* = I stopped riding after 10km due to the terrible 'El Zonda' wind. The sandstorm blew so much sand in my eyes that I could not carry on and I hitched into San Juan (55km) to clean out my eyes! Second hitch on my trip!
24.06.'06: Gabriel and I entered Argentina high up on the 'Altiplano' (Paso Sico) at 4079 m.a.s.l. A very lonely and windy place, so we rode on the sandy road down to the border post which was 11km away. No one was in the office! But we needed the stamp of entry!!! Gabriel went around the back of the building to knock on one of the windows. There was no reaction but there were people inside!!! What is going on? Upon looking inside there were numerous border police hudled around the TV...of course it was the World Cup Football: At that exact moment Argentina was playing against Mexico! Mexico had just scored a goal and there was no time for an Argentinian to come out and give us a stamp! It had to wait! Suddenly a roar in the room. Argentina scored a goal! Ok, now a happy face came to the counter and quickly pressed a stamp into our passports before running off to the TV again. We were left alone in the customs office, no one interested in checking anything, the match was more important! No problem for us, we were happy to have the 90 day allowance, so off we went and continued down the awefully sandy road leading to the closest village far away.
26.06.'06: Camping in the 'Sierra de los Pastos Grandes' is a cold experience, here at 4200m.a.s.l.
26.06.'06: camping high up on the Argentinian Altiplano. The 'Altiplano' is very dry but very cold.
After riding up a dirt road all morning we reached our last 'BIG' pass of the trip. 'Alto Chorillo' (4560m.a.s.l.) From here on it would mean downhill for numerous kilometres until we would reach the beautiful city of Salta at 1200m.a.s.l. However that city was still far away and we first reached the town of 'San Antonio de los Cobres', high up at 3750m.a.s.l. We had to stop there and watch the World Cup: Switzerland against Ukraine. We got 2 huge beers in a local restaurant and were waiting for Switzerlands first goal which did not arrive and so we had a second beer, this also did not help and after a penalty shoot out the swiss lost! Damn it! Ok, no reason to get upset but no reason to continue as it was already too late in the day. We found a cheap hostel to stay for the night. San Antonio is a dusty and cold town, not a tree and the temperature was about minus 10 degrees when we got going the next morning just as the sun popped up over the hill.
27.06.'06: It was the day when we dropped down through numerous climatic zones from the 'altiplano' (high Andes), past cactus gorges and lovely valleys until we reached the foothills of the Andes. In winter the temperature rises up to 30 degrees but only a few kilometres up the road the mornings are colder than in a 'deep freeze'.
We arrived in Salta late that evening after riding 3 hours into the night. It was time to rest, clean our equipment and enjoy a good argentinian steak with some Argentinian wine!! Mhhh good stuff!!!! We had a fantastic time in Salta and obviously joined the Argentinians to watch the match: Argentina against Germany in the 1/4 finals of the World Cup. Picture:Goooooooooooooal! Argentina scoring a goal against Germany in the World Cup! A great time to be in an Argentinian Pub and not on the road! However when they lost I would have rather been on the road!!!
left: Salta consists of many colonial buildings. A lovely city with a great climate!
01.07.'06: It was time to leave the city life and continue on in a southerly direction. The scenery between Salta and Cafayate is just amazing! very dry but extremely scenic.
left: The lovely stretch, north of Cafayate reminded me much of the Moab area in Utah, USA. Just amazing to cycle here...
...and the different rock layers with the different colours makes it very special!
We rested in Cafayate for a day due to another 'diarrhoea' day and it was also time for Gabriel's beard to 'come off'!! A last photo with Gabriel and his 'viking beard'.
04.07.'06: From Cafayate we hit 'route 40' which is also knows as the magical route through Argentina. The route begins in the south of the country. Picture: Here we were at kilometre 4340. Basically another 4340km to go to reach the southern tip of the continent. The route is spectacular with forever changing scenery. Around Cafayate we cycled past numerous vineyards reminding me of the cape mountains in lovely South Africa.
left. Route 40. The road is never ending, always close to the foothills of the Andes! Sometimes bush scenery...
...other times cactus scenery...
...then gorges and steep mountain passes...
...this is the magical route of Argentina, and how! it is a cyclists paradise! Hardly any traffic and numerous places to pitch the tent for thousands of kilometres!
09.07.'06: Often we made a fire and cooked our vegetables, potatoes and maze cobs over the fire (wrapped in foil), obviously it was also worth carrying a litre of wine for such an occasion....
