browsinaboutonabike.com
  • Armenia 18/4/2016
  • Baku, Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • 2-3/4/2016 Trabzon to Batumi, Georgia
    • 21-27/3/2016 Atakent to Trabzon >
      • 12-21/3/2016 Cide to Akakent >
        • 6-11/3/2016 Eregli to Cide
  • 26/2-4/3/2016 Istanbul to Eregli
    • Istanbul 15-25/2/2016 >
      • London 30/1-15/2/2016 >
        • Istanbul 19-30/1/2016
  • Proposed Journey East from Istanbul, March 2016
  • Sth Africa 6-19/1/2016
    • South Africa 6/12/2015 to 6/1/2016
  • Namibia 24/10-5/12/2015
    • Namibia 1/10/2015 to 23/10/2015
  • Zambia 7-30/9/2015
  • 21/8/2015 Malawi
  • 30/7-20/8/2015 Kigoma to Malawi Border
    • 21-30/7/2015 Tanzanian border to Kigoma, Lake Tanganyika >
      • 18-20/7/2015 Kigali to Tanzanian border >
        • 12-15/7/2015 Gisenyi to Kigali >
          • 10-11/7/2015 Rwandan border to Gisenyi
          • 15th June to 8th July Uganda
  • Last days in Kenya
    • 1-6/6/2015 Meru to Nyahururu >
      • 28-31/05/2015 Kenol to Meru >
        • 2011-16 Map >
          • 12-18/10/2014 Beausejour to St Laurent do Maroni >
            • 7-11/10/2014 St Georges to Beausejour, French Guiana >
              • 3-7/10/2014 Amapá, Brazil to St Georges, French Guiana >
                • 1-2/10/2014 Porto Grande to Amapá, AP >
                  • 26-29/9/2014 Macapá to Porto Grande >
                    • 16-23/9/2014 Almeirim to Macapá >
                      • 11-16/9/2014 Rurópolis to Almeirim, PA,BR >
                        • New Page
                        • 13/8-10/9/2014 Rurópolis, BR to Christchurch, NZ, return >
                          • 2-12/8/2014 Altamira to Ruropolis >
                            • 1-4/8/2014 Pacajá to Altamira, PA >
                              • 29/7-1/8/2014 Marabá to Pacajá, PA, BR230
        • 21-28/5/2015 Ongata to Kenol >
          • 5-21/5/2015 Iten to Ongata Rongai, Nairobi >
            • 2-6/5/2015 Kitale to Iten >
              • 1-2/5/2015 Lodwar to Kitale, Kenya >
                • Kenya: Omorate to Lodwar 20/04- 1/05/2015
  • 12-18/4/2015 Abra Minche to Omorate, Ethiopia
    • 3-10/4/2015 Waliso to Abra Minch >
      • 16-30/3/2015 Dese to Waliso, Ethiopia >
        • Ethiopia 9-16/3/2015 Me'kele to Dese >
          • 19/2-8/3/2015 Ethiopia
  • 25/1-18/2/2015 Sudan
  • 16-17 Luxor to Aswan
    • 8-15/1/2015 Asyut to Luxor >
      • 7-10/1/2015 Giza to Asyut
  • 1-6/1/2015 Cairo
    • Proposed passage Cairo to Cape Town Jan 2015 >
      • 21/10-12/11/2014 Suriname and Guyana
  • Updated Gear List
  • Rodovia Transamazônica
  • 21- 25/7/2014 Redencáo to Marabá, PA
    • Pará: 17-22/7/2014 Confresa, MT to Redencao, PA >
      • 9-13/7/2014 Nova Xavantina to Confreza, MT >
        • 3-4/7/2014 Barra do Garcas to Nova Xavantina >
          • 26-31/6/2014 Rondonópolis to Barra Do Garcas, MT >
            • 20-23/6/2014 Rio Verde, MS to Rondonópolis, MT >
              • 13-17/6/2014 Bonito to Rio Verde de Mato Grosso >
                • 9-11/6/2014 Jardim to Bonito MS, BR >
                  • 7-9/6/2014 Pedro Juan Caballero, PY to Jardim,BR >
                    • 9,10,11/5/2014 Remanso to Concepción onboard MV Osmar >
                      • 6-7/5/2014 Remanso,PY >
                        • 6/5/2014 Asunción to Remanso, PY >
                          • 27/4-2/5/2014 Foz do Iguaco, BR to Asunción, PY >
                            • 24-26/4/2014 Andresito to Puerto Iguazu >
                              • 19-21/4/2014 El Soberbio to San Antonio, AR >
                                • 16-17/4/2014 El Progreso to El Soberbio, AR >
                                  • 13-15/4/2014 Apóstoles to El Progreso >
                                    • 28/3-1/4/2014 Buenos Aires,AR to Paysandu, UY >
                                      • Profile Paysandu to Brazil
                                    • 9-12/4/2014 Tapebicuá to Apóstoles, AR >
                                      • 8/4/2013 Sawmill, north of Bonpland to 3km sth of Tapebicuá
                    • 28-30/5/2014 Concepción to Pedro Juan Caballero PY >
                      • 23-25/5/2014 Aquidaban back to Concepción >
                        • 16-20/5/2014 Tres Gigantes Estación Biologica >
                          • 14-16/5/2014 Vallemi to Bahia Negra on the Aquidaban >
                            • 13/5/2014 Bus trip Concepción to Vallemi
                    • 1-6/6/2014, Pedro Juan Caballero
  • 25/1/2014 USHUAIA
    • 23-24/1/2014 Rio Grande to Rio Lasifashaj >
      • 22-23/1/2013 Punta Arenas, CL to Rio Grande, AR >
        • 16-19/1/2014 Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas >
          • 14-15/1/2014 Torres Del Paine National Park, CL >
            • 8-12/1/2014 El Calafate to Puerto Natales >
              • 1-7/1/2013 Villa O'Higgins, CL to El Calafate, AR >
                • 27-31/12/2013 Cochrane to Villa O'Higgins >
                  • 19-26/12/2013 Coyhaique to Cochrane >
                    • 12-18/12/2013 Rio Santiago Bastia to Coyhaique >
                      • 6-12/12/2013 La Piedra del Gato to Mañihuales >
                        • 5-9/12/2013 Quellón to La Junta, CL >
