Sms sent 5 May 2009..............................Puerto Chacabuco Chile
Hallelujah we are safely in Puerto Chacabuco....after 36 hours rain and very windy, some swells , no sea sickness!........Changing tyres in preparation for the bad roads.
Sms sent 6 May 2009..................................Coyhaique Chile
Slept in Coyaique heading for Puerto Grosse for 2 days................Cell will not work there. Scenery is stunning, very unique. Weather nice blue skies today!.
Sms sent 9 May 2009.............Chile Chico
We are at Chile Chico, crossing into Argentina soon....Chilian Patagonia has stunning scenery. Weather crisp a nice 3'C and below! Keep warm for us.

Epos gestuur 11 May 2009............................Suid Chile
Van die pragtige strand dorpie Pichilemu af het ons die oggend vroeg in die pad geval en die 130km terug na die snelweg in digte mis en koue tempratuur gery. By San Fernando, waar ons die snelweg in die suidelike rigting geneem het, het die mis verdwyn en ons kon goed tyd opmaak. 'n Snelweg is egter 'n vervelige tipe pad om te ry, daarom het ons na so uur of wat van die slegweg afgerdaai in die rigting van die see op 'n pad wat soort van paralell loop met die hoof roete (ruta 5). Die stuk pad het ons deur pragtige valeie en heuwels geneem by die groot stad van Conception verby. Die see het so lekker na bamboes geruik, en ons het die stukkie pad wat teen die kus loop baie geniet, en die aand by 'n klein dorpie wat nie eers op die padkaart het nie geslaap. Die volgende oggend vroeg was ons weer op die pad, en weer vir meer as 'n uur lank moes ons deur dik mis ry en kon nie regtig sien hoe die omgewing lyk nie, maar die pad het wel baie gekronkel oor 'n berg. By Temuco het ons weer op die vervelige dubbel laan snelweg geklim en suid gery tot by Osorno, waar ons twee aande deurgebring het. Osorno en die omliggende omgewing was 'n deel waar baie Duitse imigrante ingetrek het en die huise se argitektuur is duidelik Duits en baie anders as verder noord. Dit was ook oplettend 'n meer welvarende deel van die land, veral as mens dit aan die tipe huise wat jy sien kan meet. Ons het ook nou soort van in die winter ingery, want die bome se blare is pragtig geel en hoe verder ons suid gery het hoe meer het die bome winter kleure gewys. Langs die pad vanaf Osorno verby die Lago Lanquihue (Lago is Spaans vir 'n Meer) was pragtige plase met die mooiste plaas huise. Die area is een van Chile se bekendste toeriste dele en die talle gaste huise en hotelle in die omgewing bevestig daardie titel. Ons is daar deur buite seisoen en het heelwat minder betaal as wat ons sou in die somer. In Puerto Montt kom die dubbel laan snelweg tot 'n einde en verander in 'n meer interesante pad wat tussen pragtige heuwels met bees plase loop. By Pargua het ons met 'n ferrie oor gegaan tot op die Chiloe Eiland. Die pad op die eiland was goed en die omgewing tot 'n mate soortgelyk aan wat ons in Skotland gesien het.

Die pragtige dorpie van Puerto Octay tussen Osorno en Puerto Montt. (Puerto is Spaans vir hawe
 
Vissers bote in die baai van Quellon, die dorpie waar ons gewag het vir die ferrie

