Breakfast with the group and drive to motorcycle warehouse.
Motorcycles deliver and check by each member.
Cancel Safety deposit.
Small tour to the nearby Cordillera, we will drive to a Ski area on the mountains so you will get use to the motorcycle.
Late in the afternoon, welcome dinner.
Day 2:
Departure time 8:00 hrs.
Leaving Santiago by the north side of the city we will take you through a nice road side to side of the Cordillera de Los Andes were you will see the agriculture of the central zone and will appreciate the big vineyards were grapes for famous Chilean wine are rise. You will drive through small villages and towns that were once very important in Chilean history. The very first 100 miles will be of asphalt, then we will get into a dirt road that has been repaired for vehicles. Many years ago it was a railroad through were the train run to the north of the country, but today the rails have been removed. It is interesting to drive here because of the opened curves and constant gradient, big iron bridges and narrow tunnels were only on vehicle can go through.
Arriving at destiny you will have time to rest, have a shower and dress for a little walk to a restaurant for a nice dinner.
Day 3:
Departure time 8:00A.M.
We will keep you driving north by a dirt road and get into the Andes pre-cordillera, you will appreciate the less amount of vegetation, but get into the clearest sky's were the air is clean and pure. We will go up and down on this small hills and slopes reaching summits and have a nice view of the nearby valleys. After some ours of driving we will get to small asphalt road and drive on the side of the valley that is completely dedicated to the grape industry for export. Here you will appreciate how even the sides of the mountains are used to rise grapes.
Arriving at destiny you will have time to rest, have a shower and prepare for a nice BBQ that will be prepared by the Pool.
Day 4:
Departure time 9:00A.M.
Driving east to the Valley of Vicuna we will get in by the left side through a nice dirt road until we get to a new dam that looks for the waters to irrigate the valley down. Then to the town of Vicuna were Gabriela Mistral (Literature Nobel Price) was born. Near you will have the chance to get into a Pisco brewery. Pisco is the national drink, also made from grapes and can be combined with lemon and sugar to get the famous Pisco Sour or also can be combined with fruit juices and colas.
Our final destination for this day will be Pisco Elqui, a small colonial village were we would spend the rest of the afternoon in a swimming pool and prepare for a night horseback ride to watch the stars in the clearest sky of the world if you wish.
Day 5:
Departure time 9:00A.M.
Drive back to La Serena to know the city, one of the oldest in Chile and La Recova Market well known for its pottery. This town lives from agriculture and mining as well and became a well-known summer vacation place on the Pacific Coast for Argentineans, Brazilians and rest of South America. Europeans and North Americans are starting to visit it. We will drive to the nearby beaches and visit some of the biggest summer condos in the region to look for a nice meal by the seashore at Guanaqueros or Tongoy.
Back to hotel for a nice rest because next day we will start getting into the desert zone.
Casino available at 10 minutes taxi drive if you wish to go.
Day 6:
Departure time 8:30A.M.
Driving north on the Panamerican Highway for 30 miles by the seaside to a dirt road where we will keep having adventure on this trip. We will see some nice small water ponds of emerald waters until we get to a place were iron mineral was loaded into vessels directly from the train in the early days of the 20 th century. Today the big iron structure has been cut out and sold to feed the village necessities but the place has lots of history of many years of hard work. After we will climb the coastal range and drive to the abandoned mine that fed this port. It is interesting to see how to get water from the clouds that come from the ocean and pushed by the winds to the high mountains of the coast range.
By the end of the day we will arrive at Huasco were a nice small hotel will let us rest for the night. You will have time for shower before we walk to a nearby restaurant for a nice meal.
Day 7:
Departure time 8:30A.M.
Again driving north by the seaside through a dirt road we will get to an old village that has lots of history for Chile. From here on are the nicest views of the Atacama Desert, specially when winter season has deposited some water on it and the desert booms. You will be able to appreciate big extensions of flowers of different colors, situation that can only be seen every six to ten years. Also you will see nice beaches of transparent waters and clear sands of hundreds of miles in extension. We will get into the desert and loose the sea view for a couple of hours before we get to Puerto Viejo. From here we will face the coast road again that will drive us to Caldera where excellent food, rest and a tempered pool will be waiting for us.
