OVER THE ANDES...THRICE!!

well well well...how does one even begin to describe the road that led us out of zapala and into the unknown terrain of the andes. in zapala we decided to head south taking the scenic route. in fact, we came to a real fork in the road--a moment when we all had to decide what road to take. we decided on the "scenic" route (route 46 to i believe route 23 for all of you with a map). and as you might be able to infer, it also meant the more epic route. after riding about 70 miles (dont forget we have about 50lbs. of stuff trailing behind us and for the majority of the climbs i have about an extra 10 liters of water--what i dubbed a lake in my bag!). so, after riding about 70 miles we start to look for a camping spot. we see the andes looming in the distance and a road that goes up up up! tired, hungry, and dusty from sunscreen and road dust we stop and talk to a guy on this lone road and ask him if there might be a place to camp. he thinks. and with a jolly italian type of jigglely laugh points up at a little white house half way up the big hill. reluctantly we climb the steep hill--which is only about 4km long--but it is steep and feels heavy at the end of a day. we reach a gravel driveway and march our bikes up the almost vertical ascent. the woman at the little white house flashes us a confused smile of one tooth plus a few at the appearance of us (margo the little puppet included). she starts laughing profusely and continues to laugh when we ask her if we can pitch our tent on the little overlook. i suppose it is funny. three gringas covered in dust in the middle of nowhere. to no avail, we try and explain that our little troupe of bikers is not a joke. we really have ridden our bikes a great distance and we really have ridden them up this hill (which we later find out is a small mountain pass). and so, there you have it, our first night camping in the andes. the moon is waxing and bright in the sky and the stars feel so close we could pick them out of the sky. we cook our meal of pesto pasta and veggies in these conditions watching the evening light disappear as the silhouette of the mountains become more vivid.

our next day of riding starts with a beautiful sunrise and the woman looking at us from the highest point of her property (which also overlooks the road). we hear her laughing and laughing and we almost fall off our bikes trying to climb and wave goodbye. my memory is starting to blur some of the days together but on this particular day, as i recall, we still have a paved road and our first mountain pass is on pavement. the road winds forever, it seems, and after every corner there is nothing but up. it is surprisingly enjoyable. we stop to rest every so often eating a cookie and drinking hydration salted water. the views are amazing. jagged mountains, clouds so puffy you wish they were snow cones, and a little bit of a breeze. the descent is another story. the top of the climb is anti climactic. there is no one there to cheer us on. we gather at the top just before the road starts to tilt down, smiling as though we had just reached the top of everest. and then, zoom. desending through layers of earth to a little stream at the bottom where we refill our 10 liter container of water. that night we find a bonafide ranch to camp at. the only house we see in miles and miles. the men are literally cowboys. there is no electricity and they let us camp in the field where the cows horses and chickens are running about. we pitch our tent next to some freshly acquired sheep pelts and play frisbee with the little eleven year old boy who has never heard of the game. that night we cook a big meal of rice, lots of oil, carrots, onions, beans and garlic. as the sun sets behind the mountains we drink a bit of matte before curling up in our tent.

now, this is a funny story if you have a fantastic imagination. we wake up in the morning, very early. we close up shop and head out. what i did not mention was that there is a little stream to cross to get to the house...without a bridge. we slog through the water. it is cold in the morning and the water for once does not feel so good. in this little driveway between the two cow pastures are two cows. they are there because they are supposed to be busy at working making more cows. but, as these three chicas come up the driveway they get spooked. they tear down the rudimentary fence and bolt out. we feel awful. they let us camp in their front yard and we lose their cows! no worries. we immediately think on our feet and decide to wrangle them. and i kid you not, these three chicas wrangled those cows back into their driveway in spandex and all. my only hope was that this family of cowboys got to see this episode...it might have made them laugh.

that day in a split second we lost pavement and began riding our first gravel road. the wind blowing hurricane like gusts in our face as we crept along. then, comes the next mountain pass but this time on gravel. it goes forever. maybe only 8 miles but it is steep. it is not like climbing over any pass in the states. its rugged. the few cars that pass us sputter up the mountain. we stop halfway up and talk to a family. they assure us it only goes for a little longer and that the down hill will be epic. they give us a kiss on the cheek and wish us good luck. they are right about the epic downhill. we get to the top to see a volcano revealed on the horizon. and below us it looks like about 10 miles of sharp descent on gravel. five switchbacks and then like a bowl of pasta, the road noodles around for miles. we reach pavement again briefly and we feel awesome! that night we make it about 40-45 miles (dont forget the wind, gravel, climbing and stuff) to camp alongside a river. i felt like huck finn. swimming in the cool river, washing clothes to let hang to dry in the trees, cooking, and being crazy high on adventures from the day.

then there was yesterday. a full 50 mile ride on gravel in the hot sun with an even longer mountain pass. this one with switchbacks on the way up. halfway up we see a bunch of horses gathered in the road. a car is coming at them and we are a little afraid that the car might spook them toward us with his horn. the ironic thing was that the horses seemed to care less about the car but as we slowly crept up to them, they ran and ran like we were a brigade of hunters. this stampede of horses was a beautiful sight--someone must have told them about our days as cowgirls!

yesterday was by far the most difficult day i have ever had riding my bike. even when the road went down, it went up again before continuing down. it was a head game. a relentless head game. how we had the strength to continue riding is a mystery to me. because i have fricton shifters on my bike, there are moments when it feels like mountain biking with bar end shifters. it is incredible. the road itself is epic even without the climbs. to boot, we had not seen a store for days and the little tienda we stopped at earlier that morning only sold bread, jam and honey all freshly made. we bought some food, of course, but it only lasted a bit. we had enough food to last another two nights but on the road we were so hungry we ate a raw potato with a little garlic salt and bread with vegtable oil and salt--and it tasted so good. in the end, we simply needed calories. at the end of our epic day we encountered pavement again before our final descent into junin de los andes.

at dinner last night we had to explain, before ordering obnoxious amounts of food, what we had just done. enroute all day we grew accustomed to people just staring at us in disbelief. sometimes people would cheer us on and sometimes they looked at us as though we were a concoction of their imagination. but here in town, we look like three regular tourists with grossly large leg muscles! we laugh at the thought. and beer never tasted so delicious.

and today is a rest day. and as i think about everything we have just gone through, i cant believe it myself. and its really funny, there isnt anything i think about on my bike while i ride. every once in a while a neil diamond song comes into my head (riding through the desert on a horse with no name...(it really is the only line of the song i know too so it gets old real fast)). but through and through, its just living in the moment. there isnt anything i would rather be doing, epic conditions and all. it feels like life is a dream.

i will upload some pictures here soon. i do not know if the pictures will even begin to explain how beautiful it is to experience something in the very moment. even more so than driving a car through the mounatins, riding a bike helps you to notice even the smallest flower vying for water and sunlight in the dry desert, mountainous conditions. there were a few moments when we debated what it would be like to be in a car going over the mountain (especially as the wind is whipping in our faces and the sun beating down on us) but to rob ourselves of the experience would be a pity.

these girls that i am riding with are incredible. i think i should mention that. the experience would be great going solo but to have some good peeps to share a laugh with, soak your feet in a cool stream with, or just to understand is something that cannot be paralled.

hopefully this long oration has not bored you to tears as i know sometimes it can be if you are not the one experiencing it. until next time....thanks a matte!

jude.

ps. my puppet, margo, has been our little mascot and ambassador to the children. i think she has even quelled situations when people look a little confused at our arrival. she is now dusty and equally as exhausted but still a kick in the pants.