Fast Forward to Mendoza

Mendoza is 1400 kms south of Salta.
We covered the whole distance in 2 days and pretty much visited nothing in between.
We knew we had to sacrifice a section of South America as our delay on our trip plan was getting bigger by the day and the north of Argentine became the victim.
As we were rushing through the countryside we only took few picture of this land that looks fairly desertic.

We made a brief stop over at the hotel casino in Catamarca, to rest for the night.
Casinos are always a good bet when it comes to hotels.
These sort of establishments tend to be absolutely gorgeous offering bedrooms and restaurants at very competitive prices, simply because they make every effort to keep you there to ensure you go and waste fortunes at the casino.
We even took full advantage of the welcome coctails, swimming pool, gym and steamroom too (all included in the price).
I am pleased to confirm that Elena was finally able to wear a pair of shoes with hills that we had been carrying around in vain for 4 months.

The following morning we went back into our goretex clothing to complete the second part of the journey.
100 kms north of Mendoza I asked for directions and I was redirected to a shortcut accross the fields.
The scenery changed suddenly from desert to vignards.

In Mendoza we stopped at a traffic light right next to a policeman on a motorcycle.
I pointed out to him that we were riding the same bike (GS 650).
He asked me where I was going and decided to take us there.
What a triumphal entrance at the hotel...escorted by the police.

We truly enjoyed Mendoza.
This town is pretty much in the middle of the desert and yet it displays beautiful boulevards with lines of chesnuts trees and wonderful parks.

When we got the Plaza Italia we really decided to push our luck and asked the porter of the hotel whether they would allow us to go to the terrace at the top of the building to take  some pictures.

Not only they agreed but they gave us plenty of tips of things to see + a full map of the best vignards for the wine tour the following day. (nice people)

Mendoza does not have any particular landmarks or monuments that deserve to be mentionned and yet the whole atmosphere, its beautiful houses, the parks and fountains are captivating.

Around the World Mendoza is famous for its wine.

The following day we jumped on the bike and went touring the vignards in the sorrounding area.

If you drive south on the Routa 40 for 25 kms after Maipo you will eventually get the exit for Routa 7.

This is where most of the best vignards are.

The routa 7 itself is spectacular (btw this is the road that takes you to Santiago in Chile).

You have vignards on your left and right and just in front of you the Andes with snow topped mountains.

After checking out a couple of places on the main road we opted to get lost into the adjecent B roads.

Then splashed out at "Chandon" for a posh lunch and bubbles.....

And finally visited the "cantina septima" for a full lesson on wine production (topped up with more wine tasting).

Yes, we made it back home safe and sound with a big smile on our faces.

Salta

The sign at the border is absolutely clear: ahead of us there are over 5000 kms of Argentinian soil to be covered to reach Ushuaia.

We get cracking straight away by covering the first 400 kms up to Salta.
The road is to say the least spectacular.
First of all it is all asphalt. The smile is back on my face as I no longer need to worry about what's around next corner and most importantly I can now cruise at 100 kms per hr.
We soon get to the Humahuaca canyon, which is famous for its rock formations resembling marzipan cakes.

The wind is strong, moving the bike from side to side and Elena is doing her best to take pictures and at the same time holding tight onto the bike.
We press on and we soon reach a sign saying "Tropico del Capricorno". This is the first time we both go so far south.
The rocks now look like rainbows showing a great variety of colours.

The mountain in front of us have been clearly sculpured by this strong wind in the shape of 1000 columns.

As the sky cracks open a ray of sun highlights a green valley below us.

It is the end of the altipiano and we begin our descent.

The rush of emotions that we feel in the following hour is almost impossible to describe.

Over the last 45 days (basically since we left Ecuador) our brains, eyes and lungs have been starved of oxygen and vegetation.

Now that we are plunging back to 1500 meters into a real forest we feel as if we are litterally swimming into the surrounding humidity. We fill our lungs up. We can detect the scent of grass and pine all mixed into the evening's air. Our eyes can see green again!

All our senses are lightening up and we feel full of life.

Exploding of excitement I beg Elena to take a picture.

Her answer says it all "a picture of what? it's just a tree".

She is right. A picture would not mean anything. This is only special to us, in this moment, because we have been deprived of it for so long.

The motorway (yes, a motorway!) from Jujuy to Salta takes us quickly to our destination.

We notice that, even though it is 5pm the temperature has risen quite considerably. In fact it is boiling hot here, well over 30 degrees. We do some quick calculations in our heads: the beginning of November here should be the equivalent of May in our hemisphere.....weird.