By Chonci, 'n oulike kusdorpie, het ons op 'n hele twee slaapkamer huisie (Cabana) afgekom vir dieselfde prys as wat ons gewoonlik vir 'n kamer betaal. Dit was 'n winskoop vir die prys en ons het twee lekker aande daar deurgebring. Die pad eindig in die suide van die eiland by Quellon, en dis waar ons die ferrie moes neem om verder suid te gaan. Die ferie loop een keer 'n week, maar die weer was sleg en die ferrie was vertraag met 24 uur, en het ons gekos om een aand in Quellon deur te bring. Die aand teen 20:30 toe ons moes opklim, let ek op dat die agterband pap is. In 'n gejaag het ek die wiel gepomp, maar in die donker kon ons nie die lekplek vind nie, en trek toe maar die bike net so op. Die ferrie was 'n groot boot wat 'n hele paar groot vragmotors met sleepwaens gelaai het. Teen 22:00 het hulle anker opgetrek en begin seil. Ons was onder die indruk die vaart sou slegs 22 uur neem, so ons was voorberei vir een nag se slaap op die sitplekke van die boot. Die volgende dag kom ons agter dat die rit deur twee nagte sou wees, en nie een nie. Die ferrie se roete was deur pragtige nou skeepskanale tussen eilande met digte woud. Ons het by 'n paar klein hawens aangedoen waar die boot mense op en afgelaai het. Hierdie hawens was werklik in die middel van nerens, daar is geen paaie soontoe nie en ek glo die gemeenskappe wat hier bly is hoogs afhanklik van die ferrie wat produkte inbring.
 
Pomp die pap wiel op die dek van die ferrie, tyd dat                     Pad na Coyhaique
ek daai nuwe agterband opsit?

Na twee nagte kom ons toe by ons hawe aan, Puerto Chacabuco (Puerto is Spaans vir 'n hawe). Natuurlik was die GS se agterband weer pap, en na twee pogings om die lek reg te maak met 'n rubber prop het hy steeds afgeblaas. Die gat was te groot en die volgende stap was om die band aftehaal en van die binnekant af 'n patch op te sit. Die band het nog so bietjie loopvlak opgehad, maar ek het gereken dis eerder tyd om die nuwe band op te sit, wat ons al saamry vanaf Santiago af. Ons het van die boot afgery tot die naaste vulstasie wat 'n groot kompressor het, en daar die band geruil en binne 2 ure was ons op pad na Coyhaique. Ons het ons nou bevind in 'n ander wereld, en die valei en berge was pragtig. Hier is dit reeds winter, want baie bome het nie meer blare nie, en dit is ook duidelik koud. Op soek na 'n slaaplek stop ons by een hostel, waar 'n vriendelike Duitse man uitkom en ons welkom heet. Sy Naam is Tomas, en is 'n gas by die hostal. Later gesels ons te lekker en hy deel met ons mee dat hy 'n Hostal in die wildernis het so dag se ry suid van Coyhaique. Hy was op pad na Santiago vir besigheid, maar sy vrou is by die huis en hou die hostal aan die gang. Ons laat toe sy vrou weet ons is op pad, en val die volgende dag in die pad.

Bergpass suid van Coyhaique waar al die bome al rus in hul    Die pragtige Lago General Carrera (Lago is Spaans vir Meer   

Die weer was pragtig en die lug helder blou, blykbaar 'n ongewone gesig die tyd van die jaar. Die Here is ons goedgesind wat die weer aan betref, en het eintlik sover maar min reen op die pad gehad. Die omgewing was so mooi dis baie moeilik om dit in woorde te beskryf. Steil berg pieke met wit sneeu op, digte woud met bome wat se kleure wissel tussen groen, geel, oranje, rooi en grys. Die grys is die bome wat reeds al hul blare verloor het. Blou lug en sonskyn het egter nie vir ons warm weer gegee nie, die tempratuur het tussen 5 en 8 grade gebly. Die teerpad kom tot 'n einde by Villa Cerra Castillo, en van daar af moes ek dit maar stadig vat, want die pad oppervlakte was vol los klippe wat die GS vele kere lekker laat 'snake' het. Die bos het digter begin raak en daar was so hier en daar plase met skape en beeste te sien. Die pad het ons tot langs die Lago General Carrera geneem met sy diep helder ligblou water en steil berge met wit sneeu op as die perfekte poskaart prentjie. Dis 'n mooi wereld hierdie, en die vele kamptereine vertel my dat hier baie toeriste kom kuier in die somer. Nou is daar maar min malletjies soos ons wat die koue aandurf, en dit nog op 'n bike ook! Meer as een keer vra ek myself die vraag af wat my besiel het om hierheen te wil kom in die winter? Dit gaan nog 'n taai rit verder suid wees, maar ons is vasberade om elke oomblik daarvan, hoe koud ook al, te geniet. Almal wat ons langs die pad ontmoet, vertel ons dit sneeu nou daar onder in die suide. Ons en die GS het egteral reeds al die sneeu-toets geslaag, so dit pla nie so baie nie. Die aand net voor donker kom ons by Tomas se vrou, Cathrene, en hul hostal aan. Ons was so koud soos 'n gevriesde kalkoen, en het dadelik gestort en in die bed geklim. Die volgende dag seen die Here ons weer met  n pragtige oop dag. Ons het die pragtige area so bietjie gaan verken en ook 'n kort staproete gedoen deur digte reenwoud tot by 'n uitkykpunt waar ons veleglasiers kon sien. Hul hostal is gelee net noord van die Northern Patagonia Icefields, en hulle is omring deur wit gesneeude berg pieke.  Hulle bly al 15 jaar hier in die wilderness en geniet die afgesonderde lewenstyl wat die omgewing bied.

