There's no WiFi in the desert!

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Friday, 02. February 2018

Friday we went back to Argentina accross Agua Negra Pass. On the way we noticed that the road conditions had worsened compared to two days ago. Here and there were mud slides from the previous day.

At the border they made us give up all our vegetables and fruits!!! San Juan province seems to have its own regulations in comparison to the rest of Argentine where we had no problems so far.

Especially Diana was upset because she'd bought some goat cheese in the mountains. After some discussions with the customs guy Diana grabbed a pan and the gas cooker and started to get rid of backteria in her cheese :)

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Saturday, 03. February 2018

Saturday we drove from Las Flores to San José de Jáchal to have another day off before we'd start our tour through the desert. Also Diana was planning to leave for Cordoba so we wanted to get her closer to a main road.

At the camping site they warned us that they'd have a birthday party and a disco that night!

The birthday party was an 18th birthday and as customary around here the first guests arrived around 10:00 p.m., probably familiy. I guess that around midnight all guests had arrived. The whole thing is like a 50th anniversary party in Germany. With DJ, speeches, games and dance, really boring ;)

The disco was, how can I best describe it, special. They really made an effort. Video screen, bars, etc. Around 01:00 a.m. we walked over to the fence and stood on tables to have a look see and dance a little. The crowd was about 80% girls in partly skimpy dresses, 20% guys who didn't know what to do with the girls and boring musik. Nobody was dancing, except the three guys on the other side of the fence... Boooooaring!!!

Around 03:00 a.m. I plugged my ears and went to sleep...

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Sunday, 04. February 2018

Taking a break after a long night and a dip in a 20m long pool!!!

Downloading new maps for MapsMe which took almost all day...

The Agua Negra Pass was closed by then due to damage done by rain!

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Monday, 05. February 2018

Monday we  had a slow start. We drove to the gas station to fill up and drop Diana at the RN 150. It didn't even take 15 minutes for her to hitch a ride. As a guy you may well stay there for a day...

After our shopping we finally started for Laguna Brava. 

Everything went fine until we saw trees. Where there are trees in the desert there's water and thus people. They told us that the road was heavily damaged due to the rain and that we couldn't pass... So back the 60km we came and then via Ruta 40 ("The Highway") for a 100km detour to Guandacol... Good thing as well, otherwise we'd have missed some amazing landscapes.

Shortly before Guandacol the road was flooded. So, so, the rain...

We camped outside of the vilage in a small park. Much to the dismay of our neighbors...

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Tuesday, 06. February 2018

Tuesday we finally started for Laguna Brava. The track was a dream...

And where do the roads come from?

And because it's a road there are also road signs, in the middle of the desert up more than 4000m...

And there it was again, the rain. Not only rain but hail, snow and thunder...

At Laguna Brava it was rather cold and wet and we decided to drive down to lower ground to spend the night. At 3200m we found a quiet camp sight at a closed off road. But that can't stop a Landrover... Only the ground was a little steep so we had to spend a little more effort in leveling the Defender...

But the view was great :)

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Wednesday, 07. February 2018

Wednesday we wanted to drive across Pircas Negars Pass to Chile. So back up the road we went back to Laguna Brava and a plane wreck. This time with beautiful weather.

And what types of birds would you expect at 4200m of height and low temperatures? Correct, Flamingos!!!

Also what you see here often, the roads a the bottom are often one lane tracks of the worst kind. Then up near the pass they are almost Highway like... I don't understand the South Americans...

At the border they told us that it was closed because they didn't have Internet. But maybe they'd be open again the next day...

What now? You look for a closed off road and have a look why it's closed. Good thing Tobi owns a Defender, I had no clues the places you could go... Until we got to a part where the rain had washed away big parts of the road.

To make a long story shot, I wasn't afraid! Ok, maybe that's because at that point I wasn't inside the car any more as Tobi tried to go around an obstacle or make a U-Turn. In the end we had to shovel for 30minutes to avoid the worst and got lucky :)

Also you can book a tour with "Tobi's 4x4 Off-Road Adventures", you won't be disappointed :D

However, we had to drive back quite a ways again and then camp in a valley 3500m up.

Also I needed a shower after 3 days. Do you want to know how that works? Well, it requires moist towelettes and a change of clothes ;) What a treat if not everything is sticky anymore.

Have I mentioned that I've had Montezumas Revenge for the last four days? I guess it was the tomatoes... So beware if you came to this valley and have to go behind a rock. I tried to get rid of all traces but when it was dark and raining I didn't give a sh... Sorry for the language.

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Thursday, 08. February 2018

Thursday we drove back to the border. We were the only car there so were expecting to be gone in no time... Aaaahahahahahaha, been here for three months and still haven't learned a bit...

There was the guy from the day before again. When he saw us he went and informed his colleagues. It only took them 30 minutes to show up in jogging pants and slippers. One of the customs guys was torn between WhatsApp and dealing with us. When he saw that we meant business he put his phone away. Another 3 colleagues and 30 minutes later we were through customs... One hour! and we were the only car!!!

The goal for Thursday was firstly Laguna Negra Franciso and then a little wild camp sight above Copiapó.

All of a sudden the road was closed and we were a little thrown off. It turned out that this was a gold mine and that we had to be escorted accross the mining site. After giving them our names and passport numbers we were allowed to follow a security vehicle.

Track towards vulcano Copiapó.

Vulcano Copiapó

Well, we came from the right...

And the we came to our camp sight and who's there? The Swiss!!!

Unbelievable, they are everywhere. Markus and Sonja from Zurich were on their way towards Laguna Negra Franciso and wanted to spend to night here for acclimatization.

The night at 2500m was a treat and it seems that Montezuma has finally left...

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Friday, 09. February 2018

Copiapó, what can I say? A mining town, there's nothing here, not even a campground. So we drove to a gas station to finally have a shower. That last shower was 5 days ago, cough...

Now I'm sitting in a café and finally have the time, electricity and WiFi to update the Blog :)