As we enter into town we immediately realise that the 400 kms we covered today are in actual fact a much greater distance, at least in cultural terms. There is a huge gap between 2 completely different worlds.

Our B & B is stylish and refined, with furniture that has been imported from different countires.

At the restaurant they don't simply serve you food to fill your stomach. It is refined cuisine that aims to please your taste buds and your eyes. No need to say that the wine is superb too.

We wander around town at day and night as we feel safe to do so.

We were lucky enough to catch the change of the guard.

The architecture of Salta reminds us the south of Spain.

And also the people here look very different, very European.

Ok, maybe in Europe we don't close the shops at 1pm to re-open them at 5pm, but that said one thing is absolutely sure: in Salta we felt at ease, almost as if we were back at home.

The long way out of Bolivia

After visiting the Salar the Uyuni and the sorrounding area we were ready to leave Bolivia.
The only problem was how.
When we studied the maps we thought we could take the road to Calama in Chile and then go to Atacama. Now we knew that this road would have been a nightmare on the bike (much worse than the one from Oruro to Uyuni!).
How about the road going south straight to Tupiza? Once again we were told that it was 400 kms of dirt road with nothing in between.
In the end we opted to go east towards Potosi, not ideal but at least we could count on 3/4 of the road being paved!
And in fact after only 20 kms we finally touched asphalt!

The road goes on in good condition for a good 50 kms up to Tica Tica were it turns again into rocks, sand and dust.

We are feeling a bit down, mainly because you never know what to expect; Then, as the road turns into asphalt again, we cross path with a young french girl on a pushbike.

"this is beautiful" is what she says while catching her breath.
When you are feeling down sometimes you just need someone to remind you how lucky you are.
With 3 simple words she has magically opened our eyes again. we carry on our journey finally seeing again the beauty of the sorrounding valley.

The water carried by the river is enough to allow trees to grow in this desert valley. The green in contrast to the brown is almost blinding.

We reach Potosi at 4060 M over sea level where we spend the night.

The hotel is unfortunately short of staff due to the "all saints" holiday break.

We have to carry all our luggage upstairs, which at that altitude and after one day on the bike is quite taxing.

We wander around town for a bit, looking at churches and cobbled streets with the famous "cerro" which has been mined for its silver for hundred of years looming at the end of every corner.

We feel dizzy and deflated when we leave Potosi.

Our hope is that by dropping down to 2800 M in the next few hrs we will find again a bit of energy.

They tell us that the road to Tupiza is all asphalt, which is an added bonus.

Now, what did I tell you about Bolivia? You never know what to expect.......

We cover another 280 kms with a mixed road that switches constantly from asphalt to dirt and we reach Tupiza when my driving skills are tested with a bit of river crossing.

Tupiza is the village where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent their last days before being captured and killed.

100 years later that far west feeling is still there, the only missing thing is a saloon.

We check in into a $10 hotel to rest our bones before one last push.

Maybe is because we are now at 2800M over sea level, or maybe is because we are only 80kms away from the argentinian border but a renewed energy is flowing back in our veins.

We leave early in the morning. Nothing can stop us now, and yet only 1 km out of town we find some people holding a thick rope in the middle of the road, stopping the oncoming traffic.

Elena gets off to find out what they want.

A chap (the boss) in the shack asks to see our documents.

I get off as well.

He says that our documents are not valid.

I reply that if the documents are Ok for the border authorities they must be good for him too.

He now feels that his authority has been challenged and threatens me to call the police.

I call his bluff. "yes, lets call the police, but i warn you, my time is valuable and if you waste it I expect to be compensated".

All of a sudden the documents are fine, but they still want some money (at the end of the day this is what it is all about!!)

"what for?" I ask.

He says is to pay for the toll of the road.

At that point my eyes go red and I start shouting: "what roads, you don't have any roads, only rocks sand and goats!"

I throw the 20 bolivianos on the table and leave the shack shouting "ladrones!"

While they lower the rope they reply "go back to your country".

But I am having the last word. "I am trying, as fast as I can, if you let me go, back to civilisation!"

We wizz through the last 80 kms of Bolivia with a bad taste in our mouths.

What a shame. This place is full of beauty and yet the lack of infostructures makes it difficult to enjoy it.

Even at the petrol station before the border they steal our last bolivianos "the price for foraigners"-she says-"is 8 bolivianos per litre, not 3".

it does not really matter anymore, at last we made it to the border.

Salar de Uyuni

There are plenty of tour agencies in Uyuni offering the 3 days tour of the salar, lagunas geysers etc at very different prices.

