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The Americas 2013

A Motorcycle Diary
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19 February 2013

19 Feb

After the events of yesterday, I lay in bed considering why we had come across to Argentina in the first place. It occurred to me that the only reason that we had done this crossing was because I wanted to see the Punta Del Inca and Aconcagua, the highest mountain in Argentina, both of which we missed because we ended up doing the crossing at night! The journey north on the Argentine side to Salta was ONLY because of the sites on this crossing that we missed so I lay there contemplating the viability of carrying on to Mendoza at all!

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Punta Del Inca

Whilst we sat waiting for the road to open yesterday we met a German biker called Hubert that mentioned that the only other Argentine/Chilean crossing through the Andes further North had been closed 2 weeks ago due to heavy rains. A quick squiz at the weather forecast further north of Mendoza showed rain for the remainder of the week so that was enough to convince me that we should turn around and head back to Chile and simultaneously get to see the sights we missed. This turned out to be a great call because although it resulted in a long 590km ride to La Serena on the Chilean coast, we rode the pass in the most amazing weather and get to ride without any rain forecast for the remainder of this coming week.

days ride

Our 590km ride today

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Some of the Vistas through the Andes taken with a helmet cam..

The ride up the Chilean coast was beautiful and fast due to the great road conditions but uneventful. We reached La Serena at about 8pm after having departed Uspalata at around 10am and found wonderful accommodation right on the beach. A dinner of traditional Chilean cuisine, a few beers and a bottle of wine and we passed out at about 11pm.

 
Be a sport Many of us have the means and wherewithal to undertake the dreams we want but elect to choose otherwise, many however, do not and that is the purpose of this plea. Afrika Tikkun (http://afrikatikkun.org// ) is a South African non governmental, non profit charity organisation run by the Lubner family that in essence does just that; re-provide the possibility to dream and to create the possibility of turning those dreams into a reality.

Unlike many pleas of this nature, I am not looking for any kind of sponsorship for my trip, but I am looking for your donation, regardless of its size to Afrika Tikkun. Please pledge generously as this is a fantastic cause that will assist them to provide food, care, education, health and social services to those that are desperately in need.
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  1. Roberto Román L.

    February 24, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    Rui and Jacqui:

    Darwin stopped at Puente del Inca. Did you go down? The calcite formations are quite impressive…