Donnerstag, 17. Februar 2011 | Werner Wachter | Die Welttour
We have proceeded into Chile and it is a highly developed country so it seems when you are riding through most of the city parts of Santiago. Another excursion brings us to Valparaiso which is the harbour, about 100 miles from Santiago on the Pacific. It is a highly interesting town and we have the privilege to be guided by Tadeusz - one of our tour members who spent a lot of time in that city. It has almost a European flair and a great harbour and just about 5 miles north of it there is a great sea resort worthwhile visiting.
The riding in Argentina is most of the time highly interesting. Sometimes we are riding on long straight-aways which give enough time to have thoughts about the culture in Argentina and in general in South America.
Riding a motorcycle in South America means that you have direct access to young Argentinians. Particularly the boys love seeing the motorcycle, love talking to you and of course love riding on the bike for a short period. The children here in Argentina are very very friendly and give us a great opportunity to connect with that culture.
La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, is built in a bowl surrounded by mountains and in the not too far distance there are mountains that climb up to more than 5000, almost 6000 meters. It is one of the picturesque pictures that you can take from high up in the mountain down into that very interesting city.
La Paz has a lot to offer in regards of culture, to building habits and to markets on the street. To spend a day just browsing around in the different markets which are on the side of the road is an exercise worthwhile and in particular the women when they wear the traditional clothing are a symbol of that culture.
The “Road of Death” has quite a reputation! It used to be an important connecting road within Bolivia and there were many accidents. Nowadays it is a spot where tourists go particularly on mountain bike tours and of course by motorcycle. We did it on mountain bikes and it was something that is hard to be forgotten if you keep in mind that if you ride on the edge of the road your option is to continue your ride, continue the surroundings but also to have a vertical drop of about 1000 meters!
The Peruvians are as the people in Bolivia great believers in markets. You'll find markets all over the place in towns, in villages and if you ride from Puno to Cusco you'll encounter a fur and textile market in the middle of high mountains on the pass that has a height of 4400 meters. It is something that you can only see here in Peru.