Pedro and Maria Motorcycle South America!: Mendoza, Argentina to Los Andes, Chile, 176 Miles and one border crossing

It was hard to say goodbye to our new friends today. They all made us feel so comfortable as if we had known them for years. Leaving from such comforts to the open road again wasn’t easy, but needed to be done as we need all the time we can get to sort out the shipping of Yoshita. Unfortunately we have learned on this trip that even the simplest things usually require more effort than expected and thus much time to sort out.

No matter how many hours of sleep we get, Mike and I still wake up feeling completely exhausted. Today we did wake up a bit earlier than our usual mid day hour, but that is because we had to pack up and hit the road by noon. We had another great breakfast waiting for us which we enjoyed with Camila and soon after Francsico came home from work. He, Camila, Walter and Betty all wanted to join us on a farewell ride through the mountains towards Chile. It was great to have a farewell train of motos taking us out through town, almost felt just like the first day we left from our house, being surrounded by our friends and family.

As we headed out of town the scenery started to become full of beautiful mountain ranges, and the more miles we rode, the more beautiful it all became. Sunny skies, warm air, but not too hot, a perfect ride to remember as one of our last in South America.

As we weaved through the Andes, through tunnels and over bridges, we passed a few other motorists--four of them actually, 3 of which were V-stroms. Shortly after, we stopped for lunch at a parilla and met all of them. They were Brazilians. Mike somehow managed to pay for the lunch bill without Francisco noticing which was the first time we were able to pay for anything during the past 3 days.

We rode a few miles further and said our goodbyes. I have never met such generous people, and after being on the road for so long, they had truly made me feel at home in a sense and it was sad to say goodbye. I hope that they will come to visit us as I am not sure when we will be in Argentina next.

Soon after our departure, we started climbing higher and higher into the steep mountains. As we climbed the weather cooled down, until a point where we were actually cold again and could see snow not far up on the mountains peaks. We passed Camagoura on this ride, the second tallest mountain in the world. Right at the very top of our climb was the border crossing. By far the most organized and efficient border crossing we have come across on our entire trip. It was so well organized, you didn’t even have to get out of your car to exit Argentina or enter Chile. There were little booths set up that you drove up to, it was great; what a way to finish off our last border crossing in South America!

Mike found the shipping company in Los Andes who Francisco had mad a few calls to and setup all the information for us to ship. Well, just as we have come to expect, nothing seems as easy as it sounds. Sure enough the shipping company knew nothing of the information Francisco had given Mike and requested us to come back at 10:30 the next morning after they make some phone calls. That puts us a few blocks down in a little hotel for the evening.

No more Bife de Chorizo, Alfajores (little cakes), delicious empanadas…we sure will miss Argentina.

Mike made friends with this local mechanic