The first offer we got was for over £500, we ended up paying £60 for the 2 of us.

In the end what we have learnt is that the tour is only one, and the success of the tour is just a matter of luck (I will explain this concept in due course) so you might want to go for the cheapest one and keep your fingers crossed.

To start with all the agencies use the same car: a Toyota Land Cruiser with 6 seats + driver which, unlike other brands or models, has successfully survived the test of years of mistreatments without falling into pieces.

Sorry for the digression but I seem to remember that this is the same car that has been successfully used for years by the Afghanistan Mujahideens during their battles against the US.

Every morning at 10 am the various agencies line up on "ferrovia road" their Toyotas.

It is a Caravan of 20+ cars that leaves around 10.30 am after having picked up all the tourists that have systematically paid different prices via the different agencies (our agency begged us not to disclose our "good" price not to upset the other members of the group).

Sometimes people that went through different agencies end up in the same car.

Most importantly the choice of the driver is also a matter of luck.

Drivers are not employed directly by the agency. They are free lancers and as such today they work for someone, tomorrow for someone different.

As we jump on our car we immediately realise how hardly the car has been tested in its previous tours (18 years of tours!)

The wind screen is spectacularly cracked right in front of the driver and I don't mean "chipped".

There is a huge round hole with further cracks spreading for over 2 thirds of the screen like a spider net.

Being me I immediately query what happened. I am told that normally the cars in front shoot rocks behind like bullets........well, at least we know now.

By the way our driver (like any other drivers) does not speak any English so Elena and I are unanimously elected to sit next to him as we are the only Spanish speaking in the group.

I therefore take my place in what is called the "death seat" and fasten my seatbelt.

The driver switches on the Toyota and the dash board lightens up like a Christmas tree.

I don't think I have never seen so many warning lights on all at the same time. I do recognise a couple (oil is definitely missing) and yes some of them are absolutely obscure (like the one that says "CHECK", I mean check what? the whole car?!!!!).

Sign of the cross, a little prayer and off we go......who needs safety checks?

Our first stop is at the train cemetery, 2 kms away from town.

This is basically where over 100 years ago they dumped some old trains that are now rusting in the desert.

Next stop is at Colchani, 20 kms north of Uyuni where we can see a dozen of stalls selling some artefacts made of salt.

Colchani is also the official entrance of the salar. Ok the morning has been wasted but now, FINALLY, it gets serious.

This is what we came for and we did not get disappointed.

The salar is huge, the biggest in the world with its 12000 square kms.

Once you are in, right in the middle, you cannot see any landmarks in the distance, which means you can easily get lost in there if you do not know what you are doing.

Luckily our guide knows where we are going.

Our first stop is at one of the hotel de sal, where we can take plenty of pictures to the statues inside and most importantly make plenty of pictures outside playing with optical effects.

Then we head to the Isla de Pescado.

Like an island in the middle of the sea, this rock formation covered by over 40000 cacti stands right in the middle of this ocean of salt.

The view from the top of the island is breathtaking.

There are at least 30 other tourists around us and yet the silence is absolute. Nobody is saying a word, all completely absorbed in the admiration of the scenery around.

Time flies when you are having fun and we are truly enjoying ourselves to the point that the sun is already setting for the day.

We drive another half hour until we reach the borders of this desert.

The colour of the ground is now changing from white to brown.

I am told by our driver that this land is infamous for cars, and you can easily get bogged down in this mud mixed with salt.

This is in fact the destiny of one of the cars in front of us. They are stuck.

I would expect us to stop to help..... but we go on. Our driver is convinced that they will make it.

From our part we need to move as we need to check in various hotels whether they have room for 6 (whatever happened to our reservations?)

Well, apparently we are lucky, at our first attempt we are told there is room and most importantly a separate room for the 2 of us (as we originally requested).

I can only think that we might have just stolen the place from the people that got stuck earlier on.....mors tua vita mea.

The accommodation is basic, 2 beds made of salt, a door a window, floor and walls made of salt. That will do absolutely fine, and most importantly it is not too cold tonight (we heard terrible stories on the net of people freezing over night)

At 7pm they switch on the power so we can even recharge our phones and cameras.

The atmosphere is brilliant. 4 other cars stopped at our hotel so we are all sitting in the dining room around these big salt tables on our salt chairs, drinking wine and telling stories.

There are representatives of many European countries here, Spanish, French, English, Germans etc, most of them are young and most of them are travelling for a long time just like us.

After dinner we go out to check the sky.......well it is a bit chilly but then we are probably staring at the best skylight ever?

