Look up, look way up.

Jan 6-9 San Juan to Vicuna

Early in the day but this guy has to win Dog of the Day.

Another day and another mountain pass across the border to Chile. But first we have to get out of San Juan, which turns out to be a little harder than expected because the bridge that we have to cross is closed for today’s start of the Dakar. This time we are not treated like celebrities and told to park off to the side until the bridge opens. This worked out okay for us as we got to watch the big trucks kick up a dust as they made three passes under the bridge before heading off into the desert. Soon after the lead drivers left the officials opened the bridge and we were on our way.

The dust cloud slowly takes over

Time to go.

A few times along the route we could see the trucks and their dust clouds off in the distance, and we also passed a few support trucks on the road. Just a subtle reminder of yesterdays events and that the competitors are having a completely different experience as they cross Argentina and Chile. We split directions and head towards the border for yet another crossing and another mountain pass. This one is named Paso Agua Negra and is 4756m (15,600ft) in elevation with a distance of close to 400km between gas stops. This would mean that our jerry cans would be needed, of course we did not realize this until we seen the sign after we had just checked  out of Argentina. There are a couple of towns listed on the map but apparently none have fuel.  This is going to be interesting as we only have enough fuel for approximately 350km. 

Naturally the first part of the pass is paved and then it turns to gravel and there is a gentle increase in altitude.

One of the rules of the road is that if you come across another bike parked on the side of the road it is customary to ensure they are okay and not just drive by. Well today we put this into action as we come across a fellow bike rider along the road with his luggage open and tools spread on the road. 

This is a universal indication that something is wrong and we soon find out that Simon has a slash in his rear tire and is in need of assistance. He is riding a Ducati Multistrada, which is probably not the best choice for this road, but it has tubeless tires that are very soft and the slash is about ¾” long. Simon is from Santiago and is on a short ride with a few buddies, who are nowhere to be seen, that have more dirt  oriented bikes. We set to the task of repairing the tire with insert plugs but as soon as air pressure is applied the tear opens up and the air leaks out. I have a spare tube and the tools to get the tire off the rim however Simon does not have the tools to remove the wheel from the bike. Ducati designed this bike with a single sided swingarm and the wheel is held on with a torque nut that is about 3 inches in diameter so there is nothing in the toolkit that even comes close. We had been playing on the roadside for about 40minutes before one of Simon’s riding buddies came back to see where they had lost him. Claudio was on a F800GS so I immediately knew that Simon would never keep up to him on these roads, then I learned that Claudio was also a former National Enduro champion. Well all that riding experience was not going to help fix this tire and shortly all the other riders returned. A couple more 800’s and a couple of V-stroms. We thought we had it licked as one of the guys had a can of puncture sealant, but after trying a couple of times the slash was just too big and the sealant leak out instead of sealing the hole.

Simon said we could carry on with our trip as his support crew had returned and they would have to wait for a truck to haul his bike to the border, once there they could call a friend in La Serena to come and get him. We pack up the tools and head off on our own adventure up into the mountain pass. The road quickly turns to a typical narrow mountain road with no guard rails and vast views. Near the top of the pass Claudio catches up to us and then disappears around a curve. I can see why Simon was so far behind.

We are now on the downward slope from the peak at 4756meters, and what a downward rollercoaster ride it is. The road is designed perfectly for motorcycles at a speed of 80kmh, the curves just flow together in a beautiful rhythm. We pass Claudio who has stopped to have a smoke and wait for the rest of his group, but that does not last long as he soon passes us again. He does it with style too. We are heading into a 90 degree switchback so we have slowed considerably, he on the other hand is still at full speed and uses his professional riding skills to drift the big 800GS around the corner. I thought for sure we were going to have to do a recovery from over the cliff but he made the corner and was gone in a cloud of dust.

The valley walls are pure rock with various mineral deposits to make them very colorful. Some spots are blue green others are orange or red, it all blends together well with the green water in the river and lakes. Quite picturesque considering there is no grass or trees, just rocks and water.

The fun part of meeting other riders along the trail is that in many instances you end up in the same spots throughout the day and on a mountain pass such as this it is inevitable. We once again see the group of Chileans at the border as we all go through the process of Aduana and Migration. They have decided that Simon will stay at the border and wait for his friend to arrive with a truck while the rest of the group will proceed onto La Serena as they have hotel reservations and a casino to visit. We are finished first and head out only to be passed farther down the road once again. It is now dark and and we have a rule about riding at night but in this case we have no choice. It is either stop and pitch the tent along the roadside or ride into Vicuna and hope there is a hotel there.  Add to this that my headlight is burnt out and all I have is the driving light for illumination, a candle would be brighter, thankfully it is a full moon and the paint on highway is fresh so the lines show up nicely even in the dark.

We had no idea that Vicuna was a tourist destination for stargazing and geology. It made sense once we thought about it as there is very little ambient light pollution and nothing but rock in the surroundings. One of the Chileans suggested a hotel that was nice and we were not disappointed, a bunch of stars under the name sign indicated that it would be top notch, plus a fantastic buffet breakfast the next morning.

Roof top bar

We liked the town and decided to stay for a few days, although we did move to a less expensive Hostal that allowed us to do some cooking and wrenching once again. Yes, more bike maintenance, as I said my headlight needed changing and after the last couple weeks the air filters needed cleaning again. The three days of non-travel allowed me to catch up on writing in between walks around town and visits to the fruit vendors. What we could not see in the dark was that the valley is home to both vineyards and olive plantations, this makes for a vibrant economy great food. Grapes are sold by truckload for cheap as well as olives and olive oil. We have become addicted to olive oil on our salads and even for dipping our bread into.

This fella snuck in as Dog of the Day

The star gazing tour we took was interesting, even though we are not astrology buffs we did enjoy learning about the different constellations that are visible in the Southern skies compared to our Northern view point. No Big Dipper down here and they only have an approximate reference point for the geographical South point. The guide explained that you have to look in “that” direction from “this” star to find true South, it is much easier in Canada to just look for the North Star.  Plus, many of the other tourists have never had the privilege of seeing the Northern Lights, even our guide seemed impressed when we said that we have seen them countless times. It is at times like this when we stop to realize how lucky we are to live in Canada, the things we take for granted are items other people have on their bucket lists.

We took this through a telescope at the observatory.