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South America Blog
I cycled nearly 10,000km (6200 miles) between Ushuaia at the very bottom of Argentina, up to Peru's capital of Lima.
This was split between two trips: three months starting February 2016, and then four months starting February 2019. Mendoza, the heart of Argentina's wine industry, was my breakpoint, being the place where I finished my first trip and started the next.
These are the (modified) field notes I blogged from the road written in chronological order. The first trip was blogged just to my private Facebook, but the second was blogged on the public Malbec Pilgrim facebook page.
Steve Marks
Jan 8, 20212 min read
Day 196 to 203: Huancavelica to Lima.... and FINISHED! (Peru Divide, Part 2)
FINISHED! (For now ) Some time in the afternoon of Friday 14th June 2019, this tired sod hauled his arse down from the mountains and into...
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Steve Marks
Jan 5, 20213 min read
Days 180 to 195: Abancay to Huancavelica (Peru Divide, Part 1)
I AM BUGGERED! The last two weeks have been spent on a network of gravel backroads affectionately known as “The Peru Divide”. It’s...
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Steve Marks
Oct 11, 20203 min read
Days 172 to 179: 4 day/3 night Salkantay hike to Machu Picchu, & Chillout Time in Cusco
I guess Machu Picchu is the first thing most people will name when they think of Peru (apart from the over-60s who will likely say...
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Steve Marks
Oct 11, 20201 min read
Video Footage from the Fiesta in Copacabana
My arrival into Copacabana by bicycle set the scene for the coming few days, as I unexpectedly rode right into the middle of a raucous...
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Steve Marks
Sep 23, 20204 min read
Days 163 to 171: Adios Bolivia, Hola Peru!
There’s something intrinsically alluring about some destinations which means they possess a gravitational pull all of their own. Lake...
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Steve Marks
Sep 23, 20201 min read
Lucha Libre in La Paz, Bolivia
And a few days chilling out in Bolivia's main city of La Paz before jumping back on the bike wouldn't be complete without some of the...
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Steve Marks
Sep 22, 20202 min read
A Quick Break to the Bolivian Amazon!
On the whole, Bolivia is a country at high altitudes. Having been in the country 3 weeks, I'd mainly bounced around between 3000 and...
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Steve Marks
Sep 20, 202010 min read
Days 150 to 155: Off the Beaten Track Between Oruro and La Paz
[This blog post was the field notes which later turned into my article for Far Ride Mag ] “Mama, hay un gringo afuera? (Mum - is there a...
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Steve Marks
Sep 17, 20203 min read
Days 143 to 148: Uyuni to Oruro, via the Iconic Salar de Uyuni
Riding across the vast salt flats of Bolivia has become an iconic rite of passage for most cycle-tourists in this part of the world. The...
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Steve Marks
Sep 17, 20206 min read
Days 136 to 140: Into Bolivia! And the Curious Legacy of Butch Cassidy
The more obvious way or something else a bit stupid? This is a question that often plagues cycle tourists. So after entering Bolivia I...
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Steve Marks
Sep 15, 20202 min read
Days 130 to 135: Salta to La Quiaca and the Magical North
My final week in Argentina was spent cycling across its northernmost province of Jujuy. After three food-&-drink infused days in the city...
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Steve Marks
Sep 10, 20201 min read
A Salta Institution - La Casona de Molino
A long cultural tradition of Salta is the Pena, or a good old traditional sing-song. If you want a cheesy performance version, there are...
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Steve Marks
Sep 10, 20203 min read
Days 121 to 126: The Cachi Adventure between Cafayete and Salta
After the boozy enthusiasm of the vineyard harvest party, I wanted another day of rest. There are two routes from Cafayate up to Salta...
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Steve Marks
Aug 31, 20201 min read
Vendimia (Grape Harvest) Festival - at Finca Las Nubes, in Cafayete (Argentina)
So I threaded together a few short videos I made at the wine harvest fiesta into one slightly longer one to create more of an impression...
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Steve Marks
Aug 31, 20203 min read
Days 115 to 120 - Fiambala to Cafayete, and the unanticipated "Vendimia" fiesta
Oh I love it when these things happen!! I roll into Cafayete, probably the second most important wine locale in Argentina after Mendoza,...
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Steve Marks
Aug 23, 20205 min read
Days 102 to 114: The Great Backroads Adventure
12 days cycling just to get between one shop and the next... I feel like we spend so much of our lives in a crowded environment that I...
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Steve Marks
Aug 22, 20201 min read
Days 98-101: CARNIVAL!!!
The unexpected treats continued when I hit the tiny, dusty town of Villa Union. There’s an official website about Carnival in Argentina...
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Steve Marks
Jul 17, 20202 min read
Days 96 and 97: The Prehistoric National Parks of Ischigualasto and Talampaya
Eons ago, many geologists believe most of the earth’s landmass was clumped together in one supercontinent they’ve dubbed Pangea. In the...
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Steve Marks
Jul 16, 20201 min read
The Unexpected Treat - Luis Soria
The 40th birthday part in Huaco turned up a genuinely unexpected treat. Despite being a middle of nowhere location, an internationally...
