lineofsightproject

Riding 19,500 miles on bike to raise funds for the research of macular degeneration.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Land of ¨No Hay¨ To the land of Chocolate, Tan Girls, and Coffee!

Argentina.................................don´t cry for me? Argentina have somber, for me? Porque?
The clouds formed a boarder over the Bolivian sky. Argentina could be seen very distictivly in the air as it harvested no rain copioused cumulonimbus fluffs. It has been this ambient since we entered this faroff land. The pace has been clutched and the experience is amazing. The food is worth thinking about, the land is worth burning brakes, and the girls wouldn't look twice at a joey on a weighed down tattered road bike.
Passports stamped we breached the boarder of Argentina at 8 AM. The Elevation at a staggering 12,000 ft. and the road strait and flat. The 1st day into Argentina we discovered food worth thinking about, Simply deli cheese and veggies, it was better than the rancid mess Bolivia offered. We pulled off 170 kilometers this day into a town of Humahuaca. After gathering food for the following day we were invited to stay at a hippy house with a group of artists from Buenos Aires. They entertained us with various intruments, mostly handmade ones. We were also greeted with a feast and so much wine I had to pass out early, 12. In Argentina people seem to have turbo charged night lives. They start partying at 10 and go till 9 in the morning. I have never seen anything like it, they put Peruvians to shame. The next day was really truely amazing with a descent into the Jujuy Valley down to 4,000 feet. Really a ride that I will never forget -- the road took us from cactuses and high desert mountains to humid tropical lowland where the air was thick, along with the vegitation. 200 kilometers this day into Salta.
The days following Salta where very spectacular into cafayate through the worst sand road I have been on. Then through the wine country of the San Juan Valley. We Rode a few days with a couple from Switzerland who had been on the road for almost 18 months. They were very inspiring, great people.
15 days into Argentina and I have slept under a bridge 12 of the nights. It's been oh so sweet to camp. One night a day from Mendoza we stayed the night at a vinyard. Grapes and wine for dinner. When we arrived in Mendoza we had the plan to stay at the fire station as we did often in Equator and Peru. But instead a super nice guy by the name of John let us stay the night at his house and made us a huge meal with his girlfreind and his cousin. Thanks John.
South of Mendoza is a huge desert -- flat and hot. I mean hot like 120 degrees and little to look at -- 1,000 kilometers of it.
Nearing the lake district of Bariloche is really nice, pine trees and blue lakes, glaciers and real sharp mountain peaks. The wind has picked up, so if the wind is with me its like a pleasure cruise. If the wind is contrary, there is no use trying to fight it, stopping is the only way, its quite the episode each day.
I have no more time to write so i will press on down the road.
Hope everyone is doing great
Quinn-

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Northern Argentina























































Bolivia

There is something real unsettling when you´ve got pneumonia, the flu, fever, chills, headache, hellucinations, and the inability to ingest food in 10 ft. cell style hotel room in a town of 30 in the Bolivian bush. After being rained on for days on end at 14,000 feet I got sick again. I can´t really say again because this sickness was worst than anyother. The day matze and I left La Paz we had been on a mission to do 190 kilometer/day for the following 40 days. It was halted way prematurely by me getting a evel Bolivian bug. I tried harder than ever to make the kilometers but I would only fall short. That night we decided to invest in a hotel(1 dollar per person) in an attempt to get me healthy with some rest. The next morning was bad news, I had a terrible tempurature along with every symptom under the rain. Matze tried hard to find good food to help settle my sickness, instead found only 0 percent juice and cookies. It was the scariest thing that has happened on this trip to date. I was trying to think how I was going to be able to survive the 4 hour bus ride back to La Paz then a 17 hour plane ride back to the states. I thought it was all over. Two days had passed and I was getting worse, Matze then broke out the jack daniels of antibiotics. I lost the fever in a matter of 8 hours and I was back on the bike in the morning.
Bolivia had been really beutiful, it was a great time other than the sickness. It was also the land of ¨No Hay¨(There is no), everytime we would ask for anything in Bolivia the answer was ¨No Hay¨. Neither of us, Matze or I knew why. We think its the combination of us being gringos and the people being really reserved. It was a completely different culture than Peru or any other country at that. Bolivia was really a difficult ride, between the high elevation, huge mountains, and the people always asking for money, it was rough.

photos photos photos of Bolivia.... Argentina=fast internet