd9g1j4csbo2D5Mva9nxdn8TZB694EAneFPDpPVUSoD9EBg8LsBjX_5k2UKH2d_qoJms_-lLbmekxv6DA/s1600/IMG_1038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3QkwfYM-ruiWeV6-sc0AbFJmVnYUYA-N_J9tOD7NaYR7sm274N7xBbjV2QGd9g1j4csbo2D5Mva9nxdn8TZB694EAneFPDpPVUSoD9EBg8LsBjX_5k2UKH2d_qoJms_-lLbmekxv6DA/s400/IMG_1038.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cerro Imbabura</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9n_yHZ40_tX3uv4kBpRjg5tEZid-oehGFwQAqRCyfJt4v1BvvpVNSmDbs2YXY3CUNxLwDX3nx-AxzMNyO5b4jPzl1Nk8zc0y05HNgYO7B33qLfjGQ_R060KnZ_iF6Lh8bKtzAK9P6Ry4/s1600/IMG_1030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9n_yHZ40_tX3uv4kBpRjg5tEZid-oehGFwQAqRCyfJt4v1BvvpVNSmDbs2YXY3CUNxLwDX3nx-AxzMNyO5b4jPzl1Nk8zc0y05HNgYO7B33qLfjGQ_R060KnZ_iF6Lh8bKtzAK9P6Ry4/s400/IMG_1030.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bought some shirts from this guy in the market and he wanted me to try on a mask. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Not too sure what we're doing this afternoon but it sounds like there's a movie or something at our hotel so that might be interesting.<br />
Oh yeah, I'm feeling a little pressure now that I see Ross Campbell is following the blog. So I'm trying to work on my spelling, punctuation and grammar and stuff. Dammit.<br />
Anyways, I think that's all for now.<br />
Hasta luego.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-30908527718624831812011-01-21T20:55:00.000-08:002011-01-21T20:55:04.683-08:00Good to be on the bike again.Bogota is a very large city. Including the metropolitan area, it has a population of about 8.5 million people. I can't even fathom that. The population of the whole of Canada is about 33 million. So here we are, two small town boys trying to find their way out of town after a local led us to a hotel in the dark in one of the largest cities in South America. I still think we could have used a map. However we did it and once out of town we stopped to pick up a Colombian highway guide at a toll booth. When we stopped at the toll booth we parked right beside a motorcycle policeman. Did I mention we didn't have insurance yet? Right. Well, when we picked up the bikes we weren't sure about the need for insurance. The people at the airport, including a policeman, told us it wasn't necessary if we were in the country for less than 14 days. The latest advice from the motorcycle websites said don't go without insurance.There were reports of riders having their bikes impounded and having to pay US$200 fines. Also, not all the police are honest, and a lack of insurance could lead to unfavorable negotiations. The trouble was, you can't buy insurance at the airport and it was going to get dark soon. So, screw it. We're leaving and we'll deal with it tomorrow.<br />
Where was I? Oh yeah, at the toll booth there was a police office with a bunch of cops inside. I always figured the best defense is a good offense. So I strolled in to their office and asked for some advice on which roads were safe to travel. I got some good advice and they had a good laugh at my Spanish. They didn't ask about insurance or paperwork so it was a win/win. We left there and rode through some beautiful rolling hills and some plains areas to the city of Ibague. From there the road made a long, steady and very steep climb to cross a mountain pass at about 3200 meters above sea level. It was an awesome ride on a very steep winding road. It would have been a lot better if there wasn't an almost unbroken line of trucks climbing the same hill. I think it took 3 hours to go the 98 kilometers to Armenia. Much of the time we were in first gear just waiting for a chance to pass. On some of the hairpins the uphill and downhill trucks had to take turns because there wasn't enough room for them to take the corner at the same time. I did a lot of stuff I thought I'd never do on a bike but sometimes you just have to get stuff done. We must have passed at least two hundred trucks, probably more. And about 50 police. After our unpleasant experience with the police in Honduras I was feeling a little nervous about getting checked and not having insurance.<br />
While we were climbing over the pass it was amazing to see all the farming in the hills. It would be a bit like driving up the Fraser Canyon and seeing farms from the river to the very tops of the mountains. Except the mountains are a bit higher. We saw a number of farmers with burros and horses loaded down with produce and bags of coffee.The farmers still use burros and horses a lot. That's probably because nothing else can make it up and down those hills. <br />
We pulled into Armenia and stopped to ask where we could find a hotel. People here love to help and within a few minutes we had a small crowd around us. The lady I was talking to went to her neighbors window and yelled for her to come out and help. Apparently she could speak English but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. If she had her teeth in it would have helped. However they were trying to help us and we eventually got the general idea of which way to go. We ended up staying at a very nice new hotel in a very nice part of Armenia. As usual, we found it totally by chance. We were looking for another place that some other person recommended when we saw this place. I went and knocked on the door and the lady who let me in toured me around the whole hotel. She was obviously very proud of her hotel. I was afraid to ask the price because it was so nice. It was five star and Neil and I would each have to take a room. As it turned out it wasn't too far out of our price range and we were tired so we took it. I'm a little surprised she did such a good sell job on us. We must be quite a site after a days ride. Our faces are usually pretty dirty, we're soaked with sweat and probably not just a little stinky. In spite of that we got first rate service. We were given cold glasses of juice while we signed in. Ingley, the hotel keeper, had a young fellow lead us to the parking lot for the bikes at the hospital down the street. George was a super nice kid. He took an interest in us and kept asking questions we couldn't answer without a lot of sign language. Eventually he got his laptop out so we could use Google to translate. I showed him the Helifor website because he wanted to know what I flew (when you register at a hotel in Colombia you must state your occupation). He thought that was cool.<br />
In the morning during breakfast I asked about the location in town of an insurance office. They made a few calls and eventually it was decided it would be best for us take a taxi. While we got ready to go another young man showed up. His name was Jhonatan. His family was part owner in the hotel and he could speak English. He was there to offer his help. I explained our insurance predicament and he offered to drive us in his sisters car, which he still had to arrange to borrow. He was very helpful and managed to get us exactly what we needed. The insurance agent was a great help as well. As it turns out, Jhonatan spent 7 months in Vancouver learning English. He just happened to be in Armenia visiting family. He is going to school near Bogota. It was a lucky break for us. It's also another story showing how nice the Colombian people are. A real pleasure for us.<br />
That day we left Armenia around 11:00 and had a very relaxing ride on good highways to Popayan. It's a very cool old town and we stayed in a very old hotel. It's amazing to see what kind of influence the Church played in the history of these towns. There is usually a church that dominates the town square and at least two other major churches in the town. The church doors are always open and there are almost always people in them praying.<br />
Today we had an awesome ride through the mountains and managed to take lots of pictures. It was hard not to. Every time I thought I had enough photos for a while we would go around another corner only to stop again. It became a bit of a game with the truck drivers because we must have passed some of them 4 times or more due to all our photo stops. We were into the hotel early this afternoon and had a good walk around town here in Pasto. I'm sorry to say this will be our last night in Colombia as we head for Ecuador tomorrow.<br />
Colombia is a very beautiful country populated by very generous and friendly people. I'm pretty sure I'm coming back.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWI58upI71fwsSXChVPFRFCYvizT6r8VaxFvYYsoSJHhVAIJTXEK53P2SdBpW0wih1WpxH2PmOymstnheFqEUtym8n-b1EIltvy-z0ODO1RvkwORFYpbtkpUCxhp7ZvVHlK7na7Wd2z2M/s1600/IMG_0955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWI58upI71fwsSXChVPFRFCYvizT6r8VaxFvYYsoSJHhVAIJTXEK53P2SdBpW0wih1WpxH2PmOymstnheFqEUtym8n-b1EIltvy-z0ODO1RvkwORFYpbtkpUCxhp7ZvVHlK7na7Wd2z2M/s400/IMG_0955.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between Bogota and Ibague</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6xnlRvHfr6kVhyphenhyphenx7To9vcxb0yIfpPWROwNmJAdqJd1MMLDQxeVQEgdfvGKGaHm-yH5ZL-kTimKGF-l3_rW05cl26cBI7uEzgVDYDcgXf7tFh2iRiuQ-IeLPRiuxxEzYINcu6MSBHn7E/s1600/IMG_0956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6xnlRvHfr6kVhyphenhyphenx7To9vcxb0yIfpPWROwNmJAdqJd1MMLDQxeVQEgdfvGKGaHm-yH5ZL-kTimKGF-l3_rW05cl26cBI7uEzgVDYDcgXf7tFh2iRiuQ-IeLPRiuxxEzYINcu6MSBHn7E/s320/IMG_0956.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discussing hotels in Armenia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKl-F-fo0FhB_VQNRZz0Rt4l0bY31_-V_NInqo18zX8WvQ6rX6n7_KWFPFSh00LiPXSgiPautL7CL3rSG1QmbQlImHPomnX5GcaWJFThFKTPFcYF-TdRCDhuD-pLTfpF2uSQ7rDA0Lmk/s1600/IMG_0967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKl-F-fo0FhB_VQNRZz0Rt4l0bY31_-V_NInqo18zX8WvQ6rX6n7_KWFPFSh00LiPXSgiPautL7CL3rSG1QmbQlImHPomnX5GcaWJFThFKTPFcYF-TdRCDhuD-pLTfpF2uSQ7rDA0Lmk/s400/IMG_0967.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Jhonatan, Sandra, and Ingley. I'm sorry I didn't get the name for the lady on the right but she helped make breakfast. Thank you!