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Steve Marks
Jul 16, 20202 min read
Days 93 to 95: Calingasta to Ischigualasto National Park, and Off-the-Beaten-Track Curiousities
Days 93 to 95 were another three pretty sweaty days in the ongoing heatwave gripping Argentina. Despite that, the cycling has turned up...
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Steve Marks
Jul 14, 20201 min read
Days 90 to 92: Uspallata to Calingasta, as the Searing Heat Continued
The searing heat continued unabated, and it was normally already mid-20s by the time I was setting off and mid-30s by early afternoon....
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Steve Marks
Jul 14, 20202 min read
Part Two - 2019: Days 88 and 89 - Mendoza to Uspallata... Up, Up, and Away!!
And then.... after a 33 month hiatus, in February 2019 I was back! Back in Mendoza, to pick up where I left off in May 2016. Days 88...
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Steve Marks
Jul 13, 20202 min read
The Malbec Pilgrim has Arrived! - The week of Rest and Recuperation in Mendoza
The week of rest in Mendoza has been pretty sweet. An astonishing 90% of Argentina's wine comes from the vineyards around the city, and ...
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Steve Marks
Jul 11, 20205 min read
Days 79 to 87: Chos Malal to Mendoza, and the end of "Part One"
FINISHED (Part One!)! On "Friday 13th" May 2016, around 1pm, I rolled into Plaza Independencia, the central square of Mendoza. With over...
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Steve Marks
Jul 11, 20202 min read
Days 74 to 78: Villa Pehuenia to Chos Malal (via Icalma in Chile)
I woke up the morning after the food and wine festival with a stinking hangover, though was grateful that I'd in indulged in 4 separate...
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Steve Marks
Jul 10, 20203 min read
Days 71 to 73: San Martin to the (unexpected) Food Festival of Villa Pehuenia
The sight of lamb carcasses nailed into the ground on massive stakes, slowly cooking in front of open fires was a genuine sight for sore...
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Steve Marks
Jul 8, 20205 min read
Days 64 to 70: El Bolson to St Martin de Los Andes, via the epic Route of the Seven Lakes
The day I left El Bolson the weather packed up a bit, and as it was 130km up to my next proper stop including a lot of climbing I...
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Steve Marks
Jul 8, 20203 min read
Days 60 to 63: Futaleufu to El Bolson, via the Incredible Alerces National Park
Sometimes when people ask about my travels, they float awkwardly general questions like “did you have a best day” or “was there a best...
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Steve Marks
Jul 3, 20203 min read
Days 53 to 59: Puerto Aysen to Futaleufu... & Pure, Undiluted Carretera Austral, with Both Barrels
Days 53 to 57 were pretty much focused on the sheer stunning nature of cycling in these parts. I didn't have a lot planned in terms of...
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Steve Marks
Jul 1, 20203 min read
Days 48 to 52: Cerro Castillo to Puerto Aysen, and the great San Rafael Glacier
Day 48 consisted of the 100km cycle up to Coyahique, and it began with a 900+ metre climb over about 10km to 12km. By way of...
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Steve Marks
Jun 29, 20203 min read
Days 43 to 47: Rio Tranquilo to Cerro Castillo, and a 3-day Hike in the Mountains
I left Rio Tranquilo after a night of heavy downpours, although luckily it stopped while I was fixing breakfast. My ride took me...
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Steve Marks
Jun 22, 20203 min read
Days 38 to 42: The Carretera Austral from Cochrane to Rio Tranquilo
Despite enjoying my week travelling with 3 other cyclists, after Cochrane I set off on my own again as the others were more focussed on...
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Steve Marks
Jun 21, 20203 min read
Days 33 to 37: The Carretera Austral from Villa O'Higgins to Cochrane
Running through Chilean Patagonia, the 1243 kilometre (775 miles) Carretera Austral is emerging as a leading off-the-beaten track...
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Steve Marks
Jun 20, 20203 min read
Days 30 to 32: An Incredible Border Crossing - El Chalten (Arg.) to Villa O'Higgins (Chi.)
Between El Chalten (Argentina) and Villa O'Higgins (Chile) is perhaps the most unusual border crossing I've ever undertaken. It's not...
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Steve Marks
Jun 17, 20203 min read
Days 24 to 29: El Calafate to El Chalten and the Fitzroy Ranges
Two days cycling, two days hiking, two days chillin'... Cycling east away from El Calafete with gale force winds on my back, I busted out...
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Steve Marks
Jun 16, 20202 min read
Days 20 to 23: Puerto Natales to El Calafate
3 days on the bike followed by a day at the incredible Perito Moreno glacier, one of the true highlights of all of Argentinian Patagonia...
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Steve Marks
Jun 8, 20203 min read
Days 11 to 19: Chile's Incredible Torres del Paine National Park
8 days and 7 nights trekking through a contender for the world's most stunning areas, followed by a chill day in Puerto Natales. When...
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Steve Marks
Jun 8, 20203 min read
Days 6 to 10: Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales
[3 days cycling with a day off in the cities at either end] The 5 days crossing Tierra del Fuego against the epic winds left me pretty...
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Steve Marks
Jun 7, 20202 min read
Days 1 to 5: Crossing Tierra Del Fuego
At the very end of the road in Argentina Tierra Del Fuego, a large island at the foot of South America, is the southernmost landmass...
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