Ons is amper klaar met Chile, na 'n maand en 4000km se toer. Wat 'n interesante land met so groot verskydenheid van natuurskoon. Binnekort is ons in Argintinie. Die ding wat my al jare lank intereseer van Argintinie is die Boere Immigrante wat hierheen getrek het na die Anglo Boere Oorlog. Ek is aan die navorsing doen en wil baie graag van hul nasate opsoek en kontak maak. Baie van die families praat blykbaar steeds Afrikaans in hul huise en daar is selfs 'n NG kerk gemeente op die een dorp. Ek sal graag die inligting met julle ook deel sodra ons besoek aan daardie deel (Chubut provinsie afgele het. Indien enige van julle kontakte het van Afrikaans sprekende mense in Argintinie laat my asb weet.
 

The road leading out of Coyhaique and the surrounding valleys is unique and very beautiful.  Tall steep snow capped mountains, thick forested areas with trees mostly bare on top as those leaves had already fallen to the ground as the cold of winter set it; yet some were still showing the late autumn colours ranging from yellow to orange to deep red.  The weather was fantastic, one of those rare crisp bright blue sky days!  Even though we had wonderful sun shine it was really chilly as the temperature remained between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius.   The good tar road ended at Villa Cerra Castillo and we would only see tar again at the border crossing into Argentina.  The road had a lot of loose stone which made the GS back slide out on occasions!  And then again some sections were really good.  We took the turnoff at Puerto Rio Tranquila towards Puerto Grosse and headed for Tomas and Cathrine’s Guest House which is in a rain forest and only 8km’s from the Northern Patagonia Ice Field but 44km’s down a bad gravel road!! We arrive just before the sun set and were greeted by a very jubilant Cathrine.  After a semi-hot shower (boo hoo hoo) we went up to cuddle in bed to get warm.  We eventually fell asleep and then woke up at some strange hour of the morning boiling hot...

 

The next morning we were blessed again with wonderful blue skies and headed the 8km’s down the road to go look at the San Valentin Glacier.  We did a short hike through dense rain forest up to the glacier look-out point!  We could see where the glacier was coming down from the top part of the high mountain and into the valley in front of us.  If it was not for the striking blue colour in the deep crevasses, we would not have realised that the sand and stone in front of us was actually part of the glacier. On a closer inspection with the binoculars we could see that the clear white and blue ice changed into a blend of creams and browns as the glacier got stained by layers of sand and stone from the near-by banks of the valley.  The rain forest was fascinating, the temperature was much colder amongst the trees and it was full of little ferns and fungus. We even saw purple mushrooms and the bright Orange Peel Fungus.

 