                          • 29/11/2013 5/12/2013 Castro to Quellón, Chiloe, CL >
                            • 24/11/2013 Puerto Montt to Castro >
                              • 16-23/11/2013, San Martín, AR to Puerto Montt, CL >
                                • 9-14/11/2013 Temuco, CL to San Martín de los Andes, AR
                                • Cunco to Temuco and Santiago by bus
                                • Untitled
                                • 20,21/10/2013 Malargue to Los Frisos,AR
                                • 22-29/10/2013 Las Frisas, AR to Cunco,CL
  • 13/3/2012 Penonomé to Playa Gorgona
    • 14/3/2011 Playa Gorgona to Panama City
    • 15,16/3/2011 Panama City >
      • 14/4/2012, Shelter bay & Gatun Locks >
        • 15,16/4/2012 Canal transit >
          • 17/4/2012 Shelter Bay Marina onboard SV Bijou >
            • Feb 2014, An account of a road trip in New Zealand
          • 18,19/4/2012 Shelter Bay Marina
      • 17.../3/2012 Onboard SV Moondance, Brisas de Amador >
        • 25 March to 9 April, Gorgona, PC,Las Bresas >
          • 11/4/2012, Shelter Bay Marina,SV Bijou
          • 12/4/2012, Shelter Bay, and a bit of exploring
        • 11/3/2012 Las Lajas to Santiago >
          • 12/3/2012, Santiago to Penonomé
  • 7/4/2013 Bella Unión, UY to north of Bonpland, AR
    • 4-6/4/2014 Salto to Bella Unión, UY >
      • 2-3/4/2014 Termas de Guaviyú to Salto
  • Overnight Stop Map
    • 20-27/4/2012 Passage Portobelo to Santa Marta, Colombia
    • 28-29/2012 Santa Marta
  • Chile to Argentina (click on this header for an entry)
    • 6/9/2013 59km up the road camping
    • 7/9/2013 the corner to Paso Jama, Argentina
    • 8/9/2013 Paso Jama to adobe ruins on Salar de Olaroz
    • 9/9/2013 Ruins to south of Susques
    • 10/9/2013 Sth of Susques to bottom of range, camping >
      • 11/9/2013 bottom of the range to Purmamarca
      • 12/9/2013 Purmamarca to Lake campground near Salta >
        • 13,14/9/2013 Dique Cobre Corral to Salta,AR >
          • Salta south >
            • 17/9/2013 Quebrada De Las Conchas to Cafayate
      • 19/9/2013 Cafayate to 15km to Rio El Tesaro, camping >
        • 20/9/2013 Rio El Tesaro to Rio Belén, sth of Hualfin
      • 21/9/2013 Rio Belén to Belén >
        • 22/9/2013 Belén to a creek bed 42km sth
        • 23/9/2013 creek bed to 10km nth of Pituil
        • 25/9/2013 north of Pituil to Chilecito
        • 25-30/9/2013 Chilecito, AR
        • 1-7/10/2013 Chilecito to Caucete, AR >
          • 9-12/10/2013 Caucete to Tunuyán, AR
      • 13-15/10/2013 Caucete to San Rafael, AR >
        • 17/10/2013 San Rafael to Malargue, AR
  • Chile from 28/8/2013
    • 29/8/2013 Ascotán to Chiu Chiu
    • 30/8/2013 Chiu Chiu to Calama, CL
    • 31/8,1/9/2013 Calama to San Pedro de Atacama, CL
  • 20/7/2013 Titicaca area to Bolivian border
    • 20/7/2013 Sicuani to Santa Rosa >
      • 21/7/2013 Santa Rosa to Juliaca >
        • 22/7/2013 Juliaca to 6km past Huancané >
          • 23/2013 Huancané to Conima, camping >
            • 24/7/2013 near Conima, Peru to Puerto Acosta, Bolivia >
              • 25/7/2013 Puerto Acosta to Nth of Ancoraimes
  • 26/7/2013 Nth of Ancoraimes to Achacachi
    • 27/7/2013 Achacachi to Copacabana >
      • 28,29/7/2013 Copacabana BO, Kasani PE, Copa. BO
      • 30/7/2013 Copacabana, BO to Desaguadero, PE
      • 31/7/2013 Desaguadero, PE to El Alto, BO
      • 1,2/8/2013 El Alto to La Paz
      • 3,4,5/8/2013 La Paz
      • 8/08/2103 La Paz to Nth of Ayo Ayo, Camping
      • 9/8/2013 Nth of Ayo Ayo to south of Villa, camping >
        • 10/8/2013 Sth of Villa to just sth of Oruro, camping >
          • 11/8/2013 Sth of Ororo to Sth of Pazna, camping >
            • 12/8/2013 Sth of Poopo to Challapata >
              • 13,to17/8/2013 Challapata to Jirira 18-26/8 to Ollague,Chile
  • Peru 20/4/2013.....
    • 20-22/4/2013, Macará to Olmos, PE
    • 23-27/4/2013 Olmos to Chachapoyas,PE
    • 27/4/2013, Chachapoyas, PE
    • Chachapoyas to Cajamarca, PE >
      • 1/5/2013 Lejmebamba to Cerros de Calla-Calla >
        • 2/5/2013 Cerros de Calla-Calla to Balsas >
          • 3/4/2013 Balsas to a farm house overlooking Limon >
            • 4/5/2013 farm house campsite to south of Celendin >
              • 5,6/5/2013 Sth of Celendin to Cajamarca
    • 7/5/2013 Cajamarca to 9km before Cajabamba >
      • 8/5/2013, 9 km north of Cajabamba to Laguna Sousacocha >
        • 11/5/2013 Haumachuco to Trujillo
        • 9,10/5/2013 Laguna Sausacocha to Huamachuco
      • 18/5/2013 Lima
      • 23-25/5/2013 Trujillo to Caraz, PE >
        • 26,27/5/2013 Caraz to Huaraz, PE >
          • 28/5/2013 Huaraz to 34km south of Pachocoto,PE >
            • 29/5/2013 Farm 25km past Chacapoto to 12km on Huánuco Rd >
              • 30/5/2013,12km up Huanuco road to camp at 4600m >
                • 31/5/2013 near summit to La Union
    • 1/6/2013 Huánaco to camp near Acobamba >
      • 2,3/6/2013 Camping near Acobamba to Huánuco
    • 16/6/2013 Huancayo to Cuzco and Machu Picchu >
      • 16/6/2013 Huancayo to south of Mariscal Cáceres, camping >
        • 17/6/2013 sth Mariscal Cáceres 4km sthLa Esmeralda,camping >
