We awoke to frigid temperatures but no wind in our not too distant from the lakeshore wild camp. We were in Chile but we had yet to pass through customs and officially enter the country. Time to get out Rusty’s border crossing pass and prepare to be inspected.
Yes that is ice. Many of you read my words still, after 18 years of writing this page so I don’t have to tell you the only civilized place for ice is in a glass so I took this photo with a telephoto lens and maintained a respectful distance. Ice is cold unpredictable and can be as dangerous as its cousin snow. I advise you to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.
Faced with throwing our last banana into the trash at customs I broke off a piece and fed the wildlife. I have probably created a banana dependency now among wild creatures in this lonely place but it seems to me anything condemned to live here deserves a little sugar. The sheep pen was unoccupied.
So in half a mile we left the ice behind and found pavement. So glorious to drive silently, smoothly and easily. And the scenery remained other worldly.
It has been a revelation to me how barren these Andes mountains and valleys have been all down Chile and Argentina. I had expected some sort of pine forest and granite mountain range at lower elevations, like the Sierra Nevada in California. I guess I was overdue for a visit to South America.
I hope we will get to drive Central Asia before age incapacitates us and from the photos I’ve seen of Tajikistan it looks rather like this. Perhaps we don’t need to go there after all.
I love Chile. I was hopping around like a schoolboy celebrating the end of the school year as we walked in to present our papers. No photos allowed.
They were as all officials have been this far, friendly, professional and as always in Chile particularly, thorough. They searched the van and checked the fridge after Layne handed over a bag of leftover contraband, a lemon half a banana and some onions. The drug dog declared us drug free and after half an hour off we went. On a smooth modern highway.
Summer season is over so there are no more locals out camping or towing travel trailers or driving pickup truck campers. Overlanders are all making for home, some are shipping their vehicles, many Europeans are flying home for the summer with plans to return in the Fall. Team Lost is pressing on with plans to keep driving.
Finally around 3500 feet we started to see greenery, the vineyards of summer preparing to go brown after the harvest.
This road is a dead end, unless you plan to drive to Argentina so there wasn’t much traffic to speak of.
Our first job was yo look for a fruit stand as always after crossing into Argentina or Chile. These are the only countries on the entire journey that do that. Every border until you get here is only interested in paperwork and the contents of our fridge or pantry have been of no interest.
We were not far from La Serena a large beach town we stayed in for a few days last October which around here is the Spring before the summer camping season.
The plan was to drive south eight hours to Santiago to get some stuff done but as we shall see plans change.
Our powerful all terrain tires, BF Goodrich KO2s are getting worn after driving from Bogotà to Ushuaia and back and were we staying in Chile I’d drive on them for a while but we have plans to visit Bolivia and Amazonia in Brazil, places where decent tires are not readily available so as a precaution we are changing them a little early. And Layne found a dealer in La Serena…A tire shop that also changes transmission fluid.
We have 30,000 miles since our last transmission fluid change in Ohio and we could go as long again till the next required change however a fluid change here means we refresh the transmission after some extremely hard driving and get to take a look to make sure everything bid as it should be. If itbudbtvit will be easier to repair here than before we are going…
This means we don’t need to go to Santiago for GANNET2 which is nice. Then I made a discovery that changed our plans. It turns out there is a US consul in Cusco Perú ( on our route to Brazil) who replied to my email saying I could certainly renew my passport there and it would take six weeks. Which would give us time to explore the Sacred Valley while we wait.
And, get this, there is a Brazilian consul in Cusco so we can get help to secure a visa for Brazil. How cool is that?
Layne looking for decent produce in the mini market.
So it looked like we didn’t need to go to Santiago after all. And then we got a message that changed everything. $9 US for 30 eggs. Jealous?
Seaweed. What for? I dread to think.
Anyway our old friends Julia and Konstantin whom we last saw when we were visiting penguins in southern Argentina asked if we wanted to go to Bolivia with them.
I will say that we have been toying with Bolivia for the longest time. It’s a tough country to visit with long lines for fuel, political protests and a high altitude climate that goes down to freezing every night. It is a bit intimidating so to convoy with friends sounded excellent.
We have enough experience now that I think I can cope and I have promised to Layne not to lose my shit when (inevitably) I get frustrated. Breaking down in Bolivia will be a real adventure but I know we have done all we can to prevent and prepare for that. And with Konstantin and Julia for at least part of the visit we will not be alone. Plus they are easy to travel with as we don’t have to stay glued to one another as they are quite independent.
We are working out plans to meet in Northern Argentina in two weeks and go north to the land of chaos together. Their diesel Sprinter loaded with two cats:
It’s all just a plan do who knows if it will work out but it would be nice to see them before they ship out in a few weeks to go back to Seattle.
Meanwhile we had to find a car wash and then a campground, a comfortable place to dust the interior of our home clean and to rest after our high altitude exertions. Overlanding can be exhausting.
We found a spot for $30 a night in a grassy area all to ourselves on an out of season midweek stop.
The showers were cold so we heated some water and put it in our solar shower so princess wouldn’t freeze.
On a whim I went for a swim in the pool which was brisk and bracing and very nice after a long period of abstinence.
Rusty patrolled the perimeter.
Up next: Getting Things Done In The Big City.
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