After a long month of break, we are ready to ride again. Since it has been raining a lot lately, we start on the first cloudy day from Salta towards San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. We do not know what the crossing of the Andes will hold in store for us...
On the cloudy morning of January 21, Martin and I start from Salta. Séb is staying a few days more with Cynthia and will catch us later on the road. The first day of riding starts well, with a small hill and nice downhill rides through a dense forest. We also cross through a few fords, reminding me of my past misfortune near Quines. At the end of the first day, we feel our muscles but we are happy to arrive in El Carmen.
 |
| The road meanders through the forest |
On the second day of riding, we choose a bypass lane before entering Jujuy and end up at the left side of a 4-lane highway junction! After struggling to get out of the highway, we stop in Jujuy for our lunch break. Martin is not feeling good and we decide to shorten our day to stay in Jujuy. Séb and Cynthia have also arrived there and we gather in the same hotel.
The road between Jujuy and Purmamarca is quite narrow with a lot of traffic exiting Argentina. Very often, we hear trucks or buses honking us repeatedly and have just the time to pull over on the side. It is getting hot in the afternoon and the road climbs steeply.
 |
| Resting in the only available shade under a bridge |
Finally, after a tiring day with a 1100m ascent through the Cuesta de Bárcena, we arrive in Purmamarca, the
Town of the Virgin Land. We will rest in this touristy village for a few days.
 |
| The Cerro de Siete Colores (Hill of the Seven Colours) and the village of Purmamarca |
 |
| Gauchos (cowboys) gathering... |
 |
| ... and their horses |
After 3 nights in Purmamarca, it's time to set sail towards Susques, one of the last villages in Argentina before Chile. It takes us the whole day to climb the of Cuesta del Lipan, 2'000m of ascent over 20 km, at less than 4km/h under the sun. Still, we are pretty lucky because usually, the fog covers a large part of the route. In our case, we find ourselves suddenly wrapped in fog only during the last hour of ascent.
 |
| Séb in the Cuesta del Lipan... |
 |
| ... and in the fog! |
 |
| Séb and Martin emerging from the fog |
When we arrive close to the peak, we find a restaurant. The owner, a gaucho/singer who owns 200 lamas gazing all over the place, allows us to stay for the night! We celebrate this hard day around a nice meal with a bottle of wine in a heated room before sleeping on the floor.
 |
| This little lama has less than 1 day and was abandoned by his mom |
The next morning, we ride the last meters of ascent before a nice downhill ride to the Salinas Grandes.
 |
| Traditional picture of bikers at the peak... |
 |
| ...before the downhill ride! |
 |
| All the way down to the Salinas! |
The Salinas are partly flooded and look like a gigantic mirror. Our road cuts through it and it is difficult not to stop every meter to take pictures. We even try to stop on the Salinas, but the crust of salt breaks and I find myself stuck in a salty mud up to the ankle with the loaded bike!
 |
| Salinas Grandes |
 |
| The group picture was finally taken on the road |
The sun hits us hard on the Salinas and a bad sunstroke gives me nausea and fever by the end of the day. We were expecting the road to be more or less easy until Susques. Instead, a series of ups and downs tear my last strengths into pieces and I arrive dead at Susques.
 |
| The small village of Susques, lost in the Andes |
We rest for a few days in Susques, where we meet Rémi, a friend from Geneva who happened to be travelling in the area with a group of Argentinians.
 |
| International summit at Susques (Argentina, France and Switzerland) |
After preparing ourselves for the difficult part of the crossing, we leave Susques on a sunny day. The road goes all the way up through the altiplano (high Andean plateau).
 |
| Even if we are as high as the pass of Agua Negra, the scenery is much greener. |
After a big climb and a ride along a salar, we arrive at Archibarca: 2 roads intersecting, 1 inhabited farm and 1 abandoned house without roof. We decide to set our camp in the abandoned house whose walls protect us from wind gusts.
 |
| Camp Archibarca |
During the night, Martin and I are woken up by a dog barking at us during several minutes (Séb keeps sleeping). Finally, thanks to a good stone thrown by Martin, we get back to sleep.
 |
| Riding out of Argentina |
 |
| Pueblo and Paso de Jama |
On the next day around noon, we arrive at Pueblo de Jama, a small village with the Argentinian customs. We enjoy our last YPF gas station and tank up water before exiting the country. While Séb and Martin are going through the procedures, I am watching our bikes outside. In the meantime, tourists passing through the customs gather around the bikes, taking pictures without even asking. I feel like a monkey in a zoo... We are finally clear to exit Argentina and climb the Paso Jama.
 |
| Curiously, the political border is not at the highest point between both countries |
After the pass,a strong head wind steals us the pleasure to ride downhill. The sun starts to set, it is getting colder and we are in a hurry to find a spot to camp. Finally, we pitch our tents by the road embankment that partly cuts the wind. We quickly eat and slip in our warm sleeping bags.
 |
| After a night at 4'410m |
On the next morning, we ride along a lake with our first flamingos.
 |
| Pink flamingos |
 |
| Picture/stretching break |
During our lunch break, a friendly Chilean pulls over to warn us of the difficult road to the highest point of our trip: the Portozuelo Paranal at 4'836m. And indeed, he is right: the "short" climb is extremely steep with slopes between 7 to 9 degrees. During the ascent, two cars stop by Martin and Séb to kindly offer them a 2-liter bottle of an ice cold diet soda. It is definitely a nice thought, even if it's not that warm at 4'800m, that each additional kg is to be carried uphill and that we definitely need sugar. When we arrive to the top after 2 hours, we are disappointed to discover that there is no indication of the altitude even if road signs are everywhere.
 |
| THE ascent |
 |
| We wrote the "pass sign" ourselves |
After a good downhill ride, we arrive at a point of view by a marshland with flamingos. We pitch our tents close to the walls and enjoy a nice but cold evening under the stars at 4'600m.
 |
| Subtle nuance of colours |
 |
| Starry night at 4'600m |
 |
| Point of view at the marshland |
After waking up in a tent at -1°C, the last day of riding starts with a last long uphill ride to the Portozuelo de Suco at 4'825m. Once we clear the last ups and downs until the intersection with the road going to Bolivia, it is a terrific downhill ride! We are so excited to arrive in San Pedro de Atacama that we postpone the lunch break and continue rushing down at 80 km/h.
 |
| Last ups and downs |
 |
| Caution: vicuñas crossing |
 |
| Check your brakes... |
 |
| Reckless driving at 80.4 km/h |
 |
| Speeding at 75.6 km/h |
After an epic 45-minute downhill ride, we arrive at the customs at San Pedro de Atacama. We were warned by friends that Chilean officials would check everything thoroughly and that fines were high if you try to import forbidden goods (dairy products, veggies, etc). Thus, we honestly declare that we have goods that might be forbidden. Nevertheless, officers pass some of our bags in an X-ray and waive at us with a gesture full of boredom. We can leave.
 |
| Unexpected mine field at the entrance of San Pedro de Atacama |
We are now resting in San Pedro de Atacama, preparing one of the toughest part of our trip: the crossing of the Bolivian Sur Lipez. Unfortunately, it is raining heavily, with power shortages and 3cm of water in our hotel room.
 |
| Water, captain! |
We expect to start again when the roads will be open again and the mud will have dried a little.
 |
| Dirt track to Bolivia (which might be a mud bath by now) |
Respect !
ReplyDelete