          • 18/6/2013 Sth of La Esmaralda to Huanta >
            • 19/6/2013 Huanta to Ayacucho
  • 22/6/2013 Ayaucucho to top of pass before Ocros, 4200m
    • 23/6/2013 cerca la cumbre a 5km sur de Puente Pampas >
      • 23/6/2013 Sur de Puente Pampas a 5km este de Uripa >
        • 24/6/2013 above Uripa to Andahualas >
          • 25/6/2013 Andahuaylas to 10km below the summit >
            • 26/6/2013 near the summit to Puente Pachachaca >
              • 29/6/2013 Abancay to Curahuasi >
                • 30/6/2013 Curahuasi to a camp on the Rio Apurimac >
                  • 1/7/2013 Rio Apurimac to Izcuchaca >
                    • 2/7/2013 Izcuchaca and Cuzco >
                      • 4,5/7/2013 Izcuchaca to Cuzco >
                        • 9,10,11/7/2013 Cuzco to Machu Picchu >
                          • 11-16/7/2013 Cuzco >
                            • 17/7/2013 Cuzco to Quiquijana camping on el Rio Vilcanota
              • 27,28/6/2013 Puente Pachachaca to Abancay
  • 4/6/2013 Huánuco to just south of Huariaca
    • 5/6/2013 Huariaco to Cerro De Pasco >
      • 7,8/5/2013 Cerro De Pasco >
        • 8/6/2013 Cerro De Pasco to Junín >
          • 9/6/2013 Junín to 20km south of La Aroya, camping >
            • 10/6/2013 Sth of La Aroya to Huancayo
  • Medellín to Ushuaia, 2013 (april 2013 here,)
    • 31/1/13 Riosucio to Anserma >
      • 1/2/2013 Anserma to Cartago >
        • 6/12/2015 to 4/1/2016 South Africa
        • 2/2/2013 Cartago to Buga >
          • 3/2/2013 Buga all day >
            • 4,5/2/2013 Buga to Cali >
              • 6/2/2013 Cali to Piendamo
    • 27/1 Medellín to Bolombolo
    • 28/1 Bolombolo to La Pintada >
      • 29/1/13 La Pintada to Supia >
        • 30/1/13 Supía to Riosucio
      • 8/2/2013 Timbio to El Bordo >
        • 6/3/2013, San Clemente to Manta, EC >
          • 7/3/2013 Manta,EC all day >
            • 9/3/2013, Manta to Tena by bus >
              • 12,13,14,15 Tena to Limoncocha >
                • 16,17/3/2013 Manta >
                  • 18-23 Manta, Galapagos, Manta >
                    • 24,25/3/2013 Manta to Machalilla NP, EC >
                      • 26/3/2013 Machalillo NP to Machalillo >
                        • 27/3/2013 Machalilla to Puerto Lopez >
                          • 228,29,30/3/2013 Puerto Lopez, EC >
                            • Untitled
                            • 31/3/2013, Puerto Lopez to Ayungue, EC
      • 19/2/2013 Otavalo, Ecuador all day >
        • 20/2/2013 Otavalo to Sth of Otón, Ecuador >
          • 21/2/2013 Otón to Quito >
            • 22,23/2/2013 Quito, Hotel Húngaro >
              • 26/2/2013 Quito to Tandapi, EC
      • 27/2/2013 Tandapi to El Carmen, EC >
        • 28/2/2013, El Carmen to Pedernales, EC >
          • 2/3/2013 Pedernales to Tabuga >
            • 3/3/2013 Tabuga to Canoa >
              • 30/4/2012 Last day Santa Marta >
                • 1/5/2012 Santa Marta to Barranquilla
                • 2/5/2012 Barranquilla to Santa Veronica
                • 3/5/2012 Santa Veronica all day >
                  • 4-5/5/2012 Santa Veronica
              • 6-7/5/2012 Santa Veronica >
                • 8,9 &10/5/2012 Santa Veronica
              • 11/5/2012 Santa Veronica to Cartagena >
                • 12/5/2012 Cartagena all day >
                  • 13/5/2012 Cartagena to San Jacinto >
                    • 14/5/2012 San Jacinto to Sincelejo >
                      • 15/5/2012 Sincelejo to San Bernado >
                        • 16/5/2012 San Bernado to Puerto Escondido >
                          • 17,18/ 5 /2012, Puerto Escondido >
                            • 19/5/2012, Puerto Escondido to Planeta Rico >
                              • 20/5/2012 Planeta Rica to Caucasia >
                                • Untitled
                                • Untitled
                                • 21/5/2012, Caucasia to Tarazá >
                                  • 22/5/2012, Tarazá to Valdivia >
                                    • 23/5/2012, Valdivia to Yarumal >
                                      • 24/5/2012, Yarumal for the day >
                                        • 25/5/2012 Yarumal to Santa Rosa de Osos >
                                          • 26/5/2012, Santa Rosa de Osos >
                                            • 27/5/2012, Santa Rosa de Osos to Medellin >
                                              • 28/7 2011, Hannibal to Grafton
              • 5/3/2013, Canoa to San Clemente,EC
      • 9/2/2013 El Bordo to Tablon (April 2013 here) >
        • 1/4/2013 Ayungue to Salinas, EC >
          • 2/4/2013 Salinas to Posorjas,EC >
            • 3/4/2013 Posorja to San Carlos,EC >
              • 4/4/2013, San Carlos to Angas,EC >
                • 5/4/2013, Angas to Soldados, EC >
                  • 6/4/2013, Soldados to Cuenca >
                    • 7-9/4/2013, Cuenca, EC >
                      • 10-14/4/2013 Cuenca to Loja >
                        • 14-18/4/2013 Loja to Macará, EC >
                          • 7/2/2013 Piendamo to Timbio
      • 10,11/2/2013 Tablon to Chacahgui
      • 12/2/2013 Chachagui to Yucuanquer
      • 13,14,15/2/2013 Yucuanquer to Ipiales >
