Radioman Rides the World.......

Love it. Note : radioman Sticker on the 999 Sign!! Ride safe!

I have my Aerostitch Combat Lite boots for riding, Then a pair of Timberland all around hiking shoes, and a pair of sandals. Extra to carry but to be able to do these other treks .... Needed the hiking walkers. Sandals just came out of the bottom of my bag today as the temps were 75 degrees or so!

Ollie is fortunate to have crossed paths with you, Mark. He'll learn a lot from even a day or two riding with you. Got to give the kid credit for heading out on his own on an adventure like this.

Tell him he's in good company on the Tenere 660. Right up there with RTWPaul.

Small world....Loved the Car talk guys show. Would call in about a 1993 Geo Metro and get advice on, you name it.

One of the many benefits of travel. Amazing pics.

From Chile Chico we decided to keep heading north. We took the ferry to Rio Ibanez.

Awoke early. Ah.... Another Sunny day ahead of us!!



The ferry left at 8am so we arrived at 7am and got loaded right onto the boat. Most all the ferries just have front and rear ramps and a concrete apron that the land at. No real dock.



Bikes parked so we can enjoy the beautiful sunny day!





Youngest Ollie and Me as we head out of Chile Chico.





Youngest Ollie and his new Ruta 40 sticker that he "notched" in honor of his first "crash"!

Couple hours on the boat, and then we are off and riding.



The Caraterra Austral is a beautiful ride!! especially when you have good weather



Note.... Not a cloud in the sky as we ride north.



As we are setting up the photo this little goat wanders up. I tell Ollie, Pick it up for a photo!



New Passenger?





Then some other people stop and want a photo with a goat. We help them get a photo.





Then we ride ..... And enjoy the switchbacks and the view.



At the top of the hill we see some bikers and decide to stop and take a photo and say hello. As I pull up they see my Oregon plate. and one guy says that the others guys are from Oregon..... As Alain approaches we flash recognition ..... He lives in West Linn, Oregon and is on ADV, and is the part owner in La Provence restaurant which is 5 minutes from my house! I helped him years ago with an HID mod on his GS, and here we are in Chile.... Small world indeed!! His son tells me... he had been following my ride for 8 months Crazy small world!



They had been riding the Caraterra Austral headed south and had lots of rain, today was the first day of sunshine! Was great running into them!! Such a cool part of ADV is meeting, connecting and sharing the ride with others of like mind!

Then riding ..... The Caraterra is a mix of paved sections and "ripio". Reminds me of riding in the PNW



We take a coffee break in Coihaique, and Meet up with Tim who is an Expat Brit living here. He is a rider and on Horizon Unlimited. Sherri Jo Wilkins has had a break down, and ordered a new fuel pump delivered to Tim's house here. I picked it up and took it over the border to get it closer to her bike. Tim is a great guy with a dream of having a Biker BAr/Hangout/workshop here on the Caraterra Austral! Hope he gets this going!

Tim interested in Youngest Ollies travels and ride.



Another great and helpful rider!! Thanks Tim. Only wish we had more time to hang out with you!



The bikes always attract attention. These women were in the coffee shop talking about our bikes..... We had to get them on the bike for a few photos!



After a long stop we continue on to enjoy the day of riding in the incredible weather!!



Felt like home with the Mountains and Lakes





Back onto the gravel.



Hanging Glacier Ahead.





We arrived Puyuhuapi and stayed at the Casa Ludwig B&B Great place along the lake with a really interesting history!



And another great day finished off with a great Steak dinner!

I'm still peeking in from time to time .. Keep up the great posts...

Love this shot ...

Finish the top part of the Caraterra and riding back into Argentina.



Started out out a bit cloudy and misty (typical for this area), but soon was blue skies again. !!



Road conditions vary greatly in the whole region. Some freshly graded bit of road, then hard pack, then loose Marbles ....



Waterfalls.



We had heard from other travelers that there were problems getting fuel in Argentina due to some localized strikes. So we filled up were we could. We stopped at La Junta, Chile and filled our extra tanks !!

Christoph from Germany on his way south.



emailing me his contact info, before riding on!



Had a 13KM stretch where they were working on the road.



Lots of trucks taking up the road.



Local guys cutting timber and dragging them to a common place to cut them up.



Youngest Ollie Getting some more gravel experience. He did really well!



Great ride through the mountains!! Reminds me so much of the PNW.... Love it!



Parts of today were like Jurassic Park.





And we roll on.




We arrived in Futaleutu, and then headed for the Border for Argentina. It was about to get interesting! It is a small border of Rio Grande. Checked out of Chile in 5 minutes then got to the Argentina border just 100meters up the road. Got stamped out + aduana and then they asked for my Passport back....... "problema" :huh :huh

New Law in Argentina started just two days before, I did not know about it . I had to pay a Reciprical tax of $160 which is good for 10 years. But I needed to do it online and could not do it at the border :eek1 Yikes. Litlle bit of frustration since I was already out of Chile legally.... and was not sure about the whole online process. But they turned me back from the border. So I went back to the Chile side and explained (in my own spanish) that I need to go back to town and get on internet to pay the New Fee.

They were great and just held my Title copy until I returned. Found an Cafe with WIFI and they even had a printer

Found the payment page. The real trick was to know to click the sign in text just below the log in ....



Was able to pay with my visa, then print out the page for the Border Immigration

Finally into Argentina



We stopped at the hotel Sur Sur in Esquel to drop off the fuel pump for Sherri Jo. At least she can now stay in Argentina instead of having to get across to Chile to pick up the pump.



