Day Five - The Good, The Bad and the Very Very Ugly

Sorry all for the lack of posts in recent times, we have been out of range. We have finally found some reception in an amazing hotel....500 meters down the road from our camping ground! :)

Also reception here is not great and takes 15 minutes to upload a photos so we will have to upload more photos when we get to a better WiFi spot.

Day five was the first of our proper riding days as we left Ushia, Argentina and rode to Cerro Sombrero, Chile.

The Good

The day started out spectacularly as the wind had died, the rain had left and the sun almost promised to creep through the cloud cover. After another South American Breakfast of Eggs, Ham and Bread (it has been the same evry place we stay), the group met for a briefing before heading out on the ride at 7.30am.

We were rugged up in our riding gear with Jeff setting the record at 7 layers to ward off the 3 degree temperatures. As we left our hotel we headed to the local Gas station (Tax free petrol at 70 cents a litre AUD) and managed to stay on the correct side of gthe road - the righjt hand side. This all went well until we hit intersections - confusion reigned supreme....after a few frights we had made it to the station.

Along the way we tested out our headsets that we had bought for our helmets. These allow us to listen to music and speak with one another while riding - amazing and has made the trip even better to share with the Boys!

After leaving the Gas staion we headed out of Ushia over the Mountain Range. This was the most spectacular ride I have even been on - a 3000 feet crossing through mountains up to 5000 feet. As we rode over the top we got our first taste of South America's famed wiund. It was so strong that when we got off for photos we struggled to stand up - wind gusts of up to 80 Km/h when you are riding was a challenge that wehad expected but where not prepared for.

After riding 200 more KM through a range of scenery (deserts, forests, mountains) we arrived at a town called Rio Grande (Big River) for lunch. We had lunch on a "Beach" where the Argentinians have monuments to the Falkan War - very moving!

The Bad

Following lunch we rode another 150 Km through Argentina to the Border. Here we experienced Argentinians Beurocracy - almost Faulty Towers like as it took over an hour to cross through the border. To add to the challenge the wind had started up, my bike battery died and the rain started as we got our first taste of gravel as we crossed into No Man's Land - 15Km of deserted land that Chile and Argentina kept between them to avoid military hostilities.

As the road was owned by neither side it was very poorly maintained with potholes every 5-10 medteres and puddles starting to form due to the rain.

After making the Chilean Border we had to pass through immigration again - this was a pretty painless experience except for Jeff joking about Cocaine smuggling within earshot of the customs officials.

The Very Very Ugly

As we left the Chilean Border the rain and wind picked up a few notches so \that we were riding over Gravel Roads with potholes, torrential rain, 80 km winds and 3 degree temperatures. To make our n ightmare worse, it was getting dark and we had over 100Km to go!

When we finally mad the hotel we were drenched, cold but strangley elated as we had achieved the challenge of 450Km, 2 border crossings, 11 hours riding and tough weather conditions! What an experience.

Finally after shedding our drenched clothes and having a warm, shower and a feww beers we had a nice meal and headed for bed and slept like logs!

Today we realiused how enormous a challenge this dexperience would be and started to call it our adventure rather than a holiday. 500Km down and over 7000km to go!

Also check out Steve's blog @ http://shortwayup.omega-prime.co.uk

and,

Mauricio and Dani's blog @ http://ushuaia2cusco.blogspot.com/