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNZ55MbGCnYOB9FsNvZh94Ju6xNUvC6bZESSD80rC7-zeVUQbL9SSY5FxARbSFMMxyLma_pbdMURtIL1GHc-wpiMCDawDpjiQPLKA1BWkJrEm1Ofbg4UmuXjPeDWSWi9vkcpnyxt38sI/s1600/IMG_0958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNZ55MbGCnYOB9FsNvZh94Ju6xNUvC6bZESSD80rC7-zeVUQbL9SSY5FxARbSFMMxyLma_pbdMURtIL1GHc-wpiMCDawDpjiQPLKA1BWkJrEm1Ofbg4UmuXjPeDWSWi9vkcpnyxt38sI/s400/IMG_0958.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South of Armenia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwStscG4nrP33SrZZx1oG_8c9jJx2SEQdKqASC7W6K0TJfX6l1DCa85aqUlAMa0jcHg6z0YK-NbL5QU6K0d2mbegtHrvoA6pgyqMjQLbcpW-o9c2j5pzdICAwigADIw6gVHeZN2K7OYuA/s1600/IMG_0961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwStscG4nrP33SrZZx1oG_8c9jJx2SEQdKqASC7W6K0TJfX6l1DCa85aqUlAMa0jcHg6z0YK-NbL5QU6K0d2mbegtHrvoA6pgyqMjQLbcpW-o9c2j5pzdICAwigADIw6gVHeZN2K7OYuA/s320/IMG_0961.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the road between Cali and Armenia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6SM7api8QWEJJN58Pxyc8T04_k9FG6mPI2bWBzF2trcQ-AIjweE01hyphenhyphenJK8zI6D8LMJalgZfrrAdtZZTGgC0t5Owj3YZFkE_M1DHQ4D5aUDhNNIbZweW77MAGDEwHgp0IcTV70oLETSE/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6SM7api8QWEJJN58Pxyc8T04_k9FG6mPI2bWBzF2trcQ-AIjweE01hyphenhyphenJK8zI6D8LMJalgZfrrAdtZZTGgC0t5Owj3YZFkE_M1DHQ4D5aUDhNNIbZweW77MAGDEwHgp0IcTV70oLETSE/s400/IMG_0962.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very old but comfortable</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZJj_ng5p5tbPZy6dLfenoMkw8Ohvi87v-2wPzvcLcHA-GDPlUAFPykRhqiDInyfCHLc1qJQnj8zLtKGYBoVi4bJndBaPM8Ndft8SGYy0uIIQY73dm32ydjPQ9mABV7sHOj2mT9452VU/s1600/IMG_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZJj_ng5p5tbPZy6dLfenoMkw8Ohvi87v-2wPzvcLcHA-GDPlUAFPykRhqiDInyfCHLc1qJQnj8zLtKGYBoVi4bJndBaPM8Ndft8SGYy0uIIQY73dm32ydjPQ9mABV7sHOj2mT9452VU/s400/IMG_0963.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Popayan neighbourhood</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbNtdFORYH3UaE2kUjIM9W92hyphenhyphenjvP-AwZM8r3zlnaDeaUL7Hp6mVpHGJJj90zsafB8z2tzTQykPPkRr-WBWLwR0Tkz1Z1kF0HA09HAaHPZ3mDwT4jZuuqgiQN99-jx4pSdxpniq7WQVg/s1600/IMG_0964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbNtdFORYH3UaE2kUjIM9W92hyphenhyphenjvP-AwZM8r3zlnaDeaUL7Hp6mVpHGJJj90zsafB8z2tzTQykPPkRr-WBWLwR0Tkz1Z1kF0HA09HAaHPZ3mDwT4jZuuqgiQN99-jx4pSdxpniq7WQVg/s400/IMG_0964.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Town square in Popayan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmSd9UY0hwQum9Q8uEsFFdrubG0A60kQi_Bl5zGMQEmPKhiUUUdG3TFd77J464HGftbKChjs3BwjfOE-vUzs8BCgvfKfME-1FjUHJB6tNV_frPZSTvvgeEbwKiOjJemBNZhyxY5bONBI/s1600/IMG_0965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmSd9UY0hwQum9Q8uEsFFdrubG0A60kQi_Bl5zGMQEmPKhiUUUdG3TFd77J464HGftbKChjs3BwjfOE-vUzs8BCgvfKfME-1FjUHJB6tNV_frPZSTvvgeEbwKiOjJemBNZhyxY5bONBI/s400/IMG_0965.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always busy around 5 pm</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFhJwRX2K45Pd1-8ohi0i0L0o6Ixw1q0OIa2VsFKwHQlVc-3qj_bD90PPAHmnqUadQ0GtF2Z4MB7SLNILr51ahyphenhyphenzkX-ua6NqSdkaMsjZIbgUD4gj-2-fkN_LcwUQPRNCtnu2dLefuZf4/s1600/IMG_0966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFhJwRX2K45Pd1-8ohi0i0L0o6Ixw1q0OIa2VsFKwHQlVc-3qj_bD90PPAHmnqUadQ0GtF2Z4MB7SLNILr51ahyphenhyphenzkX-ua6NqSdkaMsjZIbgUD4gj-2-fkN_LcwUQPRNCtnu2dLefuZf4/s400/IMG_0966.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another church. Popayan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY2MW3i1IpeTRlux3w14LxA5Thxbc3MTOabPn1pkxVqUvZePbfpFzfrrZituvwcNgwsbQU0Y1fo8MFvzvenWszuklMwbL12ZLIZ9n5BMTLVSJJUv04uMF3_rDt3C-ObWXFa_pO034nEY/s1600/IMG_0968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY2MW3i1IpeTRlux3w14LxA5Thxbc3MTOabPn1pkxVqUvZePbfpFzfrrZituvwcNgwsbQU0Y1fo8MFvzvenWszuklMwbL12ZLIZ9n5BMTLVSJJUv04uMF3_rDt3C-ObWXFa_pO034nEY/s400/IMG_0968.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Countryside near Rosas, Colombia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIepr5iJqmvJyjuLSfrPlz2tLNAGEnKeVwHBl3AAJZGeMU-14ZLA856hzj3n719WgIMpiXvabzzrhmDNQruCf1Q7DkjWY_BYthqya9o_0l1vLSQN0BflSZBRwV6_OJ6mRYFDUzf4k77GU/s1600/IMG_0969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIepr5iJqmvJyjuLSfrPlz2tLNAGEnKeVwHBl3AAJZGeMU-14ZLA856hzj3n719WgIMpiXvabzzrhmDNQruCf1Q7DkjWY_BYthqya9o_0l1vLSQN0BflSZBRwV6_OJ6mRYFDUzf4k77GU/s400/IMG_0969.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil knows who to make friends with.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNzqDOrS1kKtpi08rpoE8NBgXJIGh6XCTfSsSwPb7Ksj0tkBp8cG0PDD8TIqg9-SCcBlxyVteYo2VabDDLY8SPa8fxGCG2Cd7vTNjzQrbnTiJNOV_dUC24b0-Flv2HaffDb770NllNjo/s1600/IMG_0972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNzqDOrS1kKtpi08rpoE8NBgXJIGh6XCTfSsSwPb7Ksj0tkBp8cG0PDD8TIqg9-SCcBlxyVteYo2VabDDLY8SPa8fxGCG2Cd7vTNjzQrbnTiJNOV_dUC24b0-Flv2HaffDb770NllNjo/s640/IMG_0972.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKIsryijQB5pm6RQqCl7nMxMbTzB_cS7qLEkxDyOYZ_saXBti3sGaOrWmq84Ff9HsdIxLXufDOZHaBXZJx5aISKQzl22LLl6UlKq9fDQ4sjHRhyQpzkp27thcfC3kuwL9z0UgZCyCfEg/s1600/IMG_0973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKIsryijQB5pm6RQqCl7nMxMbTzB_cS7qLEkxDyOYZ_saXBti3sGaOrWmq84Ff9HsdIxLXufDOZHaBXZJx5aISKQzl22LLl6UlKq9fDQ4sjHRhyQpzkp27thcfC3kuwL9z0UgZCyCfEg/s640/IMG_0973.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbX8yWqDXN1yTq2gU91s5xcPeJQbJoSeuTnJyb0hqGraHf92sJ238w7BIpFDp7EN7wImGfonPqtHtGEHKh4LUBHXygATSIbBGNM9ykzS-0VUD6DhAk8C4-CXEry6g4kO7bsVVXVJvPG9U/s1600/IMG_0974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbX8yWqDXN1yTq2gU91s5xcPeJQbJoSeuTnJyb0hqGraHf92sJ238w7BIpFDp7EN7wImGfonPqtHtGEHKh4LUBHXygATSIbBGNM9ykzS-0VUD6DhAk8C4-CXEry6g4kO7bsVVXVJvPG9U/s640/IMG_0974.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx_0GLipiJrBGiBYZX-h5F5mBYKqCNcsnvFy7u_cOtpqbHET3q4TBXWcXq9cfsiDM5jivGuFv9km_SYkPdNi7pHz-l9wXaJIhcGjU3eCnL1hNQOOwYx4Ct3O5BDuNdT82N08_qjMkh_g/s1600/IMG_0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx_0GLipiJrBGiBYZX-h5F5mBYKqCNcsnvFy7u_cOtpqbHET3q4TBXWcXq9cfsiDM5jivGuFv9km_SYkPdNi7pHz-l9wXaJIhcGjU3eCnL1hNQOOwYx4Ct3O5BDuNdT82N08_qjMkh_g/s640/IMG_0976.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FuFG_kaiBzAAnIkhZVYas67e1mp9R2deYF6Vp3Gj8IHtImihekfAp5FwrkEyjagC2FFhkfzfRBcHYdbKYIOmQtODKfqDKZ2MM8_cWASWdiVOYmPN32202gGiRnQn5A-9zD0ju7Hh794/s1600/IMG_0977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FuFG_kaiBzAAnIkhZVYas67e1mp9R2deYF6Vp3Gj8IHtImihekfAp5FwrkEyjagC2FFhkfzfRBcHYdbKYIOmQtODKfqDKZ2MM8_cWASWdiVOYmPN32202gGiRnQn5A-9zD0ju7Hh794/s640/IMG_0977.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxZiF-SwgZJWk_JW_50FRw_oOkCtwahYGfr6fzk71rvMBB93eBzlFqqZiU6rIWZTkQeJWDANXN_Of0SAiJoMZaei-JaD2NNHIsurXY3i34f5vTfQU2c6ds3hZHPKNmWgy0dap8PHMBlE/s1600/IMG_0978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxZiF-SwgZJWk_JW_50FRw_oOkCtwahYGfr6fzk71rvMBB93eBzlFqqZiU6rIWZTkQeJWDANXN_Of0SAiJoMZaei-JaD2NNHIsurXY3i34f5vTfQU2c6ds3hZHPKNmWgy0dap8PHMBlE/s640/IMG_0978.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTcciox96pEfBrBfcrVdRGNIEBoMJ5k2hwEk1HzITiBHJ-u3Ei_baUNYxz_hBvPS1AqCFvbK4WAQdoTL3WzQm-IN3e_0n6ohVWdn_JiaLiwFpSwhu3YpkrldRqz7vW4LC4__qZsmHTu0/s1600/IMG_0979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTcciox96pEfBrBfcrVdRGNIEBoMJ5k2hwEk1HzITiBHJ-u3Ei_baUNYxz_hBvPS1AqCFvbK4WAQdoTL3WzQm-IN3e_0n6ohVWdn_JiaLiwFpSwhu3YpkrldRqz7vW4LC4__qZsmHTu0/s640/IMG_0979.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpJyyfUeMkyNvKmbDPQ3JTIbX-nKV6peZHH0V9E97wEFw5_MhEucmsbWARSYiuO7vfQCQLqV4P-yO6kUsUXTPAiSBGTC9hoXwf8whkxh7XPQFMr8MgyZIaqPERL56C1k0P7HkckA2GP0/s1600/IMG_0980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpJyyfUeMkyNvKmbDPQ3JTIbX-nKV6peZHH0V9E97wEFw5_MhEucmsbWARSYiuO7vfQCQLqV4P-yO6kUsUXTPAiSBGTC9hoXwf8whkxh7XPQFMr8MgyZIaqPERL56C1k0P7HkckA2GP0/s400/IMG_0980.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street artist in Pasto</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQd418vjY1VuSoQh9rI0OZOLwg2W15XbHqy_wJGd7pptIw-tIvkargBbmZv34GgNHUhgSggQBHxM_kU_9Z35_qOhjhT5sBT3fRC42md__MpAOzqFf06snFDYRzo4BCrgT0JFuyKofVwW8/s1600/IMG_0981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQd418vjY1VuSoQh9rI0OZOLwg2W15XbHqy_wJGd7pptIw-tIvkargBbmZv34GgNHUhgSggQBHxM_kU_9Z35_qOhjhT5sBT3fRC42md__MpAOzqFf06snFDYRzo4BCrgT0JFuyKofVwW8/s320/IMG_0981.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of busy streets at 5 pm</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwEjn7-nV_4AB7AWnlXHj5HTpCldTRYF2nYgsT8IQskw-5GmNLBwVkB8txHQE_F0UrVY9T0vFL2opeqeyHzlP9Jz1LTW4u-ZYdKzRXt7O4uf5sFbAtK4E70IDQhQj8sYQWKCpNw7R_14/s1600/IMG_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwEjn7-nV_4AB7AWnlXHj5HTpCldTRYF2nYgsT8IQskw-5GmNLBwVkB8txHQE_F0UrVY9T0vFL2opeqeyHzlP9Jz1LTW4u-ZYdKzRXt7O4uf5sFbAtK4E70IDQhQj8sYQWKCpNw7R_14/s320/IMG_0982.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The churches are amazing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVH4dESMH3Sg2TJ6g31b3GFStCiplP5tJNmCy6LvevfMwTLdIcZTh-uf9pk-hV80OpbyRDOH2lH2TDyjQEgpD4RZ8RXiN5V-EGAxKL8IeqkKOJlYEDEiogaKh0sP8Nb8j6_JwrVkWmO40/s1600/IMG_0983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVH4dESMH3Sg2TJ6g31b3GFStCiplP5tJNmCy6LvevfMwTLdIcZTh-uf9pk-hV80OpbyRDOH2lH2TDyjQEgpD4RZ8RXiN5V-EGAxKL8IeqkKOJlYEDEiogaKh0sP8Nb8j6_JwrVkWmO40/s400/IMG_0983.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaPMvqyIRLUCVwu4V5IPihbkzLg1t90YDcJOtFTcjJPLziuvtaxyhyMQURnRbaJjQ5cYIjamN1kQXwnLQdAdopE3e5Uk7IXZBzUIHMVAX2egpJBRGIj4td6Ze20GtS2ht4oFTtl2VKr8/s1600/IMG_0984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaPMvqyIRLUCVwu4V5IPihbkzLg1t90YDcJOtFTcjJPLziuvtaxyhyMQURnRbaJjQ5cYIjamN1kQXwnLQdAdopE3e5Uk7IXZBzUIHMVAX2egpJBRGIj4td6Ze20GtS2ht4oFTtl2VKr8/s400/IMG_0984.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture taken from the sidewalk. Not sure what they were but they sure smelled good.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> See you in Ecuador.<br />
