We are ‘home’-bodies.

Frankly! It’s a wonder we ever leave home. So, on this trip, these ‘bodies’ spend masses of time finding comfy wee ‘homes’.

And we are quite particular ….

We like our bikes off the street. And we crave space. Because those bikes ooze stuff! Harry’s panniers jampack. My paniers burst. Our top bags pop. It’s tools, spares, tyre tubes, bike oil, chain oil, fuel-cells and a compressor. It’s laptops, battery packs, cameras, GPS units, translator, maps and books. It’s rain-suits and boots, winter layers, first aid kit, medicines, toiletries, cooker and cooking kit. Our bodies peel off motorbike jackets, trousers, boots, braces, helmets and intercoms. Our actual clothes? Barely count – they roll up into nothing!

Our heads always dizzy with inventory!

We also carry a small food bag. And a light drinks bag. There’s no space on the bikes, for a weekly shop. So, we shop every day, for that day! But, in our food bag, we carry the long lasting; coffee, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, nuts, cereal bars … and believe it or not …. butter. This we wrap up in the ice-pack for Harry’s knee. And our drinks bag holds water and last night’s left-over white wine (for Harry) and red (for me).

Imagine, a hotel room is a no-go squeeze. In big cities, a nice crisp apartment does, beautifully. But, in tiny remote villages it’s a little harder. Thankfully this is a Harry skill. Every day he scours booking platforms to find the perfect spot. And every night we sprawl out and drop off easily.

It’s the odd spots we remember best.

Here, we hope to scoop up these. Together with all the other creature comforts and delights that make us hum and happy.

Our querkiest stay is here in Parral at the ‘Do-Brazil’ Hostal.

The place is full of gilded mirrors and …

….. endless Father Christmas displays.

The booking platform shows this cozy place (the little section on the left side), with off-street parking, in Rio Grande ….

…. but it didn’t show its rather run-down surrounds. It was, of course, perfectly fine.

We choose this spot because of the promise of a washing machine ….

…. but with not a marking in sight we have to guess washing cycles. What an exercise in frustration!

We stay in the back section of a typical Chilean house like this ….

…. but it is the inside that really charms us. Made totally from recycled materials.

Our delight of a landlady, Lucia, tells us this is often the Chilean way. What a lesson in no waste.

This is in the village of General Acha. It promises off-street parking and our landlady, bearing cake, insists we park inside!

It also had an interesting shower arrangement in the bedroom …..

… and a skew toilet that made sitting very uncomfortable for the knee!

All in all, it made for a very memorable evening, inside  …

…. and outside, as we stare at our neighbours across the road.

And from a back flatlet here in San Luis, we go ….

…. wine tasting at the Vina Montgras ….

…. with a rowdy group of South Americas and Germans ….

Psst! And at this blind-tasting, Harry ….

…. and I, are part of half the group that gets it right. Fancy that!

You can see we are not really interested in the water.

Those high altitude Andean mountain streams produce the most delicious wild salmon ….

…. and trout.

But, as we’ve mentioned over and over again, the most amazing range of meat cuts at steakhouses, called Parrillas, rule supreme ….

… everywhere …

… even in remote places …. we ride by too early …. but by lunchtime we’re sure there will be truckers sitting under that shaded seating area.

Now and then we have grand lunches. But even these we wash down with water. We absolutely don’t drink and ride.

More water to wash down these very popular petrol station specials! ‘A Hotdog Completo!’ Harry likes the sausage but not the sauces. I like the sauces but not the sausage! The bun is sweet! People consume them by the thousands. We consume them once.

But in the evenings we make up for it. Wine tastings, compliments of all those local supermarkets.

Even in this strictly no-alcohol ferry, we smuggle in enough wine and beer for 5 nights!

The classic South American cookie, the Alfajor.

Two round sweet biscuits, with dulce de leche on the inside. Tastes like caramelized condensed milk.

We love these. Giant corn kernels roasted in sunflower oil and seasoned in many different ways.

We will seriously go back to South America just for the ice-cream. Everywhere ….

…. South Americans eat it joyfully and seriously.

The picturesque town of Bariloche is Argentina’s chocolate capital …..

…. oh dear, what to choose, what to choose …..

… and we don’t regret any of these!

We befriend some warm and wonderful fellow bikers along the road. Here is Jono, from the UK.

And Ren from Japan. He rides slower on a CD 125, but yet we keep meeting up along the road.

Ren is fantastically prepared for every eventuality.

And here we bump into the official Father Christmas in Buenos Aires. He has video footage to prove it.

We visit Salvador. He has an adventure motorbike shop in Punta Arenas, the southern most city in Chile. And he has ordered some of Harry’s Desert Fox biking gear in the past.

It’s a vibrant shop with a wide range of product and memorabilia.

But we really feel overwhelmed when we see Harry’s Desert Fox brand so beautifully on display here and ….

….. here.

We also visit the Transport Museum in Lujan, to see the actual Dornier Wal ‘flying boat’ that completed a historic 1926 transatlantic crossing from Spain to Argentina. My uncle, Michiel van der Mey, has written extensively about all things Dornier Wal ….

…. so it was very heartwarming to be here and spend time with his fellow enthusiasts and friends.

And, of course, the many, many animals that creep into our hearts along the road ….

… and that we share cuddles and nibbles with.

Throughout our trip we are very aware of the comfort many, many South Americans find in faith.

Like this dramatic display at Junin de los Andes. It’s called the Via Christi and is an artistic and religious 2.5 km walk that depicts the life of Jesus Christ through the lens of the Mapuche culture.

This is a Mapuche take on Jesus carrying the cross ….

…. and here, Jesus been taken off the cross..

All the way, to the top. For scale, see how tiny the 2 people are, ahead of us on the path.

And our penultimate stop is in Buenos Aires, full of ultimate delights …..

We hurtle along her freeways, often misled by our GPS! And if you get it wrong it takes tens of kilometers to correct!

To see this, right opposite, ….

…. this.

And under the watchful eye of Eva Peron, we delve ….

… into her vibrant central suburbs ….

 

And under the watchful eye of Maradonna we see ….

…. the preparations for a football match ….

It’s a Sunday; everybody is out!

We meet up with Mario-and-Gloria. We became friends when Mario had a contract in South Africa more than 30 years ago. Like before, we jump eagerly from one conversation to the next. Incidentally, we also ask why South American meat is tastier than South African meat. They answer in unison! ‘First of all, we don’t burn our meat! Secondly we don’t marinade it! Thirdly, we don’t use spices! And lastly we only use wood!’

With Buenos Aires in the distance ….. those 30+ years have just melted away.

Buenos Aires on the banks of the Rio de la Plata. Tomorrow we take a ferry to cross to the other side. Our last stop; Montevideo, Uruguay.