        • 16/2/2013 Ipiales to Bolivar, Ecuador >
          • 17/2/2013 Bolivar to nth of Ibarra, Ecuador >
            • 18/2/2013 Nth of Ibarra to Otavalo, Ecuador
    • Colombia 2012
  • Terrain Profiles
  • Nicaragua
  • Blog
  • Memphis to Venice, LA
  • Home and August entries
    • 8/8/2011 Sweetwater to Salida >
      • 9/8/2011 Salida to 3m North of Cripple Creek, CO >
        • 10/8/2011 Cripple Creek to Phantom Canyon >
          • 11/8/2011 Phantom Canyon to Pueblo >
            • 12/8/2011 Kansa to Warrensberg, MO >
              • 13/8/2011 Warrensberg to Clinton, MO >
                • 14/8/2011 Clinton to Sedalia >
                  • 15/8/2011 Sedalia to Tipton >
                    • 16/8/2011 Tipton all day >
                      • 17/8/2011 Tipton to Red Oak Park ,Lake of the Ozarks >
                        • 18/8/2011 Lake of the Ozarks all Day >
                          • 19/8/2011 Red Oak all day >
                            • 20/8/2011 Red Oak Park to Boonville >
                              • 21/8/2011 Boonville to Columbia >
                                • 22/8/2011 Columbia all day >
                                  • Untitled
                                  • 22/8/2011 Columbia to Portland >
                                    • 24/8/2011 Portland to Defiance >
                                      • 25/8/2011 Machens to Portage Des Sioux >
                                        • 26,27,28/8/2011Portage Des Sioux to Alton >
                                          • 29/8/2011 Alton to Columbia >
                                            • 30/8/2011 Columbia to Chester >
                                              • 31/8/2011 Chester to Grand Tower >
                                                • 1/9/2011 Grand Tower, IL to Wickliffe, KY >
                                                  • 2/9/2011 Wickliffe to Columbia, KY >
                                                    • 5/9/2011Tiptonville TN to Ripley TN
                                                    • Untitled
                                                    • 3-4/9/2011 Colmbus to Hickman, KY >
                                                      • 6/9/2011 Ripley Meeman- Shelby SP >
                                                        • Untitled
                                                        • 7/9/2011 Meeman-Shelby to Memphis
    • The proposed itinerary
    • A few words about the river
    • My Bike
    • Journal- Intro
    • Journal Entries late July early August >
      • 29/7/11 Grafton all day >
        • 30/7/2011 Grafton To Alton >
          • 31/7/11 Alton all day >
            • 1/8/2011 Alton all day >
              • 2,3/8/2011 Alton to Colarado Springs >
                • 3/8/2011 Colarado Springs >
                  • 4/8/2011, Colarado Springs >
                    • 5/8/2011 Colarado Springs Day 2
                  • 6/8/2011 Pueblo Dakota Springs >
                    • 7/8/2011 Dakota Hot Springs to Texas Creek >
                      • 7/8/2011 Dakota Hot springs to Texas Creek
    • The Gear list
  • Sydney to International Falls
    • IF to Northome >
      • Northome to Three Island Lake >
        • Three Island Lake to Itasca State Park >
          • Itasca Park full day 1 >
            • Itasca Park full day 2
  • Itasca to 4m north of Walker
    • 21/6/11 Walker to dare I say it Park Rapids
    • 22/6/11 Park Rapids all day >
      • 23/6/11 Park Rapids to sth of Walker
    • 24/6/11 Sth of Walker to Oak Haven Resort
    • 25/6/11 Oak Haven to Bena
    • 26/6/11 Bena for the day >
      • 27/6/11 Bena, from my tent to the shop and back
  • 28/6/11 Bena to Grand Rapids
  • 29/06/11 Grand Rapids to Pallisade
    • 30/06/11 Palisade to Crosby
    • 1/07/11 Crosby to Royalton
    • 2/07/2011 Royalton to St Cloud >
      • 3/07/2011 St Cloud to Monticello >
        • 4/7/2011 Monticello to Ham Lake >
          • Ham Lake all day >
            • 6/7/2011 Ham Lake to Prescott, WI >
              • 7/6/2011 Prescott to Pepin
          • 8/7/2011 Pepin to Perrot SP
    • 9/7/2011 Perrot SP to Wabasha, MN
  • 10/7/2011 Wabasha to Hastings
  • 16-17/1/2015 Luxor to Aswan
  • Zambia 7-30/9/2015
  • 11/7/2011 Hastings to Wabasha
    • 12/7/2011 Wabasha to Lansing,IA >
      • 13/7/2011 Lansing all day >
        • 14/7/2011 Lansing to Pikes Peak SP >
          • 15/7/2011 Pikes peak SP to Dubuque, IA >
            • 16/7/2011, Dubuque to Bellevue >
              • 17/7/2011, Pleasant Creek CG all day >
                • 18/7/2011, Pleasant Creek CG all day >
                  • 19/7/2011, Bellevue to Silvas, IL
          • 20/7/2011, Moline for the Day >
            • 21/7/2011, Moline to Loud Thunder Park >
              • 22/7/2011, Loud Thunder park to Keithsberg >
                • 23/07/2011, Keithbergs to Fort madison, IA >
                  • 24/7/2011, Fort Madison to Nauvoo
                • 25/7/2011, Nauvoo to Quincy >
                  • 26/7/2011 Quincy all day
    • Granada to Panama, Feb 27 >
      • 9, 10/3/2011 Servo to Playa Las Lajas
  • 8/5/2017 Tehran
15/9/2013 Salta to 13km north of La Viña

