Now with me being crook in bed Ellen headed for the hills ....but she came back.

La Ventana is a cool rock formation, La Ventana meaning window.

So I will not babble on as Ellen did it, will just biff a few pics up for you guys to see.

Looking up to the top from the 3/4 mark

IMG_8372 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

You guessed it, look down from the same place, our place and me sleeping to the right hand side of the road heading toward the lake tucked in the trees so you can't see it.

IMG_8368 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The famous rock window

IMG_8357 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Looking over the sheer drop from the north side and autumn serving a platter of colours from seasonal change

IMG_8349 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The full window

IMG_8338 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

And that my friends is La Ventana... next up some interesting events

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Test run, to see if I was good enough for the job.:rofl

The day was nice, no early start so we could avoid the cold we hit it to San Martin to visit Lucas and Andrea.

So good I felt on the way there to hold onto the bars I had a wrath of enthusiasm when we hit the paved section, playing on my mind was to ride Maya a little quicker to feel the Duro tire amidst interest of its capabilities.

I really enjoyed the ride in, had the Duro front tire chatting to the tarseal and the Heidenau rear having an arguement trying to stay in line, both tires building heat and the Duro clearly as happy as, we pushed it to the edge (not advisable to go past that point:evil) so I was happy.:clap

Arriving in San Martin after completing the last part on the gravel section we found Lucas’s hardware shop and had a chat, we then set off to enjoy San Martin and celebrated with a pizza for lunch …..bloody good it was too I will add.

IMG_8385 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

IMG_8384 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

To the supermarket then back to Lake Meliquina, I was till feeling enthused however my battery low signals were coming on leaving me wondering 8-(

We cruised back at a lesser pace taking in the breath taking views and autumn colours gracing the vistas, back along the lakeside rippio Maya suddenly started acting up in the steering, I slowed up but nothing seemed out of place so we continued, this time in second gear looking over and into the lake with the admirably clear water, this was really nice to see and made going slower back to be very relaxing and good mind food.

IMG_8400 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Back to the Lake we did a kick, wobble, push and shove to see if we could find why Maya was now being silly on the corrugations.

After about 15 minutes we discovered the shock bottom bush had disintegrated, yes this is the shock that Kuntflict Suspension supposedly rebuilt everything on ….ripped off.:cry

Not being terminal meant we would carry on with it being noisy and loose, just very disappointing after it was supposedly rebuilt.

Packing everything down that evening after deciding I would be well enough to ride the following day I felt enthused, that night although still feeling off shade I felt a level of happiness as my passion of riding and seeing new places was on again...WOH HOH clap:clap

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Time to leave ....the morning came …supposedly, the alarm went off at 9.30 am for my drugs …. looking into pitch blackness I thought the android tablet had lost its marbles, clearly it was dark and nowhere near 9.30 am. :huh

It didn’t seem right, we turned on the phone, same time ….WTF, looked out the curtains, nup dark…..SERIOUSLY WTF.:eek1 :eek1

We swung the door open to find Armageddon, it was raining sand, dust and ash, a quick sniff and taste revealed sulphur smells ….WTF, it was deathly deathly unnervingly quiet with NOT a single sound …..the previous night on ADV rider Mike Ryder put a link on our ride report saying a volcano south of us was doing poos.

Putting 1+1 together still made 3, the ash and sand laden breeze was blowing in from the north east, the volcano was 145 km south west of us, we automatically assumed that a volcano close to us had let go.:eek1

We had no electricity, no wifi, so no communication or lighting, at 10.00 am we lit a candle being it was pitch black, we wanted to preserve our LED light batteries in case we needed to leave without the bike and in the dark?.

Mega thoughts running through our minds, how cold will it get?, how long will it be pitch black, how long will it rain sand and ash?, how deep will this shit get?, can we ride out or do we have to leave Maya here?…. **** … too much to think about...my head was already hurting now stressed with a situation never presented to either of us in our life.

To be honest it was very weird, the time and darkness was really screwing with my head which, at this point in time, was already screwed.

It was kinda cool but kinda unnerving, the feeling of fear, the feeling of anxiety leading the charge but we had to take control realizing we were ok, had food, had shelter etc so not a problem yet.

Making some quick management decisions we got all the water we could until it turned brown (the water comes directly from the creek), the sand and ash turning the water brown.:eek1

Managing to round up only 9 liters of safe water we have our filters which we could use if need be.

Plans of leaving today became apparent was not a happening thing, at 11.34 am it was still dark but we reckoned we could see light above in the sky but neither of us knew if it was our eyes playing games or not.