...then fall asleep next to a warm fire in the middle of nowhere!!
Route 40..... magical, fascinating and lovely BUT also violent. As we reached the San Juan province, (Gabriel and I had decided to split for a couple of days and meet again in Mendoza), I was hit badly by the extreme wind called 'El Zonda' which originates from tropical storms in the Pacific. The winds moving east hit the Andes, dump their moisture and come whipping down the eastern slopes. I should have known because the wind was extremely hot (similar to the Foehn in the Alps or the Chinook of the Rockies). It struck me at midnight and turned into a brutal sandstorm, my inner-tent filling up with sand. Having spent hundreds of nights outdoors in my life including many snowstorms and other storms, I sensed the alarm. I knew I was in trouble (it would be much worse than the worst snowstorm that I ever experienced, worse than 'Lothar' - the bad storm that hit Switzerland a few years ago). I had to evacuate immediately! Miraculously being able to stuff my tent in my trailer within seconds and head off to the road. It took me 1 hour to push and crawl with the bike 1.5km through the sandstorm in the middle of the night, to a nearby 'roadworkers' camp, being flung into the roadside ditches at least 10 times. (Little did I know at the time but later on the radio reported the wind being 155km per hour at that location!). Stones hit my head, sand filled my eyes but I made it! I had to open the gate, being electrocuted numerous times (like when holding an electrical fence keeping the cows in a certain location on a swiss alp). The reason was that the sand hitting my fleece jacket caused so much static electricity that it just got me over and over again! A worker helped me into their kitchen where I painfully washed out the sand in my eyes, then dropped down onto the stonefloor and fell asleep. It was a dangerous moment in the middle of nowhere, thank goodness the roadworkers had a camp there!!!. The next day the wind died down and I was told it would be followed by a cold southerly wind, much milder..... so I got going again just after midday, after the workers (they could not work this day due to the wind) filled me up with juice and food. But I got caught in another sandstorm. A car stopped and the guy said it was ridiculous to cycle, he would give me a lift. He was right and I was just stubborn that morning. I gave up and thankfully took on the offer. He brought me into San Juan where I again painfully washed out more sand out of my eyes and checked all my bruises. Definitely time for a rest before I continue to Mendoza!!! (Gabriel had made it past San Juan before the storm hit! So he was ok). I did some wine tasting before I continued on to Mendoza where I met up again with Gabriel.
24.06.'06: Gabriel and I entered Argentina high up on the 'Altiplano' (Paso Sico) at 4079 m.a.s.l. A very lonely and windy place, so we rode on the sandy road down to the border post which was 11km away. No one was in the office! But we needed the stamp of entry!!! Gabriel went around the back of the building to knock on one of the windows. There was no reaction but there were people inside!!! What is going on? Upon looking inside there were numerous border police hudled around the TV...of course it was the World Cup Football: At that exact moment Argentina was playing against Mexico! Mexico had just scored a goal and there was no time for an Argentinian to come out and give us a stamp! It had to wait! Suddenly a roar in the room. Argentina scored a goal! Ok, now a happy face came to the counter and quickly pressed a stamp into our passports before running off to the TV again. We were left alone in the customs office, no one interested in checking anything, the match was more important! No problem for us, we were happy to have the 90 day allowance, so off we went and continued down the awefully sandy road leading to the closest village far away.
26.06.'06: Camping in the 'Sierra de los Pastos Grandes' is a cold experience, here at 4200m.a.s.l.
26.06.'06: camping high up on the Argentinian Altiplano. The 'Altiplano' is very dry but very cold. 
After riding up a dirt road all morning we reached our last 'BIG' pass of the trip. 'Alto Chorillo' (4560m.a.s.l.) From here on it would mean downhill for numerous kilometres until we would reach the beautiful city of Salta at 1200m.a.s.l. However that city was still far away and we first reached the town of 'San Antonio de los Cobres', high up at 3750m.a.s.l. We had to stop there and watch the World Cup: Switzerland against Ukraine. We got 2 huge beers in a local restaurant and were waiting for Switzerlands first goal which did not arrive and so we had a second beer, this also did not help and after a penalty shoot out the swiss lost! Damn it! Ok, no reason to get upset but no reason to continue as it was already too late in the day. We found a cheap hostel to stay for the night. San Antonio is a dusty and cold town, not a tree and the temperature was about minus 10 degrees when we got going the next morning just as the sun popped up over the hill. 
