Chillan 29-2-12

Tried to get an early start but I had a massive hangover. That's the problem with rest days. I get bored so I get drunk. Then I get a taste for it and get really drunk.

Left Osorno around 9:30, glad to be moving, glad to be seeing a bit of the PanAm; even if it's a somewhat uninteresting dual carriageway albeit with a great surface and some well spaced twisty bits.

Riding in Chile is easy. Everyone stays in lane, there are yellow lights on the corner of each car that flash before it turns or changes lanes and everyone obeys traffic lights. The map in the satnav leaves a bit to be desired though; many of the one way streets are listed as the wrong way and I'm quite regularly having to nip a couple of hundred metres the wrong way. Nobody is beeping me though and I guess in most parts of the world there is a somewhat liberal interpretation of traffic laws for bikes. It's still not as bad as Puerto Madryn where every single street in the central grid was listed the wrong way.

Petrol is expensive, but you don't have to queue to get it. Road tolls are handleable (about a quid every 100kms or so) and the traffic is easy.

No flashing lights and thumbs up signs like in Argentina but a fair few bikes on the road. Met a couple on a Super Tenere and a guy on an Africa Twin; travelling with his family in a separate car.

We were all leapfrogging each other between petrol stations and fag breaks all the way up Ruta 5.

The biggest surprise was the hitch hikers. Not just the odd gringo gap year lot but loads of Chileans. Many of them young, female and attractive. I even thought about trading in the bike for a 4x4 for a minute.

Right. More wine and an early night. Need to make Santiago tomorrow. Looks like I'll be stuck for a few days while I get stuff sent from home and get the rear shock sorted.

Osorno 28-2-12

I left Barioche early(ish) to give plenty of time for the border. Nice bit of road but very high winds negated much of the breathtaking Lake District scenery. It's difficult to look at the views when you're concentrating hard on not being blown under a truck.

The rain started just before the Argentinian border. Not too heavy at first and the exit from Argentina was straightforward. My first proper international border on a bike. After leaving Argentina, there is the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass over the Andes, followed by the Chilean border and the Puyehue National Park.

The rain got heavier as I got further up the pass, the fog got thicker, my waterproofs and gloves started leaking and I couldn't see anything of interest at all. The only consolation was that I wasn't on a push bike unlike about a dozen folks struggling up the hills.

I wasn't searched at the Chilean border; unlike most people. Even though I'd ticked the box to say I was carrying animal and vegetable products.

More rain in the Puyehue Park, I had the occasional view of waterfalls and Jurassic Park vegetation but mostly it was grey and thick with dust. It turns out that there's an active volcano in the middle of the park but it was hiding in the weather.

The rain got heavier, I took shelter for about an hour in a bus shelter but decided to press on to Osorno as it was only about 60km away figured I could change clothes when I got there.

A change of clothes and a trip to the supermarket later, I can confirm that you can also get English styled craft beer in Chile. A most welcome surprise.

Decided to have a rest day due to the weather forecast and took the bike to Moto Venturas so they could take a look at my bouncy rear shock. They confirmed that the shock was indeed knackered and said they'd have to send it to their office in Santiago to fix it but they could have it done by Thursdayfor about $US200. Not a bad turnaround compared with Argentina.

I declined as I'll be passing through Santiago anyway and figured I'd just drop the bike in while I'm there.

It's going to take a couple of days to get to Santiago but it looks like I'll be staying a few days while I have stuff sent from home and get the shock fixed.

Probably heading for Los Angeles tomorrow, it's about half way on the map.

Bariloche 26-2-12

Monster hangover this morning. I nearly stayed an extra night in Esquel to sleep it off but I'm taking too many rest days and Argentina has got expensive since I was last here.

No fuel queues in Esquel and I met a guy on an Africa Twin heading for Ushuaia who said there were no fuel problems to the north.

Esquel is an odd place, sort of reminds me of Innsbruck; a view of mountain tops in every direction only Esquel looks more like a wild west town. Also made the wonderful discovery that there are local craft breweries producing bottle conditioned real ale. This probably explains the hangover.

Back to RN40 and the desert scrub slowly gave way to lush green hills, spectacular mountain views and clear Andean lakes. It looks so much like the Alps it's uncanny. Even the buildings look like Swiss lodges.

A wonderful winding road through the mountains and I'm in Bariloche. It was overcast and raining for most of the way so I couldn't fully appreciate the views. Everything is still closed for siesta and I need to eat and could use a hair of the dog.

Chile tomorrow, weather permitting.

Esquel 24-2-12

Petrol shortages seem to be the order of the day in Patagonia. I have no idea what's happening but people keep telling me it's political. With my somewhat inadequate Spanish (I can just and so order a beer in a bar) it's difficult to find out exactly what's happening.

I left Puerto Madryn intending to spend a day on the Valdes peninsula; see some of the wild life, ditch my camping gear at the campsite in Puerto Piramides and spend an afternoon ragging a somewhat lightened bike round some of the dirt tracks but without fuel, it's a non-option.

