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Posted By Natasha Barker

Our cyclists continue to ride the arid windy roads that connect the copper, lithium and salt mines in Northern Chile’s Atacama Desert.

This wide open desert exerts its spell on our senses.
Not only do we see chunks of salt on the sand and rock but we taste it in the air and smell it in the powerful winds..
Our daily intake of water has surged and we are, as always, eager, after a good strong day of riding, to sit down together at our campsite for delicious plentiful dinners that our chef Miles prepares in his makeshift kitchen.

Nights out here with good company, good food and the dark clear star studded sky overhead are truly magical.
Tonight’s campsite is actually an abandoned old wide salt mine pit and we get to pitch our tents in a wide open crater hoping the walls around will provide a bit of protection from the early evening and early morning winds.

Chilean Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda expresses himself so richly about this very northern region of his country that we are so privileged to be biking through.

“Ode to Salt”
This salt
In the shaker,
I saw it in the salt mines.
I know you’re
Not
going to believe me
But
It sings.
Salt sings,
The skin of the salt mines
Sings
With a mouth smothered
By earth.
I shivered in those
solitudes
When I heard
The voice
of the salt in the desert.
Near Antofagasta
The whole saline plain
Resounds:
It is
a broken voice
A song
filled with sorrow.

Then,
In its caverns
The gem salt, mountain
Of a buried light
Transparent cathedral,
Crystal of the sea, oblivion
Of the waves.
And then,
On every table
Of this world
Salt,
Your nimble substance
Sprinkling
Vivid light
Over their food.
Preserver
Of the ancient
Holds of ships,
You were a discoverer
On the ocean
The first thing to move
Into the unknown
Half open paths of the foam.
Dust of the sea,
Through you
The tongue receives a kiss
From the oceanic night:
Taste merges your sea essence
Into every seasoned morsel
And thus,
The least
Tiniest wave from
The saltshaker
Teaches us not only
Its domestic whiteness
But the central flavour
Of the infinite.”


  -- Ruth Schonblum

We sit in a café along the one main road in the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama and talk about the excitement of the day: getting here.

As I write from this most unusual and delightful small town of 1,983 people and many very relaxed strolling tourists, there is a huge tree with branches stretching over our heads above us. It has been a while since we have seen trees as we have been riding in a very dry barren desert.

My feet are tapping and my head and shoulders shaking with the beat of the fabulous Latin music and we are drinking coco tea which is on the menu in cafes in this town and on up into Bolivia which we enter in only three days. The coco tea and coco leaves which we can buy in markets (to chew) are to help us aclimate our bodies to the high elevation we have been in and are going higher into.

Getting here today was a fantastic ride through Vallee de La Luna (The Valley of the Moon) which is named for how it really feels and looks. Our Chilean staff member, Recardo, who lives and works as a nature tour guide in this area for years led our ride through this stunning nature that took us just five km short of our destination today. We rode and then took breaks to hike up a sand dune that overlooked a giant canyon that ended at the foot of a volcano, and to hike into an area where there were clusters of salt formations.

At the salt chunks all the cyclists kept completely still and quiet and the crackling shifting sounds of the salt could be heard. After the ride through the valley we easily found our camp site in this pretty warm town where we have a day to rest in preparation for our entry to a whole new world of Bolivia.

   -- Ruth Schonblum

Travelling from Santiago, we have mostly followed the coastline, missing the popular destinations of Valpariso and Vina del Mar and staying in more off the beaten track. Whilst we followed Pan American Highway 5 that runs the length of Chile, we ocassionally veered off onto secondary "sealed" or dirt roads. A highlight was an ecotourism capsite down a sandy steep track in a secluded bay that was close to heaven. An afternoon spent reading on the pebbled beach with the crashing waves, seagull cries followed by chilled Chilean chardonnay accompanying the chicken bbq and a stunning starlit sky...it was difficult to leave the next day!


We continued with the Pacific Ocean to our left and mountainous desert scenery becoming less green and lush and more sandy, cactus and rock filled. The odd glimpse of snow peaked mountins and the cooling long descents into river valleys breaking the uniformity.
La Serena and Coquimbo was the destination of our rest day, the former a more "sophisticated" beach holiday resort with an attractive central plaza, pedestrianised shopping area and beachfront lined with hotels and restaurants. A 10km cycle path (almost) links the 2 towns and Coquimbo is built up from the fishing industry and more low key. Heading out of Coquimbo on Hway 5 and in sea mist we had an ascent of 575km over 14km - a thoroughly enjoyable ride, starting with rolling hills and then the ascent, in such thick mist that one couldnt quite grasp the extent of the climb, or where the road twisted and turned up and over the pass. Where there´s an up there´s always a down and as we descended it was like a different day, beautiful and sunny and a tailwind! As in any day, the exhiliration and moods change as the terrain or winds change and we turned off the highway onto a jutted dirt track, it was straight into a headwind...I wasnt having fun anymore.....



And then what a characterful spot - Puente de Choros is known for its fishing, eie seafood and scuba diving (in season, rather chilly at the moment) - and we were staying in a very comfortable campsite with each site with its on en-suite (a few tents to a site)!


