From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

We took our time going from Los Andes back to the Pacific coast. It was great to see the changing countryside, especially after the monotony of the Argentinean deserts. We had an excellent camping spot in the foothills of Andes, biked through an enormous field of lemon and avocado trees. We biked along the coastal road, which alternated between bathing resorts more or less posh and more or less integrated into the beautiful and wild landscape. We rode through a little alleyway overflowing with flowers of all colours, and despite the strong headwind, we found ourselves smiling.

Yesterday we visited Valparaiso, a lovely city. It was an athletic tour, to say the least, since the city is spread out across 40 hills alongside the ocean. The colourful facades of the houses were amazing, but we found ourselves wondering how these houses, most often cobbled together from whatever material was lying around, were able to stay up on these steep slopes. The port here had been important before the opening of the Panama canal, and so we were surprised by how small it was. Today it is mostly used to export Chilean copper, and more importantly, lots of high quality fruits and vegetables.

And we were able to take our time along the coast, because we now have more time available!

Sébastien's work, Réunica, has graciously agreed to let him come back to work 4 months later than originally planned. It means that we can take our time going all the way down to Ushuaia. Jean, a friend of ours who is about a month and a half ahead of us, recently had snow in Patagonia, so we were thinking that we would try to arrive in the Terra del Fuego around the middle of February. Then we'll head to Buenos Aires around the end of February, and stay there three weeks, visiting microfinance institutions and seeing a little of the city. Around the end of March, we're going to... Madrid! Since we have the time, we've decided to bike back to France, and visit our families and our partner schools on the way to Paris. We'll also give a couple of presentations about our trip, naturally accompanied by our trusty steeds and all our gear. It also means that we'll be able to ease back into life in France and to staying in one place after two years of transience.

To know more about the extension of our trip, go to:

Why?   Calender

Sara & Sébastien