Over the Andes into Chile

We have not come across many bikers riding two-up. It is not terribly surprising as I doubt if there are many couples who are as vertically challenged as us. Being VC has quite a number of advantages, but the single most important one is weight. We weigh less, as all our things are smaller, including our dwindling body weight! The lighter the bike the easier it is to ride on gravel. We do not go looking for dirt roads, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. Looking at the amount some single bikers carry I am amazed they keep themselves upright. One of the main disadvantages of being VC however, is our toes can hardly touch the ground on the modern bikes! That is why I ride a Moto Guzzi. The Italians must have short legs. I can put both my feet flat on the ground! Now there is one further thing I have learnt. The lower the centre of gravity the safer the bike is to drive.

The reason that a tight-rope walker does not fall off the wire is because the long pole that they hold puts the centre of gravity below their feet. Now if you take that principle to a motor-bike, the lower the centre of gravity the less likely I am to lose my balance. So I have designed the saddle-bags to hang as low as possible and I pack all the heavy stuff at the bottom of the bags. Even so packed the bike is really a little too big for riding on dirt and Ewa complains when I ask her to stand up on the foot stands; she says it ruins her hair style! The flip side is the bike is incredibly comfortable on paved roads and the 1200cc motor just ticks over at 3000 revs at 120kms/hour, so some of the huge distances are easily gobbled up with little stress that is if the wind is not blowing.

We had three very relaxing day catching up on the banks of the Rio Negro. We were only going to stay two days, but I had to fix some minor things on the bike, and by the time I had painted a couple of pictures, caught up the Blog, swam in the river it was nearly mid-day and really hot, so we decided to leave early the next day when it was cool. Well the next day a cold front blew in and it was absolutely freezing with a gale force wind from the side. Now I remember a conversation I had with a friend of my Dads who happened to be head of Engineering at Cambridge. We were talking about high-rise buildings, as one does, and he said to me “You can build a building on Jelly, as long as it remains Jelly!” Well you can ride in a gale as long as it remains constant, the problem is it disappears behind on-coming trucks then re-appears as they pass. Sometimes the wind decides to stop for no apparent reason. If you throw in dust devils, a newly planed road with those long tracks that make you wobble and fingers that you can’t feel for the cold, five hours on a bike feels like forever, however we made Zapala in one piece. The cold front passed, the snow-capped Andes loomed in the distance, a really great steak was had and we slept like a log.

Once you leave the incredibly fertile banks of the Rio Negro the countryside reverts back to a semi-arid landscape with mile upon mile of straight road. One big surprise that I did not expect to see were oil wells nodding away in the baron space. I suppose who cares about growing veggies when you have an oil well?

One other challenge for the future I would love to do it paddle the Rio Negro. You would not have to paddle much as it appears to be really fast flowing from it source in the Andes to exit into the Atlantic South of Bahia Blanca, which is just about the entire breadth of Argentine. Any takers?

Hopeful Dogs

Thermal Gloves

Waiting to see what is left after dogs

Charged by a really good night’s rest, the day broke as clear as a bell with no wind and we were about to go over the Andes into Chile on a motorbike. We keep pinching ourselves and saying “We are in South America!” It is really exciting being here, the people are great, the language is a challenge, and we get by mainly because we have been brought up playing charades. If you can act out “The artificial bones of a retired Abidjan witch-doctor” you have a good chance of finding out the weather for the following day in Spanish! However it is amazing what you pick up along the way as not many people Habla Englis so you have no choice, which is a load of fun. I am regarded as a local as I drink Mate, Ewa thinks it ghastly as it is a bit bitter! However I like it and it is a ritual like smoking a pipe, it requires constant attention, filling with more hot water, sipping, cleaning, more water, more sipping.

Between Argentine and Chile border posts

The road from Zapala to Lonquimay is spectacular. You leave the plains as the road winds up and over the mountains with sweeping vistas of valley’s and winding rivers and interspersed with views of ex and not so ex snow-capped volcanoes. Yet again the Customs on both sides were really helpful and bid us “bon voyage.” The volcano closest to our destination, Lonquimay, was last active in 1988. As we travel north we will pass Volcan Llaima, which last erupted on New Year’s Day 2008. The signs in the village square of Lonquimay tell you what action to take in case of an eruption. I would have thought RUN would be good advice!

Summer is coming to an end, our friends at the Customs told us that it had been snowing the previous night, so we are about to leave the Lake Area of southern Chile to head north into the Central Area which is the centre of the wine industry and is the traditional home of the Mapuche, who are a tenacious people who historically spent many years fighting the Spaniards finally forcing them out of the area in the 17^th century. They are small people. This morning while we were waiting in the queue at the Super Market, I was the tallest person, second only to my wife! They would never be able to ride a KTM!