Status Report, Halfway, South America (1 Viewer)

[coax]

All,
Figured some of you might enjoy a quick summary of the first half of my trip through Southern South America in an 80 series. A bit of tech and a bunch of pictures.

• # of Countries Visited: 3
• # of border crossings with car: 3 (+ 1 initial entry)
• Port of Entry: Puerto Valparaiso, Chile
• Most friendly people: Everywhere.
• # of bribes asked for: 0
• Miles driven since start: ~11,000
• Highest Elevation: 5007 meters, Southwest Bolivia
• # of people who offered to by the cruiser: ~11
• # of Flat Tires: 1 (slow leak from sharp rocks in road)
• # of nights spent in homemade roof top tent: ~60
• # of loose fasteners on the 80: 2 (Pitman arm bolt and frame side front panhard bolt)
• Most commonly used tool: Tire Jack
• Number of lost tools: 1 (1/2 ratchet)
• Number of times reconnecting the DS rear parking brake shoe: 4 (spring got over-compressed and wouldn't keep the cable taut)
• Most expensive gas: 900 Chilean Pesos per litre (~USD$5.70 a gallon)
• Average gas mileage: 14mpg
• Weight of vehicle: ~6100lbs
• Attempted break-ins: 1
  
• # of times stuck: 0
• # of times almost stuck in beach sand: 1
• # of times winch used: 0
• Most used gear: Pressure cooker and the partner steel stove
• Most useful gear: OsmAnd GPS software on Android.
• First piece of gear to fail: Google Nexus 7 (battery died after 2 months)
• Other travelers met driving 80 series: 0
• Most unhappy with: my job valving my Fox Shox. Horrible on washboard.
• # of times re-valving shocks: 1
• Coldest temp: ~20f (Bolivian Desert)
• Warmest temp: ~90f (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile)

On the drive to California through Utah:

Puerto Valparaiso:

Shipping Container:

Headed North:

Laundry:

Northern Desert:

Bolivian Dust:

 

[coax]

Underneath sprayed with used motor oil:

My Cruiser is small in comparison to the landscape:

 

[coax]

 

[coax]

I've been back for over a year now, and totally forgot to update this! Here's the status for the 2nd half of the trip:

• # of Countries Visited: 2 (Argentina and Chile)
  
• # of border crossings with car: 1 (Argentina back into Chile)
• Port of Departure: Puerto Valparaiso, Chile
• Most friendly people: Everywhere.
• # of bribes asked for: 0
• Total Trip Miles: ~24,000
• # of Flat Tires: 0
• # of nights spent in homemade roof top tent: ~60
• # of loose fasteners on the 80: 0 (down from 2 previously)
  
• Best tool/part: Self fusing silicone tape to repair a coolant hose on my friends VW van.
  
• Number of times reconnecting the DS rear parking brake shoe: 1
• Most expensive gas: 900 Chilean Pesos per litre (~USD$5.70 a gallon)
• Average gas mileage: 14mpg
• Weight of vehicle: ~6100lbs
• Attempted break-ins: 0
• Number of bags stolen out of my car by someone who was very, very good/sneaky: 2
  
• # of times stuck: 0
• # of times winch used: 0 (boring...)
  
• Most used gear: Still the pressure cooker and the partner steel stove
• Most useful gear: OsmAnd GPS software on Android.
• Failed Gear: Really Old Backpacking Tent (just not waterproof anymore)
  
• Other travelers met driving 80 series: 0
• Most unhappy with: my leaky backpacking tent
  
• # of times re-valving shocks: 1 (for a total of twice on the trip)
  
• Rainiest: Tierra del Fuego
• Driest: Piedra Parada
• Flat Tires fixed for others: 2
• Most awesome part: Helping 2 groups of locals, on two separate occasions, fix a flat tire. Both times they were super grateful for the help when many others (both tourists and locals) didn't bother to stop to help.
  • First flat was on Ruta 40 north from El Chalten to Esquel. Its a long (2 day) drive on a desolate road that is not traveled too often. On the first leg of the trip, A family had a flat on their car...luckily their spare was OK and myself and a hitchhiker stuck around long enough to ensure they got back on the road OK and we headed out again. The next morning as we were leaving from the campground the same people we had helped pulled up behind us at a stoplight, and waved us to the side of the road, and gifted a bottle of wine, saying "out of the handful of cars that drove by, 2 gringos were the ones who stopped to help." They were very appreciative and I hope built some good will for foreign travelers with them.
    
  • Second was in Tierra del Fuego. A group of vacationing adults from Argentina had a run of bad luck and got two flats in a row. We happened to be on the side of the road fixing my friends leaking coolant hose, and they pulled up in their friends vehicle (luckily they had 2 cars ) and asked if we had a compressor. Well it was a but more than that...had to plug the hole, and replace the valve stem, then air it up. They also were very appreciative and left a bottle of wine
  
  Power was out in Buenos Aires while waiting for my flight from BA to El Calafate.
  
  
  

Arriving back at the cruiser

Lots of long, straight road

Rafting the Futalefu!

Mud...

Just about as far south as you can drive, on an atypically nice day!

 

[SLO Nomad]

Nice! Thank you for your adventures!

 

[musthave]

What an incredible journey! It looks like the 80 handled it like a champ!

Your pictures are amazing! You make me want to quit my job and head south.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Qball]

I really need to win that lotto! Soooo jealous!

 

[hachirokufan]

Looks like fun!!

How much was shipping/Did you leave from the port of LA?

What are your plans to head back?

 

[smileyboy]

Wow! Incredible!

 

[coax]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Hope to post up a few more pictures soon.

Looks like fun!!

How much was shipping/Did you leave from the port of LA?

What are your plans to head back?

Yep, I left out of L.A. Dropped the car at a warehouse a few miles from the port. I was a bit nervous but the whole process worked out really well. Shipping was expensive 3k+! But far less than renting a 4x4 there, which I was told was anywhere from 100-150USD a day. Hopefully will spend another few months and then ship the car back from the Atlantic side which I believe should be cheaper.

 

[4x4tripping]

Stunning pictures, would be glad to read also some notes!

Probably tell us about this break-in try

Maybe we had the chance for a meetup, I`m also on the way up.

4x4tripping

 

[John McVicker]

Stunning landscape and pictires. Would love to learn more of your journey. Subscribed.

Thanks, John

 

[coax]

Stunning pictures, would be glad to read also some notes!

Probably tell us about this break-in try

Maybe we had the chance for a meetup, I`m also on the way up.

4x4tripping

Cool shoot me a PM on your general where-abouts. I am currently down far south, almost to tierra del fuego. Would be cool to meet up. As for the breakin, it was kind of a non-event. Happened the very first night in Valparaiso after getting the car off the boat. I had the car parked on the street which I guess is a no-no in that town. I got lucky that they didn't try to force it more.

Stunning landscape and pictires. Would love to learn more of your journey. Subscribed.

Thanks, John

Thanks for the comments! I will try to post up more pictures shortly; good internet is hard to come by down here!

 

[TheViking]

That's so nice I liked the waterfall simply inspiring.

 

[arellanon]

I am SO envious! My dream is to drive to Tierra del Fuego! And you stopped at Salado de Uyuni!

 

[coax]

Updated the third post in the thread with the status report for the second half of the trip (only a year and a half late!) And a bunch of pictures!

 

[boozewz]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

 

[gringodan]

Just saw your trip in your pictures....great ride it is indeed and unreal sights...