P1240714 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

By 1.00 pm the sand/ash cloud had settled and we could start to see, we put on our face masks and B lined it to the bomberos (local fire and ambulance station), it is about a 2 km walk, still raining sand and ash we both turned white walking down, the bomberos said the roads were closed so that confirmed we were there to stay, they also confirmed it was Calbuco that had blown it's lid with fury.

Pity there are no banks here :rofl

P1240718 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The entry stairs

P1240717 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

IMG_8401 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

This is what 1.00pm looked like

P1240728 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

P1240731 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The dust varying in deepness from 5 - 25 mm

P1240733 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

IMG_8415 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Down to the shop we bought a 2.25 L Coca Cola which boosted our liquid supply by 30% :rofl, the shop owner saying if we needed water he has a clean bore from the ground so all was good. :clap

The volcano delayed our departure date by another day, and that was already after being there for about 10 days trying to sit out me being ill.:cry

I felt the world was against me at this point, seems that every time we ride past a volcano it explodes …."starting to get a complex" now rofl

Sitting out the day behind glass drinking Coke we slowly watched the cloud dissipating and seeing the extent of the event unfold, dust storms came and went and as the cloud cleared the wifi signal started and we got some information which saw us in the middle of an epic international crisis event with state of emergencies declared etc, the magnitude far greater than we realized.

The mid afternoon gloom

P1240724 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

P1240734 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

IMG_8409 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Then the dust storms set in with a yellow tinge from the sun behind/above

IMG_8420 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The night was one of anxiety as the authorities said brace for more, luckily it did not happen and we woke to a day that was promising so we made a break for it.

It was like riding through a bag of flour, powder everywhere and every step we took making a cloud.

Face masks were definitely the order day and with me still not right I was not taking ANY chances.

Does this mask make my nose look big? :rofl

P1240736 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

A slow trip to San Martin, now looking into the lake was brown and murky so I was very happy we took the time before the volcanic ash changed things, now we are riding in a grey monotone nuclear fallout looking place so very spooky, again still deathly quiet.

Hitting the main road which is paved made no difference, if anything it was worse to ride due to the 15 - 20 mm layer of superfine ball bearings supplied by mum nature, coupled with this when a car went past we had to stop and wait a minute literally as we could not see a thing, another fear playing on my mind if a car coming from behind not seeing us and taking us out .. **** it does not get any easier, with this in mind we stopped hard over to the edge of the shoulder.

Pulling over to stop before the cloud swamped us

P1240744 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Arriving to San Martin was WW3, dust storms, twisters and grey EVERYTHING coated.

P1240749 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Airy feeling, signs everywhere saying “Despacio” which means “slow” in Spanish, any and every movement creating a dust storm, people with shovels mounding up all the ash, every shovel load creating more dust.

It seemed like a fruitless effort nonetheless the spirit of cleaning up was alive and well.

P1240750 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Lucas and Andrea from next door at the lake said come stay the night so we caught up with them, Ellen making Chinese dumplings as a sign of our appreciation for their help and friendship.

P1240753 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Andrea, (my angel) washed our ash and dust laden clothing in their washing machine reverting them back to their original colours, the little things that make a big difference.

That evening more ash and sand came down but very little and not enough to cause any more trouble for us thus in the morning our plans to head over to Chile were welcomed with an almost clearish day with dust in the air but good visibility.:clap

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

You two do have some adventures! What, you had to go half-way across the world for some geothermal adventures?
True though, we have not had a volcano in NZ for a long time, but , hey, wouldn't you have settled for an earthquake in Christchurch?
We were there 2013, and Jill dropped her bike because of the uneven road surface! (It was)
Rob Hall

Hope you guys didn't make a ash out of yourself with your recent expierience. LOL. Glad to hear things have settled down and hopefully you can move on to your next destination. Take care.

Heya Rob

Yes we coulda stayed in New Zealand eh but still to directly be in the middle of the Calbuco results was something else.

My family is in Christchurch so yeah know well the variable pavement.

Cheers Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Heya lectron

...I am afraid we did, we now ride a grey powercoated KTM and I am just not sure the colour is correct

Things are good now, atmosphere is still dusty, today we hit Chile side admidst what appears to be clear skies

Cheers Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Saying goodbyes and thank you we headed to the pass to Chile side, as we got further north the ash was thicker, making it to the border was an effort, the ash in places 100 - 150 mm deep.

Our greeting was a closed AND locked gate

P1240763 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The Argentine border guard said closed, we asked if he could check further, making a call to Chile side seems they had got a lot of ash the previous night, the Chileans saying it was open but worse on their side so not advisable.:cry

After discussions with the guard and the help of finding local conditions we agreed we were heading the wrong way, our quest to see this part of Chile taken away and our around the block plans changed again.

Back down the road and up to Junin de los Ande we tanked up and made a break for Neuquen to see Victor and Liliana.

