Blog

When I stepped off the bus in Puerto Montt, I was seven degrees further south than where I’d boarded the night before.  Immeasurable changes had occurred within the 800km that now separated me from Valparaiso.  Cramped conifers clung to hillsides above the road.  Locals with weathered faces and woollen hats weaved their way between puddles…… Continue reading Rendezvous

‘Hostal Del Pirata’ The hand painted sign swung delicately in the sea breeze, which drifted in from the Pacific before being forcefully diffused through the tracery of narrow alleyways and streets.  Tall, tightly packed buildings denied the afternoon sun access to the pavement.  I was sweating profusely from the effort to reach this hilltop suburb…… Continue reading Juggling with Pirates

My descent from the high Bolivian plateau coincided with a dramatic fall in positivity and optimism. On arrival in San Pedro de Atacama, I managed to find a hostel called La Casa del Sol Naciente (House of the Rising Sun) with a dusty courtyard for camping tucked behind the kitchen building. Fortunately, my tent is…… Continue reading Wind

My eyes were slow to open on the first morning in Uyuni. The dry air and intense glare of the salt of the salar had left them looking, as my dad would say, like ‘piss-holes in the snow’. I had found a small, cheap hostel on the edge of town the night before and had…… Continue reading Sand

I was emotionally bolstered from the rest and reflection in La Paz. Excited about the next leg of the journey, I purchased a ticket from the capital to the town of Oruro; a relatively short bus ride by South American standards, but far enough away from the capital to provide some necessary breathing space. Oruro…… Continue reading Salt

It was back in Colombia when I first began to consider and question the relativity of my adventure. Through pushing my pride to the side and accepting a ride with Yefferson and his chihuahua pal, Honey, I was forced to explore my own definition of adventure and what I hoped to gain from this two-wheeled…… Continue reading Adventure is Relative (revisited)

At some stage in our lives, we will all suffer from the common affliction of having a song stuck in our head. Depending on the situation, the phenomenon of having a particular tune latched to your neurones may be either debilitating or motivating. It may prompt nostalgia which in turn could raise a plethora of…… Continue reading Trash and Trucha

I still haven’t quite come to terms with the fact people took the time to read my ramblings whilst cycling last year. I have been asked by a number of people about why the blog entries stopped appearing. The simplest explanation is that I found someone to talk to. In early November, I was joined…… Continue reading The riding has ceased, but the writing continues

Dialects danced across the table, filling the room with opinions and perspectives shaped by experiences in opposite hemispheres. The faces that occupied the small room represented the enormity of the world. Having completed five days of Spanish classes, I met up with a few of the other students for a Friday evening beer. The cohort…… Continue reading From ‘hello’ to ‘hola’

“No paintings? No worries. I have coke, weed, LSD, mushrooms. You want?” Within minutes of arriving in Cusco’s central Plaza De Armas, I had become well acquainted with the city’s artists who lined the curbs clutching their leather binders. Contained in these folders were a host of watercolour and charcoal depictions of the cityscape. Interestingly,…… Continue reading Rainy days in the Valle Sagrado