South to Rio Gallegos

Landon and I have been moving south from Comodoro Rivadavia along the Atlantic coast. These shots were taken on a little side road along the ocean going into Puerto de Julian, where we spent last night. We had an easy drive to Rio Gallegos today. With the exception of a 7-10 miles of gravel, the road these past two days has been generally good. The weather has been mostly cloudy, windy and cool. When we get a few miles from the coast, the scenery resembles the northern high plains of North America. We are hoping to get to Ushuaia on New Year´s Eve.

I found myself staring at a map of South America last night. Two thoughts occupied my mind. The first was the realization of how far away from home we are. The second was how much at home I have felt. I followed our route, knowing that we were out in the open the whole way. When you drive the whole way, the road here still really feels like the same road that runs in front of your own house.

Christmas in Bariloche

While working on that last blog in Villa la Angostura, I heard Landon pull his GS up in front of the Internet cafe. It was a sweet sound and great a great reunion. After exchanging a few stories we made our way out to the campsite, which was located on a rise with this great view of the eastern slope of the Andes.


It was in Villa la Angostura that I heard the sad news that Tiny Walters, my neighbor across the street and dad of my ¨little sister¨ Emily, had died in his sleep at home that morning. The news has soften the celebration of Christmas for me, and I feel helpless and sorry to be so far away. I´m also grateful for his many good friends and family. The funeral was yesterday.


The next day, Christmas Eve, we made the short trip down to San Carlos de Bariloche in the Lake District of Argentina, found a hotel and changed the oil in the bikes. Inasmuch as there are so many Germans in the area, I had hoped to go to a Lutheran church for Christmas Eve services. But no one was ever to found at the church down the street, and there were no indications of time(s) for the services. At 7:30 we abandoned hope and took the short walk down the hill to the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Bariloche for the 8:oo mass.



It was a good celebration of the birth of ¨Dios Niño¨. After the distribution, a small choir offered a lovely Spanish song rejoicing in the mystery of the night. There were at least 8 stanzas, and I still wanted more. That little carol alone would have been enough for me to make the drive south to Argentina.


Christmas Day was fresh and brilliant in the glorious morning light. We took off on Ruta 40 for Tierra del Fuego, leaving the lakes, streams and mountains and entering the wide plains of Argentina. Sean´s bike made a couple suspicious noises from the gearbox, but they stopped. We camped that evening beside a stream at Gobernador Costa and made spaghetti for supper.

Worried about the transmission, we waited along the highway the next morning and looked for a truck willing to take Sean´s GS the 200 miles down to the Atlantic coast. We even made a cardboard sign, but the Christmas holiday worked against us. There wasn´t much traffic at all, let alone truck traffic. The bike wasn´t making the noises anymore, so we gingerly made our way to Comodoro Rivadavia. The bike held out without complaint until the outskirts of town. We barely made it to a hotel. Unpleasant sounds from the gearbox and broken metal parts in the gear oil confirmed a bad bearing. With the holiday, we could find no one in this oil town able to work on the bike, and the parts and tools we carry simply wouldn´t be up to tearing apart a transmission.

Sean decided to ship his bike to Buenos Aires to get it repaired. This morning we found a truck leaving on Saturday and pushed the bike the 10-12 blocks to meet it. Sean will take a bus to be there when his bike arrives in Buenos Aires. We´re thankful he has friends in Buenos Aires to help him welcome in the new year.

Our reunion, the three of us moving down the road together, didn´t last long, but we look forward to all being in Buenos Aires in February. It will be hard to say goodbye tomorrow.

We will continue to move south and hope to be in Ushuaia on New Year´s Eve and meet my friend David Lange who arrives there from New Braunfels, Texas on New Year´s Day.

Merry Christmas

Blessings for Christmas from Villa la Angostura, Argentina. I know the picture doesn´t look much like Christmas. It´s spring here, and there is not a Poinsettia to be found. It was a choice between these Retamas and the Lupines (top). Sean and I motored on over from Osorno, Chile to Villa la Angostura, Argentina this morning. After catching up on things internet, we will run out to the campground and find Landon. The plan is to celebrate Christmas down the road a bit in Bariloche, and then to take off for a New Year in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.

Happy Holidays

I must admit it's tough getting in the Christmas spirit when the thermometer reads 95 degrees and there aren't the usual Christmas songs on the radio, but here's a try.
I walked up to the Cross above Junin today and found some interesting sculptures

I must have slept through the sermon about the conquistadors at the Crucifiction

This one about the washing of the feet really interested me for some reason

Maybe it was the facial expressions

I just thought it was pretty good stuff.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, Have a Merry Christmas!

