Author: Clif & Susan
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Where’s Wally?
6,300 miles down, from Bogota through the Andes to Santiago — with 2,000 more to Ushuaia at the bottom of the world, then another 2,000 back up to Buenos Aires for the flight home.
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Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
A hidden deep section of a river crossing sends the bike airborne — Susan’s hand flies off into the air, and even Clif briefly leaves the seat, before 900 miles down Ruta 40 end with a climb over the Andes into Chile.
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Salt Salt Baby
Hours after answering a reader’s question about meeting other long-distance cyclists, Clif runs into Jo — solo-cycling from Boston to Buenos Aires — camped on a cactus island in the middle of Bolivia’s vast Salar de Uyuni salt flats.
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The Sights & Sounds Of Colourful Bolivia
An overnight stop at Oruro’s garishly colourful ‘Royal Blue’ hotel, then a chance encounter with a street parade celebrating Bolivia’s indigenous tribes — followed by a dodgy tummy after a cautious dinner of just chips.
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Not So Titillating La Paz
A brutal hairpin descent into La Paz fries the rear brake down to a single ping, and the next day’s Witches’ Market turns up dried llama fetuses — traditionally buried under Bolivian house foundations as a sacred offering.
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Cusco Coca Concern
Susan’s altitude sickness turns into a full coca leaf habit — tea beyond the recommended dose plus midnight sweetie wrappers — while Clif’s cure involves getting her to drink alcohol instead, the same way he manages his own altitude symptoms.
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Journey to the Incas
A brutal two-day ticket ordeal — trains, queues, a 4:30am start — finally pays off at Machu Picchu, guided around by ‘Mellow Man,’ a coca-chewing former site researcher who’s part Bob Marley, part Snoop Dogg.
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Chalhuanca Chumbawamba
The front wheel vanishes into loose roadwork gravel at 15mph and the loaded bike goes down hard — Susan lands on her hip-replacement side, but they’re both up, dusted off, and back on the road within minutes.