<span id="goog_184375135"></span><span id="goog_184375136"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-28159156695251558112011-01-18T19:42:00.000-08:002011-01-18T19:42:36.447-08:00Bogota and South AmericaSo we had to suck it up and fly the bikes to Bogota, Columbia. It's amazing how easy it was once we figured out what to do. Girag Air Cargo gives you a waybill, you give them US$900, and Presto! Your bikes are headed for a new continent. All we had to do was take off the mirrors and windshields and we were done. That night we stayed in Panama and booked our flights to Bogota. We couldn't seem to find the cheap flights everybody else was talking about. We figured it was their high season.<br />
Sunday morning we were at the airport early only to find out we had standby tickets. And the plane was full. Awesome. However the airline people were very good and got us on a later flight that made a stop in Medellin and got into Bogota around 2 or 3 o'clock. Our hotel was in the older part of the city and was an interesting place to walk around. We managed to get some comida tipico at a hole in the wall restaurant. It was great. That's basically one pound of assorted meats grilled on a wood fire with a bit of guacamole, some baked potatoes and a bun thingy. Oh...and a beer. Okay..two. Did I say it was good?<br />
We ended up killing another day in Bogota because the plane carrying our bikes broke down. There are probably worse places to be stuck. We also spent a bit of time figuring out a time-line for the rest of our trip and decided to cancel the Cartagena detour. It would cost us over a week and we're already feeling a little rushed. Too bad. I might just have to do a little field trip back there with my sweetie someday soon.<br />
Just before lunch today (Tuesday) we got word that our bikes were ready to be picked up. We met two more American bikers when we were getting our motos out of Columbia Customs. They also were picking up their bikes and doing much the same trip as us. We had a nice chat with them while we picked up and readied our bikes. However we decided to go our separate ways after getting gas at about 4:00 pm.<br />
Neil and I decided to get out of Bogota that night and go to Soacha. It's just outside of Bogota and on the way to Cali. It is quite a populated area but there are only a couple of Auto (read romance) Hotels. We stopped at a service station to ask if there were any hotels in town. This was one of those things that seem so inconsequential at the time. It proved to be a lucky stop. The shop owner's son jumps on his moto and leads us into town to make a few inquiries about rooms. He has no luck so he leads us back to the gas station. Now I'm thinking we have to go to the Auto Hotel because it's getting dark. The son and his Dad get on Google Translator to tell me the auto hotels are full of bugs and dirty and it's not safe there for us. The son offers to be our guide and lead us, again on his bike, back into Bogota to find a hotel. He says it'll only be half an hour. I'm sure it'll be an hour. And he doesn't want anything for it. So off we go in rush hour traffic headed for downtown Bogota. It takes an hour and 20 minutes and it's dark long before we're done. In the meantime this kid is talking on his cell and asking cab drivers and pedestrians about hotels. He even picks up his girlfriend on the way. The best part is when he tells two cops on bikes to get lost because they try to pull over Neil and get a <i>donation</i>. They were not happy when they left. Ha!<br />
Somehow they find us a hotel and when we say goodbye he tells me "that's how we do it in Columbia". Or something along those lines. <br />
I feel stupid because I can't remember his name. They were VERY nice people.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEuj8fB7YJZrAtcD4kjeieYmZ11izsgsemdbUNxvXIBl7xi7jQszONktekpJh_jlf4vqX4fergGpbZB8vy4rRtC34hBDPjePF6-ZlxEf_sCCpwMXqk5YUIuO0rV5r0wYAmAuYMjyv8o4/s1600/IMG_0832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEuj8fB7YJZrAtcD4kjeieYmZ11izsgsemdbUNxvXIBl7xi7jQszONktekpJh_jlf4vqX4fergGpbZB8vy4rRtC34hBDPjePF6-ZlxEf_sCCpwMXqk5YUIuO0rV5r0wYAmAuYMjyv8o4/s320/IMG_0832.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When you get standby tickets you get to take a picture of your plane leaving.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAC9npgQ8mpMErHGR7uLj2OAMERyrv9wQJTpaIqhAnJpo6YPsaDmU7W4D9pnpKxqerAKx5KCoG_SjSToalrr1kUjtlXKFhd4SUwA4XZ3lW_1-nw7wIlFjLIOW20qdidgCNaq65rlg1dE/s1600/IMG_0833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAC9npgQ8mpMErHGR7uLj2OAMERyrv9wQJTpaIqhAnJpo6YPsaDmU7W4D9pnpKxqerAKx5KCoG_SjSToalrr1kUjtlXKFhd4SUwA4XZ3lW_1-nw7wIlFjLIOW20qdidgCNaq65rlg1dE/s320/IMG_0833.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first hotel in Bogota. The one with the cab in front. It was really nice inside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdboioXvV-t2Lk-am-iI-x5eh0fBzweVyCjs3UKgumTOnMjp3TVQuwK2KvP6ijg4JNcH5vNZsFK93s-lUYRLQATIhX1wWZjeTKm9seVfznrF8isUSX7m4SAcZpdA0VBTG8wWR-qD181Oo/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdboioXvV-t2Lk-am-iI-x5eh0fBzweVyCjs3UKgumTOnMjp3TVQuwK2KvP6ijg4JNcH5vNZsFK93s-lUYRLQATIhX1wWZjeTKm9seVfznrF8isUSX7m4SAcZpdA0VBTG8wWR-qD181Oo/s320/IMG_0834.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somewhere between the airport and downtown Bogota. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi91VZuMtUAZJMecB_7Ts5KQGfeDgOu2WVvgdkDLr116wx-Dft-j3KwpwPhh4V_DdJQWBrn3ca4NlUdCgD4t88DswoEtIAmTXdjsEkHQSNv2k7eimlu-WtlI7temFMWyqHfiwBkqwtsY/s1600/IMG_0835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi91VZuMtUAZJMecB_7Ts5KQGfeDgOu2WVvgdkDLr116wx-Dft-j3KwpwPhh4V_DdJQWBrn3ca4NlUdCgD4t88DswoEtIAmTXdjsEkHQSNv2k7eimlu-WtlI7temFMWyqHfiwBkqwtsY/s320/IMG_0835.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the Historic area of Bogota with Monserrate in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HyiN2OR4hMQxUqIhheliFE6by6dvdsnnIV-Gsc3F9zxCiWSBZVpyrd_x9SczmtjjleynNWOjpysip2K_BuTxIS0lHMa5SAaQCgTHU502TcByJZ0_cMH6_zsjuFasrg6m3OQqA91kV-Q/s1600/IMG_0836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HyiN2OR4hMQxUqIhheliFE6by6dvdsnnIV-Gsc3F9zxCiWSBZVpyrd_x9SczmtjjleynNWOjpysip2K_BuTxIS0lHMa5SAaQCgTHU502TcByJZ0_cMH6_zsjuFasrg6m3OQqA91kV-Q/s320/IMG_0836.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had people trying to sell us emeralds on the street. Take it easy girls!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNQDwjlDRLd8e2IpZiAEkclqM2SIYqO90ZgO7huUDmMkskab7PVbJ13SsCi03QDlXsDwV-C02wpubthGvZBGQ8hMbn2BbCSWa35Qq5Ye2JliUI1LC6aA0KPVz7Xox-lQUb21FfNInFlk/s1600/IMG_0837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNQDwjlDRLd8e2IpZiAEkclqM2SIYqO90ZgO7huUDmMkskab7PVbJ13SsCi03QDlXsDwV-C02wpubthGvZBGQ8hMbn2BbCSWa35Qq5Ye2JliUI1LC6aA0KPVz7Xox-lQUb21FfNInFlk/s320/IMG_0837.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They still use burros to get it done downtown.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdg8SzzUKK4eu4LDHe1e2_kmm91qZ09wP1lelpk416WIwHfgr6ovFVrNirHKu6cUiLBm-Ow-YTj9l8ASJMtBUqZquYc6TPaW2Q-qYO0bZh_HZBTPIeiryIeaj99tpAyROFf3X5gLS71Q/s1600/IMG_0838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdg8SzzUKK4eu4LDHe1e2_kmm91qZ09wP1lelpk416WIwHfgr6ovFVrNirHKu6cUiLBm-Ow-YTj9l8ASJMtBUqZquYc6TPaW2Q-qYO0bZh_HZBTPIeiryIeaj99tpAyROFf3X5gLS71Q/s320/IMG_0838.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 400 year old church on the right side of this building was very beautiful inside. No pics allowed though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2VC4rsIHiGMw4m17S2yEc12exxh5m9FOwPRxaGiCw7dR2ycuFhzilp8aZfRkDVOdDDlKbawxCRh4M8DNZxV-lN5zJYQPMYaHsaZuIdvk_mjkIZcg0vsh6akmOFMyb5ubN3QKMRGZyQI/s1600/IMG_0839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2VC4rsIHiGMw4m17S2yEc12exxh5m9FOwPRxaGiCw7dR2ycuFhzilp8aZfRkDVOdDDlKbawxCRh4M8DNZxV-lN5zJYQPMYaHsaZuIdvk_mjkIZcg0vsh6akmOFMyb5ubN3QKMRGZyQI/s320/IMG_0839.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More street vendors.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYsIxo3XIrWfcy4B69aQlCFPhVpjKKkxYaaFBDJEYeoIxCVSnUADWFiR-HerQrB6vuWJ71qbXEJoKWtxhZUB0salmje7qhwV3tIlbMHrlh_fzrpzIGEMGGBT17wO1trwYCvVwt2pXKzM/s1600/IMG_0840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYsIxo3XIrWfcy4B69aQlCFPhVpjKKkxYaaFBDJEYeoIxCVSnUADWFiR-HerQrB6vuWJ71qbXEJoKWtxhZUB0salmje7qhwV3tIlbMHrlh_fzrpzIGEMGGBT17wO1trwYCvVwt2pXKzM/s320/IMG_0840.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowded street market.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuX8KfI2Hg1wRTLt5SirWRHHky9Ccc4XiGxz_jPF9ehP5pYybHVsRLgFN-SvdzfkFBabv19NakLmVWwadmTAykYBdUt6QmciO24MDVy48Wm30Wh_lvfBItpeVeXK9XxT09NZiVWwNH7M/s1600/IMG_0841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuX8KfI2Hg1wRTLt5SirWRHHky9Ccc4XiGxz_jPF9ehP5pYybHVsRLgFN-SvdzfkFBabv19NakLmVWwadmTAykYBdUt6QmciO24MDVy48Wm30Wh_lvfBItpeVeXK9XxT09NZiVWwNH7M/s320/IMG_0841.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now this is a <i>hole in the wall</i>. This was the whole shop.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0RuKVdpyCsQ_ofOMDThcCc500YbhfKdqz0TT1GgIIA_Bouj_PAMxgOdqVAsnaYCPFWhhETujblXrqBe1zaSD48BgZaTa4ot03dl0YO5A2PCdWywrk4QxE2s_Bbm08Dp5GAKZzmPCLcU/s1600/IMG_0842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0RuKVdpyCsQ_ofOMDThcCc500YbhfKdqz0TT1GgIIA_Bouj_PAMxgOdqVAsnaYCPFWhhETujblXrqBe1zaSD48BgZaTa4ot03dl0YO5A2PCdWywrk4QxE2s_Bbm08Dp5GAKZzmPCLcU/s320/IMG_0842.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bogota rush hour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW0V2gkS03xRdVnuGow_N_En0ebk6qlGcP55u1mreN2M0TWdWJLd_YNQ-6SNBWO9HbA2-r5IvZM-XP8rTqbY7-p2nHe3KNi9-_suid-5MClEmgQDXDgPkEGhgGcxBzlDK-ngRwTB_fNc/s1600/IMG_0843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW0V2gkS03xRdVnuGow_N_En0ebk6qlGcP55u1mreN2M0TWdWJLd_YNQ-6SNBWO9HbA2-r5IvZM-XP8rTqbY7-p2nHe3KNi9-_suid-5MClEmgQDXDgPkEGhgGcxBzlDK-ngRwTB_fNc/s320/IMG_0843.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, really. Right in rush hour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeYcr4vk70DJI7a4C5GafrXLTXLQ2PLpBwmWrLBRFZoAybJUq7gaJ25ud9gOEdZANFd_WjXs_d6WY7MikPJEUUtmRhqv8H0ThUftSR2ZIQeu9giUH48LnjGfP_znqOqb-DyGR4gJL-x8/s1600/IMG_0844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeYcr4vk70DJI7a4C5GafrXLTXLQ2PLpBwmWrLBRFZoAybJUq7gaJ25ud9gOEdZANFd_WjXs_d6WY7MikPJEUUtmRhqv8H0ThUftSR2ZIQeu9giUH48LnjGfP_znqOqb-DyGR4gJL-x8/s320/IMG_0844.