Ever since crossing into Bolivia our preconceived notions of the country keep falling by the wayside. In contrast to La Quiaca on the Argentinian side, the Bolivian border town of Villazon was a hive of activity, full of Argentinians looking for a bargain. The constant changing of currencies, both physically (bills and coin) and rate … Continue reading Bolivia: Getting our Feet Wet
Our last stop in Chile before crossing the Andes to get to Bolivia was the small, dusty, rather dishevelled tourist town of San Pedro de Atacama on the edge of the driest desert in the world. Upon arrival we started checking out the campgrounds. The first two (5,000 peso/pers/night) were packed with young travellers on … Continue reading To Bolivia; the Easy Way
If one looks at a map of Chile you realize that it is almost 6,000 kms, tip to tail and after almost 9 weeks of riding, plus an occasional hitchhike and short bus ride we had covered only 2,800 kms. If we are to get to Columbia in 6 months we will need to cover … Continue reading A Hop, Skip and a Jump
After our Xmas break in the pretty little town of San Martin de los Andes, we left for the Chilean border early in the morning of the 27th. It had been a much needed rest, more for our on-going lip issues than our legs. Claire was especially anxious about the stretch of ripio (gravel road) … Continue reading To The Coast
We’ve switched adversaries. Our daily struggle Is no longer against the wind. We’re riding the Carretera Austral (CA) and we now contend with loose gravel, dust, potholes and hills. We’re not sure what is worse. Combine all these, which has happened too many times, and it is admittedly demoralizing. The CA (Highway #7) of Patagonia, … Continue reading Carretera Austral and Ruta 40
Welcome to Laurel and Harvey’s (sic) Travel Blog. We just lost our awesome MSR tent! It fell offthe back of my bike as we bumped along a stretch of rough dirt road. Don’t ask how, it is all too embarrassing (not in my mind – the dirt road was a harsh replacement to the winds; … Continue reading The Crossing
We might as well face it. We are going the wrong bloody way! Our plane tickets to Ushuaia were purchased awhile back, shortly after deciding to ride South America instead of Southeast Asia. Leaving in November, usually so wet and dreary, made sense in terms of our own schedules plus it would be late spring … Continue reading Calafate to Chalten
We left the Argentinian border post at San Sebastián, Tierra del Fuego early in the AM on the 14 km stretch of ‘ripio’ (dirt road) for the distant Chilean border post. We departed in a stiff breeze that was gusting to 50 or 60 by the time we reached the border. A brief rest and … Continue reading Winds of Patagonia
It was an inauspicious start to our trip. The flight from YVR to Newark, NJ was uneventful but things went array on the next leg to Buenos Aires. About 45 minutes into the flight, when we well over the ocean, there was a loud bang and the plane shuddered violently. Immediately after the plane continued … Continue reading Tierra del Fuego
What have we talked ourselves into? Yikes…another six month bike trip! We leave October 30 on the long, 2 day flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, a town at the very southern-most tip of South America, truly the end of the road. From there we plan on riding north, more or less following the spine of the … Continue reading On The Road Again
