Salta to Santiago on Route 40
We were really excited to be back in Salta where we reunited with our motorcycles and Mariano. We also had the opportunity to visit the mummy museum which houses the 500 year old remains of three children (known as the Children of Llullaillaco). The children were drugged and buried alive as part of an Incan religious ceremony near the top of a volcano (22,000 ft). Because of their location in the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, the condition of the remains is unsurpassed. Which is especially surprising when you take into consideration that no preservation techniques were even used!
As interesting as the museum was, we were even more excited to see Mariano and our motorcycles! Maneuvering the bikes through the kitchen doors again to get them from the backyard to the street was just as exciting in reverse (see the pictures)! Mariano threw us a big BBQ (asado) at his restaurant and invited his fellow motorcycle club members (Hermanos del Camino / Brothers of the Road) to join us. We were thrilled to meet his friends and share stories from the road. Afterwards, Mariano passed on very detailed route recommendations that we used in our travels. Not surprising, since he has traveled to Ushuaia and back on a motorcycle.
Leaving Mariano and Salta was sad, but we were itching to get back on the road after a month-long hiatus from the bikes. We had a lot of ground to cover, because we wanted to get all the way to Santiago in only 5 days. This section of our journey put us on the famous Route 40, a 3,600 mile road that runs north to south nearly the whole length of Argentina. We made the ubiquitous stop at the 4040km marker on the 40 for a photo. We did not follow this road continuously, but rode sections of it for the next five months. In fact, we are on Rt 40 right now during our quarantine! 🙂
The first stop we made was at the Devil’s Throat; an interesting geological formation that has created amazing acoustics amid sheer cliff walls. On our arrival a woman was playing a violin and it sounded like we were standing in the middle of a grand cathedral. The arid climate in this area of Argentina (Calafate) is famous for grape growing and wine making. We didn’t have time to stop at any wineries, but drove past endless miles of grapes on the vine that reminded us of the Napa and Sonoma valleys of California.
Our only side trip off this road was to visit the Quilmes Ruins. They are pretty far off the tourist path, but Mariano told us not to miss them, and he was right! The highlight of the visit was our free local guide. She was super informative and obviously passionate about sharing the culture and history of the Quilmes people (she is part Quilmes herself). The extensive ruins were left by an indigenous people group who were conquered by the Spanish. The Spanish forced the survivors to march thousands of miles to the Buenos Aires area – very few of which actually arrived. Officially, the last Quilmes survivor died in 1812, however, our guide assured us that the Quilmes people live on in her ancestry (and others) descended from a group of Quilmes who avoided going on the forced march!
A quick explanation of one of the photos below. You will see my motorcycle parked next to a large quantity of local motorcycles and can’t help but notice the difference in size. Unlike the US and Canada, very few motorcycles here are larger than 200cc, so my 650cc bike looks like a giant next to these smaller models.
Next, we stopped at the tallest natural bridge in South America, the Inca Bridge. It was formed by the waters of a hot spring. The minerals in the water ‘fall out’ and form calcified rock known as travertine. Similar to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone N.P. And, at long last, we crossed the border back into Chile and drove directly to Santiago to meet up with Catalina and her family.
Chris & Sharon