A quick conversation with myself and I headed back to Puerto Madryn to fill up and headed west towards RN25. Filled up again at Gaiman and continued down a rather wonderful road that looks like the backdrop to a Roadrunner cartoon.

No petrol anywhere. I stopped at every gas station on the road to be told the same. “No gasolina”. Eventually someone told me that there was petrol at a place called Los Altares which doesn't even appear on my map. There was a strong headwind which doesn't help fuel consumption and I ran onto reserve at 220km on the odometer. Eventually hit Los Altares at around 290km only to be told the same. Two Brazillian lads who had been tear arsing around Argentina on a Fireblade and a CBR600RR and spoke a little English told me that petrol would be arriving in a couple of hours. I parked the bike next to a pump, plastered myself with sunscreen, sparked up a fag and sat down to wait it out.

After an hour or so, an Africa Twin turned up carrying Gaultier and Chloe who I'd met in Buenos Aires. With their excellent Spanish they were able to find out that petrol would indeed be arriving. Maybe in a couple of hours, maybe later on but definitely arriving. They were also able to get directions to an excellent wild camping spot down by the river Chubut.

We bought food and booze and set off down a dirt track down to the river before it got dark. Put tents up and Gaultier set back off to the gas station to see if the delivery had turned up. No joy this time but the lad at the garage said that they were expecting 20,000 litres and that should be enough for 4 days. Therefore we should just come back tomorrow.

After cooking and eating, I crashed early. First night in the million star hotel. Absolutely no light pollution in that part of Patagonia. I heard the Africa Twin in the night so I assume that was Gaultier going to check on the fuel situation but I didn't hear him get back. I must have been asleep before then.

Overcast and looking like rain in the morning. Took my tent down and packed my gear up as soon as I woke up. Gaultier had indeed scored some juice in the middle of the night, I set off to wait at the station in case I had to queue which seems to be the norm in Argentina.

I needn't have worried, there was no queue and I put just over 20 litres in the tank with 300km on the odometer. Just 3 litres left.

The Brazilians were fishing empty water bottles out of the bins to carry spare fuel. The lad with the Fireblade explained that they only got 170km to a tank.

An Argentinian lad joined us on a V twin cruiser of a make I don't know. While Chole and Gaultier stopped for breakfast, we all set off and spent the whole day leapfrogging each other down RN25.

It was raining lightly and it got cold. I've seldom seen the thermometer drop below 25 degrees and today it went down to 7. I stopped at the first petrol station (no gasolina) and put a jumper on and changed to my winter gloves so I was OK but the Brazilians weren't dressed for cold and the Argentinian lad spent most of the day riding with plastic bags on his feet just to keep out the water.

It's an amazing bit of road, looks like desert scrub but the weather and temperature were more akin to Saddleworth Moor in March.

Found petrol in Tecka (11 litres to 220km, that's what difference a headwind makes) and up RN40 to Esquel.

Rest day tomorrow, need to do my oil level, adjust the chain and check my tyre pressures. Need to find out what the fuel situation is like in Chile or further north in Argentina.

Puerto Madryn 20-2-12

No photos this time. The only electrical item I have that can't be charged from the bike is my camera. Leaving Bahia Blanca, I tried to take a picture of Rogier and Anna and their bike and the battery was flat.

Had a rest day in Bahia Blanca. Had to move from the hostel to a hotel but that was easy thanks to Rogier and his excellent Spanish. Found a mechanic to take a look at the bike and left it, gear and all, with him. Thus allowing me to attend to some cultural activities, i.e. drinking beer and eating.

I'd asked the guy to change my speedometer cable, try and do something with the rear shock and do me an oil change. The cable wasn't an issue, I was carrying a spare. He was unable to change the oil because, apparently, he was unable to find anywhere selling any on a Saturday.

The rear shock has become quite a problem though. As weight is added to the bike, the rear end compresses. When on the stand, the bike soon gets to vertical and then tips over. The final straw was bundling up my bike gear and strapping it on the back, the bike promptly tipped over onto Rogier's Kawasaki (sorry Rogier).

The mechanic said (or at least I think he said) that the rear shock was finished. He jacked it up but the back end is still very soft. With all the weight I'm carrying, the bike now falls over to the left when it's left on the stand. In a desperate attempt to loose some weight, I put a post on the HUBB offering the knobbly tyres I've been carrying away for free. It took all of 30 minutes for someone to turn up and take them, I'm now owed a beer by someone in Rio Gallegos.

The day on the road started well, good weather, not too hot, no rain and the scenery slowly changing as I go south through Argentina. Looking back at pictures from a few days ago, it's amazing how much the scenery has changed since Buenos Aires, unfortunately I don't have any pictures to show. Argentina is a vast country. It took over two days to get out of Buenos Aires, that's London to Inverness distance.