We woke to a very cold wet morning and thanked the Lord that we had decided to leave when we saw that the mountains around the house were turning white.  After about 30 minutes on the bike the rain eased off but there was still drops falling out of the sky.... the rain had turned to snow!  Thankfully this meant that we would not be getting drenched... as our rain suits were giving up the ghost after excessive use!!  The snow stopped when we got out of the valley but it was still raining on and off all along the shores of Lake Buenos Aires.  The scenery was stunning; turquoise blue lakes, trees with bright yellow, orange or deep red leaves, dark mountain rock with snow on top.  This is a very popular area for fly fishing and hiking in the summer months.  This time of the year is the quiet season for the locals and most of the many lodges and camp sites we passed were closed for renovation or the owners were away for their annual holiday.  Most of the people we spoke to thought we were crazy to brave the cold, especially on a motorcycle! Just after Cruce El Maiten the road entered another valley and we could see that it was snowing up ahead...  we decided to carry on as we only had another 60 odd km’s to go to get to Cochrane (the town we intended to get fuel and spend the night).  The road climbed in altitude and the light snow fall became heavier and heavier.  We could not believe it, in a short distance of 14km’s we were in thick snow and everything was now black and white.  Trees, bushes, fences, cows, horses, houses were all covered white.  It was stunningly beautiful!  We stopped to have a closer look and saw up to 3 inches of snow balancing on the thinnest of surfaces.  On we went, until we realised that the GS was no longer breaking through the snow to the gravel and the back wheel was starting to slide... ice... we stopped and discussed the possibility of getting snowed in at Cochrane!  Not a good idea!! By this time we were cold from our wet clothes and our feet freezing in our .... wet boots (walking in the snow also did not help!!)  Fuel was our main concern but we decided it was best to do the u-turn and head back toward the lake road!  Thank the Lord for His intervention (ice on the road) - we found fuel at Puerto Guadal and a wonderful little cabin right next door to the super market.  All our wet things got hung in front of the inside fire to dry and we headed for the shower.... oh it was so wonderful and hot!  We had yummy home-made chicken and spaghetti; and hot milky coffee!  It was still raining the next morning and as you can imagine the thought of getting wet again was not very exciting and we ooed and aaed about staying another day... but eventually rationalized that it would be ‘dry’ in Argentina!  So we headed out in the rain toward Chile Chico. Praise the Lord, the rain stopped at the border and we were back on tar road all the way to Perito Moreno.

Snow on the road to Cochrane, Chile 

How thick the snow is on the thin branch

From the South of Chile we went into Argentina where we spent two months travelling through Argentina, before returning to Chile............You may want to first read the write up on the Argentina page before  reading the rest of Chile....................
.Click on  go to Argentina

Email sent 6 July 2009...............Last ride Chile
 

We did our last ride on this continent when we drove from Santiago to Valparaiso yesterday.The mountains next to Santiago is white with snow, making it a really pretty site to see as we left the city. We drove along a very beautiful road and mountain pass that ended up at the Pacific Ocean north of Valparaiso, where we followed the stunning coast line pass Vina del Mar, an area that is similar to our own Camps Bay - Sea Point, just stunning. And to make the day perfect, the Lord blessed us with clear blue skies, despite of a rain forecast the day before! We have  found a nice hotel/hostel near the town centre, where we will stay while we do all the preparations to send the bike and equipment to Melbourne. Once we are 'rustig' again, I will write in more detail about the last week or two of our journey. We've been through the nicest scenery in Southern South America. The road from Mendoza to Chile was also just 'out of this world'. We climbed above the snowline and played in more than a meter thick fluffy snow next to the road.
 

 Thank You for all the support and encouragement from you all.

Email sent 14 July 2009.............Mendoza to Valperaiso Chile
 

The road between Mendoza (Argentina) and Los Andes (Chile) has the reputation of being one of Argentina’s most scenic, and to top the amazing scenery we had a perfect sunshine day to make it one of our most enjoyable rides between the two countries. The scenery was stunning as we rode past a few ski-resorts and saw people on their snowboards or skis coming down the steep white slopes. It was the kind of scenery we as South Africans only get to see in postcards and overseas travel magazines. We considered ourselves extremely blessed to be able to see it in real life. After the border crossing, on the Chilean side we stopped and played a bit in the light fluffy snow next to the road. This type of snow was different than what we have experienced before, as it was more like dry-ice, and we did not get wet playing with it. It was an amazing experience. The road itself was perfect with no ice on the surface, which made the riding a pleasure. Yes it was cold, but with scenery this beautiful who cares about the temperature?

