Happy 2008!

A very Happy New Year to you all from San Jose de Jachal, a small town in the middle of nowhere, about 300km north of Mendoza and currently about 39 degrees ... phew, just like being in Andalucia in July. We have had no option but to adopt the local rhythms of life, i.e. moving very slowly in the shade, taking a five-hour siesta and having dinner at 10.30pm - not particularly compatible with a cycling routine you might think, which is why we have decided that enough is enough. Tomorrow we're taking the bus to Mendoza, where it's only 35 degrees, and from there, probably another bus over the Andes to Santiago.

We've done 1,400km on the road in Argentina in just under three weeks (bringing our trip total to 4,700km) and have loved the wide open roads, the amazing colours of the desert and canyons, the genuine warmth and friendliness of the people, and the mind-boggling range of ancient, battered vehicles on the roads (a typical truck above, apparently constructed from bits of various other trucks) - particularly striking alongside all the swish, modern cars and pick-ups. We've also witnessed some violent storms with hailstones the size of large marbles and the effect of the these downpours on the roads can be dramatic (see photo above with mud and debris)
New Year's Eve for us was a complete non-event in a nice way - spent in an hosteria on the outskirts of a very sleepy village, too tired to stay up til midnight, we missed the UK New Year and then subsequently realised that the clocks had gone forward in Argentina anyway. Still, sitting in deck chairs in the garden and star-gazing with a litre of local red was certainly memorably different.

We're looking forward to a few days off now and probably won't be cycling again until Temuco and the Chilean Lake District, where it is summer but without these ridiculous temperatures. We have been warned about giant horseflies, though ... insect repellent is on the shopping list for Santiago!

Not a White Christmas

Another six-day week at the (handle) bar and another 550km, so we're a bit puffed out today and have been flopping about in the small Argentine town of Belen. It's long odds for a white Xmas here as it is a sunny 25°C and excellent beer-drinking weather (although it's over 40°C down on the plains, so we won't be going there). The route along Route 40 from Salta took in fine sandstone canyons and the scenic wine-growing Cafayate region (nice chilled Turrontes whites). Our addiction to steak continues in an effort to put back on some of the 5kg we have collectively lost - no need for a post-Xmas slimming regime here. We also experienced the strong local Zonda desert wind, both for and against us, which was good practice for windy Patagonia. Local Xmas preparations are muted (apart from lots of firework buying - could be noisy tonight) and a huge contrast to 'Shop until you drop' UK. From here we continue south to Mendoza (another wine-growing area...) after New Year. Best seasonal greetings, Clive & Liz.

'Feliz Navidad' from Argentina

It's hard to convey just how radically things have changed for us in the last week or so, in many ways probably the most extreme contrast we will experience on the whole trip. We crossed the border into Argentina about a week ago and were greeted by two signs - the first reminding us just how enormous this country is and how far we have to go, and the second reminding us of some recent (actually, not so recent ...) history. We descended slowly from the great heights of the altiplano (passing numerous varieties of cacti both very large and very small!) and having been at around 4,000m for so many weeks, the air down here at a mere 1,200m feels thick and warm. We´re in Salta, a lovely colonial city with a very European feel to it - lots of cafes, very good Italian coffee, and long siestas. On the food and drink front, things have improved considerably! The steaks are out of this world - huge, plate-sized portions that even we can´t finish and very drinkable red wine, which is going down well after nearly four months without. Our original plan was to stay just a few weeks in NW Argentina and then cross over into Chile but given the current, most enjoyable conditions, we have decided it might be an idea to extend our stay in this wonderful country, probably going as far south as La Rioja (for obvious reasons!). We´re not sure exactly where we will be for Christmas (possibly camping at a petrol station as we think a lot of hostels will close ...) but we will think of you back home as we tuck into paneton, turron and more wine. Have a great Christmas and happy 2008 to you all!