We went to dinner at a great place about 5 blocks away. While waiting for dinner ..... The local magician shows up to entertain us.





Of course he wanted a tip....... Out of our Wallets and into his



Great pasta but we were not sure that we wanted to try the Spinach and Cow brain Pasta



After dinner they had alots of puzzles to try out, with the hopes of winning dinner.... We started in.



Got a few figured out. but still ended up paying our own bill.



Very cool day of riding except the wasted time sorting out the new fee for me at the border.

As I rode into Esquel, sure enough there were large gas lines ..... and they stayed all night long



So we decided to set the alarm for 5:30 am.... And we had just 15 minute wait





Saying goodbye to the Owner Hugo and His darling wife Maria. Hotel Sur Sur is a great place for a nice hotel. Hugo has his BMW in the lobby :) They have ridden in many places in the world!



Then we are off to the national parque Los Alerces (we were going to camp there as it is beautiful but I got waylaid






Past some Guacho's herding cattle





It is a beautiful park with lakes and mountains. Lots of really nice camping spots but we are riding to Bariloche.







Great gravel road through about half the park.



Then north through El Bolson area





Youngest Ollie is still with me



We arrive to Bariloche and it is a busy place this time of year. Sunny 80 degrees F Stopped at a few hostels and final found one with opening.



The little beach was crowded!



First night we met up with Drew and Luuk and Inge from Holland, and had a great meal . Photos with the owner and the chef!

Wow Mark what a time you are having, on a ride of a life time! Thanks once again for the time you spend sharing with us, just wanted you to know it is appreciated a bunch.

If you stay at a Tango Inn in Bariloche, be careful which one you pick. One has a jacuzzi and the other has moto parking. You must choose. Choose wisely

Enjoying the report as always Mark!

When we were dating and living in PDX, my wife and I used to meet for breakfast at La Provence. Small world indeed....

In Bariloche we stopped for a few days to relax, and Ollie needed to change a rear tire, which we found at a local moto shop J&J that sells bicycles and Motos.



Youngest Ollie, changing the tire with just a bit of help. Had an issue getting the bead to actually seat properly so he did take it to a tire shop where they had higher air pressure and better tire lube to get it to seat!



While in town getting his tire done he spotted George from Switzerland whom he road with further south. So he came and stayed at the same hostel (Mantra).



That night we went back to the same Steak house and Youngest Ollie had to try Blood Sausage because he has a list of foods to eat that will add to the charity ..... He was not sure while cutting in.



But did enjoy it in the end!



On our way out..... He had to check out the grilling meats of Argentina!



The last night in Bariloche we moved to the Penhouse 1004 Hostel which is located on the 10th floor (the top) and has a great vibe and amazing views. We were not able to book ahead so they only had one night available, and we took it.

Entrance is way down the hallway!



Really worth a stay while in Bariloche. Parked the bike in the Garage down below, which cost 80 Peso per night....



location S41 08.025 W71 18.704

But the view. and Cecilia and Anne are amazing hosts!! Say hello for me







We enjoyed the evening at the hostel with the great views. George came over for the evening to hang out.



Great Sunset



As the sun sets we enjoy meeting some lovely girls from Switzerland.



George, Ollie, Drew and I had dinner (Ollie cooked some Pasta :dg ) Then we found out that it was Fabians Birthday starting at Midnight!





So we helped get a little cake and Champagne to Celebrate at Midnight!!

Fabian and Francis Happy Birthday to Fabian!!



It was a very fun evening into the early hours of the morning!





While back in Bariloche, it felt like I was home. I stopped at the camping store owned by Santiago and His beautiful wife Maria, and she sees me and say "Hola Radioman" :lol That are great people. He is riding his bike to Ushuaia in March and she is planning to buy a little 250 to ride about town. It will have a Radiomanridestheworld sticker on it



If you are in town stop by. It is Garmount Outdoorgear. The corner of Morales and Av Belgrano!!

What a great place to enjoy for a few days!

Looks like a really nice spot from the pictures. Tell Ollie he can find all the great sausages in Venezuela, first time I ever had blood sausages and it was excellent. Many others I still can't remember the names of.

Thanks for keeping up with the excellent report and photos, looking forward to getting down in the far South one of these days.

John It is awesome! But the prices in Chile and Argentina are much higher than in the north

I'll second that. And a BIG tip to those who don't know: for Argentine pesos, buy them OUTSIDE the country. Inside, casas de cambio and ATMs will give around 4.6/$, but outside the country you can get 5.5 to 7. I saw 5.5 in San Sebastián, 6 in Santiago, and 7 in Villazon, Bol. I saw as much as 6.4 from a black market person in Bariloche, but usually I cannot find these people.

Aaaaaaaand entering Argentina now incurs a "reciprocity fee" of USD$160 for citizens of USA, Australia, and Canada. It's much like the $135 visa charge in Bolivia. This went into effect in early January. Imagine our surprise when, after entering Argentina twice in the last few weeks, we entered a third time on the way to Ushuaia, only to get asked for a "tasa" at the migracion in San Sebastian. Luckily the officials were really, really nice and let us use their computers, internet, and printer to pay the tasa and print the proof, since you need that when you enter and there are no kiosks at migracion to enable you to do this.

As Radioman teaches Youngest Ollie the rhythm of adventure riding, a mov'n groov'n track is required to tune him in, here on the Radioman Network.

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It is always a two way street. I had a great time riding with Youngest Ollie. As I have said many times the people I have met along this journey have been the best part!

Mark;
I built a seat for Alain, part owner in La Provence restaurant last summer and he was talking about riding with his son.
Sure is a small world. Best wishes for you and your ride.

Deb & Don