CHILE, JUST FOR A MINUTE, THEN ARGENTINA

Having crossed into Chile from Bolivia at Ollague, we finally emerged into relative civilisation. A servo with food and an ATM. I pressed the wrong button & now have enough Chilean currency to buy a Ferrari. But I intend to spend 90% of it on beer, wine & spirits, and the rest I´ll probably just waste! We spent the night at San Pedro de Atacama, a pleasant enough place, but as none of the roads are paved, it is fairly dusty. Got the chance to wash the bikes, which were filthy, & do some laundry, as we were filthy as well.

This was just a flying visit to Chile, just long enough to see a small portion of the Atacama Desert, with some very intersesting land forms on offer. We left yesterday morning, completing the Chilean border crossing formalities in SP de Atacama. Then we headed off into the east to the Argentinian border 160 km away! This was a spectacular ride, with no signs of life other than a few llamas, great sweeping vistas of vast plains, salt lakes & snow capped volcanic peaks. We climbed from about 2000m up thru the Paso Jama at 5000m, the highest altitude we have been sofar. On the way, we were delayed by a semi trailer which had jacknifed & blocked the road. No apparent casualties, but a big mess, & it was bloody freezing! Eventually we arrived at the Argentine border post, down to 2000m again & the formalities here went on for ever. They had computer problems & there were several tourist buses already stopped. At least they didnt inspect our baggage, but they did confiscate our lunch from the truck. We speculate probably to feed the drug detecting sniffer dogs, or maybe the border guards themselves. Given that Chile has the strictest plant/food quarantine regulations in South America, I reckon this was just one upmanship, especially when they refused to allow us to eat it on the spot.

Heading for our overnight stop at Parmamarca, we rode one of the scariest roads I have been on, a steep descent consisting of mainly tight switchbacks, but with a lot of loose gravel on the corners. Worse was to come between here & Salta, when we followed a very twisty narrow road, only wide enough for about one car but carrying traffic in both directions, with several horses & cows on the road in places. I didnt enjoy this section as much as some of our group (thrillseekers with a death wish, I say) but it seemed an unneccessary risk to me, & I was tired & cranky. Since when have I beena boring old fart? Maybe I should be home pruning the roses. Anyhow, we are now in Salta, which is a large city, but it seems reasonably ok. After a liesurely lunch of empanadas, the closest thing I have seen to a pasty since Sydney Airport, here I am. We have some big mileage days ahead now (5-600km a day is a lot here, given the roads & traffic conditions) as we head east to Iguacu. The altitude is down to 1200m, the roads are sealed, & it is warm again, & we have to grind it out a bit--thats my kind of riding! See you at the Falls.