The World By Road

Photo of the Week- Chaiten

Laura Sutton — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:28:43 +0000

Nothing could be stranger than seeing cars, houses, playgrounds and an entire town buried under several feet of volcanic mud after the erruption of Volcano Chaiten in Chile.

Photo of the Week- Puerto Natales

Laura Sutton — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:27:34 +0000

f you ever doubted that Patagonia was amongst one the windiest places on earth, this photo should put your mind to rest. The photo was taken whilst we were in Puerto Natales waiting for the Navimag ferry to take us further north in Chile. On this particular day, the wind was so strong it managed to pick up our tent and blow it over the two meter barbed wire fence into the neighbors yard, shredding the outer material to pieces. A tent weighs nearly nothing, however the tent was not only pegged but also tied down, as well as weighted with a few packs and some bedding, which also managed to get a little tattered.

New Video - Peninsula Valdes

Steven Shoppman — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:24:04 +0000

A while back we went to Penisula Valdes, stayed at a historic hotel, got up close and personal with some wildlife and generally had an amazing time. Enjoy the video

Farewell Mi Amigo

Steve Bouey — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:22:40 +0000

As with most good things in life, they all seem to come to and end sooner or later. For the World by Road, one of those good things was having Fernando Bischof (aka Nandor, aka F-Dude) as part of the crew. Unfortunately, Fernando's stay with us on the expedition has come to and end and it was time to say goodbye. It was tough to see Fernando go because he has been with us longer than any previous crew member on the expedition, over three months, and we all got to become pretty good friends.

Photo of the Week- NW Argentina

Laura Sutton — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:25:24 +0000

One tends to get creative on the open road in the middle of the desert; by the looks of it a local Argentinean trucker decided to amuse himself by playing taxidermist. The World by Road sticker

Out of This World Off Roading

Steve Bouey — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:01:11 +0000

Even though some of the toughest and most stressful segments of our expedition have revolved around the conditions of roads we have traversed, traveling down those difficult sections of roads can also lead you to some amazing places. Places that are hidden and inaccessible to someone without a 4x4 and in some cases a large set of balls. In a lot of the countries we have been through, we did not have a choice of whether we wanted to go off road or not. Going off road in many places is simply the only option to get from point A to point B.

Back to Argentina Again

Melissa Terry — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:22:25 +0000

From Santiago we crossed the border back into Argentina from Chile for what might have been the 10th time. Over the past two months of zig-zagging between through the smallest of border crossings we have seen gorgeous countryside only available to those with their own transportation. This time, though, even some of you at home might be familiar with this particular pass as it is known for over a dozen switchbacks snaking the mountain side and eventually taking you back into Argentina by Chile's Portillo ski resort and mighty Mount Aconcagua-the highest peak in the world outside of the Himalayas.

Sucking Her Dry

Steve Bouey — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:11:43 +0000

I am sure everyone has been in the situation where you think you are going to run out of gas or better yet, have actually run out of gas at some point in your life. Whether it is running out of gas while idling in gridlock traffic or realizing that you have gone past the point of no return on stretch of road where the distance between gas stations is a lot further than you thought, it is an unsettling, frustrating yet all to familiar feeling that comes with driving. Even more so than any other scenario, going on a road trip always seems to attract at least the potential for running the tank dry at some stage in the journey.

Santiago: I hardly knew ye!

Melissa Terry — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:10:09 +0000

The trucks are fixed and, many thanks to PatoPower, we are well geared for the upcoming road conditions of the Atacama, Bolivian salt flats, and the Pantanal wetlands but due to our friends on strike at customs, we left Santiago about 4 days behind schedule. Chile and more specifically Santiago was a wonderful place to spend a few extra days, despite how the government employees might feel.

Off the grid for a few days.

Steven Shoppman — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:14:00 +0000

We are headed into Northwest Argentina, followed by the Atacama Desert, eventually driving through the southern region of Bolivia where their famous salt flats reside and then to Santa Cruz where we will obtain our Brazilian visas for the Pantanal. This means that we will be out of contact for about the next week; however, we already have some new content ready and will be working on some more while we make our way through this region and anytime we have Internet we will be uploading.

More importantly, we have been making some huge progress lately and by the time we enter the Pantanal we will have finished nearly 3/4 of the miles that we will drive in South America. While we are going on almost 2 years for this journey, it is a true sense of accomplishment to be able to see the finish line. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, as we still have some crazy adventures ahead of us…maybe even some of the craziest yet (still have to find a way around the Darien Gap), but to put this in perspective…

It is like we have been in University, now we are seniors and in the last semester. Unlike all of the semesters before this one, we were always signing up for the next round of classes, this time the story is different. I guess just like college, it is exciting and scary to think that the end is getting close. Now the usual question that we get has much more meaning: What are you going to do when this is all over?

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