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil doing someone a favour. We were getting our bikes from the warehouse at the Bogota Airport and helped out someone else.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELLU1Fk-snU1gDxXUd1C04B3HPU3ii7oZby-JaCtChd7zf0izBuxkOLtxOre90kDk56ljSJFShiDTz3bfwx-gCqTxLqSutAcQIkTiqreAyCc6SkGw7EWnu3Z_v3guWtXd3AP62T5PsC0/s1600/IMG_0845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELLU1Fk-snU1gDxXUd1C04B3HPU3ii7oZby-JaCtChd7zf0izBuxkOLtxOre90kDk56ljSJFShiDTz3bfwx-gCqTxLqSutAcQIkTiqreAyCc6SkGw7EWnu3Z_v3guWtXd3AP62T5PsC0/s320/IMG_0845.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to hit the road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ciao for now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-45508751079825448762011-01-15T07:10:00.000-08:002011-01-15T07:10:01.003-08:00Still in PanamaApparently sailing from Panama to Cartegena at this time of year can be rather unpleasant. We were originally booked to sail on a 115 ft catamaran which would have been awesome. However we have not been able to find anything over about 49 ft and they look pretty small with two big bikes strapped on them considering the seas right now. We've got emails out to everyone we can think of and posted calls for help on some popular internet motorcycle websites but nothing has come up yet. We took a day trip on the bikes out to Portobelo, Pto. Lindo and Isla Grande on the Caribbean coast to see what we could find but came up empty handed. It was a nice ride but for such a short distance it's amazing how different the weather was. Both the skies and seas were looking very unfriendly. We had some heavy rain and skies were pretty black. It reminded me of the weather on the prairies in the summer when they get the huge thunder storms.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5SY7Dvl8Ue28dUjNWoO-_ThTLeRInWTdrHSrHqUWL0aHdgPZa5OMrvvMmtXY6J_2ZWePqnU-eB_amkmx_IF1m1cLXp3LwtO5xe2EeKQY85cLGOKuxZVGzd-CIZXXHsoI1-Vbof9-QIc/s1600/IMG_0779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5SY7Dvl8Ue28dUjNWoO-_ThTLeRInWTdrHSrHqUWL0aHdgPZa5OMrvvMmtXY6J_2ZWePqnU-eB_amkmx_IF1m1cLXp3LwtO5xe2EeKQY85cLGOKuxZVGzd-CIZXXHsoI1-Vbof9-QIc/s640/IMG_0779.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, so it wasn't raining the whole time. This is near Isla Grande.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8ueqWPrmMEyb2eHcArDPCG1q6ODNzOUcs4WJTYw9urBQiKf-t3wIdwHZzW_nol2TxqUBWNHw6tMtJ7aXNOH8342NNpjZnzchy4nTXA8GBGDZjUJpHQaFbTBQgtf-sDnaBh4yniSIQMI/s1600/IMG_0780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8ueqWPrmMEyb2eHcArDPCG1q6ODNzOUcs4WJTYw9urBQiKf-t3wIdwHZzW_nol2TxqUBWNHw6tMtJ7aXNOH8342NNpjZnzchy4nTXA8GBGDZjUJpHQaFbTBQgtf-sDnaBh4yniSIQMI/s400/IMG_0780.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Countryside on the Caribbean side of Panama.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsPHEPHB6P8JAl1NuBjDptDdXMLOnOkZwmZIZ3QL6OAJSTcBk4JRnopgLEThCpJvNTz4K8P0w2qSbYg3o2lcA690d2l1UVGtH0VZBpJEC8Oh9wi2eivgEA0dwWkGcdDHfbBw7rpxDIy4/s1600/IMG_0781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsPHEPHB6P8JAl1NuBjDptDdXMLOnOkZwmZIZ3QL6OAJSTcBk4JRnopgLEThCpJvNTz4K8P0w2qSbYg3o2lcA690d2l1UVGtH0VZBpJEC8Oh9wi2eivgEA0dwWkGcdDHfbBw7rpxDIy4/s400/IMG_0781.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remains of a 17th Century fort in Portobelo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4cWJNyDGrtpRBnY_Y4zE6dISD-w8oXeqsKFd2CIbkOVuVLQny9iD59nLAIAqLpqQ8NdLcLgU2HyvwKbP8cgCCqqQS_vFZGMMmRvdSbM4_YLw_m6spE53nefXZwADNEY5wxS2l21HJBU/s1600/IMG_0782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4cWJNyDGrtpRBnY_Y4zE6dISD-w8oXeqsKFd2CIbkOVuVLQny9iD59nLAIAqLpqQ8NdLcLgU2HyvwKbP8cgCCqqQS_vFZGMMmRvdSbM4_YLw_m6spE53nefXZwADNEY5wxS2l21HJBU/s400/IMG_0782.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old Customs building in Portobelo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpx0yoQbS1uxOTEq46pmj5hYMTTaKBHl21kkx_tONw2OqUmmbrCzO5LESmp2nJxlYL0ybgAOW024CohRG3eTbgyJfR3qECCJhe0RZk3CtgBP_mYcSO7NDFwC4ucpP_RXarfNQf8ZZR4w/s1600/IMG_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpx0yoQbS1uxOTEq46pmj5hYMTTaKBHl21kkx_tONw2OqUmmbrCzO5LESmp2nJxlYL0ybgAOW024CohRG3eTbgyJfR3qECCJhe0RZk3CtgBP_mYcSO7NDFwC4ucpP_RXarfNQf8ZZR4w/s400/IMG_0783.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view inside the ruins.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaNEaOiXJeoPab0KtVM0jfLy6WXOD5eFyZZLiMrBZw4t5K13oyf9yTEbKa7aGmlIuwACfq_7XxzR-8JED4Uo-T9Oya-9qBxpJOyjjyEZ7LVmvOETjWN6HktIIHX5xO19cSAg6tvitgGo/s1600/IMG_0784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaNEaOiXJeoPab0KtVM0jfLy6WXOD5eFyZZLiMrBZw4t5K13oyf9yTEbKa7aGmlIuwACfq_7XxzR-8JED4Uo-T9Oya-9qBxpJOyjjyEZ7LVmvOETjWN6HktIIHX5xO19cSAg6tvitgGo/s400/IMG_0784.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another shot of the fort and its' view of the bay in Portobelo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ScUjp2hIieND4v2qhmN1Z8fdWMXFEXGdn47nzZFl8j3-qYUUN93X2TQcir9JqkvHPZ_MBFKEWNpKdNEy5I6IxCMbSJyZd7k6MBhdE7OLw19bhAETCpNPqREoC8JuZkT9-FS2E1IvwU8/s1600/IMG_0785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ScUjp2hIieND4v2qhmN1Z8fdWMXFEXGdn47nzZFl8j3-qYUUN93X2TQcir9JqkvHPZ_MBFKEWNpKdNEy5I6IxCMbSJyZd7k6MBhdE7OLw19bhAETCpNPqREoC8JuZkT9-FS2E1IvwU8/s400/IMG_0785.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were crews cleaning up a mudslide that had come right through the middle of the ruins.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
So if we don't hear anything in the next few hours we'll fly the bikes to Bogota, Columbia. We spent yesterday at the cargo terminal at the Tocumen International Airport exploring our shipping options. We found everyone to be extremely helpful and friendly. <br />
Once we get the bikes in Bogota we plan on the 2000 km detour back to Cartegena. I hear it's a must see.<br />
We'll keep you posted. Bye for now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-24967217580853449522011-01-12T15:39:00.000-08:002011-01-12T15:39:41.675-08:00Ciudad de PanamaWe headed out of San Jose, Costa Rica southbound on the Pan American Highway. I had no appreciation for just how mountainous it is in Central America. The highway climbed up to about 3500 metres above sea level. Unfortunately we were up in the clouds and only had brief glimpses over the side of the road. It was a long way down. I think we were lucky to do the trip on a Sunday as the truck traffic was light and there were very few passing lanes. It was about 100 km distance up and down the other side. We spent Sunday night in Palmar Norte which is a small town but quite nice.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV_FC7wCyn6W9OmJw6jKuBAPEy7-zAsmNLmOAEn2HjsUS5MnR_nWR9Z-NPYfiFIAhL2pIjJCS0EJGUKaLDHSsOVBYOBDGGSaSwPiA_QCUiTZyqeslylyxVZKWdUwBlop7WdmrP_xC4YQ/s1600/IMG_0741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV_FC7wCyn6W9OmJw6jKuBAPEy7-zAsmNLmOAEn2HjsUS5MnR_nWR9Z-NPYfiFIAhL2pIjJCS0EJGUKaLDHSsOVBYOBDGGSaSwPiA_QCUiTZyqeslylyxVZKWdUwBlop7WdmrP_xC4YQ/s320/IMG_0741.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the mountains south of San Jose</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJqoModXP7PEngVHmVJ_hm_f6ScJ8ImesGxHRw3e4ncrgnQaK96XAPqvuLphKQ-X01jqEivrg-dDuQzXUXVwGWKbdvlkXjxMzGdbBpYsKXegw6XJmf59guzqOWpM1ieQm6AOp4WvuhFg/s1600/IMG_0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJqoModXP7PEngVHmVJ_hm_f6ScJ8ImesGxHRw3e4ncrgnQaK96XAPqvuLphKQ-X01jqEivrg-dDuQzXUXVwGWKbdvlkXjxMzGdbBpYsKXegw6XJmf59guzqOWpM1ieQm6AOp4WvuhFg/s320/IMG_0742.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our neighbourhood in Palmar Norte</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlKOQqPvsICfrKzAEDLuVrLgSSf_SKFQz0cY_-u5ZmCyXofhlWVLt3saRz94xWQXa2j_vBf4MFHtHXsRTtzUmrCelVKqwaYoSCGQE5WARKyUW3Qc6P8ns37TbFKTQaxYQNxX5Qlu2QBE/s1600/IMG_0743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlKOQqPvsICfrKzAEDLuVrLgSSf_SKFQz0cY_-u5ZmCyXofhlWVLt3saRz94xWQXa2j_vBf4MFHtHXsRTtzUmrCelVKqwaYoSCGQE5WARKyUW3Qc6P8ns37TbFKTQaxYQNxX5Qlu2QBE/s320/IMG_0743.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1LYlsALeV9a8LrXj8TsEIw_mMP9BiaC3j7EP68uxQSx5d4i_Unl24XH_vE-mN41FMLYP-CJzxo7dwRuGYAeXfHcaV12iD9N3zXGQq7j-ksdaLwnmlsOj3BC1Acw0VnU6BJDLvXyqkNg/s1600/IMG_0744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi1LYlsALeV9a8LrXj8TsEIw_mMP9BiaC3j7EP68uxQSx5d4i_Unl24XH_vE-mN41FMLYP-CJzxo7dwRuGYAeXfHcaV12iD9N3zXGQq7j-ksdaLwnmlsOj3BC1Acw0VnU6BJDLvXyqkNg/s320/IMG_0744.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Costa Rica is really nice</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Up early on Monday morning, we headed for yet another border crossing. This time into Panama at Paso Canoa. Too bad we showed up just in time to get in line behind four busloads of travelers going into Panama. We went in on the defensive side after our Honduras experience with <b><i>Helpers</i></b> but there was no need for attitude. The people who tried to help us were really just helping. Nice people, some were a big help. One guy I was talking to, Roberto, helped us find an official to speed things up a bit as someone we needed for a stamp was on lunch. However, it was still a long wait as there was only one poor guy looking at everyone's passports. Also there were people who were pretending to stand in line who would sell their position to someone at the back of the line.The line was kind of disorganized as well adding some confusion as to just who was where in the lineup. After two hours of this, and just as we got to the immigration window, tempers started to flare and a few soldiers showed up to quiet things down a bit. That was a good thing. There was lots of yelling going on and you didn't need to know the language to get the gist of it. All in all, about four and a half hours of good times. <br />