Sometime around my second fag break, I noticed some oil on the back tyre. Burying my head in the sand, hoping the problem would go away and not wanting to take all my gear off the bike to strip it down; at the side of the road, in 35 degree sun, with no shade, I kept moving. At each stop the problem seemed to be getting worse and although I did buy a litre of oil, I didn't do anything to solve the problem. I was riding along paranoid about what to do with a seized engine though.

Getting into San Antonio Oueste there was no room in any of the inns. Eventually, and with the help of a very nice girl on the desk of one of the hotels and my somewhat inadequate Spanish phrase book (Just what exactly is the Spanish for “rear shock” and “bike handling like a bag of spanners”?) I was directed to a campsite on the beach. Turned up, paid the fee, grabbed a beer to drink while putting the tent up and had a look at the state of the bike.

The screw top of the oil reservoir was loose. That was all that was wrong. I'd maybe lost a quarter litre of oil and that's it. A quick top up and job's a good 'un.

A couple of Argentinian lads wanted to chat on the campsite but all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. I think they thought I had snubbed them but that's really not the case.

I started crashing out when it started to get dark but people kept arriving (it was a holiday you know), starting up fires for barbecues and then at some point the music came on. It seemed like it was on all night but I don't remember them turning it off so I must have been drifting in and out of sleep through it.

Took about and hour and a half to take my tent down and pack the bike in the wind and then about 4 hours on to Puerto Madryn. Checked into a random hostel from Lonely Planet, put the bike in the yard and chilled out.

I'll probably be here a couple of days. I want to find another mechanic tomorrow to get a second opinion on my rear shock and I'd quite like a run round the nature reserve; see the penguins, sea lions, killer whales etc but I can't make the decision where to go next until I sort the shock.

Sending goods into Argentina is an utter ball ache with a 100% import tax so it's a lot easier to do it to Chile. My choices are south down Ruta 3 and then back (possibly by a 4 day boat journey through the Chilean fjords) or west to Chile to collect a new shock

Bahia Blanca. 17-2-12

A great day's riding.  Pampas gave way to sierra (I think that's what you call rolling hills).  Started out foggy but the weather got better with every mile.  Just starting to get some perspective on the size of Argentina and I finally understand what overlanders mean when they say "big skies".

Azul. 16-2-12

Getting the bike through customs  was easy thanks to Sandra from Dakar Motos. We went up to the airport in a cab with a load of documents and copies of documents and all I had to do was shell out cash at appropriate times.

The problems started when I tried to leave. I packed the bike, unpacked it again so customs could give my stuff the once over, re-packed it, put my gear on, started the bike and it died as soon as I put it into gear. I'd noticed the switch on the clutch lever had come loose when I was taking the bike to the airport so I assumed it had something to do with that. Many phone calls back to Dakar and I ended up riding with the neutral indicator lead shorted to earth and the neutral light on all the way. Turns out there's another switch on the side stand and both that and the clutch switch had died. Shorting them both out solved the problem.

Took a day trip out to Tigre, just west of Bueons Aires to try the bike out. Didn't do much, just lunch in a pavement cafe and a bit of a potter around. Loving riding in shorts and t-shirt but feeling vulnerable. Packed the bike on Wednesday evening, set off Thursday morning into 40 degree heat. The bike was handling like a bag of spanners and I had no idea why until I stopped in Canuelas to visit a cash point and saw that everything had fallen backwards and all the weight was hanging off the rear of the bike. Soon fixed with a couple of packing straps. I put riding gear on because it looked like rain.

Fuck, did it rain. I tried everything; following the storm, riding through the storm but nothing did any good. I was soaked through within 10 minutes and had to do around 280km across the Pampas. The Pampas is flat and featureless. You keep thinking you're about to go into a town but you're not. There's no shelter, few petrol stations and fewer places to get a hot drink. I think I tried all of them.

When I finally got to Azul, the place I was heading had already closed up. I had no phone number for them and no credit in my phone. I failed to find the municipal campsite (I didn't look very hard, I must admit), the Ruta 3 Motel appeared to be abandoned and so I found a moderately priced hotel in the town. My stuff is currently spread all over the room dripping onto the floor, maps and banknotes included. Hopefully it will be usable tomorrow.

The bike held up pretty well, I've had problems with water before and it did start spluttering during some of the heaviest rain but it held together. Short of breaking the speedometer cable it behaved very nicely all day. I now have another item on my todo list, this needs to be sorted because without the milage counter, I have no idea how much petrol I have left.

Right. Finish my beer and off to the restaurant downstairs.

Oh yeah, another thing for the todo. All my documents are soaked through. Passport, vaccination certificates, IDP, temporary import permit for the bike. Put them in a plastic bag.

Pictures. Buenos Aires and Colonia.

Nothing to say, apart from Colonia is chilled out and easy after the big city Buenos Aires.  Just a few pictures.