Crossing South America

We have survived our second day of riding!! Day one looked something like this

- wake up at 6 am and pickup Travis from the airport at 9 (eggs for breakfast)
- get the bikes and hit the road at noon (hot dog for lunch)
- drive almost two hours to get out of Buenos Aires
- find a hotel in a town called Junin (by then we were starving, nauseous, dazed and confused haha)

All good though. The further we get from the capital the less traffic there is. Seems like the towns are getting prettier and prettier the closer we are to the mountains. Junin was just under 300 kms and today we did just over 350 and stopped in Villa Mercedes. It's unbelivable how lively this town is, even though it's just Tuesday. People everywhere, patios, stores open late, dogs.

Driving accross Argentina reminded us a lot about Saskatchewan. Very flat, straight highway for miles, some cows here and there, and almost no trees. There was a lake or two but they are more like flooded fields that are now drying out. Riding for long periods of time gives you a lot of time to think and observe the nature. I was nicely surprised to see storks. I wonder how they got here from Europe (or maybe it's the other way around). Other interesting thing was watching sworms of bees zooming accross the highway (unfortunately many had a fatal encounter with the Transalp) and hundreds of small birds zooming around like bats, probably feasting on them.

The weather is scorching hot. Wearing a full (and black) motorbike gear is not helping. When we're moving it's not so bad but once stopped we ditch half of it and take a brake. It's essential to hydrate as often as possible.

The bikes are excellent. We rented them from a place called Motocare, close to downtown Buenos Aires. Very professional staff and well maintained machines. We just can't figure out why my bike is burning much less fuel than the other two. Seems like our range is only about 250 km on a full tank. This might be an issue when crossing the San Francisco pass, especially if we got lost. But that's what adventures are all about lol.


Tomorrow it's off to Mendoza. We will finally get a sneak preview of the Andes, kick back and drop an anchor for a day or two. So far on the todo list are: visiting a winery, hike, and try paragliding (something this place is known for).

Here are some pictures so far. Not too many since there wasn't much happening.


Getting the bikes and gear ready...

Going for a test drive...

Our guide, catching a nap before departure...

Ready to go...

My amazing relatives, who helped us A LOT!!!! Muchas gracias!

The dogs here are very picky, this one didn't like bread (this is in Junin, our first stop)...

This is in our hotel in Villa Mercedes (2nd stop). I like how the whole floor is flooded after you take a shower. This is also the smallest garbage can I have ever seen LOL

I think they misspelled Channell, or did they ...