Fourteen years ago Rob and I cycled the ‘Great Divide’ off-road cycle route in North America. The route follows the water divide as much as possible through the continent starting in Glacier National Park in Canada via the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Mexican border in New Mexico. After finishing the ride we planned to tackle South America next.
Somehow Italy took precedent and we settled in central Le Marche taking on a renovation project that (as always) took longer and cost more than we had ever imagined. We also acquired three dogs. Now eleven years later with the project more or less complete and all three dogs sadly having gone to doggy heaven we decided it was time to explore South America before we get too old!
Camping at Lago di Fiastra
The Sibillini Mountains have proven to be an ideal training ground with plenty of hills to climb. Even cycling between the small villages around Casa Carotondo has proven a challenge with lots of nasty steep climbs. We managed one ride with fully laden bikes, cycling to a campsite only about 20 km away. We wanted to check the handling of the bikes and also try out our gear for one night at least to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. Rob has a lot of experience cycle touring, having ridden around parts of India and Pakistan, Canada as well as Australia and New Zealand. He therefore has a good idea of what to take and what to leave behind. Going lightly is of the essence.
Casa Carotondo will not have to look after itself, while we are away. We have some house-sitters, who along with their dog, will look after things for us.
Camping at Lago di Fiastra
The plan was to start in San Pedro de Atacama cycle over Passo Sico in the Andes into northern Argentina then make our way up to Bolivia. However like all the best laid plans this changed before we started the trip. We arrived at Fiumincino airport on October 5th in good time. Friends Sylvia and Jeff had kindly deposited us at Foligno train station and we then battled our way on the trains with our fully laden bikes and two enormous and unwieldy boxes we would pack them in at the airport. Everything went to plan, with the bikes carefully deposited in their boxes we arrived at the check-in in plenty of time, exhausted from all our preparations, but looking forward to a rest on the plane. That is when things started to go wrong.
Vanessa’s Surley touring bike
There was a young girl at the check-in desk, who stopped her activities of printing sticky labels and just stared at the screen. Other passengers came and went. I asked what was wrong. ‘Something to do with the visa’, Rob informed me. British passport holders get an automatic 90 day tourist visa on entering Chile. However our return tickets were for 5 months later. We pointed out that we were intending to leave the country by bike 5 days after arrival but this didn’t seem to count. Eventually the stewardess phoned her supervisor to seek help. Eventually the supervisor got back to her to suggest we get a reservation from the cheap flights desk in the airport for a flight leaving Chile in the next 90 days. I ran off to the cheap flights desk having slowly come to the realisation that this was a serious situation and that we could miss our flight. At first we had both been a little too relaxed. We had assumed it was one of those bureaucratic problems the Italians always seem to find a solution to. There was a queue at the cheap flights desk, we were going to miss our flight.
Someone else helpfully suggested we quickly change the date of our departure from Rome. This way we could at least save the ticket and leave the next day. When I finally got through there were only spaces left in business class. Rob had in the meantime bought us a couple of tickets from Santiago to La Paz for December. We then had to go back and buy new return tickets to Santiago departing the next day. Feeling dazed and still wondering how we had managed to miss the flight. We resigned ourselves to a night in Fiumincino airport and the one café that stayed open all night.
Rob and Vanessa at Foligno station
The next day our check-in with American Airlines went through without problems and no mention of the ’V’ word. We flew to a place called Charlotte, which we found out was in southern North Carolina – just as well as South Carolina was suffering extreme flooding. Then onto Miami. Only as we were boarding the plane at the gate, with, we assumed the bikes already stored in the hold, was the dreaded word ‘Visa’ mentioned again. Rob produced the flight reservations to La Paz and we boarded. The stewardess explained that the airlines get fined $10,000 if they allow passengers on without the appropriate paperwork. What we would have done without our La Paz ticket I don’t like to contemplate. We arrived 8 hours later in Santiago – overcast and cold – to find our bikes were still in Miami!