South-West Bolivia: Salt flats & flamingos

We went quickly from La Paz to Uyuni, itself a rather bleak railway town. However this was the access point for tours of the wilderness areas of SW Bolivia. It was too remote for cycling, so we hopped into a 4x4 jeep for a three-day tour. The whole area has wonderful sights including the Salar de Uyuni (the world´s biggest salt flat), brightly coloured lakes with towering volcanos and steaming thermal baths (which Liz - lost in steam - particularly appreciated at a chilly 7am). Many lakes unbelieveably have resident populations of flamingos, not what you quite expect at 4000m! Overall a remarkable place and quite unlike anywhere else we´ve seen. We are in Tupiza now and will cross into Argentina tomorrow. We are nearly at the half-way point in time and indeed the whole trip will change significantly now in three ways; we leave the developing Andean countries for the developed ones of Argentina and Chile, drop from the Andean plateau to lower altitudes and move from tropical to temperate regions. All pleasingly symmetric - a trip of two halves. Certainly the prospects of large steaks and fine wine in Argentina are an enticing thought. (NB: Blog settings have been changed so anyone can now comment.)

La Paz: the two-mile-high capital

Hello All. Not much (geographic) progress since last week as we have only cycled for two days. Whilst on the border at Copacabana we went out to one of the islands on Lake Titicaca for the day (very scenic). We also witnessed the bizarre daily ceremony of ´vehicle blessing´ in front of the cathedral in town; the priest can be seen sploshing the holy water around the decorated cars. Maybe we should have got the bikes done too? Then it was eastbound including a ferry-crossing by barge, which was a bit of a squeeze with a bus (but luckily we didn´t get the barge full of cows. Apologies for pic - too hard to rotate in this programme) and a squeeze through rush-hour traffic (Japanese co-cyclist Sekiji pictured). Now we´re relaxing in the Bolivian capital La Paz at a paltry 3600m and it´s a nice city for mellowing (= cakes & barbeques). Our hosts are Linda and Raul, residents who give shelter to weary cyclists in their lovely home. We´re still getting used to hot running water and comfy mattresses (all much appreciated). And after three months on the road the scores-on-the-doors are: 50 days cycled, 3008km (along), 36,700m (up). Next destinations: Oruro and Uyuni.

Cycle, eat, sleep, repeat

Well that´s been our longest pedalling session yet; a whole 7 days without a break. We have covered about 550km from Cuzco to the border and are now in Copacabana, Bolivia. Although it is not the Brazilian Copacabana, we have just been sunning ourselves on the beach at Lake Titicaca. The route included bleak high plateau puna and some much appreciated thermal baths. We had 10 weeks in Peru in all and it was a facinating though challenging time. We´ll miss the splendid, at times tremendous, scenery and the calm dignity of the Indians in the highlands. Conversely we hope no longer to be taunted as "Gringos" or seemingly woken every morning at 5am by a shouting contest amongst hotel staff. Cycling regularly has certainly changed our dietary behaviour; we scutinise food packets to ensure they have the maximum calorific intake, shovel sugar into our tea and consume at least two litres of vile pop every day. So we are looking forward to the next month in the Bolivia of dramatic altiplano, salt lakes and more llamas.

Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and beyond

Apologies for the blog silence over the last week or so but we have been on a mini-break! As predicted, it took us a while to 'acclimatise' to touristy Cuzco but it didn't take long to get used to the endless variety of food and drink available - all at four times the usual price but worth every Sol. We ended up staying a week - not just because of the apple pastries but also beacuse train tickets to Machu Picchu were in short supply and though Clive had been before on his previous tour of the continent, we decided that it could not be missed.

And I wasn't disappointed. It is truly amazing, for me more because of the dramatic high-mountain setting than the actual site, though if you can fight through the tour groups, there is some incredible stonework. It's a long day out, involving a four-hour train journey from Cuzco (down the beautiful Urubamba valley), about five hours at the site and then five hours back on the train. When we arrived, in an attempt to get away from the crowds, we headed straight for Waynapicchu, the big pointy peak in the background. It is more of a scramble than a walk up a very steep, rocky path, culminating in an almost vertical set of steps up to the fortification at the top (fun in a vertiginous sort of way!). And the view of the site from the top is amazing - really atmospheric.

We finally pedalled out of Cuzco on 17th Nov and we are now on our way to Puno on a lovely tarmac road with only one high pass, then we hit the altiplano. On our way out of Cuzco yesterday, having seen only three cyclists since Quito, we were astonished to pass what almost amounted to a peloton on the hard shoulder. A German couple, who have done 60,000km on their round-the-world trip and, pictured right, a Swiss couple plus four-year-old son in a trailer on their way from Canada to Tierra del Fuego. Truly remarkable.