We were continued on relatively unchartered territory following the coastline and avoiding Hway5, we had sand that defeated the best of the cyclists, sealed roads that were better than many tarred roads, and jutted rocky gravel roads, leading us into a valley that has mined for centuries, and our destination ghost town El Higuero...not a wise idea to visit the cemetry with its graves looted for valuables, leaving remains visible....This definitely classifies as the weirdest campsite to date!



The route took us further into the mining valley, passed abandoned mines and functioning mines, attracting some curious looks from the miners and families. There were some monster climbs (I chose a 4 wheel option for most of these) and then some amazing descents (exhilirating back on 2 wheels) back down to the coast and more beautiful, but very windy beaches...Tres Playitas...only a few could brave the chilly waters...and have I mentioned the wind....




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Posted By Natasha Barker

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Posted By Natasha Barker

The Missing Link…  So how far off the beaten path are you willing to travel?  Regardless of where most tourists go, I’m yet to even find a map that shows a linkage of roads along the Chilean coast from La Serena to Caldera.  But that didn’t stop us.  Google Earth showed a maze of tiny roads that fizzled out into a coastal mountain range.  During the scout it took me several attempts to find the passage, but my challenge now was to lead this group of courageous peddlers back through it.

  Our first day out of La Serena began on the Panamericana Norte.  It was paved, scenic, but there was a 14km climb with 600m of elevation gain mid day.  The final stretch of the day took us down a dirt road to the remote town of Punta Choros, a windswept fishing village with fabulous seafood, but also a popular tourist destination for viewing the sea lion and penguin colonies or whales during migration.  And this is the point where on all maps the roads end.

We began our second day with an 8km convoy through a myriad of intertwining sand tracks.  Pick your line!  Some were corrugated, some were ankle deep beach sand, none of them were easily cycled, but it was only 8km.  The majority of the day was spent on a relatively smooth road with great tailwinds, but the unforeseen challenge of the day was the last 20km.  It was a mining access road with a loose surface and a long gradual climb.  As we progressed up this road the surrounding mountains closed in around us until we found ourselves riding through a spectacular slot canyon barely wide enough for our support vehicles to pass.  Our destination, El Higuero, at least that’s what I think it’s called; there were certainly no welcome signs.  It’s a ghost town, leftover from the mining boom 80 years ago.  The southern end of which had been buried by landslide.  What remains are a few roofless houses of dry stone or adobe walls, a plethora of rusty tin artifacts and a cemetery.  Perhaps the creepiest cemetery I have ever visited.  Most of the graves had been desecrated and broken open, skulls and human bones scattering the ground.  I can’t imagine that many gringos have ever set foot in this place let alone pitched a tent and spent the night.

Our third day was perhaps the most challenging day of the tour so far; over 2000m of vertical climbing on very rough roads.  But what goes up must come down.  Our support vehicle had to detour because the switchbacks were tighter than its turning radius.  Once again two wheels prove to be superior.  Navigation was not easy either as there were many dead end forks leading to remote communities or new mining developments.  And of course, the smooth road is never the right road.  As we descended back towards the ocean we rejoined the pavement for the last 25 km only to be hit in the face with a gale force headwind all the way to our picturesque beach camp.  What a day!  But this group seems to thrive on the challenge, invigorated by facing the elements.  

Yesterday was a long stretch beginning along the coast and gradually moving inland passing some bizarre geologic formations.  We have now entered the true Atacama Desert, the driest place on earth, yet ironically situated on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water on earth.  Today we rest in Caldera a quaint port famous for smuggling weapons into this region during the war of the pacific.   But a hot shower, a good night’s sleep, some delicious fish, a fine glass of wine and an internet café makes this stop more than luxurious.

From here we will continue along the coast to Antofagasta, where we turn inland and begin our acclimatization for the Altiplano where we will face extremely harsh conditions; altitudes of 4800m, subzero temperatures, lack of food and water supplies, blistering sun and relentless winds.  Vuelta…

There are many moments when you question what you are doing, cycling for 4.5 months through South America, these usually occur when you pack up your wet tent at 6.30am and set off in the rain on a flat paved road flanked by non-descript fields or when you are cycling on a jutted gravel road with sand patches and surrounded by thorn bushes.
There were no doubts in our minds as to what we were doing as we left Cordoba and entered the Central Sierras (the second highest mountain range in Argentina). The road followed a river valley and then started to climb and changed to gravel as it twisted and turned along the mountain range. We travelled north west from Cordoba and then south to San Juan with the scenery changing from cattle pastures, to barren craggy dry mountains, down a hair raising pass to flat thornbush veld, thick at first and then as the terrain turned more desert-like, with only the thorn bushes surviving in this harsh terrain. We arrived in the fertile (although dry in winter) valley of San Juan with kms of vineyards and orchards, keen to taste the products of the vineyards! From San Juan we started to climb again, back to desert, mountain terrain, a steady slow ascent out of town and then a long road, flanked by mountains, lunch at an abandoned train station and then the start of some more serious ascents....the days to come would entail steady increases in altitude from 640m in San Juan to our peak of 3200m at the border crossing with Chile. We dont necessarily know what the exact terrain and extent of the climbs until the day before, the next day we had an exhilirating 20km descent down to a river and then followed the valley through the foothills of the Andes, at last catching our first glimpse of the sow peaked Andes range.