Onto Junin

I made my way to Alumine´, where the tourist offie said there was good fishing here. Lake RuciChoroi, or something like that, 25 km's off the beaten path in the Lanin National Forest. The stream that feeds the lake

I did say it was off the beaten path

The only problem here was that the Mapuche Gauchos kept riding up and trying to sell homemade bread and wool gloves and hats. Kind of like spam on a computer, but you can't turn it off.

So I moved down to Junin de los Andes, closer to the Lake district The town of Junin de Los Andes, from the Cross above town

You can still see the holdouts

This beast was loaded with 14 Germans AND the kitchen sink, www.kondor
-tours.de, if you want to go along

A Short Trip to Chile

While Landon went fishing in Argentina, Sean and I went over to the Andes into Chile. We spent the first night in San Felipe Los Andes. A mild earthquake woke us up. The locals seemed used to them. Then we headed for Viña del Mar. Here is a shot of Sean headed for the water.

We missed our turn when we were leaving Viña del Mar. A car pulled up alongside of us at the stop light, and the driver (Roberto) asked us where we wanted to go. I said Santiago. He said ¨Follow me¨. We did, and he took us through the maze of streets and highways to the capital city. He and is family brought us to a wonderful grill, where they bought us supper. They directed us to a great hotel downtown and invited us for lunch the next day at their home near Melipilla. We ended up having supper with them and spending the night in their guest house. It was a terrific experience, certainly a highlight of the trip for me. The above picture is of me relaxing with the afternoon sun in their garden.

Our hosts Roberto and Evelyn, and their two children Macarena and Fernando. They were wonderful.

Salto de Laja, east of Conception.

Vulcan Osorno at its best in the afternoon light.

We look forward to crossing back over the Andes into Argentina tomorrow and celebrating Christmas with Landon in San Carlos de Bariloche.

Some More Old Pictures from Northern Argentina

This is a close up of the sundial at the Tropic. The sun is almost straight up.

The Salinas Grandes (salt flats) on route 40 south and west of Abra Pampa, Argentina.

Landon and Sean headed south to Cache on route 40

Two more shots headed south to San Juan on route 40

Some Old Pictures

Here are some old pictures I found on the camera. This one is Landon getting on the ferry on the way to Conception, Bolivia.

This is a storm brewing over the mission in Conception.

The Feast of San Javier at the San Javier mission in Bolivia. The skies opened up just before the scheduled procession around the square.

But soon the rain stopped, and San Javier got his annual constitutional through the streets.

Here´s a picture of Landon at the Tropic. Note the sundial in the background says that the sun is about as far south as it will get this year.

Majestic Views and Fishing School

Going from Chilicito to San Juan, Ruta 40 provides some excellent scenery

Saw this in Mendoza, had to take a picture for evidence

The Inca Bridge, on the way to Chile

Sometimes the views are just too much to describe

"From a phone booth in Cheyenne,......." (name that tune, and click to enlarge)

The lake south of Paredites, on Ruta 40

Because the road was detoured for construction at the 3000 km marker, which, by the way, is the distance left to Tierra del Fuego.

When I stopped for gas in El Sosneado, I met a group on their way home to Mendoza, after a 4 day ride to Neuquen. All on BMW's

While I was taking a break at the El Sosneado station, Facundo came up and asked if I liked to fish. After a small discussion, he produced his fishing pole and some day old bread. In about 10 minutes, my trout fishing lesson was over, and I had an eight inch trout on the end of the line, from the stream behind the store. I packed $250 worth of fly fishing gear 10,000 miles to do what it took a kid with $5 worth of stuff 10 minutes to do. Kind of humbling....., hell, it was very humbling.

Sorry I didn't get a picture of the fish, I was too excited.

On Down Ruta 40

We stopped in a small town called Cachi, kind of a small tourist town up in the mountains. Sean helped contribute to the local delinquency rate.

Hey, they're just fireworks. It could be worse, they could be cigarettes.

¨To hell with the brake pedal, I just need to reach the throttle.¨

Yes, that actually is a stretch of Ruta 40, north of Cafayate.

There are lots of wineries, irrigated from the mountians, in a dry valley.


I get the feeling some enjoy the local product quite a bit.

Andean Argentina

Isn't WIFI great, it's given me a chance to catch up in the hotel lobby. Here are a few pics from Northern Argentina. Or Ruta 9, north of JuJuy


The Skypilot taking on Ruta 40


Look close, it really is one road.