Santiago Chile to Mendoza Argentina

From Santiago I decided to ride straight over to Mendoza Argentina.  I didn't really want to go there, as it was the last place Kevin and I decided to meet on his way down here before he died.  Mendoza is wine country and we thought it would be fun to meet there to enjoy the wineries.  So going there alone did not appeal to me at all.  However it is the perfect distance for one day riding from Santiago.

I've been warned that fuel in Argentina is sporatic.. Sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't.  So I fill up just before heading up into the Andes in Chile.

Not long after, I reach Paso Internacional Los Libertadors.  Pretty fun road!

It's getting rather chilly, so I'm checking the gps for elevation.  Here is 3086 meters.

Sporting that Scottish flag Kevin gave me on the top of my pannier.  It's the only flag on my bike from a land I have never been to, and I'm only too glad I have it now.  I will wear it and ride on in honor of Kevin's home land.

Eventually making my way to the border crossing of Argentina.

This is a unique one.. enclosed! And it was quick and easy, which is a super huge bonus.  The immigration officials were really nice.  With all three bonuses at this border, it will be remembered as one of the best crossings.

Welcome to Argentina.

This road is surprisingly beautiful.. some photos of the day.

Remnants of an earthquake?

Only in a small settlement lives a bit of green..

These water bottles are around a road side memorial.  I see them often.  I found a great webpage that describes the story better than I could, here is the link:  Roadside Memorials Water bottles
There are two memorials here, swallowed by the bottles.  One red roof and and one white.

I arrived Mendoza to a pre-planned place to stay.  This hostel has a Tibetan theme and I liked the colors.  The room that the owner put me in only has a curtain, no door..

I'm going to have heaps of Tibetan children looking down on me while I sleep!

And the other view from my bed is Brad Pitt from his days making the movie "7 Days in Tibet".

It's nearly winter in Mendoza and quite chilly.  There are no blankets on the bed.  I could go get my sleeping bag, but I thought it would be easier to just ask for a blanket.  The owner had sat with me for a while and I told him a little bit about the recent events of Kevin being killed.

Still no blanket, the owner comes through the curtain.  "Do you want to sleep in my room?"  No, I said, just a blanket will do.  He came back a few minutes later.  "Why don't you sleep in my room?"  I said I'm happy here, just a bit cold.  I will go get my sleeping bag.  He said, "Look, you are single, I am single, I can help keep you warm".  ???????????????  I nearly blew up, and he knew it.  The look on my face said it all, but I still muttered, "Get out..."

I didn't sleep well that night, worried he might come back in, but he didn't. I really wish I had a door I could lock. What a cheeky guy! And, I never would have guessed by the look of this place that this would be my experience here.

So Mendoza is quite a popular spot to visit in Argentina, very well known for it's wineries.  I knew I didn't want to come here without Kevin, but last night confirmed, I just want to go. I left really early in the morning before anyone was awake. I hope a few loud revs of my motorcycle in the garage sent a message as well.

South Chile on the KTM 990 Adventure

The day after Kevin died, Walter and Barton decide we should not ride as intended.  At lunch time, they made another decision that they should get Sherri Jo drunk.. "Kevin would want you to get drunk..". They've never met Kevin, however they were doing anything they could to cheer me up, so I went to lunch with them. I had two sips of a pisco sour and it threw me right into tears that were not going to end so I went back to the cabin and left them to the piscos.  All I could think of is finding out what happened to Kevin.. how, where, etc etc etc.

Several hours later, the boys returned in the dark.. and this is what I got!  Two really annoying very drunk guys!  But I am only too glad to have them around at the moment..

The following day we needed to ride toward Santiago as Walter has a flight back to Europe to catch.  And it might be better for me to ride and have something else to concentrate on.

In Santiago, back to Martyn and Katie's home, the packing of Husabergs begins.

I said my goodbyes to Walter and Barton..  They've been great.  We've had an amazing few weeks together.  It was very sad to see them go...

Now I'm on my own again for the first time in a long time.  And I have NO IDEA what to do.  I was waiting on Kevin, we were going to explore Argentina and Chile for a bit before he had to go back to work in Canada for 6 months.  Now, I don't feel like riding a motorcycle, I don't feel like riding alone, I don't feel like staying still, I don't feel like going home, I can't seem to work out anything.

What's funny is I have a KTM 990 Adventure to use until my own motorcycle is fixed, and I should really take advantage of that.  But I don't want to ride it.

I decided I should go somewhere. Not sure where, but I decided to ride a bit.  Martyn gave me a suggestion for a seaside town he likes and it might be a great place to be alone for a while.

I saw the graffiti said "K-Life" and it made me stop in my tracks.. "Kevin's Life..."

So this is where I stayed at a place called "Donde Gilberto" for 3 days.  It was such a nice place for a good price and the staff were fantastic.

I'm feeling guilty that big 990 just sitting there, but I'm still not enthused to go exploring with it and more want to find out if my 690 is fixed so I can get out of here.

Seaweed For Sale

They are collecting seaweed for drying.

Plenty of tsunami evacuation routes here.  Not a surprise, since I have been in the Santiago I have felt 4 earthquakes.  The first one, I woke up in my room at Martyn and Katies standing at the window in the dark.  I must have heard the window shaking and walked to it in my sleep and then when I woke up it was quite a surprise.  The trembling finished shortly after and I was able to work out it was an earthquake and I went back to bed.

The second earthquake, I was sitting at the kitchen table chatting to Katie and the walls started swaying back and forth.  I was just staring at them in fascination and commenting to Katie how incredible it was.  I never realized solid walls could move like ocean waves when I hear Martyn yell at us.. "Get out of the f'ing house NOW!!!"  I didn't think of it as an emergency until he said that and then I was shaking myself!

I rode back to Chillan to see if my 690 might be ready, but they were still waiting on parts to arrive Austria.  When they installed the piston incorrectly, causing it to fail, the damage from the failure went farther needing a new cylinder, timing chain, etc.. too many things to list.  Chillan is a not a town worth hanging around in.  So I went another direction on the 990 to the mountains and ski area.  And here I stopped and waited a few more days.  Everything is closed and very boring out of season.

When I saw the light in this photo, I was hoping it's a sign that Kevin's spirit is riding along with me.  He would love these roads and of course the 990!

I'm parked at the post office near the handicapped spaces because the local horses were hogging up the other spaces.. ha!

I went back to Chillan to see if my motorcycle is ready for the second time. It was not but they promised it would be the next day (Saturday).  I have been enjoying the 990 as much as I could, but I am looking forward to having my own bike back.  For one, I feel really trapped not being able to leave the country on the 990.  I still don't know where to go, but now I feel I want to get out of Chile.

When I picked up my bike and they are telling me about the repairs, I see the oil leaking.. not a good sign! ;-(

They quickly laid it down and fixed a seal. After, I went out the gate to re-pack my panniers with a plan to ride to Santiago and back to Martyn and Katies home.  I can only hope the bike will work okay as they've all gone home now for the weekend.

It does work, but it had very low power.  My bike had a fire, a fair bit of umph before they did all of this.  Now it is very sluggish, but at least it works.  I do not want to take it back to them again.

It was good to be back to my temporary Santiago home and somehow managed to talk Katie in to going on a little ride with us.  She has not been keen to ride with Martyn on his KTM 990 since moving here to Chile.  So we found a jacket, her daughters ski pants and a helmet.

I'm happy to report that she enjoyed that ride and has been doing a lot of longer distance rides with Martyn ever since, which he is over the moon about.

As for me, I've decided to move on to Mendoza, Argentina.