We also met two more bikers heading to South America on BMW's. These guys (Davis and Ken) were from Texas. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s4hTLtN_EYhFhC5dzzyzLRIeMGhs6uzNklufegCWxM2qfKEqv0NgNYuWo14I0Rgnp0XPAmVOkDDD3aAZppUiCDjG6XB4V0KICRtStP2ETsd1g0dJH-ancANtxQysBsOq3EQRo4N1dgc/s1600/IMG_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s4hTLtN_EYhFhC5dzzyzLRIeMGhs6uzNklufegCWxM2qfKEqv0NgNYuWo14I0Rgnp0XPAmVOkDDD3aAZppUiCDjG6XB4V0KICRtStP2ETsd1g0dJH-ancANtxQysBsOq3EQRo4N1dgc/s320/IMG_0745.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good times!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOY5tVvQfWpbpt0vaBW_QupSZxvB1Ip-2QDY13TdhscaOnBEvWg2YcwWZA9HmyyLAVGgOX87rtlS5QCIWHg2EQPd-Ma8PgoOw8cvJRU2MtwRnREFjmekYDOTh9oTxM7DLO3id_r9YSwBs/s1600/IMG_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOY5tVvQfWpbpt0vaBW_QupSZxvB1Ip-2QDY13TdhscaOnBEvWg2YcwWZA9HmyyLAVGgOX87rtlS5QCIWHg2EQPd-Ma8PgoOw8cvJRU2MtwRnREFjmekYDOTh9oTxM7DLO3id_r9YSwBs/s320/IMG_0746.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Coco Frio plying his trade</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR2bmf5MsyFjH7wxEJGC-eiHp6eC7N1cYKUeCnjsQ5b4Nk8PkrBzj_idhsMvRgSH88AH2AEPZPVAL_RXwmk0MRKI6SaoDB4rsp9RSxEdf9f3mJOTcehf3dFH7IZTK-AsoE8vkciVtHBw/s1600/IMG_0747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrR2bmf5MsyFjH7wxEJGC-eiHp6eC7N1cYKUeCnjsQ5b4Nk8PkrBzj_idhsMvRgSH88AH2AEPZPVAL_RXwmk0MRKI6SaoDB4rsp9RSxEdf9f3mJOTcehf3dFH7IZTK-AsoE8vkciVtHBw/s320/IMG_0747.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh yeah, don't forget about the bikes. That's what it's all about.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFABb9vIVF0xEQyyTsr19jO6GhoPTrhBibHWFC9tWl9hTLloTWTl_nZuJk7H8QvaPhH8-fbCSjxd3pr8GCqxiiZ6Ksm3we7F1BpBTllLsSPy3ZrrQcGyRrqekTC3tXajmHLnLoGx_q48/s1600/IMG_0748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFABb9vIVF0xEQyyTsr19jO6GhoPTrhBibHWFC9tWl9hTLloTWTl_nZuJk7H8QvaPhH8-fbCSjxd3pr8GCqxiiZ6Ksm3we7F1BpBTllLsSPy3ZrrQcGyRrqekTC3tXajmHLnLoGx_q48/s320/IMG_0748.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roberto, a real helper.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwnfYoU9OS8QhQpAccIN8nV9uKMZrawg6VWPxqtA9zsexjlIqetSPI9__WbgLN2LyYtHa4GIaBsXANKIyvlyxjsh1poxsKC9_av0_S1XFaSf8_Jxbcflz2bHu-qOi83v8zpH8ryNwUto/s1600/IMG_0749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwnfYoU9OS8QhQpAccIN8nV9uKMZrawg6VWPxqtA9zsexjlIqetSPI9__WbgLN2LyYtHa4GIaBsXANKIyvlyxjsh1poxsKC9_av0_S1XFaSf8_Jxbcflz2bHu-qOi83v8zpH8ryNwUto/s320/IMG_0749.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken and Davis from Texas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVU29kByog7a54a268GZXHshsBxJ6B8scT-wdI79jt8daU-s3au-Wno5I_bN3O4x_PiFfZDTMacq0swW_TMNWNdjGVw2Vk0rn4GILgs42K69bm-UqWA30hrQZ6-xFiIQHVpjtMwvYVOII/s1600/IMG_0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVU29kByog7a54a268GZXHshsBxJ6B8scT-wdI79jt8daU-s3au-Wno5I_bN3O4x_PiFfZDTMacq0swW_TMNWNdjGVw2Vk0rn4GILgs42K69bm-UqWA30hrQZ6-xFiIQHVpjtMwvYVOII/s320/IMG_0755.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some stink-eye for those who appreciate it. I thought I was smiling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
After the border there were a few police stops to check documents and lots of police presence on the highway for speed control. No problems though. We showed up in Santiago, Panama in the rain just before dark.<br />
Okay, check this out. Beer in a bottle at the bar here was US$.85.<br />
That's right. 85 cents for an ice cold beer. What a country.<br />
Tuesday morning and just shy of 10,000 kilometers and 32 days since leaving Qualicum we rode over the Bridge of The Americas and the Panama Canal. Pretty cool. Do that two more times or so and we'll be done.<br />
We only got lost for a little while before we found the BMW dealer downtown. We left the bikes there for oil changes and minor repairs. The manager (Fransisco) arranged a hotel room and also a free ride for us. We spent the afternoon wandering around Panama City.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3y-D7XNBk2Bxf1C9PUOEnPUsPy4p3KH5kNvIDcuft_61gJmR7HoFy2FnoXkYfsWn53QbFf7pOq04OQ64ghRImLWklWHDmayRzp0AboS9zUtpLt3JnGSJFbgtVLJq-SGhtBLJG8lOuxS8/s1600/IMG_0750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3y-D7XNBk2Bxf1C9PUOEnPUsPy4p3KH5kNvIDcuft_61gJmR7HoFy2FnoXkYfsWn53QbFf7pOq04OQ64ghRImLWklWHDmayRzp0AboS9zUtpLt3JnGSJFbgtVLJq-SGhtBLJG8lOuxS8/s320/IMG_0750.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Panama City</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX5hBy1URrL0It1wQDmLtTe74mduhsKvbfWiz6Q6loCo8ouP02NVpO2ur5vLQWYrbf4gRaG1sWnmprJrxiGeczy8MyxbV5T9sxoKm6CWPBl2CjoKTNYr47xc6bFRwV8ZZKyVV20483aE/s1600/IMG_0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX5hBy1URrL0It1wQDmLtTe74mduhsKvbfWiz6Q6loCo8ouP02NVpO2ur5vLQWYrbf4gRaG1sWnmprJrxiGeczy8MyxbV5T9sxoKm6CWPBl2CjoKTNYr47xc6bFRwV8ZZKyVV20483aE/s320/IMG_0751.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bong cafe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXi_J1fO2ad5XZ8SbaEEOl-IYutiR_DYd4HT-9KkWt8SdZTbD73Q5ZYDSa3RMMy6MU9Wf-89bgpQF3m767uxYd6knVjroPqQfp76Xprt9Rrd_qOI2sAsHkIbGq_5BiFk_nuCxdxN4u2s/s1600/IMG_0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXi_J1fO2ad5XZ8SbaEEOl-IYutiR_DYd4HT-9KkWt8SdZTbD73Q5ZYDSa3RMMy6MU9Wf-89bgpQF3m767uxYd6knVjroPqQfp76Xprt9Rrd_qOI2sAsHkIbGq_5BiFk_nuCxdxN4u2s/s320/IMG_0752.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet another church.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbGtjc_M7Cl9mOGAssltrds8xlnWgRgv6hf2vAh9IR6mwp86Bf-K4q4iF4_h3Tfv8_TGQmb6ZpDJJWTgdG2LMO0oUO4U_kMVsIOcHqPLukKd-zRTDRDHfRbkP1633gdTM1ADmDhievlw/s1600/IMG_0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbGtjc_M7Cl9mOGAssltrds8xlnWgRgv6hf2vAh9IR6mwp86Bf-K4q4iF4_h3Tfv8_TGQmb6ZpDJJWTgdG2LMO0oUO4U_kMVsIOcHqPLukKd-zRTDRDHfRbkP1633gdTM1ADmDhievlw/s320/IMG_0753.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It makes Vancouver rush hour look pretty tame. Remember, they all honk.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTKQjM36684PFsDmxsPx_g_hZLY4O7Yiu9ymwqAuXcpMKAl13EfIW0oiv9yfzOatAU4l52R-RdZ6wftQqDnF2IZEqHdVQ2WRdl0G3iRTuh3Li61WUXhSSlxQD9PEMvg7koNVsHe4ggjE/s1600/IMG_0754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTKQjM36684PFsDmxsPx_g_hZLY4O7Yiu9ymwqAuXcpMKAl13EfIW0oiv9yfzOatAU4l52R-RdZ6wftQqDnF2IZEqHdVQ2WRdl0G3iRTuh3Li61WUXhSSlxQD9PEMvg7koNVsHe4ggjE/s320/IMG_0754.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool Chicken Bus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Around dinner time Neil got the email canceling our catamaran ride to Columbia. Well, at least we had something to do while we were waiting for the bikes. We emailed everybody we could think of about sailing to Columbia and put the word out on the internet via two motorcycle websites (the HUBB and <b><i>advrider.com</i></b> for anyone who cares). Still no luck but we're going to head over to the Caribbean side tomorrow to see what we can find. It's too expensive here anyways. Wish us luck.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-8113840813341647432011-01-09T09:27:00.000-08:002011-01-09T09:27:06.753-08:00Not every day is a diamond.We got up reasonably early on Thursday, January 6 to head for the Honduras border. We had a bit of trouble finding our way through town and I decided to ask directions from two Policia in a park. I wasn't paying attention and as I approached this speed bump it looked pretty aggressive but I was focused on the cops. I guess we'd seen so many speed bumps I didn't care anymore. Well, it was a 8 or 9 inch curb to keep traffic out of the park. I went right over it scraping my skid plate in the process. The police were paying attention now. I road up to them and one of them, the young guy had the funniest look on his face. I wish I could have taken a picture. He was speechless, dumbfounded actually. I shut off the bike and started asking directions in my poor Spanish. The older cop was not fazed and immediately recognized an opportunity to practice his English. They were super nice and jumped on their bicycles to lead is in the right direction around the main prison they were guarding. Oops.<br />
So off to the border. As we approached we were met by a small mob of tramitadores. In our reading it was advised to use these helpers at this border due to the crazy long waits. We chose a guy, Darwin, who spoke perfect English and was from Houston, Texas. His brother was the actual helper but his English was not so good. They had a driver who led us in his black, late model Nissan Ultima. We exited El Salvador no problem then began the long wait just inside the Honduras border. The story is that we needed to pay off at least 3 guys to get through the border in time to make the next border into Nicaragua. This was in addition to the<u><i><b> fees</b></i></u>. Once you decide to use these guys you're committed to finishing with them. They are real pros and managed to fleece us for more than I want to admit. But, it wasn't really a surprise as we had heard from others who did the same thing. After we were done (about 4 hours in the hot sun) we were a little choked but headed for the Nicaraguan border. We had also been strongly advised not to stay in Honduras overnight for safety reasons. No sooner were we on our way when we got pulled over at a police road block. We had to produce our licenses, we figured it was just a document check like the other borders. Nope, all they wanted was money. They wanted US$5 from each of us. I started complaining and while we were arguing this jackass starts putting on my helmet. I pulled out my camera and took a picture of him. He did not like that. So I erased it. He now takes my camera and starts looking through all the pictures and I am telling him where they've all been taken. We are now amigos. Nope. The price is now US$50 each. After some more slide show he drops the price to US$30 each. I pay him. We got stopped three more times. One guy wanted money but I played real dumb and he let us go.<br />
