our old school moto diaries photo.. following our cruise around lago titicaca we picked up our good buddy Schreiber in la Paz and booked it down to the salar de uyuni for a little romp around bolivia's salt flats in southwestern corner of the country. 3 days of bombing around at 15,000 feet through rock forests and dried-up coral fields, across antarctic-like plains of salt, into caves, past geysers and hotsprings and drinking box wine in the Landcruiser as the sun set behind snowcapped peaks. fantastic. the whole area was once a giant salt water lake back in the day and the landscape and scenery were so spectacular and halucinagenic at times it was like we were on drugs. but we weren't. just coca leaves, lots of coca leaves. and remember, la oja de coca no es un droga.one of the most bewildering collection of natural wonders
salt ready for harvest

climbing the salvador dali rocks
it's a little windy at 15 G's.
those are snowcapped peaks. and those pink things are flamingos. go figure.


little group shot with the timer. jer had to scale that rock quick. he looks like hes chillin but hes really panting, out of breath at 15 thousand feet.

climbing some volcanic roca
where do old trains go to die? in the middle of nowhere bolivia, of course.

mike, kris and priscilla, our new extended chilean american family, took us in for some shelter from the rain, for homecooked meals, and to show us around the provincial capital of Valdivia. it was great to have a little taste of home along the way, pets and all. thanks a ton norris fam, we had a blast!

cocinar-ing algo con mucho ajo

che the dog and his favorite chew toy, puma the cat. dont even know how to explain this one but you can see by how happy we are that theres something fantastic about this place sea lions gather along the water a local fish and seafood fair in valdivia. the scraps attract these guys.. they must only like white wine

a picture that defines the few weeks that were a few weeks before a few weeks or so ago. LOTS OF VINO. Arriving in Argentina we immediately hunted for a restaurant for our first argentinian steak for lunch, followed that up with another one for dinner, and then once our arteries had cleared up a bit had some steak and eggs for breakfast. too much of a good thing? not when it's argentinian steak. or wine.

there are over 400 wineries in this beautiful countryside surrounding Mendoza. so naturally we decided to do a biking wine tour to all of them on the morning of jers bday. unfortunately we only hit about 6. you'd be amazed how much harder it is to ride a bike after a few glasses of the region's finest wines. that glorious day was followed up by a gorgefest at the local and epic-ly delicious tenedor libre (all-you-can-eat restaurant) for jer's birthday dinner. they did not make any money that night. in fact, we may have put them out of business!

do not do this at home

or this

our brazilian amiga, aletea, who we passed in the middle of patagonia. she started in our destination of ushuaia, at the end of the world, and is headed to alaska... her dog, jack, travels in a box on the back of her bike and jumps in himself when she says...you guessed it... ¨jack in the box.¨ mucho suete amiga!

a classic and still chuggin

camping somewhere in argentina. we like fire


southbound after mendoza in our beautiful Subi to the lake region of chile and argentina. cruising by glacial lakes, snowcapped volcanoes, and thermal springs - this area could not have been more gorgeous. . . unless the rain had let up for just one day. doh!

ping pong with the chilean customs officials. this match quickly turned sour when he found argentinian produce in our car.

shh.. while poaching a nice indoor hotsprings in the middle of the night. we proceeded to sleep inside by the pools and sneak out before sunrise... its so unlike us to do such a thing

made from car parts, barb wire, and scrap metal.. seemed to us that this was a sheep getting sheered but its up to interpretation

where the boys been at?

the hills around sorata, bolivia

thats amazing... from a little shop in la paz

the floating islands of lake titikaka. the islands, houses and boats are all made from reeds.. lots of them. they have to continue putting new layers of reeds down on the ground so they dont fall through.. makes quite a squishing noise when you walk
a layer of green algae covered the harbor. looked like all the boats we aground on a nice green golf course
another legendary suiza and our little island chiller, juan carlos, looking over the great titikaka. we snuck him cocacola and candy while his parents were away in exchange for his professional guiding services. he put down a whole coke in about a second. rocas buddies
juan carlos the great explorer
view of our little island
our family for a night. julian and rosa and all the ninos. we sat inside their smokey little kitchen on logs and ate soup and rice and potatoes while guinea pigs squeaked and ran around behind us (they are fried and eaten down in these parts) they told stories and thanked us for coming and cried a bit. everyone is so open with their emotions down here. its refreshing. why hold such things back... as promised to julian and his family who love visitors and new ´extended´ family... if youre in the area visit and stay with Julian Quispe Mamani on Isla Amantani. amazing experience.
our sleepy sunburned group cruising the lake
this is a taxi. a smooth clean ride with some pieces of flare
the size of small hot tubs.. filled the the brim with a popcorn-like snack costing almost nothing and filling a stomach for a long time
a view from a little lake port town.. copacabana, bolivia.our wooden vessel for a few days. we sailed around the lake passing fisherman, camping on beaches, cruising by incan ruins, and waiting for wind. one of the most tranquil places in the world. returned to harbor at night and we were pulled aside by the bolivian military who we were not allowed to catch on film. i guess there is a curfew on the lake. we didnt know. they laughed at a couple crazy gringos and let us pass. firewood machine. too bad it was all to green to burn. cold night

sunrise on lago titikaka
chilling, frying potatoes and reading while the bolivian wind pushed our little boat home
our blue sail with moon and stars
hills near sorata
an all wood barge. they put buses on these things. i dont know how they float.view from above of la paz bolivia. highest capital in the world at around 12,000 feet and a bigass mountain in the back

gladys and gus in the kitchen. they taught us to make saltenas... a delicious empanada sort of thing. watch out america. the secret saltena recipe is on its way.

our juice lady. grapefruit, oranges, bananas, papayas... everything you could want blended to perfection in a huge cup for less then 25 cents. mmm

more to come...