| 31
January 2001 |
| Toured
a number of bodegas in Maipu, near to Mendoza. Enjoyed the free
wine tasting on offer. Especially liked Bodega La Rural with its
wine museum filled with old presses, casks and basins made from
cow hides.
|
| 30
January 2001 |
| Drove
through the beautiful green wine producing region to the
swelteringly hot city of Mendoza.
|
| 29
January 2001 |
Argentina (map)
A ten hour drive took us across the border via Paso Agua Negra
(4,775 metres) for our first visit to Argentina. This journey
affored dramatic scenery on a solitary mountain track. Stayed in
the plesant town of San Juan.
|
| 27
January 2001 |
| More
desert driving to Antofagasta, the largest city in Northern Chile
and a major port for the export of copper from Chuquicamata, the
world´s largest open cast copper mine. Worrying signs that the
clutch repair in Arica was not complete.
|
| 26
January 2001 |
| Visisted
the Valley of the Moon, a haunting landscape of coloured gypsum,
clay and salt. Managed a solitary climb up a big sand dune for
views of the dramatic lunar landscape before the buses of tour
groups arrived. In the archaeological museum we saw the
fascinating ancient Indian mummies (preserved in the dry desert
air) and skulls which were deliberately deformed using tightly
bound ropes for religious or aesthetic reasons.
|
| 24
January 2001 |
| Drove
through the Atacama desert to the oasis town of San Pedro de
Atacama. The sunset gave spectacular views
over the Western Cordilleras.
|
| 23
January 2001 |
| Finally
left Arica after having a new clutch fitted and stopped in Iquique.
Visited the eerie abandoned nitrate town of
Humberstone.
|
| 15
January 2001 |
| Clutch problem was
confirmed by Land Rover in Santiago and Conrico in the UK. Found a
local Toyota dealer to do the work - not cheap. Expect to be
delayed in Arica for at least a week.
|
| 14
January 2001 |
| 20 minutes into
the drive through the desert to Iquique the truck stopped. It was
obvious that the clutch had gone and we were going nowhere.
Flagged someone down who towed us back into Arica. Being a Sunday,
everything was closed so we had no choice but to park the car and
wait till tomorrow.
|
| 13
January 2001 |
Chile (map)
Continued heavy rain influenced our decision to abandon Bolivia
for the time being and head into Chile. The border crossing is at
a beautiful location in the mountains surrounded by snow capped
volcanoes. Our hearts dropped when customs asked us to take
everything out of the vehicle for inspection. However they soon
had enough and let us off after seeing a few items. Arrived in the
coastal town of Arica after spectacular journey. The hot arid
environment was in stark contrast to the cold, washed out pampas
we experienced a few hours earlier in Bolivia.
|
| 12
January 2001 |
| Headed to Oruro
and the first leg of a journey into the far south of Bolivia to
the renowned lakes and salt flats. Heavy rain reinforced our
concerns of inaccessible roads ahead.
|
| 11
January 2001 |
Bolivia (map)
Left Peru for Bolivia. The border crossing
was straightforward until a Bolivian policeman asked for a
"donation" to decorate the office. He seemed dumbfounded
when we refused, saying we had no money on us. The journey to La
Paz via Copacabana involved an interesting ferry crossing (the
truck was put on a rickety old wooden barge).
|
| 10
January 2001 |
| Visited the
floating reed islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca. Also went to
Taquile island where there are Inca ruins and terracing.
|
| 09
January 2001 |
| Finally got out of
Cusco. Drove across the pampas to Puno, the Peruvian gateway to
Lake Titicaca.
|
| 04
January 2001 |
| Spent last 5 days
in bed after picking up some nasty bug on the Inca Trail. Missed
out on New Years Eve celebrations in Cusco.
|