When we get to the Nicaraguan border we were met by Louis, another fixer that had been arranged for us at the previous border by Darwin's brother. We had been promised that we we're done with the fees. Nope. Got fleeced again after a lot of arguing. We were very, very choked now. We got through the border in time to ride for an hour in the dark to Chinandega, Nicaragua. The highlight of the day was a very dramatic silhouette of a volcano at sunset with a large windswept plume of smoke and ash emitting from the top of it. The ride to Chinandega was less than relaxing. The road is full of potholes and there were all kinds of unlit obstacles to avoid. These included cows, horses, snakes, owls and ox drawn carts full of produce being driven on the highway. Good times.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XosuE6XnT8B_-uBEU3ej8X1WUrUNYAfuP3dJe7tClM63cV0jsRZ13cQ-kTJwHpUkwU82wHLNJJN1xtsDeiJFBc1cZhYgukhpo0ixn_PS79pYLXmPvRbNaVKd1urQq3Ns03JxZkUP92A/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6XosuE6XnT8B_-uBEU3ej8X1WUrUNYAfuP3dJe7tClM63cV0jsRZ13cQ-kTJwHpUkwU82wHLNJJN1xtsDeiJFBc1cZhYgukhpo0ixn_PS79pYLXmPvRbNaVKd1urQq3Ns03JxZkUP92A/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our <i><b>Helper</b></i>. Take a good look.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54nzGxUZ2JIPRgb8odsDOHcKPx1opX0pcyFkhYCX2tNV5hxcR14njQweeJNzItJxHX9W8vtsyJB_KddmpNeFuhKqzZ5lA9P3iVD65Dc-tLsvdU8wbylB5IeWgcvcNRlu0fru80DwU9zU/s1600/IMG_0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54nzGxUZ2JIPRgb8odsDOHcKPx1opX0pcyFkhYCX2tNV5hxcR14njQweeJNzItJxHX9W8vtsyJB_KddmpNeFuhKqzZ5lA9P3iVD65Dc-tLsvdU8wbylB5IeWgcvcNRlu0fru80DwU9zU/s1600/IMG_0688.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grrrrrr</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Next morning we headed for the Costa Rican border along some secondary roads. It was a nice ride. Nicaragua was bustling with activity. It was amazing to see all the horse and oxen drawn wagons everywhere. They were hauling everything from sugarcane to building materials.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialJXJ67S9KqAIqp_t-bMLBhFS3hf_Zf8-3KIp7kTIDDYd8x6DB539iGTpaf0vugJCmaiI3xl0GFrRL-RUtba3McQGoqXRjg2XFVt0ntciTTjvGyTDDI2QsU0C55fRmsPxSooK-Q-SXaw/s1600/IMG_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialJXJ67S9KqAIqp_t-bMLBhFS3hf_Zf8-3KIp7kTIDDYd8x6DB539iGTpaf0vugJCmaiI3xl0GFrRL-RUtba3McQGoqXRjg2XFVt0ntciTTjvGyTDDI2QsU0C55fRmsPxSooK-Q-SXaw/s1600/IMG_0689.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nicaraguan backroads</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPA6ivhweEDnfhZgxnITGjbafYlOVpn3L0OrU_JlbS6XZknxxYwCguYaD2cflrVtnw8czh8m2lkAITfeGUdLWR1p4ROlzXgrdCF-LmqTrgzmN1DD8CBhagyzZJdLQOpcB505oQhUd3IYg/s1600/IMG_0690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPA6ivhweEDnfhZgxnITGjbafYlOVpn3L0OrU_JlbS6XZknxxYwCguYaD2cflrVtnw8czh8m2lkAITfeGUdLWR1p4ROlzXgrdCF-LmqTrgzmN1DD8CBhagyzZJdLQOpcB505oQhUd3IYg/s1600/IMG_0690.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UWdvH90yHj72CIeWg62FOi6R8AfDG6twpBkEjU7Ji_GYJqweFR9EXDPR9iXM6F396TTbJiQU9Cy66X6n22OZqFcwV9K3bwOMak2es-i31I5X25z77akdSbZjsJvjHOgtzgXTHfnpeAo/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UWdvH90yHj72CIeWg62FOi6R8AfDG6twpBkEjU7Ji_GYJqweFR9EXDPR9iXM6F396TTbJiQU9Cy66X6n22OZqFcwV9K3bwOMak2es-i31I5X25z77akdSbZjsJvjHOgtzgXTHfnpeAo/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEOriuVNsox12fB8MAH4MHVNlLNRret_TV7Aegl7XyBXiJ4iTflJLxFwZSyCo7VtwMHWtZITOhiiDbMrjHzPtQEko322xf4nt5UjwSUahiyrrZgEdqJEjcEPSyywvH-1Yr2Lg_Nmnfvg/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEOriuVNsox12fB8MAH4MHVNlLNRret_TV7Aegl7XyBXiJ4iTflJLxFwZSyCo7VtwMHWtZITOhiiDbMrjHzPtQEko322xf4nt5UjwSUahiyrrZgEdqJEjcEPSyywvH-1Yr2Lg_Nmnfvg/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting out of Nicaragua</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Getting out of Nicaragua and into Costa Rica was no problem. We did it all ourselves and it took about 2 hours and cost US$20 each. We had to put on our game faces to keep the helpers away. There was little patience for them now. All they really do is stand in line for you. *&$?/)@#<br />
We spent the night of the 7th in Liberia, Costa Rica. We slept in a bit and took off to see Volcan Arenal. It's a very active volcano with lava flows and the whole bit. Unfortunately it was shrouded in heavy cloud and it rained off and on for a while. It would have been awesome but for the traffic and heavy fog. We got pulled over by the cops coming into San Jose because we took the bus lane to get around a traffic jam. They let us off after we produced our BC Driver license. And while they had us pulled over the local BMW dealer stopped and asked if we needed help. We are finding people here to be quite friendly. <br />
So, here we are in San Jose, Costa Rica. We stayed in the Best Western last night. It was a good arrival. We practically rode into the bar and parked the bikes. Everybody seemed to think it was pretty cool. Neil got lots of attention while I was getting the room.<br />
Here's some photos and we are off to the the south for a crossing into Panama tomorrow. We have to keep going now as we have arranged for a ride on a catamaran from Panama to Cartegena, Columbia that leaves on the 15th of January. <br />
Bye for now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-13712242725811216482011-01-09T07:50:00.000-08:002011-01-09T07:50:50.879-08:00Off to Central AmericaAfter we wandered around San Cristobal we left for Comitan de Dominguez to position ourselves for an early arrival at the Guatemala border the next morning. The guidebook downplayed this town but I think it's worth a second visit. There are lots of cool old buildings and some Mayan ruins to go see as well as nice scenery. We met two other Canadian bikers who checked into the same hotel as us. They weren't exactly sure where they were off to but probably El Salvador. They had already been on the road for 3 months.We also met some people at the table next to us who were from Stuttgart, Germany. They were with their new Mexican friends. I can't even remember what we talked about. One glass too many.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxeToGdDRsXqbc9GWR33JbesLFUAzGxmBJzkWb3Eu3tJkOBewlkm9Us6s-xvawkUp5Gu5YQOABVi6Zgh8NMvD0Keg6bAgZmn9eWcokPYrQm1vyKNJURxylfR5pI5CRDi3hkb9Ykbbq1Y/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxeToGdDRsXqbc9GWR33JbesLFUAzGxmBJzkWb3Eu3tJkOBewlkm9Us6s-xvawkUp5Gu5YQOABVi6Zgh8NMvD0Keg6bAgZmn9eWcokPYrQm1vyKNJURxylfR5pI5CRDi3hkb9Ykbbq1Y/s320/IMG_0653.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Policia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EeII9eIOcvu8W9UH4od2u11iMxVFmIf0-cGzQNC9KaiZcnOuaMxOhvW2XydaRR58Oq9MQOwCzO5M_ukwAKuStBUNpH1_Jjk4Copu4FSyKn114VyWv9x5Gx9vg5-4VJpt8ucj691a8dE/s1600/IMG_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EeII9eIOcvu8W9UH4od2u11iMxVFmIf0-cGzQNC9KaiZcnOuaMxOhvW2XydaRR58Oq9MQOwCzO5M_ukwAKuStBUNpH1_Jjk4Copu4FSyKn114VyWv9x5Gx9vg5-4VJpt8ucj691a8dE/s320/IMG_0654.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old convent in Comitam</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3iXeFZ-lvW1VufViKKO8m0E8AWTq9yjNy1RacMyR8Vtph-PF0yXJtXoAEF_71oCr0djtvMo7h3sliYosqy-tLgou6VnWVYaljwrL7CsNJ2yA2o6obuxs_IRSsMIuaSkWjsm_0Rzm6k0/s1600/IMG_0655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3iXeFZ-lvW1VufViKKO8m0E8AWTq9yjNy1RacMyR8Vtph-PF0yXJtXoAEF_71oCr0djtvMo7h3sliYosqy-tLgou6VnWVYaljwrL7CsNJ2yA2o6obuxs_IRSsMIuaSkWjsm_0Rzm6k0/s320/IMG_0655.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Germans, Canadians and Mexicans.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The next morning we headed for the Guatemala border in the rain. It actually felt kind of good after all the hot weather. We checked ourselves and the bikes out of Mexico and rode the 4 or 5 kilometers to La Mesilla. Here we had a pretty painless experience considering all the different stuff you hear about Central American border officials. The town is located on a fairly steep hillside with the highway running right through the middle of it. There were a lot of people here who looked somewhat poverty stricken. It was very hot and busy. It reminded me of that Indiana Jones movie where Harrison Ford is wandering through the street bazaar in some town in North Africa. Remember, I've never done much traveling so it's a bit of an eye opener for me. After we crossed the border we headed along the Pan-American Highway 1 for Quezaltenango. It was awesome (again) riding (except for traffic) through stunning scenery. Guatemala is very mountainous and it's amazing where people have cultivated the land and built their homes. Arriving into Quezaltenango we thought we'd be smart and find a hotel on the other side of town so it would be easier on us in the morning. Ha! Got lost. You have to try riding a motorcycle through these old towns to really appreciate it. The streets are so narrow and crowded with traffic. The cobblestone and brick (in poor condition) for pavement also keeps you on your toes. But we found our way back to the starting point and took the hotel we saw originally when we first came into town. It turns out the owner of the hotel was a biker as well. He gave us a deal on the room and helped us figure out where to go for dinner. He showed us his picture album of his many rides around Central America. He had a four car garage with nice tiled floors and caged birds. It was set up like a den with his two Mercedes and a BMW car and bike (a 2007 R1200R) and some other stuff. Not everyone in Guatemala is poverty stricken I guess. He gave us some good advice on where to go for our next days ride as well. The cool thing is we did all this and he didn't speak English. He also would not let me speak Spanish improperly. He corrected me all the time and was very patient. Nice guy; Fernando was his name. I meant to take his picture but forgot.<br />
<br />
The next morning after breakfast at McDonald's (yeah, whatever) we headed for Lago de Atitlan. It was formed in a huge volcanic crater and is surrounded by volcanic peaks. It's very beautiful. There are towns perched on the hillsides and benches all around the lake. It was a beautiful day which made it all the better. I ended up picking the wrong road at an intersection which led us to the same place along the east shore of the lake but not the paved road. I had already told Neil I wasn't keen on leaving the main roads in Guatemala because of the travel advisories but...well, you know. It ended up being awesome but the toughest longest hill I had ever climbed on this bike. If you look carefully in the photo you can see it climbing the hill. Very tight and steep switchbacks. The bikes could use a lower gear for this stuff as mine was pinging away the whole way up because the rpm was so low and the hill so steep. I guess our gas isn't the greatest either.<br />
