#7 Crossing the Andes - Valparaiso to Mendoza

The ride to Mendoza was to be broken up by a night in the La Campana National Park, a few hours inland from Valpariaso. After enjoying some summer weather for a few days after a temperate week in Santiago it was about time to put our camping gear (a large portion of what we're lugging around on the bike) to the test.

#6 Valpariaso & Viña del Mar – Cities by the Sea

The city of Valpariaso is often described as a natural ampitheatre. It is located on a bay, which was once the major port of Chile, surrounded by a backdrop of hills on which thousands of colourful buildings rest so precariously that UNESCO has given Valpariaso world heritage status. The city´s beauty was lost on us as we struggled to locate its centre, unintentionally heading up to the coast to the next town of Viña del Mar (our master plan of following a tour bus into the city failing when we noticed school children get off).

#5 First day on the road - Santiago to Valpariaso

All packed and ready to head to Mendoza, Argentina, our thermal gear ready to be tested by its first crossing of the Andes, we thought it might be a good idea to ask in the hostel what to expect from customs officials. Twenty minutes later we were instead heading west after learning that the Santiago-Mendoza border crossing had been closed all week due to a freak snow-storm in the Andes. While it sounded as if the crossing had re-opened we thought that ice and snow may not be the ideal conditions in which to begin our motorcycle journey.

#4 Retrieving the bike

All week long, Friday, being the day we were to pick up the bike, had been on both our minds. The first difficulty we faced was locating LAN cargo.

#3 Impressions of Santiago

Our first day in Santiago was impacted by the Colombus Day public holiday in another way. With the city lacking any life minus the moving crowds it also lacked vibrancy. While the graffiti and general run down nature remained the following day, people improved my perspective.

#2 The Novice Travellers

Getting out of Auckland proved more difficult than entering Santiago. 

#1 Goodbye Eleanor - packing the bike

If we were Ewen McGreggor or Charley Boorman, of Long Way Round fame, this part of the trip would involve all our friends and family gathering around, preferably with a bike-themed cake, to bid us farewell on our journey. We would then wave goodbye while wheel-spinning into the distance, and the speedometer would click over the first kilometre of our adventure.