With the bike’s forks sorted I head north to find a pass that will take me to Uspallata and then on to the Chilean border for a third time. I’m looking for a dirt pass in lieu of the more traveled main road and while I do find the road, I later learn it’s not the pass I intended to take. Nonetheless the route is scenic, the bike is handling better than I can remember, and it’s a beautiful day, so I’m not bothered too much.
Crossing back into Chile at this point affords me an opportunity to see Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Americas at almost 7K meters. This is the same mountain the gentleman from my hostal in Mendoza died on in a recent climbing tragedy. The peak projects menacingly from its obstructed view behind the other mountains. I enter the park hoping to get a better view but the view from the parking lot is no better than from the main road. Uncertain of how my border experience is going to go with a soon to be expiring passport, I forgo the 20 minute hike that yields a better view of the magnificent montana and make for the border.
Chile has a hard on for fruit entering their country and are usually persistent about checking tourist luggage. I unpacked my entire bike in San Pedro de Atacama for an inspector on a mad hunt for renegade bananas. Can you blame them? After all, I’m coming from the altiplano in Bolivia which is known for its abundant fruit production. This border is no different. However, when I unpack my luggage for the inspector this time I make him wait as I meticulously repack the bag before proceeding to the next. This tactic results in me only unpacking one bag.
I’m still spent from the ride through Bolivia so I spend a few days with my friend Martyn and his better half in Los Condes resting up and taking care of bike maintenance. Thanks again for the hospitality, amigo! Now it’s time to deal with the passport. After reaching dead ends on the web and phone I decide to pay a visit to the US Embassy Santiago. After a three hour wait the woman behind the bullet proof glass tells me it will take 3 weeks to turn around a new passport application. Huh? I ask to speak to an agent and she directs me to the gentlemen at the next window. Coincidentally he is a rider and has a couple beemers. We talk about bikes for a bit and I explain I’m interested in getting to Patagonia before the weather turns bad. He says he’ll try to get the application turned around in a week. Well that’s certainly an improvement over 3 weeks.
I prefer the older colonial atmosphere and markets to the modern Latin American cities so I find a hostal in barrio Brasil to spend the next week or so waiting out the administrative calamity of my country’s passport process. The scars left from the earthquake a few years back are readily apparent as I walk the calles of the barrio. I feel great but still trying to shake a cough I picked up in Bolivia, odd since I have no other symptoms of being sick. I spring for a private room at the hostal so I can get some uninterrupted sleep and spend the days taking in copious amounts of food and drink as I take in the sights of the Santiago.
In an effort to pass the time I visit the bodega that produces one of my favorite cabernets, the Frontera. A great wine for those of us on tight travel budgets that is exported throughout Latin America and is fairly easy to come by. As I understand from the tour, the dry climate and a production technique committed to the vintage is what separates Concha y Toro wines from many of its competitors. I’ll take their word for it. The weather is absolutely stellar the day of my ride which I welcome after the last few months of high altitude cold, wet, and mud I’ve been riding in. The timing of my visit to the bodega comes as the company announced its purchase of a California icon.
Concha y Toro share price leaps as Fetzer purchase announced
A week goes by and I get no response from the embassy. I begin to grow uneasy as I spend another week trying to contact a live person for a status update. Two weeks to the day (Friday) I submitted the application I receive an email at 4:40PM indicating my passport is ready but I need to be at the office by 5PM to get it. I respond and they agree to wait an additional 15 minutes. After 20 minutes of lane splitting and rush hour acrobatics on the bike I retrieve my new passport at the embassy. Clearing this hurdle is a load off and I’m anxious to get back on the road. I depart the next day for Chillan where I will get tires and prepare for Patagonia and the Lakes District.
Tags: Aconcagua, ADV, Adventure Travel, Argentina, Barrio Brasil, Chile, Concha y Toro, KTM 950, Los Condes, Mendoza, Santiago, SE, Super Enduro, Superenduro