D70, T3/4.5, Av21.78, Max60, Tot19110, 9948

Overcast and a bit cool

It was a good couple of days rest here, it was good to spend time with other cylclists. The guys were fun. Loic had decided to go on a day later.

Kurt, Lucas and I finally got away today at about 1130.

It was a bumpy ride out of Salta on cracked concrete pavement.

The road, typical of the few ridden here so far had no shoulder, luckily it was not too busy.

We stopped for lunch on a nice grassy property, not dissimilar to a driving range.

We were making good time.

The guys rode at a steady fast rate which suited me.

Life is pretty easy now,  with tiendas at regular intervals and tapped water at most buildings. We loaded up with plenty at a small town. By now it was about 1700. We felt like stopping.

Near Embase Cabra Corral., we found an olive plantation that looked disused, finding the gate I headed in to check it out, all good. It was a sheltered place for the night.

It was a nice change to camp on grass.

Lucas and i had pasta, with tomato puree and carnita, a soy protein granule.

We sat around listening to Lucas play on the guitar and then a bit of music.

We were all tired, it had been a few late nights in Salta.

16/9/2013 North on La Viña to 25km north of Cafayate

D98, TT5/7, Av18, Max63, Tot19208, 10,046

Good tail winds, cool and overcast about 15°C

We all had a great nights sleep.

Lucas headed off into the orchard early to meditate, as he does for an hour a day.

I would love to be disciplined enough to do this. We had our normal breakfasts and got on the road about 1000.

The riding was great, just gently up and back down, with great rural scenery. That of the odd vineyard and other crops. Though the country was generally very dry.

We soon entered the Quebrada de la Conchas. Riding here was a pleasure. The scenery was to behold, with the most amazing barren rock ranges. They were presented to us in all shades of red and brown.

The strata was wavy one minute, then contorted the next. All the while we were following the Valle de Lerma, and a river with little water in its bed.

Lunch was enjoyed overlooking the small pueblito of Alemania.

We were eating well, having bought fresh baguettes, salami, me anyway, and cheese at a tienda in La Viña. Very popular here on bread is dulce de leche, a sort or caramel spread not unlike honey though not as sticky. On the baguettes, to say it is Moorish is an understatement.

It was a great day riding, with us mucking about on the quiet road, Lucas trying to force me into the gravel shoulder, me resisting, and all of us just enjoying the scenery and each others company.

None of us really had a care in the world, it was one of those kind of days, took me back to my youth.

A time when life was carefree, riddled with enthusiasm and wonderment. A time when the future plans were far from your mind.

Soon in the Quebrada de la Conchas, there were all sorts of rock formations and gorges. We stopped at the amphitheatre and another chasm running deep into the range.

The riding was again, a little climb and then back down again.

At about 0500 water and eggs were obtained in Santa Barbara

It was starting to cool off.

The wind was increasing though from behind us. At one point it must have been blowing 60knots, we were pushed along at 20km without pedalling on a flat road, it was funnelling down the valley.

