A big hand for making it this far...
The Atacama is the driest desert on earth. When it rained in 1971 it broke a 400 year drought. In other parts rain has never been recorded at all.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Monday, 28 December 2009
San Pedro de Atacama
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Bolivia to Chile
Two days of mud, dirt, gravel, sand and corrugations to get to Chile, but the scenery made up for the state of the road.
At the point that the track was at its wettest a car overtook me, spraying me from head to toe. Unfortunately I didn't get my visor down quickly enough and was blinded by mud.
I got to the Bolivian border without realising it. I stopped to ask for directions and it just so happened the person I asked was the Bolivian Customs man.
The off-road riding must've been more mentally tiring than I realised. Despite having been travelling through spanish speaking countries for the last three months, for some reason when I asked the border guard if there was a hotel nearby I did so in russian.
At the point that the track was at its wettest a car overtook me, spraying me from head to toe. Unfortunately I didn't get my visor down quickly enough and was blinded by mud.
I got to the Bolivian border without realising it. I stopped to ask for directions and it just so happened the person I asked was the Bolivian Customs man.
The off-road riding must've been more mentally tiring than I realised. Despite having been travelling through spanish speaking countries for the last three months, for some reason when I asked the border guard if there was a hotel nearby I did so in russian.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Potosi
Saturday, 19 December 2009
The World's Most Dangerous Road (?)
Although it feels as though I've been riding on the world's most dangerous road for much of the last 29,744 miles, in 1995 the road from La Cumbra to Coroico in Bolivia was named as the most dangerous. Known as the road of death its a single track dirt road that clings to the side of a mountain with drop-offs of up to 600m, with an estimated 200 to 300 fatalities a year.
In 2006 a new road was opened which now takes most of the traffic, leaving the old road to be used mainly by mountain bikers and television presenters.
Although its undoubtedly no longer the world's most dangerous road it has still claimed the lives of 11 cyclists.
For more on the road of death click here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6136268.stm
Friday, 18 December 2009
La Paz
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Bolivia
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Colca Canyon
At 3,191m Colca canyon is one of the world's deepest. A dirt track runs alongside it to a look-out point where if you're lucky you can see condors. The track starts off okay but gets progressively worse. It was at one of the tricky bits (downhill, loose gravel & dirt) that I was faced with a donkey roadblock. My attempt to avoid them ended with both me and the bike on our sides. I carried on a bit further after that but when the wind got so strong that it threatened to blow me off the road and into the canyon I decided that the condors weren't worth it and turned back.
On the journey from Arequipa to the canyon I reached the highest altitude of the trip so far - 4,900m. That's higher than Mont Blanc but as the rest of the day was spent riding over a 4,500m plateaux I wasn't really aware of the extra gain in height.
On the journey from Arequipa to the canyon I reached the highest altitude of the trip so far - 4,900m. That's higher than Mont Blanc but as the rest of the day was spent riding over a 4,500m plateaux I wasn't really aware of the extra gain in height.
Monday, 14 December 2009
Arequipa
Presumably in an effort to catch-out British motorcyclists who have been riding on the righthand side of the road for eight months Arequipa town council have decided that you should ride on the left around the main square.
Fortunately it didn't catch-out this British motorcyclist.
A slap-up meal of alpaca meat for dinner tonight. What does alpaca taste of? A bit like llama really.
Fortunately it didn't catch-out this British motorcyclist.
A slap-up meal of alpaca meat for dinner tonight. What does alpaca taste of? A bit like llama really.
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Lake Titicaca
Friday, 11 December 2009
Machu Picchu
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Cusco
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Monday, 7 December 2009
The Nasca Lines
Friday, 4 December 2009
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Roadworks
The idea was to take a dirt road from the coast into the mountains. Unfortunately it was being rebuilt which meant lots of delays and after 70km the road was blocked completely. Waiting for it to be cleared would've meant having to finish the journey in darkness so it was back down to the coast road.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Ruined
A day spent visiting ruins around Trujillo. In the morning the temples of the sun and moon, constructed over 1,500 years ago, and in the afternoon Chan Chan - the largest pre-Columbian city in the americas.
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