We made it to Cuilapa, Guatemala that night and slept in our cheapest room yet. 100 Quetzals for the night or less than $10US. The town was kind of dirty and run down. I don't think Dorothy, my wife, would have slept in the bed but we only saw one cockroach so it wasn't that bad. What was bad was the noise that night. I believe the word is cacophony. Unbelievable mix of men and women yelling in Spanish, kids talking and laughing loudly in the street outside our hotel, cars and trucks and motorcycles racing up and down the street, roosters crowing (yup, all night), and about two thousand dogs doing the barking wave around the town. When the baby started crying in the room next door at midnight I had to laugh out loud. It was crazy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qOAmJ37xIp9Hsom-VHq01OSEwuhNY24OzPfpCP0UpQgSslmGwq9VDQ4O2r94gR8j5d5ZjxIbBJSDCyjg6v-7sJkbTqn_0mnmJmexbRP3tiS-MMi5MBtA6kM4240BZdTURov3YZiCnX4/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qOAmJ37xIp9Hsom-VHq01OSEwuhNY24OzPfpCP0UpQgSslmGwq9VDQ4O2r94gR8j5d5ZjxIbBJSDCyjg6v-7sJkbTqn_0mnmJmexbRP3tiS-MMi5MBtA6kM4240BZdTURov3YZiCnX4/s320/IMG_0656.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering Guatemala at La Mesilla</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Wfr2y7AgLjfEIOOz8dPACEJS3xYeHNkyOe41CMADtbVtoCn0KGOf8hJhjStGBjS1EhRtal2fduKq3U8XgnMjtNRTEJnq251uHfahIwD8EoC3HE272sGbrpgjqjq1w6bt6uuS7uZGtbo/s1600/IMG_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Wfr2y7AgLjfEIOOz8dPACEJS3xYeHNkyOe41CMADtbVtoCn0KGOf8hJhjStGBjS1EhRtal2fduKq3U8XgnMjtNRTEJnq251uHfahIwD8EoC3HE272sGbrpgjqjq1w6bt6uuS7uZGtbo/s320/IMG_0657.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Bus</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1c4-AeFrmPrht0w4fhkTUaXHrx_VQNskrDWbLl4Tp039CTwfQkpDr9fuXqU1HJYY5FDKj7bNO0ueOTYdhEeC_7jlaw7NvbMsTPRrE9_w56QrqKXRAlw5_sZ0Ijck2SCkz_U82pTaCn0/s1600/IMG_0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1c4-AeFrmPrht0w4fhkTUaXHrx_VQNskrDWbLl4Tp039CTwfQkpDr9fuXqU1HJYY5FDKj7bNO0ueOTYdhEeC_7jlaw7NvbMsTPRrE9_w56QrqKXRAlw5_sZ0Ijck2SCkz_U82pTaCn0/s320/IMG_0658.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guatemala countryside in the highlands.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47eyJLcKD7QI61NPmJzj_dVeockym-agxoudFbcD-8X1cvt85TpYR1yV2QegCn3iD1y9Th7pxN8QMgN1mwrNbghBgOYr2Wh4g7CdvJ4ls3mfVAaTPIOWhycXS4QtvlvjV0Rsg9noW_h0/s1600/IMG_0660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47eyJLcKD7QI61NPmJzj_dVeockym-agxoudFbcD-8X1cvt85TpYR1yV2QegCn3iD1y9Th7pxN8QMgN1mwrNbghBgOYr2Wh4g7CdvJ4ls3mfVAaTPIOWhycXS4QtvlvjV0Rsg9noW_h0/s320/IMG_0660.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Quezaltenango</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5mmY16jHF9bkLOfxohC3C9rGO6YPEIxVEjZmz_XFU5aOTC8y40CugH9-eXCM1BxFHAoOy1FZUybGjR6eL1sfKCSItO13ynaFkmgi_66mAaDjBlfXpTtDTpgzGesoj0_kRPp2qy_7g70/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5mmY16jHF9bkLOfxohC3C9rGO6YPEIxVEjZmz_XFU5aOTC8y40CugH9-eXCM1BxFHAoOy1FZUybGjR6eL1sfKCSItO13ynaFkmgi_66mAaDjBlfXpTtDTpgzGesoj0_kRPp2qy_7g70/s320/IMG_0661.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panajachel on the shore of Lago de Atitlan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOvP0JJV7P7BTbXgiuEiq5M3u2zaxuxSD5z7XBcNUdBg_MAixUtB9My9T1-dcThOPQOcJtc0DhP7P8xtNqM_bRw5QpoUxx3Ccv9ve-pnFLFNKeDO3lHxwppWU-j1dIJnXkl3khiqE45I/s1600/IMG_0662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOvP0JJV7P7BTbXgiuEiq5M3u2zaxuxSD5z7XBcNUdBg_MAixUtB9My9T1-dcThOPQOcJtc0DhP7P8xtNqM_bRw5QpoUxx3Ccv9ve-pnFLFNKeDO3lHxwppWU-j1dIJnXkl3khiqE45I/s320/IMG_0662.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lago de Atitlan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Yfe8hziVzWmrhwFbAFLOwcZojQ3pTeSZt8Px2R30QDZCHTt850RuvnTj_IoDgpJ_MYGP7NWtt4Sx0GUqtQl7UF6-zhU3fBX28nf7UQkyfJqm2GumcNFnKiyesg1KaF3F75em1rX9W98/s1600/IMG_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Yfe8hziVzWmrhwFbAFLOwcZojQ3pTeSZt8Px2R30QDZCHTt850RuvnTj_IoDgpJ_MYGP7NWtt4Sx0GUqtQl7UF6-zhU3fBX28nf7UQkyfJqm2GumcNFnKiyesg1KaF3F75em1rX9W98/s320/IMG_0663.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another town perched on the shore of Atitlan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmyKMSwSVY6JZfsPB0_x_Omqyw9WGsZQln22fgpKcxDNNzA1Je7y_RBCSDiOVcqUSzrfrqKWRVJModkGwTctvP2MoxZdIx9nW1KvMPS29gk11QboBSm23_aD1CAQQQ36SNq3pOipVsBI/s1600/IMG_0664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmyKMSwSVY6JZfsPB0_x_Omqyw9WGsZQln22fgpKcxDNNzA1Je7y_RBCSDiOVcqUSzrfrqKWRVJModkGwTctvP2MoxZdIx9nW1KvMPS29gk11QboBSm23_aD1CAQQQ36SNq3pOipVsBI/s320/IMG_0664.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of Lago de Atitlan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsV5037ctfcKkt3oOUnbsFIossy8cDihXoU3a29yxST6yGsMX-2cYiCiKZiTRaG74f6-t9fOjeiejcST4pJsZ8_9Xc_04UpPpA2s0t4eOQwsy6wMsFKD1NxuJsLfi4lUpPeKGqa7lF2A/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsV5037ctfcKkt3oOUnbsFIossy8cDihXoU3a29yxST6yGsMX-2cYiCiKZiTRaG74f6-t9fOjeiejcST4pJsZ8_9Xc_04UpPpA2s0t4eOQwsy6wMsFKD1NxuJsLfi4lUpPeKGqa7lF2A/s320/IMG_0665.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a short break before the big hill.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f0_6Br0oyhC-5gIXi0S9LS22kJEWvMiSQbALDFfuCWDQhnTQLDNL7PjeKufucROJ7ihHJ-vg83gKqfKfFtfbWo0ZMBcL9_NWgb_I-Aq-beQ4qt7ysPh57X3XKeW5LWAMR7yCT3Z_RRE/s1600/IMG_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f0_6Br0oyhC-5gIXi0S9LS22kJEWvMiSQbALDFfuCWDQhnTQLDNL7PjeKufucROJ7ihHJ-vg83gKqfKfFtfbWo0ZMBcL9_NWgb_I-Aq-beQ4qt7ysPh57X3XKeW5LWAMR7yCT3Z_RRE/s320/IMG_0666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can the cut-line for the road in the trees on the hill in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfIEN855dHTU4kHWz6xwkO5nacBhuYuRxhWwps6KnYmeUiiriO0g5lbBijnAaOL8MSLKhgXd25H9t1Av_K7AvCNkP5TAa5ISedJelTBed3iSgdxtgzKpcBDQElYaO5Xz8sVvnikJWRig/s1600/IMG_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfIEN855dHTU4kHWz6xwkO5nacBhuYuRxhWwps6KnYmeUiiriO0g5lbBijnAaOL8MSLKhgXd25H9t1Av_K7AvCNkP5TAa5ISedJelTBed3iSgdxtgzKpcBDQElYaO5Xz8sVvnikJWRig/s320/IMG_0667.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another small town in Guatemala.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZgHuju6aF6kzRvcBgAw6CMzgCvZKaXD7TUpeE0itVbREBgK_mfTkawp5rZUCF6dMQDqT7CcKRx_tshL10k5DBnBrLPrXHNoUAFqz18FR9b-HfAlZWhZFRMErg8Pw7KXPshX0MgKHaMg/s1600/IMG_0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZgHuju6aF6kzRvcBgAw6CMzgCvZKaXD7TUpeE0itVbREBgK_mfTkawp5rZUCF6dMQDqT7CcKRx_tshL10k5DBnBrLPrXHNoUAFqz18FR9b-HfAlZWhZFRMErg8Pw7KXPshX0MgKHaMg/s320/IMG_0668.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of cool volcanoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2lhtp2E3sjx-dUlFkTl5DWtJk_Pqn3rr7pv265kYQizCBx1dtxXaTdwrQyzpNwnsKiYMm9Bt-nK7VMLtzFJ7wyQutHXDHRiO_zBIr6olmcHajcOFQqE73PgyaNZDtcV_Nan-dQrrRtQ/s1600/IMG_0669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2lhtp2E3sjx-dUlFkTl5DWtJk_Pqn3rr7pv265kYQizCBx1dtxXaTdwrQyzpNwnsKiYMm9Bt-nK7VMLtzFJ7wyQutHXDHRiO_zBIr6olmcHajcOFQqE73PgyaNZDtcV_Nan-dQrrRtQ/s320/IMG_0669.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street view of our neighbourhood in Cuilapa</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJv4E5tRCbO_3IFM6nwEtxoA1AhWTgcLL6I91yBg3cxtmRtdABXJlLPFmpxFQi35HY5i6Bgmob6WXSERs4f7E1JHr8i8p07hsQ9FnXhmDtv2v3F3vqt8gZmrbm79R85q3DRcBEIOvpTI/s1600/IMG_0670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJv4E5tRCbO_3IFM6nwEtxoA1AhWTgcLL6I91yBg3cxtmRtdABXJlLPFmpxFQi35HY5i6Bgmob6WXSERs4f7E1JHr8i8p07hsQ9FnXhmDtv2v3F3vqt8gZmrbm79R85q3DRcBEIOvpTI/s320/IMG_0670.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What the hell, it works.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenVuRNizf2gNFdB10M7ebbajiH65ZlV2BxyBxAUI7JWRYWnQzjj9XgB4ymJH97y6ieBFSmBRLltpl_sRqo5AtKla0gYyITtNofy4N4n2Az-DPRuq7k_5GLkHMzzxkWmIuWybv07egJqY/s1600/IMG_0671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenVuRNizf2gNFdB10M7ebbajiH65ZlV2BxyBxAUI7JWRYWnQzjj9XgB4ymJH97y6ieBFSmBRLltpl_sRqo5AtKla0gYyITtNofy4N4n2Az-DPRuq7k_5GLkHMzzxkWmIuWybv07egJqY/s320/IMG_0671.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice neighbourhood...not.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2_rEhk5CWVgD4k-r7qkYB10HtwHHU_bmVSpEIWXQmNPATSIQmW97LbyrxhS59GZhK9AgCO1YzF1TXIqU8B4Z0G-fHWObGyiM09gBXwBKiIXZOc6eALxmez8HIxWnzr994E6KSDCz3L0/s1600/IMG_0672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2_rEhk5CWVgD4k-r7qkYB10HtwHHU_bmVSpEIWXQmNPATSIQmW97LbyrxhS59GZhK9AgCO1YzF1TXIqU8B4Z0G-fHWObGyiM09gBXwBKiIXZOc6eALxmez8HIxWnzr994E6KSDCz3L0/s320/IMG_0672.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not bad for ten bucks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW7Kd1ZTsthBUDzKTyCZ250ozghFkkjh0zUpAbHWEgifOJTeJvHXXgt-6hxqS5qU_oZKbl4ClBOsaG8HWVMloT8-Vn1eOL98azhcxCqbaJ4SEWO5ADbdMvFbLkepWa4V37nP7OpQsArk/s1600/IMG_0673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW7Kd1ZTsthBUDzKTyCZ250ozghFkkjh0zUpAbHWEgifOJTeJvHXXgt-6hxqS5qU_oZKbl4ClBOsaG8HWVMloT8-Vn1eOL98azhcxCqbaJ4SEWO5ADbdMvFbLkepWa4V37nP7OpQsArk/s320/IMG_0673.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not my thing but <i><b>waste not, want not</b></i> I guess.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So after a restful sleep we headed for the crossing into El Salvador at Valle Nuevo. It was pretty uneventful. It's a bit confusing as nothing is really signed properly and there is no guidance anywhere. I suppose if they did that the Tramitadores (helpers) would be out of a job. We somehow managed and were on our way. El Salvador seemed very organized compared to Guatemala. We skirted San Salvado to the south and it like being in any large North American city as far as highways and traffic and the urbanization. We treated our selves to a stay at a nicer hotel in San Miguel. Again, we were positioning for a border crossing into Honduras the next day.