27.06.'06: It was the day when we dropped down through numerous climatic zones from the 'altiplano' (high Andes), past cactus gorges and lovely valleys until we reached the foothills of the Andes. In winter the temperature rises up to 30 degrees but only a few kilometres up the road the mornings are colder than in a 'deep freeze'.
We arrived in Salta late that evening after riding 3 hours into the night. It was time to rest, clean our equipment and enjoy a good argentinian steak with some Argentinian wine!! Mhhh good stuff!!!! We had a fantastic time in Salta and obviously joined the Argentinians to watch the match: Argentina against Germany in the 1/4 finals of the World Cup. Picture:Goooooooooooooal! Argentina scoring a goal against Germany in the World Cup! A great time to be in an Argentinian Pub and not on the road! However when they lost I would have rather been on the road!!!
left: Salta consists of many colonial buildings. A lovely city with a great climate!
01.07.'06: It was time to leave the city life and continue on in a southerly direction. The scenery between Salta and Cafayate is just amazing! very dry but extremely scenic.
left: The lovely stretch, north of Cafayate reminded me much of the Moab area in Utah, USA. Just amazing to cycle here... 
...and the different rock layers with the different colours makes it very special!
We rested in Cafayate for a day due to another 'diarrhoea' day and it was also time for Gabriel's beard to 'come off'!! A last photo with Gabriel and his 'viking beard'.
04.07.'06: From Cafayate we hit 'route 40' which is also knows as the magical route through Argentina. The route begins in the south of the country. Picture: Here we were at kilometre 4340. Basically another 4340km to go to reach the southern tip of the continent. The route is spectacular with forever changing scenery. Around Cafayate we cycled past numerous vineyards reminding me of the cape mountains in lovely South Africa.
left. Route 40. The road is never ending, always close to the foothills of the Andes! Sometimes bush scenery...
...other times cactus scenery...
...then gorges and steep mountain passes...
...this is the magical route of Argentina, and how! it is a cyclists paradise! Hardly any traffic and numerous places to pitch the tent for thousands of kilometres!
09.07.'06: Often we made a fire and cooked our vegetables, potatoes and maze cobs over the fire (wrapped in foil), obviously it was also worth carrying a litre of wine for such an occasion....
...then fall asleep next to a warm fire in the middle of nowhere!!
Route 40..... magical, fascinating and lovely BUT also violent. As we reached the San Juan province, (Gabriel and I had decided to split for a couple of days and meet again in Mendoza), I was hit badly by the extreme wind called 'El Zonda' which originates from tropical storms in the Pacific. The winds moving east hit the Andes, dump their moisture and come whipping down the eastern slopes. I should have known because the wind was extremely hot (similar to the Foehn in the Alps or the Chinook of the Rockies). It struck me at midnight and turned into a brutal sandstorm, my inner-tent filling up with sand. Having spent hundreds of nights outdoors in my life including many snowstorms and other storms, I sensed the alarm. I knew I was in trouble (it would be much worse than the worst snowstorm that I ever experienced, worse than 'Lothar' - the bad storm that hit Switzerland a few years ago). I had to evacuate immediately! Miraculously being able to stuff my tent in my trailer within seconds and head off to the road. It took me 1 hour to push and crawl with the bike 1.5km through the sandstorm in the middle of the night, to a nearby 'roadworkers' camp, being flung into the roadside ditches at least 10 times. (Little did I know at the time but later on the radio reported the wind being 155km per hour at that location!). Stones hit my head, sand filled my eyes but I made it! I had to open the gate, being electrocuted numerous times (like when holding an electrical fence keeping the cows in a certain location on a swiss alp). The reason was that the sand hitting my fleece jacket caused so much static electricity that it just got me over and over again! A worker helped me into their kitchen where I painfully washed out the sand in my eyes, then dropped down onto the stonefloor and fell asleep. It was a dangerous moment in the middle of nowhere, thank goodness the roadworkers had a camp there!!!. The next day the wind died down and I was told it would be followed by a cold southerly wind, much milder..... so I got going again just after midday, after the workers (they could not work this day due to the wind) filled me up with juice and food. But I got caught in another sandstorm. A car stopped and the guy said it was ridiculous to cycle, he would give me a lift. He was right and I was just stubborn that morning. I gave up and thankfully took on the offer. He brought me into San Juan where I again painfully washed out more sand out of my eyes and checked all my bruises. Definitely time for a rest before I continue to Mendoza!!! (Gabriel had made it past San Juan before the storm hit! So he was ok). I did some wine tasting before I continued on to Mendoza where I met up again with Gabriel.