Will be following your blog !!!!! Hope you won’t encounter any more problems and have a journey of a lifetime
Have a great time and stay safe
wow..what a start..lets hope things steadily improve…you guys impress me at every turn your incorrigabe …love you both have fun Jxxxx
Keep up the good work you two, will be following your trip. xx
Oh my goodness – you two do like adventure don’t you!! It certainly makes for gripping reading however, can’t wait to receive the next episode! Meanwhile have fun S&J&F
Where are you now? Just think you could have spent a fortnight in Margate! Oh dear! what else can go wrong!! You really must have been completely exhausted. Can only hope that all goes well from here on and that everything turns out as you expected.
The last programme on Patagonia was magnificent.
We are in Mendoza at the moment and hope to finally start cycling tomorrow. We did download those Patagonia programs but haven’t got around to looking at them – long way to go first! Will phone shortly.
Its best to get all this scary frustrating stuff out of the way at the start. Now you can relax knowing you can take on anything !!
Wasn’t scary just as you say frustrating and expensive – thank goodness for credit cards!
Wir sind fasziniert von Eurem Bericht und drücken Euch die Daumen für einen guten Verlauf Eures aufregenden Vorhabens! Wir sind in Gedanken bei Euch und sind gespannt auf den nächsten Reisebericht!
Liebe Renate, Lieber Michael, Vielen Dank. Bis jetzt ist alles gut gegangen, wenn auch etwas anstrengend.
Glad that you are on your way after all the problems that you have had. Have a wonderful time. We now have an outdoor shower, that is, when it rains. By the way there are Tarantulas in Patagonia or did’t Rob tell you!
Love fro Ma and Pa.
I presume that means my gutter repair didn’t work. Sorry. Perhaps my little bro can have a go when he visits
Keep pushing – hope the piles are not too bad!! Enjoy xxx
Thanks
Ein Wahnsinns-Abenteuer – und ab jetzt hoffentlich ohne boese Ueberraschungen. Wir hoffen, Ihr radelt schon!
Ein Wahnsinns-Abenteuer – und ab jetzt hoffentlich ohne boese Ueberraschungen. Wir hoffen, Ihr radelt schon!?
We have found we are perhaps not quite so fit as we should be … getting old. Will have to take things easy for a bit. Hope you are both well.
Buona sera, how is the pedalling going …. any nappy rash yet ! Any chance of a route so I can follow you and read up on where you are. Be safe. Hugs Jayne
Thanks Jayne. We are fine but have restricted access to the internet. Am sitting in the town square at the mo. Will try to update shortly.
Ness/Rob
No rush, you’ve got five months and I’ll sort the leaky gutter!!
Love
Ricky xxx
Rob says it needs a couple of screws in it to hold it together then the sealant … Should be an easy job for a bloke like you .. just need a stepladder! Hope you are all well, love Ness
Hallo Vanessa – ist alles ok bei Ihnen beiden? Wo sind Sie inzwischen? was macht die Kondition? Sie wird doch sicher von Tag zu Tag besser, oder? Weiterhin viele positive Erlebnisse bei guter Gesundheit!
Rebste & Michael
Hallo Renate und Michael, Uns geht es gut, wir haben aber begrenzte Zugang zum Internet. Die letzten Tagen waren anstrengend aber wir kommen langsam voran. Ich werde spaeter versuchen einen Update zu machen. Ich hoffe bei Ihnen alles ist in Ordnung.
Hello Robin. I have to read the latest saga still. Janet sent me a text message today to say that she tried to contact you on your travel blog but failed due to a problem. She asked me for my British and South African passport numbers. I text messaged them to her today. She urgently needs you to text message her your British passport number. She is in the process of updating the parent’s will. She needs your passport number at the latest by this Tuesday 20th October. Thanks and ‘Gute Reisen’!
Hi Jenny, Rob sent the passport number to your dad.
Hi Van…hope all is going well and your having fun..not sure how to find the continuing blog Help, need a good adventerous read as he constant rain here is dire…Love J xxx
Hallo nach Südamerika! Wir haben länger nichts mehr von Ihnen gehört/gelesen und hoffen, dass das ausschließlich auf den Internet-Zugang zurück zu führen ist?! Alles Gute und viele liebe Grüße – Renate & Michael