Back in Argentina

Back in Argentina and a really easy border crossing. Taking what the locals call the 7 lakes route, its really beautiful, it starts around San Martin, nice but expensive town, has a German log cabin feel about it. Thats where we bumped into Dan and Marien again, small world!! We ride the route to Angostura with them and find a really nice campsite off a dirt road. lots of lakes to see and cool roads to ride so have a couple of days here.

Next to San Carlos De Bariloche, bigger but nice place, find campsite out of town. battery on my bike seems to be playing up so Tim swops them over as i ve been riding with my lights on, to see if it puts a bit more charge in. All ride a local scenic circuit, again a stunning place. Dan treats us to a couple of pints (bless him!) of local brew at a brewery bar. Have few days here then leave Dan and Marien there as we head south and them to Chile.

Ride to Lake Steffan, long twisty, downhill dirt track to a campsite by the lake, nice but cold showers! Been in El Bolson a few days now as waiting to here some info on the bikes before we head any further south. Met nice Dutch chap at a petrol station who had left Cartaghena in Colombia only a week before us and doing more or less the same route! He was on a 03 KTM but had had lots of problems with the bike and had to take it on buses and trucks from Peru to Chile to get it to a KTM shop (bit rare KTM shops) Thinks he lost around 5/6 weeks of his 3 month trip with it breaking down twice! Then he had to push it over the border as the officials wanted to class it as cargo! i hope the rest of his trip goes a bit better.

Visited a forest where artists come and do chainsaw sculptures. Long dirt road up to it then a 1000 mtr steep walk to the site and then they charged you to get in! Worth it though some of them were really good, see the pics.

Still having probs selling the bikes, They make everything so complicated over here. It is ilegal for us to sell them as there on tempory import papers and UK registered. We ve had loads of interest in them as bikes are expensive to buy here but there doesnt seem any way around the papers. So finding out what would happen if we just sold them, if it would be on the system that we still have 2 bikes in Argentina when we got to the airport. If they broke down or we had to leave them for some reason they would still be on the import papers so I m not sure what the aurthorities could do about it! Trying not to end up in an Argentinian jail!! Heard of travellers giving there bikes away as its so expensive to get them shipped back, but again there then been ridden around on tempory papers still in your name! just found out its going to cost over 600 quid just clear them at the UK port! Apparently you can not do it yourself, but looking into it. Seeing what it would cost to ship them from Chile now too as heard a bit cheaper. Going to cost about 1000 quid each from Argentina!