Andreas Sommer is RISER AMBASSADOR and shares his motorcycle experiences with you on the RISER Journal. This adventure is about Andreas’ journey to Chile and Argentina. Follow him on the RISER App, check out his routes and stay up to date on his latest tips!
24.10.2019 LA CALERA – OVALLE / 365 KM
At seven we have Zmorge. Before that, we repack our stuff. Today, the shower is cold – so we postpone that. All our electric devices are loaded so we are ready to go. We are heading up north. We leave the autobahn to make our first pass road. Shortly after pass Cabildo, the roads get lonelier and lonelier. After a single lane tunnel, we reach the next valley.
The next part should be adventurous. Starting with a construction side, we are driving on gravel roads up and down the mountains. Some time later gravel turns into tarmac again and we reach Illapel. Time for a break. Coffee for us, fuel for the bikes. Here in Illapel people are demonstrating and the military is watching.
After the more or less foggy and cold morning – the sun comes out the the weather gets more and more friendly. In the evening we enjoy the last sunbeams and clear blue skies.
On our way to Monte Patria, a wine growing area, we come along awesome and twisty roads. Where there is artificial irrigation, the area is green and fruitful. The rest is sparse. We are wondering what all these horses, goats and sheep are finding to eat between these thorns and cactuses. At a corrugated-iron hut besides the road we take a break and grab a coke. My little Spanish helps to get into conversation with locals and people we meet en route.
Arriving at Ovalle, we immediately find our hotel – The American – and get our stuff into the rooms. There is demonstrations again which makes it hard for us to find a place to eat. Luckily the lady from the reception is very helpful and suggests us a restaurant. We enjoy burgers, beers and “dulces”. Completely overeaten and having spend quite some Pesos, we leave the restaurant and get a closer look at the demonstration. Again, the atmosphere is load but friendly and cheerful.
25.10.2019 OVALLE – HUASCO / 400 KM
We drive into Val Hurtado and then further on the Porzuelo Tre Croces. We take a stop at a small village to take a break and have coffee. After that we visit of a small bedraggled church.
On the pass road we face gravel roads again. It’s dusty – for about a 100 kilometers until we reach the village of Vicuña. Time for a real break – Glacé and a drink. Next stop on our map – Serena. But this time we take the highway. But not any highway – the Panamericana. We leave this historic road after 200 km to head to Vallenar. The road leads us from the ocean to the mountains. While we freeze a bit at the coastal part, the further get into the country, the hotter it gets. Here we are – the Atacama desert in the west of the Andes. It takes us another two hours to find a gas station. And it should not have taken any longer…
We leave the dusty Atacama area to ride back to the sea to Huasco. Temperatures are dropping and we have to deal with cold winds. It takes us long to find a place to stay – it feels like we visited all hotels. The rooms are very simple but clean – a shower, two beds but no windows. But we are happy. We move our stuff into the room and leave the hotel to have something to eat. We find a nice restaurant with a very friendly owner. Beer is served in one liter bottles. Local specialties and brim-full dishes make us break out in sweat. But we enjoy it big time.
Stay tuned for more stories from Andreas’ adventure in South America.