Finally, at about 1645, Kurt found at spot in an open valley. We pushed our bikes across the desert like landscape to the spot.

By now, it was bitterly cold with the wind chill.

Setting up , we ate couscous, carnita and tomato puree with onions.

The wind was still gusting, we were all cold and retreated to our tents about 2100.

Picture
A late departure from Salta
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lunch overlooking Alemania
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muckin' about
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looking out, the view in.
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A couple of good guys.
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camp, 23 km north of Cafayate.
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No one was going to bother us here, some 300m from the road through sand. The guys had to help me over a sand hill.
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Las Ventanas
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unreal!
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Camping in the olive plantation.
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Getting into wine country
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Typical vegetation, they were either Agaves or most likely bromeliads.
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looking in, the view out of the "amphitheater"
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late afternoon light.
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Another world, 1845 and we needed a campsite out of the strong wind.
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All part of the experience here in the Quebrada de las Conchas.
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freedom.......................!!
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I wont bother with words here.
A friend sent me this article, I found it ever so interesting.


Why We Need Nomads





I recently stumbled on a Quora question in which the writer was thinking about quitting his job and selling his possessions to travel the world. He gave a brief description of himself (single, in his 20s, a job but no career), and asked whether he should go for it.

The resounding answer was yes, but not necessarily because it was a respectable lifestyle. Rather, because he was young enough to get away with it. Because he still had time to build a career, a family, and a real life. Because now was the time to get the travel bug out of his system.

I was glad to read the encouragement and travel tips he received, but couldn’t help wonder: what if a 40-something man with three young children also wanted to become a nomad?

A nomad is someone who travels extensively, with no real home to speak of other than the wide-open road. They usually carry all their possessions with them, and earn little to no income.



Truth from a reliable source

Nomadic travel is tolerated if you are young, responsibility-free, and trying to find yourself, but only for a pre-determined amount of time. Why isn’t travel—apart from age and status—worthy of pursuing in itself as a respectable (not just fulfilling) way of life?

The most common question we get from people we meet since hitting the road full-time is: “How long are you traveling for?”

We still aren’t sure how to answer that. “Um… forever?” Shacky says, and then we explain that we live this way. It’s not a vacation. It’s not a year-long project.

People are puzzled by this concept. Our contact with them usually expires before they grasp it, and as we walk away I can almost hear the wheels turning in their heads with a million questions.

Online, people have fewer questions and more opinions. We are called freeloaders or spoiled by people who don’t know us but dislike the concept of full-time travel. Some accuse us of contributing nothing to society, or worse—burdening it.

This isn’t surprising when you consider that although this lifestyle has many benefits, they are often described as personal fulfillments rather than contributions to the real world, giving us the reputation of takers, not givers.

What benefits do nomads bring to society? Do we really need them?

The answer is a resounding yes. As much as we need lawyers, doctors, and construction workers—we need nomads. Here’s why:

Social Benefits

A few weeks ago Jessica Kurti posted the following story on my Facebook wall:

Transported my first hitchhikers today… was AWESOME. Two ‘through hikers’ doing the entire Pacific Crest Trail. Gave them a lift to Sisters, Oregon, where they were going to eat, run errands, and meet a ‘trail angel’ who would give them a lift to the next trailhead. So, I would like to say THANK YOU, to you, Shacky, Honey Bird and Crockett (their trail names). I learned so much about what is possible! Although I love to help people, I rarely would consider picking up hitchhikers (in this country at least as a single female). SO GLAD I DID. And I wish *all of us* continued safe journeys and amazing adventures ahead! ‪#‎cannotbelievethisismylife ‪#‎LIVINGTHEDREAM

Much love from Bend, Oregon (started in Florida). Keep on keeping on!

She was thanking me because I had previously written about our experiences picking up hitchhikers, commenting on how unfounded our society’s fear of hitchhiking actually is.

Nomads are more trusting of strangers than your average person, probably because they spend a large portion of their time talking to strangers. They discover that strangers (and people in general) are inherently good, hospitable, and eager to help.  As a result, nomads serve as society’s connectors.

Nomads will:

  • connect people with similar interests to each other
  • connect people with resources to people in need
  • connect strangers in close proximity
  • connect Facebook friends in real-person contact
Nomads not only make frequent connections, but also improve the quality of those connections. The transition isn’t from stranger to acquaintance, but from stranger to good friend. Nomads have the time to really listen and understand the people they meet. They are not rushing to their next appointment of thinking about what they will cook for dinner. Their attentions are focused on the stories and experiences of others. Nomads allow us to feel heard and to feel like our stories matter.

Nomads connect us to each other, re-establish our faith in humanity, and dispel unfounded social stigmas.

Intellectual Benefits

I first learned about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in a high school Psychology class. As a child of poverty, it was one of my first introductions to the concept that there may be something more to life than living to fulfill our basic needs of food and shelter.

Abraham Maslow developed this theory in his 1943 paper describing the stages of human growth. While other psychologists of his time were studying the mentally ill, Maslow examined the healthiest one percent of a college student population. He named people like Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglass as examples he studied. Here is the hierarchy:



Source: Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

Our current society over-emphasizes the bottom two levels at the expense of the top three. Once we have met our basic needs of food, shelter, and security, we are pressured to over-develop those benefits: a bigger house, a nicer car, giving our kids everything they could possibly want (not just what they need). To achieve this, we sacrifice the higher levels of friendships, self-esteem, and the freedom to be creative.

