Buying a donut in Valparaiso.

So much of the fun and excitement of travel comes from the interaction with people and the challenges that are presented when undertaking what would be a mundane task at home.

A Berlin

At home buying a donut takes 2 minutes

In Valparaiso buying a donut takes 15 minutes

Here was the process.

1) Locate a Panaderia ( bakery ) —- easy, just follow your nose

2 ) Stand in line at the counter

3) Point to the delicacy you want and ask what is the name in Spanish for a fresh, strawberry filled, donut

4) Armed with this knowledge stand in a second line to pay for the donut

5) Request to pay for una BERLIN

6) Told to go back to the counter to get a ticket for the purchase

7) Stand in line at the counter

8) Request a ticket for una Berlin

9) Stand in line at cashier

10) Pay c$ 500 ( about $0.30 )

11) Receive a receipt for payment

12) Stand in line at the counter

13) Hand over receipt to what is now an old friend

14) Receive una Berlin wrapped in brown paper inside a brown paper bag

15) Gobble down a delicious Berlin

Worth every minute !!

Valparaiso and Northern Chile

With a two day ride up the coast from Puerto Montt I arrived in the old port city of Valparaiso. It seemed to me like the only thing holding up many of the crumbling old buildings is the paint from the amazing street art that adorns countless walls

Monument in training

The city creeps up the hills from the port with iconic funiculars offering a respite from the thigh burning steps 

Funicular

Valapraiso had it’s glory days as a supply port for vessels making the passage round the Horn on their way to the gold fields of Californian in the 19th century. A massive earthquake in 1906 did major damage to the city and then the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 sealed its fate.

Chile navy training ship Esmeralda

My next stop was the seaside resort town of La Serena a 5 hour ride north up the very good Ruta 5 highway.

La Serena

La Serena beach

Just east into the desert from La Serena is found the beautiful valley of Elqui, famous for its vineyards that produce the fiery spirit, Pisco. 

Vineyards in Elqui Valley

Pisco

This area is known for its clear skies and is home to many observatories allowing for the un-interrupt sight of the heavens. I took a nighttime horse-back ride up winding mountain paths that seemed at times were leading directly into the black, star studded night.

This truly is an enchanted valley and welcome stop before taking the northern reaches of the Atacama desert.

The main road leading north in the Atacama is a very good paved road and it was easy to make good time although endless hours through the desert could be very tiring. They say that this is the driest desert on earth and there were long stretches where there was not a hint of vegetation.

Atacama Desert looking east

The National Parque Pan de Azucar on the edge of the cold Pacific Ocean was a good night stopover with the waves putting me to sleep and the seagulls waking me in the morning 

P. N Pan de Azucar

Early morning in the desert

Mano del Desierto near Antofagaste

Desert art

Ever northwards through the ugly industrial mining town of Antofagaste and then northwards and eastwards towards the Andes and the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama. What a gem of a place in the middle of the desert with the high snow covered volcanoes towering over this town built out of adobe. The underground aquifers fed by the nearby snow covered peaks have transformed the dry desert into this green island in a sea of sand and rock.

Back street of San Pedro

Iglesia de San Pedro

Volcan Licancabur

Laguna Miscanti

Vicuña

I learned a little about the seemingly shy Vicuña. Two males fight for dominance of the herd, and all the benefits that that entails, by hitting each other with their necks (much like giraffes do) In this high mountain environment with very thin air this soon leads to exhaustion by one poor luckless fellow who drops to the ground. The winner then bites off the balls of the loser !!! -- a little harsh I thought. 

Happy at the End of the Earth

Richard and Erin

How to make a dad happy — go to the end of the world to meet him

Yup, that is what happened when Erin arrived in Ushuaia. 

Beagle Channel from our hotel

Old tug in the harbor

A couple of days in and around this town perched on the edge of the Beagle Channel, including a hike to a glacier overlooking the town and day in the nearby national park before Erin took a couple of busses for an 18 hour journey to Puerto Natales in Chile. I left the afternoon before and rode as far as the Argentina/ Chile border where I spent the night in a small frontier hotel.

Argentina/Chile Border Tierre del Fuego

Sheep being herded across the road

Bus stop on the pampa

A day of incredibly strong wind made for hard riding across the pampa with the trucks and busses creating such strong draughts as they came in the opposite direction that my head and crash helmet were in peril of being ripped from my neck.

Torres del Paine

And now the hiking began in the Torres del Paine National Park.

Glamping at Pehoé

Glamping at Pehoé campsite just outside the park gave as the opportunity for a relatively early start up to Regufio Gray, Lago Grey and the glacier above. Having not done a lot of walking in recent months this was jumping in at the deep end with a 24km day with winds at time stopping us in our tracks - but ohh so worth it.

Muñeca with Torres in background

A night in an old estancia and a bottle of red wine put us back on track for another 20km plus day up to Lago de los Tres below the iconic Torres del Paine 

( Blue towers in the local indigenous language )

Old Estancia 

Another hop over the border back into Argentina in our Rent-a-Reck Renault rattled us into the bustling town of El Calafate with the nearby (70km) Perdito Moreno Glacier being the start attraction in the area.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Would you like that with glacier ice sir?

This is one of the few glaciers in the world that is not retreating and the 70 meter ( over 200 ft ) high face regularly calves with the massive slabs of ice crashing into the lake with a noise like thunder

El Chaltén

Having the need once again to put a few miles under our boots we found ourselves in the fun little town of El Chaltén with access to incredible hikes right outside the door of our hostel

Fitzroy in the clouds

With a final 1 km scramble up a steep moraine we arrived at the base of the awe inspiring Cerro Fitzroy ( named after Robert Fitzroy, captain of the exploration ship Beagle that transported Charles Darwin on one of his voyages of discovery )

We finished our stay in this area with a easier 18 km hike up a beautiful valley to Lago Torre. The evergreen birch forests along the old glacier valley were magnificent and the distance seemed easy.

Then came the sad part, having to say goodbye to Erin as we parted in El Calafate, her to return home and me to carry on with my journey back north. I boarded the ferry Eden in Puerto Natales for a 4 day trip through the fjords of Patagonia, a 16 hour section of rough ocean which  made many a hardy soul look a little green and then back into the fjords before arriving in Puerto Montt on the morning of the 5 day.

I sure am looking forward to getting back on the motorbike and seeing what the northern reaches of Chile hold in store for me