We continued on good gravel road through small towns of Calingasta and Barreal, a fertile valley and a small oasis after 100´s of kms of little life (human, animal or plant) and overnight accommodation at a homely hostel, a pleasant surprise considering we thought we were bushcamping! We set off the next day in good spirits taking the back roads out of town and then a good gravel road with snow capped mountains our prima vista.....and then it changed to jutted gravel road for 80km with a few patches of bad paved road. At lunch time there were a number of us who questioned whether to carry on but I thought I would continue a little longer and jump on lunch truck when it came past. We cycled in silence for some time, holding back the urge to curse or cry and then I looked up and saw my cycling parter silhouetted in front of the Andes and thought, wow, this is beautiful, this is why we are here, there is no reason to complain. I continued the full 80km on gravel, with a fabulous tail wind, a long head thumping/butt grinding dowhill and then silky smooth paved downhill, pushing us at 40km+ down to Uspallata.

The next day we were heading up the Andes to Parque de Aconcagua, staying at Puenta del Inca, a ski resort, at 2700m and the base of the Aconcagua Trek (in summer). We were on a busy truck highway, being the main thoroughfare between Chile and Argentina. It was tough going mainly due to the cold, as there were plenty of descents to allow us to rest from the ascents. We had set off early to avoid the potential strong winds and only had 70kms planned for the day. After lunch (before 10am!) it was more of a steady climb and I could feel the affects of the altitude (I am a coastal girl after all), my legs felt heavy so frequent stops...for photots were necessary. We stopped at Lamas Biancas ski resort for coffees and watched the skiing - what were we doing cycling??? A short climb up to our hostel and relaxing lunch (2pm) in the sun, much like a skiing holiday! The predicted wind did pick up in the early afternoon making it tough going for the last 10km or so.... and forced us indoors to keep warm and enjoy hot milk with melted chocolate bombs - a chilean delight.



Our last day in the Andes (for now) and we were all quite nervous, we needed to be trucked to the border through a treacherous tunnel (Cyclists not allowed), border crossing (which was endless searches of bags and truck for 30 people, it took 3.5hours) and then the most exhilirating ride down the mountain, countless switchbacks, speed records broken (not by me!) for 25kms....just beautiful!!!

We cruised into San Pedro, a beautiful fertile valley - vineyards, olive groves, peach trees in blossom, walnut trees and stayed at a serene campsite with natural spring, our last night before Santiago....and a few bottles of Argentian wine to polish off before we start tasting the Chilean!




Its not goodbye to the Andes just yet!

    - Natasha Barker

There are times when, as a staff member on one of TDA’s illustrious cycling Tours, it’s important to remove oneself from the day to day grind and find peace, or at least some kind of quiet, or at the very least a dark place to be slothful.  This is how Hatice and I found ourselves leaving the ambitious cyclists and fellow staff of the Vuelta SudAmericana, in Santiago, and venturing off on our own for some R&R.   We didn’t venture far.  We took the subway to another neighborhood of the city.  To anyone who has been to Santiago before they may know that the Subway system is immaculate.  The tile work is very 1960/70’s brownish hazy hopeful socialist style.  It made me think of the Metro lines in Montreal, and my mind wandered into thinking whether the engineers/architects of these two distant subways may have had some relation.  At one point there was even the thought in my mind to actually research this curiosity, but as of yet it hasn’t happened, so I’m still pleasantly believing that the two subway lines have some affinity with each other.  By the way there is really no particular way to describe what brownish hazy hopeful is, and I wouldn’t want to finger socialism as an inspiration for the Santiago subway system, though perhaps any kind of public transportation system is intrinsically for the people/socialist in nature.  Regardless, the wall art/graffiti in Santiago is joyous and full of political intrigue, and could also lead one to believe that the city is romancing the left (though in most other aspects it appears to be the most commercial/corporate city in South America, so forget everything I’ve said)   Anyway, Santiago is a great city for cycling, there is a river which runs through the city and lush parks line each side of it.  Bicycle paths loop their way through these parks, allowing cyclists to reach their destinations safely (though to cycle on the roads, as in most cities requires patience and much alertness in traffic)  To conclude, though I’ve barely started and have said very little…
After moving everyday for almost 4 months (cooking on cycling tours) stopping in one place for even a couple of days can feel like being marooned on an island (luckily one where my wife is also marooned, the wine is splendid, there are busses that can take you anywhere you want to go, satellite television so you can watch bollywood movies into the wee hours, a hardcover copy of Roberto Bolanos’ final book (a Chilean author recently deceased) Well… I forget what the point of this paragraph was, but in essence, Chile is a wonderful country, so if you get a chance, hop on a bike and ride your way across it (or just laze around Santiago, you won’t regret it)