The road took us down to the town of Los Andes, where we had an empanada (meat pie) and Pap (local cool drink) for a snack, before we headed on to Santiago. As we rode past the rolling hills covered with vineyards we both agreed that the Chilean side of the mountains are much more scenic and nicer than in Argentina. In Santiago we stayed at the same hostel we stayed two months ago. Unfortunately the owner of the hostel was away on holiday, so all rules and regulations were not being enforced like last time we were here. The place was a mess, and guests were noisy until 2AM.  In Santiago we fitted a new set of tyres on the GS, as it is cheaper here than down under in Melbourne. The guy at the BMW shop told us the bikes has gained amazing popularity here in Chile the last two or three years.  While we were there waiting for the tyres to get fitted, we witnessed a student and his dad buying a brand new blue F650. It reminded me of my first new bike, an excitement you can’t explain and can only experience once in your lifetime.

The next Sunday we left for Valparaiso. This would be our last ride on this Continent on this journey, and I wanted to make it a memorable one. Instead of riding on the main duel carriage highway, we rode a scenic road over a winding mountain pass and past the lovely Vina del Mar Resort-town. There were not a cloud in sight and it was the perfect final day on the bike for us.

We used a local well known agent (Enzo and Martina) to do the paperwork and built the crate for the bike, but it was still up to us to ensure that the bike is clean enough to clear the strict Australian quarantine rules. It needs to be free of all road grime, dust and dirt. After being through some of the muddiest and dustiest roads in South America the last four months, is was no easy task. Enzo and Martina had shipped hundreds of bikes before, and had some good advice for us cleaning and packing-up.  After we spent two full days cleaning the bike, we find out we have to still ride the bike to the container-yard, about 15-20km away! We were not amused about this, but had no choice, so drove as slow as we could to avoid dust and dirt to come onto the bike again. The last 100m of road into the yard was dirt, and we saw our two days of hard labour ‘down the drain’. Surprisingly there were very little dust on the bike, and after another 15 mins of wiping the tires and mudguards clean, she was ready to roll into her crate and being strapped down for the long boat journey to Melbourne. The next day we were supposed to do the customs clearance, just to find out the customs officials are on strike for the following two days! Luckily Enzo (our agent) had some good contacts inside and he arranged our paperwork to be done despite of the strike. We were all done, but all the other goods that were also due to travel with the same container could not be done, resulting our container to be delayed by one more week! This is just frustrating, and something we are not too happy about, but such is life, can’t have it your way always, can you?

Our bike is loaded in its box and is due to leave Chile on the 20^th on a ship that will take 55 days to get to Melbourne, Australia.  On the 25^th we will board our first Airplane ride on our RTW tour. In the past we have made all our water crossings by boat or ship. We will fly to Auckland, New Zealand, and spend a week or two there with fellow CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) members and do the back-pack thing, before we will fly over to Melbourne and wait for the bike to arrive, which will only arrive by mid September.The cost of the shipping also tirned out to be a bit more than what we had expected, with all sotrs of handling and port fees that brought the bill up to $1450, almost the same that we paid for airfreight between London and New York.

 Anyway, the waiting period will give us time to get ahead with many other things, and also will give us time to visit Auckland and the CMA chapter in New Zealand.

The GS has been generally very good since our last break-down in the USA, and did the rest of the journey without any major failures. The only part that failed was an electrical part that I don’t need anyway (RID panel), and at a replacement price tag of $600 I will continue without it for many more miles to come. The bike has done 176,000kms till now, and is still good for a lot more and still is in pretty good nick too.

We are spending our off-time now educating ourselves about Australia and planning our route around the huge country. At this stage it seems that we will be doing a clockwise route around, from Melbourne to Perth to Broome to Darwin to Cairns and then back south to Melbourne, and over to Tasmania.  But more about that on a later stage.

Email sent 20 July 2009.....................Valparaiso

We are enjoying our stay in Valparaiso and have decided to stay here until our flights this coming weekend 25 July 2009 when we leave for New Zealand.............I have been very busy this weekend completing 3 more videos for Youtube. Please visit Youtube and search for jc4ever2 or follow the link on the Link page which will take you to Youtube, to view our videos of The Jujuy Province Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador.  To view all our videos from Cape Town to Ushuaia, should keep you busy for about 2 hours.  Please take time to leave comments and ratings while you watch the movies . I have also added more photos on Facebook and would appreciate comments on the photos
 

God bless and until next time, ride safe. . . . . . . . .