Time to swim, bath and change clothes before we get for dinner.
Day 8:
Day of rest to do whatever you want.
We all can swim on the beach, visit the fishermen's dock, visit the village square and the local church that was design by Eiffel and brought completely from Europe. Also the train station can be visited and learn that between this port and the city of Copiapo run the first train in Chile on the year 1851, many other things can be done during day. Time to taste seafood and Chilean wines will be part of the day activities.
Day 9:
Departure time 8:30A.M.
After the nice rest we will get into the Pan-American Highway for another 56 miles by the sea side and will get to National Park Pan de Azucar, on a dirt road we will cross it and have the chance to see some of the beauties that this park offers. Guanacos, fox and condors appear when you less expect them. The colors and shapes of the slopes and mountains are spectacular. You will feel how small and tiny we are in the immensity of the panorama. A singular type of cactus that follows the sun path will be part of the scenery. We will get to Cifuncho and with some good luck see the local fishermen at work, then keep our way to Taltal to end the day.
Time for shower and change clothes before we walk to a near restaurant for a nice dinner.
Day 10:
Departure time 9:00A.M.
Driving out of the town for some miles we will soon get into a dirt road that will take us to start climbing into the mountains. For some hours we will drive in the desert zone and have the chance to recreate our view with the different colors and shapes of the sandy contour.
After crossing the Pan-American Highway and refueling, we will get into the arid desert and have the chance to get to an abandoned train station in the middle of nowhere. See some of the abandoned Salitreras were only some walls are still looking the sky. The extension and opening of the terrain are impressive. You can see for miles and miles nothing else than sand and stones. By now the sea has been left back and at every moment we are getting higher. This is the slower part of the journey due to the "chusca", name given to some small ponds filled with dirt so fine that could be body powder, so deep that can get you at your knee when standing. By the afternoon we will be arriving to El Salvador, a mining copper city that stands 7000 feet high on the Andes Range. Small hotel with nice restaurant and good food will give us the needed rest for next day.
Day 11:
Departure time 8:00A.M.
We must depart early today facing the Cordillera de Los Andes. We will drive through mountains and valleys of many different colors and sizes. The journey today is the largest of the trip. We will cover 3880 miles to reach our destiny on the Argentinean side. The road is extremely good and easy to drive because is salt based, so is compacted and hard. This road will drive us between the 9,000 and 12,000 feet for a long period. We will show you enormous salt lakes and pure water lakes of such a beauty that you will never forget. On the back you will see the Nevado del Maricunga. We will continue by the east side and see the Nevado de Tres Cruces normally with snow on top, to arrive to the Chilean customs. After doing our papers we will continue climbing and reach the Ojos del Salado at our right, being the highest active volcano of the world with 20,679 feet over sea level. Last eruption was in 1956. Laguna Verde that is on the road with 12,975 feet over sea level will let you se on the border line with the water the volcano material that has been added by from the last eruptions.
When we get you to the borderline, we'll have gone through the highest elevation of the road with 14,100 feet over sea level. The borderline is near. After crossing, we will need to stop at Argentine customs to do papers again. The beauty and size of the valleys on the Argentinean side is of such magnificence that you will stop and take your time to look. Still we need to drive through asphalt and dirt roads for long time to get to our destiny.
Arriving at destiny we will have dinner and rest.
Day 12:
Departure time 8:30A.M.
Now facing south by asphalt and dirt roads we will have the chance to see the Tricahue Parrots, huge Haciendas in the Pampa and the sporadic chance to watch Condors flying very near. We will look for a hot water spring for our well-deserved rest that night.
Day 13:
Departure time 8:30A.M.
Here we need to look if we will return back to Chile through the Agua Negra path if open or we should keep driving south to the city of Mendoza and cross to Chile by this path that is in front of Santiago.
Agua Negra path sometimes is closed during October and November due to snow fall.
Day 14:
Departure time 10:00A.M.
Driving to Santiago by the International Road that joins these two countries, we will go by the famous ski area of Portillo and the Laguna del Inca, arriving at Santiago at same hotel to pickup all what you left.