Nomads embody the opposite, and as a result they balance society. We embrace the bare minimum when it comes to food, shelter, and security in exchange for the higher opportunities of self-actualization. We have the freedom to immerse ourselves into areas that the rest of society has little time for: volunteering, extensive travel, year-long projects with little to no financial return, and time-consuming works of art.

We learn from the nomad that happiness comes in different shapes, despite society’s insistence that more money equals more freedom. We see nomads working as their own bosses, or exploring their true passions. Watching them gives us the courage to do the same.

Nomads change the way we think and view the world.  

Environmental Benefits

Can you brush your teeth with two sips of water? What if all the water you had access to for the day was the amount you could carry on your back? What if all the trash you could make was limited to what you could pack out? What if the only light you had after dark was a headlamp?

As a nomad, I have learned to use less water, less electricity, and produce less garbage. I have grown resourceful enough to fix things when they break instead of throwing them away. Many nomads live this way. It’s not a weekend camping trip; it’s life. More importantly—it’s not that hard.

Nomads can teach us to respect, appreciate, and preserve our resources. They can show us how to live comfortably with less, how to save hundreds on unnecessary products, and how to stop draining our planet.

I have only experienced two city-wide blackouts in my life: one in Toronto, and one in San Diego. Both times, it felt like mass panic in the neighborhood. As a society, we are uncomfortable with the concept of living with less. We tend to imagine extremes: either we live large or live in a cave with nothing. Nomads know there is a sweet middle ground. We can drastically reduce our carbon footprint yet still fit in with civilized society.

Nomads teach us to respect our resources and show us how it is possible to live comfortably with less.

Global Benefits

A few weeks ago I posted this picture on my Facebook wall and it immediately sparked a flurry of comments.



The photo was taken in Healy, Alaska, just outside of Denali National Park, and was fairly consistent with the avocado prices I had seen in other parts of Alaska. When we began our journey from San Diego, avocados were a main staple in my diet. By the time we arrived in Alaska, I had been forced to give them up. I could no longer afford avocados.

The biggest purchaser of avocados that I know is my good friend Patrick Sweeney. This free-spirited California beach boy practically survives on avocados, hot sauce, and beer. He often posts photos of his fruit and vegetable purchases—mounds of fresh produce at obscenely low prices. Sweeney hates the concept that healthy food is too expensive and unavailable to poor people who want to eat well. This argument, according to Pat, is an excuse that perpetuates the obesity epidemic in America.

I agree with him partially, but not entirely. I have learned from our travels just how region-specific eating well actually is. My idea of healthy eating has evolved from primarily raw vegan to whatever the locals eat, and what the region offers. Along the Pacific Northwest, I enjoyed mostly fresh seafood. Now in Alaska, I eat fresh game meat (mostly reindeer) and salmon that was swimming only hours ago. Here, I would go broke as a vegan.

The avocado issue made me reflect on how many times we make wide, sweeping generalizations about the world based on our own tiny regions.

Nomadism infuses the world with people who can relate to different perspectives. We carry the message that there is more than one way to do things and we refute stereotypes wherever we travel.

Every community seeks to bond over common ideas. This is human nature, and it makes life easier. But every once in a while, every region needs a nomad to shake things up in places where everyone thinks the same, earns the same, and votes the same.

We need nomads to reminds us that our rules do not apply to every inch of this planet. We also need nomads to experience our own regional truths, and carry our stories off to places where our habits are considered strange.

Nomads fight stereotypes by collecting and delivering different world views across regional lines.

Physical Benefits

After watching the documentary Craiglist Joe, Shacky and I were answered a Craigslist ad to pick up a brother/sister pair of backpackers hitchhiking their way across the country. Eddie and Charlotte turned out to be amazing company. We took them to the Grand Canyon and picked up some great travel tips just by observing them.

One of the main things I noticed about Eddie and Charlotte was that they walked—a lot. I was used to viewing movement as a form of exercise in the form of a training plan, or something you needed to schedule. But Eddie and Charlotte walked as a way of life. In the months that followed, I would come to redefine movement for myself.

In my pre-nomad days, I would log all my exercise on a site called Dailymile. It tracked my running, walking, hiking, swimming, or movement of any kind. I could record the mileage and at the end of the week, it would give me a grand total and tell me I was awesome.

After we hit the road, logging workouts on Dailymile became more complicated. Without a GPS surgically attached to my wrist, I had no idea how far I had moved that day. I no longer went out to do a workout. I just went out to play.

Instead of running a pre-determined route, we would pull over to the side of the road intrigued by a hill or mountain, and climb it. We spend time on the trail or in a pool, coming home only when we were hungry or out of water. This healthy concept of movement was a welcome change and we seek to share it with others.



Eddie and Charlotte gazing down into the Grand Canyon for the first time.

Nomads help us see exercise and movement as a way of life, not an activity we need to schedule.

Emotional Benefits

Michael Comerford was the second hitchhiker we picked up on the side of the road. He was surviving as a carnival worker, traveling the country to work various gigs. He told me stories that I’ll never forget about how much carnival workers loved making children happy, yet the irony that most of them came from abusive childhoods and were separated from their own children. He told me about the shocking lack of education and illiteracy in the industry, and the hopeless abandonment the workers would face if they tried to leave their carnival families.

Nomads often immerse themselves into the margins of society. We see, hear, and feel those who have no voice, no words, and no education. These experiences tune us into a full spectrum of human emotions that we can then share, speak about, or write about. They come out in our art, in our music, and inject themselves into the hearts of those we come in contact with.