The road now amoungst road traffic was impossible, the semi trucks making dust storms of epic proportions, eye watering with grit and no visibility it was going to be a long day.

About 80 km east the dust on the road started thinning and we had better visibility and able to pass trucks and be able to see past them, we even managed to snap a pic making the place look normal

P1240775 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

40 km out of Neuquen the front tire was loud, wobbling the steering it was apparent we had a flat tire.

Having broken our pump on the Carreterra Austral meant we could not pump it up, I dropped the speed to about 80 km/hr, enough to make to tire standup with gyroscopic force but slow enough if we had an issue we could hopefully stop without being biffed off.

9 km out it was flat, we pulled into a YPF gas station and filled the tire, it was going down quicker so we made a break for it, it lasted 1 km before it popped seeing the rim land on the casing and us wobbling profusely, I contained it just and we road for another 1 km before finding another YDF, this time we decided to change the tube....actually we had no choice :rofl

The ash laden air making for a nice sunset

P1240787 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

P1240788 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

I did the job in 15 minutes but the last 1 km took its toll on the tube destroying it ripping the valve completely out….rubbish.

P1240786 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

On our way again we found our way to Victors house substantially late than planned.

I made a small vid which better explains the dust, worth a watch for a larf.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bWzC0CH_P4g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

or

https://youtu.be/bWzC0CH_P4g

Next up, Doctors, Dentists, Dust & Distress

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Heya supporters, stalkers, moto riders and normal humans.

It was 3 years ago today we set off from New Zealand for our 1.5 year trip.

Today we are in a small seaside town called Tome in Chile, about 500 km south of Santiago to celebrate.

We now have a stunning day which is nice given the last few days.

This afternoon we sat on the beach in the sun and went out for tea to a seafood restaurant and blatantly blew $11.00 for the 2 of us.

IMG_8461 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Our seaside view

IMG_8482 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Sorry if I look tired and not well....it's because I am, getting better tho slowly.clap

Cheers all .. more to come before the finish line

Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

3yrs on the road and sharing with us the whole way. Thx

john

Heya John

Thank you, you are welcome and thanks for participating in our adventure

Cheers Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

A done deal, arriving at Victor and Lilianas we were welcomed in, me with grubby hands sent to the wash room cos food was being served.:rofl

By this time I had perfected my stuffed mullet look of tiredness :lol3

IMG_8435 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

We were given Sofias room (their daughter), a comfortable bed for me was just mint.:clap

Still feeling pretty crook with sweats at night etc I was not amused but not much I can do other than let it runs its course so bedtime means sheet management :rofl.

We had good chats and larfs all in spinglish, still no drinks for me being on meds so Fanta was my savior.... at least it was orange :evil.

My little smell of wine so I didn't feel left out :rofl

P1240791 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Given things were not really improving much we asked Victor about a good doctor, he organised me to see a good local guy, get X rays or head and chest etc and a blood test :eek1.

While we had time and medical service we also wanted to get a dental check, both of us had a niggle tooth and Victors friend happened to be a dentist and he rides KTM 990 Adv R.

I was shitting myself about having a blood test, make no bones I ****ing hate needles ….I would be a useless druggie.

Anyway, in order to bust the nuts of whatever has been plaguing me I got the lot.

P1240796 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

So, Sinusitis, viral meningitis, vial pneumonia all on the table but really it is just a head cold and I am a pussy.:rofl

After puncturing me, seeing right through me and now having better picture of my broken ribs from Guatemala they gave me some kickarse Antibiotics to slaughter the Sinusitis but for the viral part it is my bodies job to fight it off with time.

Now to socialize, for me not a lot as I felt like shit, could not drink any grog and generally felt unsociable.

Every Wednesday night the boys have a moto petrolheads asado, usually at Victors cos he has a kickarse asado and a home brewery with a glass wall that looks into the garage at his KTM 990 Adventure….talk about good setup!!!! … just needs a dancing poll to complete it.:wink:

He invited us to stay for that, the doctor then said my results were not through until Thursday so it was on.

Everyone chips in a set amount each time, everyone brings wine or bear, everyone brings their own cutlery being timber asado cutting board, fork and extremely sharp knife, that way Victor does not end up doing a tonne of dishes each time.

The asado went down well, wine was drunk, was spilt and drunk, BS talked....a fine evening :evil

Lucky Victor had 3/4 beast to burn so we were all very well fed, Ellen also filling the space with dumplings which was a winning combo.

IMG_8437 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Liliana ungiltingly stealing a dumpling :rofl

IMG_8432 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

The funny thing is, normally Victor provides the but he had run out, one amigo owns a heladaria (icecream shop), he could not make it so no icecream, another amigo owns a empanadaria (empanada or pie shop) and he could not come either.