To top this up, coming from the northern hemisphere, these constellations are all new to us. What a view!
Lights are about to be turned off. It's time to go to bed.

Day 2 begins almost immediately with a small rescue.

On our way to see 4 lagunas we spot a car stuck in the mud.

This time we stop and drag them out.

The road is seriously rough.

After day one, when we drove on the flat salty desert, this time we are covering hundreds of kms in treacherous dirt roads.

Today Elena is sitting in front and we all wonder if this was a good idea, since our driver seems a bit distracted......so distracted that we end up outside track a couple of time in the space of 20 minutes.

Luckily only dry bushes welcome us rather than a huge canyon!

For everyone’s sake we demote Elena to the rear seat and I retake my place next to the driver: this time for good.
My job is to keep him on the right track.

The nature on this part of the world is absolutely raw, wild, extreme, nothing like anywhere else we have been too and somehow we all understand that pain and risk are part of the game. This is not Disneyland and you have to be prepared to endure some discomfort to earn your reward

Like the arbol of rock, a rock formation in the shape of a tree, eroded by the wind over millions of years....as you can imagine the windstorms in the area are seriously blinding.

We stop over for our second night at the Laguna Colorada, a red lake where flamingos linger.

This second accommodation is much more basic than the first one.
We all sleep together in one dormitory.

There is no heating, no lighting no running water...etc you get the picture, and this time it is cold!
Some of our companions opt for alcohol to fight the cold. We go for layers.

When we hit the bed we look like the Michelin man, wearing pretty much everything we brought with us in our luggage and lying under a good 8 duvets. We can barely move or breath.

Next to me, Max, a young engineer from Germany only wears slips and a T shirt in his sleeping bag......? COME ON! (my pride has been dented forever)

We begin day 3 at 5am.

With minus 5, no running water and 1 bog for 24 people I leave to the reader’s imagination the following 30 minutes of our tour.

We jump in the cars heading to see the geysers.

At 5000 meters this is the highest point of our tour.

You really need to watch your steps when you are in the geyser’s fields as they come and go and you do not want to be standing on one (even a small one) when they kick off.

Brilliant!

Next are the hot springs.

Normally we would not strip naked at minus 5 to jump into unknown water, however the promise of hot water (in particular after this morning) tilted the balance.

And we are glad we did it. That was pure heaven. A 35 degrees natural pool surrounded by mountains and a lake.

Brilliant again!

Then off we go to see the Dali desert, a landscape that looks exactly like the great master’s painting.

Someone even says that the rocks have been shaped and placed there by Salvador himself.....i don’t think so.

Anyway, did I say brilliant?

And finally the cherry on the cake: The green lagune.

Unfortunately it appears that the lagune only turns green with a specific weather (windy) and the right mix of minerals.
One of the other drivers says today is not windy and therefore it is not going to happen.

Our driver asks us if we want to try or whether we prefer to head to the Chilean border (where the rest of our group will head to S Pedro de Atacama).

We decide to give it a go....and we get the reward: an emerald lagune!

It is now time to go separate ways.

We wave goodbye to our companions and we head back to Uyuni, a good 7 hrs drive.

Since we dropped all the other passengers at the border our car is now empty, just us 2 and the driver, but not for long.

Ahead of us there is another car, going very slowly, clearly struggling.

They stop, the car has now broken down and the engine is cooked.

We pick up the 4 tourists and leave the driver and the broken car behind (they tell us he will be fine).

After one hr we stop again as we cross path with 2 polish tourists driving a 125 cc bike purchased in Colombia.

They have been travelling for days covering over 1000 kms in these impervious lands with no roads, no shelter nor petrol stations, sleeping in a tent......and they have done it. (a bit more denting for my pride).

We shake their hands and wish them well.

During our journey back we see 2 more cars breaking down, in particular one cracked the front axes.

Unfortunately we could not pick up any more stranded tourists as we were now full (once again we were told that other cars behind us would eventually oblige).

While driving through a narrow canyon we reach a corner where we were able to see a cross with a broken windshield on one side.

Our driver told us that last year there was an accident when a car went straight into the canyon, killing the driver and the tourists inside. Apparently if they had not tried to break they could have jumped at the other side of the canyon, saving themselves.....??
The truth is that these people drive in very precarious conditions, in terrible roads, with terrible cars and often they are so tired that they fall asleep on the wheel.

I can see our driver’s eyes are heavy. He is drinking coke and listening to laud music in the attempt to make it to Uyuni.
My task is clear and for the following 5 hrs I keep talking to him with no break.

It is a record of small talk but by 6pm we make it to Uyuni, in one piece.