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jhyphenhyphenbA66gjEtGkJLpHNCQQHradAf0vO5MrSLxr8xnZOmOu28ZKEP-HQn7jVu6-ofYD9iPTxZz6325S4_ZCHJ3hKvw5b3kfcX1ik69gC8wA69R4D6ZyyD4o522D0HSz0RYJLVYBCXUxd4/s1600/IMG_0674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0jhyphenhyphenbA66gjEtGkJLpHNCQQHradAf0vO5MrSLxr8xnZOmOu28ZKEP-HQn7jVu6-ofYD9iPTxZz6325S4_ZCHJ3hKvw5b3kfcX1ik69gC8wA69R4D6ZyyD4o522D0HSz0RYJLVYBCXUxd4/s320/IMG_0674.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tramitadores at the El Salvador border.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJggOgc6xOoAAM8Gp8Wm2807s56YeJaOAZXBxGISP7mkm0hB5kI3gpgB2GUE4RBAo_KOF2CdC1TyhmqEBGIuSFHIHHb71VPWMyAEDmRse5_2KWqdEX4_yBbaQ0DTP55cxlIAAf33uTklw/s1600/IMG_0675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJggOgc6xOoAAM8Gp8Wm2807s56YeJaOAZXBxGISP7mkm0hB5kI3gpgB2GUE4RBAo_KOF2CdC1TyhmqEBGIuSFHIHHb71VPWMyAEDmRse5_2KWqdEX4_yBbaQ0DTP55cxlIAAf33uTklw/s320/IMG_0675.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2h0Nt0uXm3qsdx9ieNSNSY9wuHVhyCgcz2LnFZCjVjLYfGjrxniQQyIeI0AJzUO97FgCu_3b4L8PugCTgEHrs4w5fMy8X-Wg3DsLCSBqiPB1UzR0opKhqEmYnZghebNMw1IxBLfj3X-I/s1600/IMG_0676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2h0Nt0uXm3qsdx9ieNSNSY9wuHVhyCgcz2LnFZCjVjLYfGjrxniQQyIeI0AJzUO97FgCu_3b4L8PugCTgEHrs4w5fMy8X-Wg3DsLCSBqiPB1UzR0opKhqEmYnZghebNMw1IxBLfj3X-I/s320/IMG_0676.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another volcano in El Salvador</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345668413216831784.post-92022779296453966682011-01-02T09:37:00.000-08:002014-01-02T09:25:05.670-08:00San Cristobal de Las CasasI know, boring, but we turned in early on New Years Eve. We got an early start on New Years Day though and was it ever worth it. We expected mucho traffic but there was almost none. I suppose everyone was taking advantage of the extra weekend day before heading home. We had an awesome ride on some more twisty roads (again) and we ended up in San Cristobal de Las Casas. As the photos show it is a really beautiful city. There are a lot of buildings here from the 16th Century. One thing that was striking to both of us was the change in apparent affluence of the people after we left the coast. There was almost no garbage on the side of the road anymore and the farms looked prosperous and the homes were a lot nicer. Up until now the garbage on the side of the road has been disgusting. I didn't even want to take a picture because I knew someone would accuse me of stereotyping.<br />
The ride up to San Cristobal was very cool. Lots of switchbacks taking us up to just under 2200 m elevation. We passed lots of farms scratched into the hillside and the locals were mostly wearing their very colourful traditional dress. Very cool.<br />
Here's some photos. I'll caption them later.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNAK2VnwalG7cbsiKnfJYej0S1HXIPLLlgkl5JqlTXVu2cKZhN1IVpBRkk8msJRBI7ve-nMhOUSCYR068Pz1R9MgRT4XymQuRFDrivj0H4A4wKyvptkf-NjKfRA2VAVvx-3UbETgYj1g/s1600/IMG_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNAK2VnwalG7cbsiKnfJYej0S1HXIPLLlgkl5JqlTXVu2cKZhN1IVpBRkk8msJRBI7ve-nMhOUSCYR068Pz1R9MgRT4XymQuRFDrivj0H4A4wKyvptkf-NjKfRA2VAVvx-3UbETgYj1g/s320/IMG_0576.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So we got a pretty good deal on the room in Huatulco. It was New Years Eve. These were the stairs to our room above the laundry.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFemxD975eysejnC8yM_XG7V78I8_VLwlbghhpnpUWUtJ1jmvHUaSMLIH469y-BdEzUOkIIfSJAOwFcnMzmq4vcLzFj9JAimgOvOkZ_02m8wb0k1ZpRtTtn9uXYplc3Nx-T_AtXmk4G0/s1600/IMG_0577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFemxD975eysejnC8yM_XG7V78I8_VLwlbghhpnpUWUtJ1jmvHUaSMLIH469y-BdEzUOkIIfSJAOwFcnMzmq4vcLzFj9JAimgOvOkZ_02m8wb0k1ZpRtTtn9uXYplc3Nx-T_AtXmk4G0/s320/IMG_0577.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somebody asked for a picture of me. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmT0EGf6YezLFfGSx52FEpMehpm6bbkQYE1sib9GSIqO6bBjYbvfky3bWbCcknEDTQSCzpmXuhLjsnIkXFycCpCzZXr7Jck74uGIsBHMfw-wCzeIDPcJeQUOZJZIZxAnYSGLaQeO41ECw/s1600/IMG_0578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmT0EGf6YezLFfGSx52FEpMehpm6bbkQYE1sib9GSIqO6bBjYbvfky3bWbCcknEDTQSCzpmXuhLjsnIkXFycCpCzZXr7Jck74uGIsBHMfw-wCzeIDPcJeQUOZJZIZxAnYSGLaQeO41ECw/s320/IMG_0578.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome motorcycle roads.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo3ZX7Em6etW5OjdoZv-9rescGWz3GFVBlItOG095lQY-mzv0sV77nKq1FFiiffwwPYhZ3he8l8SfiuA8kVkYF_OupiP49uRTdrO9VkLGqR5oW7VlxKd6VbrDD-iK3B28kKy-U5N3hyphenhyphenM/s1600/IMG_0579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo3ZX7Em6etW5OjdoZv-9rescGWz3GFVBlItOG095lQY-mzv0sV77nKq1FFiiffwwPYhZ3he8l8SfiuA8kVkYF_OupiP49uRTdrO9VkLGqR5oW7VlxKd6VbrDD-iK3B28kKy-U5N3hyphenhyphenM/s320/IMG_0579.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing up from the coastal plains to San Cristobal de Las Casas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHta2haJ8k852jNBpsZKWMwBuzb8inLCd0OE4dUvhwlUZiI7mUaonEu4WQRzb8bl3y5otJpHAaPJ5FxXMRJpZnH7_vpb9wsr3dXhFKeTuQXpElfaDxqS-Uy43eSwf0es1V-3q91raWlCw/s1600/IMG_0580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHta2haJ8k852jNBpsZKWMwBuzb8inLCd0OE4dUvhwlUZiI7mUaonEu4WQRzb8bl3y5otJpHAaPJ5FxXMRJpZnH7_vpb9wsr3dXhFKeTuQXpElfaDxqS-Uy43eSwf0es1V-3q91raWlCw/s320/IMG_0580.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More awesome roads. Note switchback.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJmA1g7BNj08knBap21sLn1QPpA0Y6qZ6e-iW-UZoZNHs2EMgUy5KlUfYXkJC1PyJSLkaZMeuHsB29lbZ5oVuQQSzssvWItVANr9DE6EZkahzi2ex600Z-M4deZa5RxlG_nyQ5D7IEL0/s1600/IMG_0581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJmA1g7BNj08knBap21sLn1QPpA0Y6qZ6e-iW-UZoZNHs2EMgUy5KlUfYXkJC1PyJSLkaZMeuHsB29lbZ5oVuQQSzssvWItVANr9DE6EZkahzi2ex600Z-M4deZa5RxlG_nyQ5D7IEL0/s320/IMG_0581.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basic but affordable.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpN8cO68UuiZ7PLfPIwj51eeGikRrKPc0q0MKjouUmb_mW8VLXl1SdIqhgFbqtjM_TaBRHk_d-uNpaz-I6rAX081uUSVq0bSobWM3_ohrR4FmsjWwpujDGjp8VkwRs8VvQ8feGZjMUq8/s1600/IMG_0582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpN8cO68UuiZ7PLfPIwj51eeGikRrKPc0q0MKjouUmb_mW8VLXl1SdIqhgFbqtjM_TaBRHk_d-uNpaz-I6rAX081uUSVq0bSobWM3_ohrR4FmsjWwpujDGjp8VkwRs8VvQ8feGZjMUq8/s320/IMG_0582.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently there were only two people in town who know what this meant. They were both from out of town.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWKXg8-Bq2vjuPDh765FvoIGuuv_4L2tgC2qPUBC31vd4NcHXaIXTaKy90m839_1HwVxOEhokjsHZFBMUA9QOgOJTyNeYUB36aokWB6LUOxYWkL_AYylZQB1LGFqhezmx2fimiidWatk/s1600/IMG_0583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWKXg8-Bq2vjuPDh765FvoIGuuv_4L2tgC2qPUBC31vd4NcHXaIXTaKy90m839_1HwVxOEhokjsHZFBMUA9QOgOJTyNeYUB36aokWB6LUOxYWkL_AYylZQB1LGFqhezmx2fimiidWatk/s320/IMG_0583.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga71fodhDADL4V6-MI4Xbi-B5aalmf5I5fJD-yPMIxHOwBxPoYkxXcLnxxGu1wlqtsNcmeMXb-sjPGw59eg54kD2ymE05LwJV7vOq_OmURRjQfspEpy4oeraPiuaUu6XCzSOfW5u6Wjog/s1600/IMG_0585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga71fodhDADL4V6-MI4Xbi-B5aalmf5I5fJD-yPMIxHOwBxPoYkxXcLnxxGu1wlqtsNcmeMXb-sjPGw59eg54kD2ymE05LwJV7vOq_OmURRjQfspEpy4oeraPiuaUu6XCzSOfW5u6Wjog/s320/IMG_0585.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Necklaces made from everything in the markets.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFO3Do9llebwnVlg5vT2K28OHW7TJun-Dw2XUP_kuQgXHdc6_v__zyO4aIak68kRshy-Vlf1fmKDFN0Qac6K0JR9nMhzAbbWyHr_1xgeVUcxzSdOy2ZlkgVNiLIVrTwAfCDuTKeJFznk/s1600/IMG_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFO3Do9llebwnVlg5vT2K28OHW7TJun-Dw2XUP_kuQgXHdc6_v__zyO4aIak68kRshy-Vlf1fmKDFN0Qac6K0JR9nMhzAbbWyHr_1xgeVUcxzSdOy2ZlkgVNiLIVrTwAfCDuTKeJFznk/s320/IMG_0586.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVx_cTyAARJx2QodEiYVTI2mULpmIsssyY7onaYiIvTpec5s6SGfNc7hwFzfz2CwRlxfiuoLLDOZ56bjxInuk6TLjZfMNGi5ZyPfQ0w79FgM5y5ncslSCJm0_N1hOL1s1DayiyL961Hss/s1600/IMG_0588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVx_cTyAARJx2QodEiYVTI2mULpmIsssyY7onaYiIvTpec5s6SGfNc7hwFzfz2CwRlxfiuoLLDOZ56bjxInuk6TLjZfMNGi5ZyPfQ0w79FgM5y5ncslSCJm0_N1hOL1s1DayiyL961Hss/s320/IMG_0588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old doors and hardware.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitTMqC93lvcMXfwb8my1XHFPKu9n5Y77zoU-AEyF3ZPEPGR8byIMYYMK-lhssudXVHJfYlmMnhVY3UB1eaD8Goq10X8RoYmPruWRW95rmRD9r9dgDR3Dee8v2nDb1cGLZsrqgb7dAvvSY/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitTMqC93lvcMXfwb8my1XHFPKu9n5Y77zoU-AEyF3ZPEPGR8byIMYYMK-lhssudXVHJfYlmMnhVY3UB1eaD8Goq10X8RoYmPruWRW95rmRD9r9dgDR3Dee8v2nDb1cGLZsrqgb7dAvvSY/s320/IMG_0589.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at church.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTbN7TIBp-Pqu7DZiUUUWj4eHMS1IOlP5dHDALZvFA3craP03g5HuSS1ox31DP148xLYURd2KMPI09B2Omyc1iAByXpxpAbI7A6_ldHbb8xjlwWWX2lwTDAg-qCDpw1MdpIk2T0Ojy5M/s1600/IMG_0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTbN7TIBp-Pqu7DZiUUUWj4eHMS1IOlP5dHDALZvFA3craP03g5HuSS1ox31DP148xLYURd2KMPI09B2Omyc1iAByXpxpAbI7A6_ldHbb8xjlwWWX2lwTDAg-qCDpw1MdpIk2T0Ojy5M/s320/IMG_0590.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5v5-hT7fq-kP8-jyd50wN4sp7qnjR7tC_WHMFDCep8HfaYUHmta5FZG6BWBGbYfAWQhEl5oPGXb85qteKb6VJFoUH8H2kemvd_9iUREZQHea0kgBdemuxMQc0Rm-o9YT2nGITkYnehHY/s1600/IMG_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5v5-hT7fq-kP8-jyd50wN4sp7qnjR7tC_WHMFDCep8HfaYUHmta5FZG6BWBGbYfAWQhEl5oPGXb85qteKb6VJFoUH8H2kemvd_9iUREZQHea0kgBdemuxMQc0Rm-o9YT2nGITkYnehHY/s320/IMG_0591.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNOPmznWJHS3ABwoAzf5I0-llxYnAtkEIWx03PNgFiOhSLp1pRH3nNZjOwbjdOtNY02HcDTF6VKqeRxwjxz5q622CW-3ivFuMphw0u4Sc08Lp2xysSFlWxxCT1HSBU0NQu-Wyo_7rMQuY/s1600/IMG_0592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNOPmznWJHS3ABwoAzf5I0-llxYnAtkEIWx03PNgFiOhSLp1pRH3nNZjOwbjdOtNY02HcDTF6VKqeRxwjxz5q622CW-3ivFuMphw0u4Sc08Lp2xysSFlWxxCT1HSBU0NQu-Wyo_7rMQuY/s320/IMG_0592.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing old buildings in San Cristobal de Las Casas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2