For me this was all celebrated with 5 mm of wine, a mere taste to celebrate.

The new batch of being made with precision measurement and love

P1240814 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

While staying with Victor and Liliana they needed to shift some BIG sheets of 18 mm flooring from the third floor of a building, it was decided I wasn't well enough to help .... like ****!!! ...lemme in on it and give me a purpose, the exercise catching and landing the sheets was mint, was exactly what my old bod needed, "Use it or lose it" .... not a truer word :clap

Send her down lads!!!

P1240799 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Got my flash as Michael Jackson gloves on I was rockin

P1240800 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Facundo, a member on ADV rider had been following our report, he lives only 12 km from Victor as it turned out so we had a neat lunch by the riverside before he went to work, turns out we are the first Kiwis and the first ADVers he has met so pretty neat.

Selfie

P1240821 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

He is an electronics electrical engineer in the food processing area so was very busy with work and making sure the electronics side of things did what it was meant to.

The motos parked at the river

P1240816 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Finally getting my results sortof back …. the doctors can’t pinpoint exactly what I have but they have labelled it viral and the sinusitis as well, the bottom line is you lot are still gonna haf ta put up with me :evil .

They could turn me into a pin cushion then at the end of the day being viral there is nothing they can do so no needles wins for me (no more crying):rofl

Getting sorted at the dentist was excellent, Gustavo the dentist has some cool toys and expensive kit, his clinic known as the best in town.

Being friends of Victors he looked after us well and went to extra lengths to makes things good.:freaky

Discussions were had at the petrolhead night, Gustavo offering his holiday house at Lake Moquehue, turns out this was just south of our chosen exit border being low in elevation so it was perfect, nothing could go wrong now we are sweet :eek1.

Come time to leave we said goodbyes to Victor & Liliana, we can’t thank them enough for the help they gave us but we know they will come to New Zealand and we will get to reciprocate.

P1240823 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Life is good.:freaky

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

The weather was ok, a bit of ceniza (volcanic dust and ash) in the air, as we headed we headed west the weather started playing games, some ash and some ominous clouds.

Of our 360 km trip 180 km of it turned wet with style, the dirt road covered in ash and dust became a wash of slippery puffy grease. :eek1

This proved difficult, it was extremely cold by now, my glasses fogging and the wind blowing across us pretty hard.

I handed Ellen my sun glasses, just as she took them a big gust blew us across the road and into the very shitty soggy stuff on the off camber, I was weak and cold and as I tried to turn it back it bulldozed so I steered Maya down off the shoulder in an attempt to save her.

We left the road skipping and bumping over a 200 mm round ish rocks, this sending us blindingly off course and down to our stopping point amidst mud, rain and wind and rocks.

From here

P1240825 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

To here, no damage other than pride.

P1240824 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

****, I was feeling very weak so we took the tank bag and top box off to lighten the high weight.

P1240828 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Luckily no-one saw so no-one knows about it :rofl

It was all Ellens and all my might to lift Maya back onto her feet, we were sliding around in the mud which did not help, I rode Maya up onto the road and we refitted everything and headed off…..and it started snowing.

P1240835 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

P1240836 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

It got heavier and thicker for a while

P1240843 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

A quick vid, no frills this time

https://youtu.be/X-bc-U4Vuqo

We had 80 km to go, I was spent and cold, dreading riding in the snow and loosing it again, pegging the pace back, turning the heated grips up full and hunkering down we got up and over the pass, the welcomed sign of only a wet road looking good.

P1240842 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

We made it to the short tar seal section, the snow had backed off but it was pissing down with the road flowing and bitterly cold, we then got to the end of the tar with 20 km to get to the house.

Now the rain, ash, sand and mud was totally against us, it was a 50 mm plus pug of greasy slimy shit proving very difficult.

Again I pegged our speed back, Maya sliding around a lot, the Heidenau giving out long before the Duro.

Finally we reached the house, drowned, muddy from the crash and ****ing cold from the snow and severe wind chill.

Gustavo welcoming us in he had the fire going which we cuddled while scoffing hot food.:clap onya dude, a biker knows what a biker wants :clap

Water was pissing out of everything clothing wise as we tried to dry it.

Gustavo said hey now worries stay as long as you need so that was great, that evening a huge asado was put on…..extremely nice.

IMG_8444 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Gustavo and I

IMG_8446 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

Hungry? WOH HOH just a lite snack rofl

IMG_8448 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr

As night drew in the temperature drop like a stone, nice to be inside now, as the morning turned up so did the snow laden cloud threatening to block everyone in....hmmm things getting more difficult again.:rofl

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

A couple

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Nutha

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere