Where are we now?
About half way we think. It feels as if much of the difficult cycling is behind us. Certainly we've crossed the highlands of Peru and the volcanic South West of Bolivia, including the highest pass in South America. Stage 4 took us through the cradle of the sun, the hot deserts of Northern Argentina and then up to the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, but, who knows what lies ahead.
Stage 4 was a long one at 1473.9km and very hot. Our total distance so far stands at 3703km. We have ascended the equivalant of cycling to the moon 467 times!!!! Well, it feels like that anyway. We've only had 4 punctures, one set of break blocks and are on our 3rd chains. Sarah has crashed 4 times.
Everyday still poses new challenges that never seem to get any easier but are always rewarding. The scenery and surroundings give us something new and exciting each day, without fail. However, it's the people that make it really special. They continue to offer us support and encouragement along with lots of laughs and if we're lucky a bread bun or two.
For those of you interested, every bit of kit has performed perfectly without a problem. The bikes in particular, never cease to amaze. When we're exhausted the Alpkit PipeDream 600 sleeping bags and the Exped downmats ensure we have a very warm and comfortable nights sleep, no matter what it's like outside.
Stage 5 will take us through 700km of (more) desert bush then, the bit we are really looking forward to, the 'Lake District´. The 'Lakes' is an area shared by Chile and Argentina (begrudgingly) comprising of perfect snow capped volcanoes and mirror like lakes surrounded by verdant pine forest. We'll then be crossing over to the mythical and wet island of Chiloe before we join the Caretera Austral around Christmas time.