Back in the “real” world, when I had a real job and a real home, it was easy for me to disconnect. Routine set in, and my emotions were dulled. There was nothing new or exciting, and there was nothing to make me angry or annoyed. I had tweaked my world for maximum comfort and slipped into a state of complete moderation.

Now in a world where anything can happen at any time, I have reconnected with the way I feel about the world. From intense joy to tremendous frustration, nomads experience a wide range of human emotions on a daily basis. We are good at feeling things in a society where emotional displays are often unwelcome.

Nomads expose us to a full spectrum of human emotions that feed our sense of humanity.

Psychological Benefits

When I read Jennifer Pharr-Davis’ book Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, I was a new nomad struggling with the concept of inactivity. Well-trained in the art of office multi-tasking and accustomed to starting each day with a “to do” list longer than my arm, I was now immersed in a world where it could take all day to do one thing. Sometimes that thing was as basic as finding a place to sleep that night.

I was starting to work on my second book, and if I wasn’t pounding away at my keyboard every spare second, I would feel guilty. The guilt puzzled me since I had no deadline, no boss, and I was writing for fun, yet those societal values of ceaseless “productivity” still lingered in my brain.

In Becoming Odyssa, Pharr-Davis wrote about her own transition from constant movement to sitting still. She describes one incident where she was at a friend’s house, just sitting there. Her friend asked if she wanted a magazine? Did she want to watch TV?  But Jennifer just wanted to sit there, as she often would in the evenings on the trail, and that concept made others uncomfortable.

These days I do nothing just as often as I do something. And shockingly, it has made me more productive. I have better ideas, and when I work I am faster and more eloquent, because I have had time to organize my thoughts.

The biggest psychological stress plaguing our society is… well, stress. This goes hand in hand with the concept that we need to be doing something every minute of the day, and any minute resting is a minute wasted. Even when we do stop to rest, we are burdened by thoughts of what productive things we should be doing instead.

Rushing, multi-tasking, and stressing out are now things that only exist in my past, and that is something I learned from a nomad. In return, I seek to pass it on to others. It is a message that our society needs to make time to hear.



Taking it slow and drinking in the views on the Alaska Highway

Nomads encourage us to slow down and de-stress.  

Survival Benefits

Residing in what is now Lebanon, the Phoenicians enjoyed a rich, civilized culture based on lumber exportation in 300 B.C. They grew to obtain great wealth due to their enormous and beautiful cedar trees, whose infamy is Biblically referred to as “the cedars of Lebanon.” Their land was plentiful, their people were strong, and their soil was rich.

The Phoenicians were self-sufficient and prosperous, but as they started to clear-cut their cedars trees over time, the quality of their soil decreased. It became harder for them to grow food, and their people started to go hungry.

The leaders of the time decided to go to war to expand their borders and rose up against Alexander the Great. Alexander squashed them like bugs and conquered their entire civilization. Historically, nations who could not feed themselves would never survive.

“Food sovereignty” is the term used to describe a nation’s ability to feed itself—a skill we are rapidly losing in our society. Socialized with the idea that if we need something we must buy it, we commit Phoenician sins at an alarming frequency.

We need people who know how to be self-sufficient. Through programs like WWOOF, many full-time nomads are learning to work organic farms in exchange for free room and board. Nomads are also experts at acquiring the things they need without using money. They barter and trade their services, goods, or skills. No matter how industrialized we become, these ancient survival skills are always useful.

Nomads bring us back to our roots of self-sufficiency, trade, and simple survival.

Irrational Benefits

Philosophically, does the constant supply of information steal our ability to imagine or replace our dreams of achieving? After all, if it is being done somewhere by someone, and we can participate virtually, then why bother leaving the house?

This is the question that Ben Saunders attempted to answer in his 2012 TED talk.

Saunders is a polar explorer and the youngest person to ever ski solo to the North Pole. He ponders his purpose of nomadic travel:

“Nothing will come of it,” he wisely admits. “We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, and not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. So it is no use. If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy, and joy, after all, is the end of life. We don’t live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means, and that is what life is for.”

Nomads understand this to be true first-hand. In a society that demands a purpose and a rational explanation for any expenditure of energy, nomads represent travel, movement, and adventure as worthwhile pursuits in themselves. Theirs are the adventures that inspire books and TED talks. This is where original ideas are born and lives are changed. There is no other job or career on earth that operates on this principle: that the destination is senseless but the journey is everything.

The benefits of living vicariously through your local nomad are also abundant. Not all of us need to ski to the North Pole, but some of us have irrational adventures of our own that we’ve muted with society’s expectations. Sometimes it takes a nomad to come along and uncover them. If we pursue those ambitions, our own adventures will inspire others, and so the circle continues.

 

Nomads feed our inherent sense of curiosity, wonder, and adventure; they give us permission to follow our own senseless dreams.

While nomads are not the only people on earth who benefit society in these ways, they are important, underestimated, and rare contributors. Just as some of us aspire to bring home a steady paycheck and live in comfortable homes (society needs that too), there are also nomadic spirits chained to their cubicles because they are convinced that travel would be selfish.

It is not selfish. Nomadic travel can never be selfish, because for every benefit you receive, you give away everything—your entire heart, your mind, strength, and life—to forever change the people you meet and tenderly touch the places you visit.



“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,

To gain all while you give,

To roam the roads of lands remote:

To travel is to live.”

- Hans Christian Andersen
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