0078: The Food pages : Desserts Oops I did it again?! After a brief hiatus to recharge, rest and reconnect with family and friends. I am now feeling a little hungry.... While South America has a huge and diverse range of cultures, its food has a unique identity which for me was a little hit or
0077: Scroll the Credits As much as I have tried to remember everyone who has helped me along the journey, I have no doubt forgotten someone. But in name only, I promise you! If your name is not on the list, please send me a rudely worded message! I think my biggest regret is
0076: The End of the World, The Beginning of Everything What have I done?! I sit in a Café in Buenos Aires and try several times over, to write this chapter. I delete, then rewrite it in Lisbon, Huelva and finally in Madrid. A lot of time has passed already. How do I start to finish this story. Have I
0075: Beagles, Genes and The Land of Fire http://www.adventure-life.com/patagonia/articles/tierra-del-fuego-culture Tierra del Fuego or ‘ Land of fire’ gets its name not from some volcanic geological phenomenon, but from the myriad of fires lit by the native Yanghan or Ona people who lived on the island. These tough people were distinct again. When Charles
0074: The Puma Hunters of Patagonia I turned on my mobile, as I have an Argentina SIM card. And sent a message to my host somewhere in this darkening little border town. But they never replied to my messages. Tired and annoyed, I asked in the tourist office, which oddly was open till 1 am, about
photos 0073: Chile - The Carratera Austral I had decided to cross back into Chile. The Carratera Austral [http://chile.travel/en/where-to-go/patagonia-2/aysen-patagonia/carretera-austral-southern-highway/] is on many cycle tourists “checklist” of world famous rides. While I was now too far south to do the complete 1250 kilometre route from Puerto Montt, I worked out an
0072: Into Las Pampas - Argentina Part 2 This already feels like a completely different journey. The Road South A sad and tearful departure from Cordoba was masked my the torrential rainstorm I had to ride in. I was sad to leave my friend as I know she is struggling to adapt to life in Argentina. While she
0071: Argentina - Part 1 Argentine life is like Spain, understandably. People wake late. Shops open late and families eat dinner late. "Sorry for making you have such a late dinner" I apologised as we were eating at around midnight after my arrival.
0070: The Road of Little Miracles Those following my blog will know the general brief for my adventures. It is to document the tales, sights, sounds, smells and various experiences I have had along my way. These little miracles are the events that occur to inspire, surprise, delight, shock, sadden or anger me as I have
0069: Chile - Mortars and the Brick I sat in a small roadside Truckstop near Calama, mentally ready to bat away the standard "Do you want Coffee?" question that has been asked more or less along the entire journey. "Would you like Tea?" asked the waitress... ...Brain fade...
0068: Statistics - Sort of Just a quickie. There is a proper blog page coming soon. But here are a few statistics to date. As before, I am not a huge collector of data. It is more important to me to ride and enjoy rather than measure my altitude gain, total calorie output or any
0067: Bolivia A desiccant and a sudden cold wind is what greeted me when I arrived in Desaguadero. The frontier town with Peru. It is a dirty place. Litter all over the streets and a busy commercial hub between the two countries. 147 kilometres later, Puno was a memory and with little
0066: The Motor/Cycle diaries Trujillo to Lima on an overnight bus. "We arrive at 8 am" I was told. So I told my host I would arrive around 10 am, fully expecting to be late on the bus and also that I would get lost in the city. We arrived 2 hours
photos 0065: River deep, Mountain high We waited as a group to enter Peru. Exiting Ecuador was easy. A quick stamp. Walk across the river bridge and into a new country. Here we had to wait. The immigration officer had closed the border to go for his lunch. There were several other people waiting, so we
photos 0064: 52 Shades of Grey Leaving the Salinas peninsula, the weather was cloudy as has become the norm in Ecuador. During my time here there haven't been too many bright sunny days. Mostly grey, patchy sun and occasional light rain in the tropical west. I returned along the same road initially before heading
0063: The Food pages: Platos fuertes More food photos, from my travels. With descriptions where I can remember. If I eat any more, I will have to roll the rest of the way ! The best Ceviche in Mexico. Served in a frozen Pineapple! The second best Ceviche. Near Lago Milagros, Mexico One of many fruit salad
0062: Two Pigs and a Panda Still waiting for my parcel, I took a short bus trip to Baños. A small town several hours south of Quito famous as a base for adventure sports. Later though the rain cleared and I went wandering about. As in all tourist locations, the local people sell some sweet treat
photos 0061: I Quito! Ecuador seems to have a problem. As I walk the streets of the capital Quito, It looks like many of the other Latin American cities I have passed through. Modern, like Panama city. Scruffy like San Salvador and expensive like San José. The people here appear to have a good
0060: The Food pages: Entreés Well I guess it had to be done at some point. I hope you are hungry, because if not, you are about to be! A selection of the many delicious meals I have had over my journey so far. With a description, when I can remember what I was eating.
photos 0059: The Great Escape Leaving a country is often a melancholy experience. Colombia no different to the rest. Having spent almost 2 adventurous months travelling through from Medellin I was ready to begin again in Ecuador. Ipiales is the border town and cycling from Pasto was a long and challenging uphill struggle. This region
0058: Who Let The Dogs out?! White powder around my nose. White powder on my lips and chin. I wipe it away, knowing in a few more minutes, sweat will drip and salt will begin crystallising again. It's hot. I feel dizzy. The white salt dries and cracks my lips. No pleasure here, riding
0057: Miscellaneous Tales from Colombia The roads here are excellent. Smooth, fast and wide. Except the drivers are not. Fortunately a wide shoulder separates the drivers from the cyclists. Though drivers are generally respectful of cyclists. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arepas are the popular tortilla of Colombia. And unfortunately they are not quite as tasty as their Mexican
0056: The New World; Colombia. Meddling in Medellín The flight from Panama Pacifico [http://www.vivacolombia.co/] was easy, smooth but annoyingly fast. A mere 1 hour from end to end. In that time I flew over around 2-3 weeks worth of terrain, had there been a suitable road to follow. Thick cloud obscured the
0055: Panamá My hands feel greasy. Like playing with warm candle wax or baking with butter. The heat is oppressive. A fly lands on my neck. I scratch and my fingernails come away black, dirt, dead skin stained and filthy. I stop and clean them with a spare toothpick from the last
0054: Anniversary - A Year in Selfies Well, the 22nd May 2015 marks the first anniversary of the beginning of my adventures in the Americas. I tried to select 12 photos of me over the past 12 months but it turned into 38! [Update: + 9 more] So, here are a few photos of me and not much