We make the decision we will ride as quickly as possible back to San Rafael so this is a pretty boring account of the weeks ride …...................................

After crossing the border back into Argentina we ride into Puerto de Iguazu where we manage to find a place to change money, well to be honest they find us. As Skill gets off the bike he is approached and asked does he want to change money and is ushered inside a pharmacy – 5 minutes later we have success. Now we have cash we need to photocopy our temporary import documents, while looking for a photocopy place we are parked outside an optometrists beside two large bikes, the optometrist and his friend are the owners of the motorcycles and emerge to chat to us, they offer to do our photocopying free of charge – fantastic.

Finally we get on the road and backtrack to San Ignacio where we call it quits for the day, we seek out a pretty non descript hotel, find beer and ice for our gin and tonic (we are a travelling bar) turn on the fan (that sounds like a helicopter) and chill out for the afternoon, the weather has really warmed up.

We are up and at em early next day and have a nice ride on some back roads before we hit Ruta 14 South. About 100 km further on the weather starts to close in, it is getting colder and colder and thick black storm clouds loom in front of us, we stop at a rubbish strewn bus shelter and don the wet weather gear.

Storm clouds ahead, time for wet weather gear

We continue on and run into a fierce thunder storm about 20km down the road, so we shelter at a service station, and decide on empanadas and dodgy coffee for lunch. By this time the storm has passed over and we continue on, but the day just grows colder and colder. As we continue South, closer to Paso de Los Libres the conditions are horrible, we are frozen, the wind is buffeting us from every direction, and it is now hailing and raining.

Skill asks me “Do you think we should ride on to the next town” “How far is it?” I ask “About 150 km” is his response. I won't subject you to my somewhat terse answer. Needless to say we ride into Paso de Los Libres an Argentinian/Brazilian border town, easily find a nice little hotel, hot shower, hot cup of tea and all is right in the world. We wander the town, find a good restaurant (that is actually open at 8.30pm – amazing) and retire early to bed.

The next day is really pleasant, bright sunshine and light winds, we continue South before turning off the main highway (before the infamous KM 341 corrupt Police Checkpoint) and ride some mostly paved (but incredibly rough and broken roads) through rural farming land before arriving in the twin cities of Parana / Santa Fe, negotiate the tunnel under the Parana river and ride South West to the uninspiring town of San Francisco. It is at this point the bike decides it will have a bit of a cough and a splutter and Skill comments the fuel consumption today is higher than normal. Oh no, not more bike problems, AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

After 5 or 6 goes we find a hotel that has parking and just veg out. It has been a long day. We use the hotel restaurant for dinner and I eat the worst lasagne I have ever eaten in my life. Just think of copious amounts of broiled mince (with no tomato sauce or flavouring of any sort) between layers of ham (instead of pasta) and topped with tasteless cheese, never seen or tasted anything less like Lasagne in my life! Truly awful.

Once again the next day is a long riding day. We ride through great swathes of farming land, and tiny country towns before hitting the main freeway that runs all the way to Mendoza. As we are doing 110 km along the highway the bike decides it is not going to run properly. Skill manages to keep going until we get to a police checkpoint about 30 km out of San Luis where it decides it will just die as we slow to 60kph and we coast to a stop. Bloody hell what now!!!! As we sit on the bike contemplating our next move, Skill turns the ignition and kill switches on/off a couple of times, then restarts the bike and it runs as if there is absolutely nothing wrong, all less than a minute later. We then have trouble free run into San Luis where we collapse into a cheap motel and hunker down for the night after hunting and gathering beer and dinner. At this point the temperature is about 1 degree. We text John and Annette letting them know we will arrive at the farm after lunch tomorrow. Nearly there.

We awake to a temperature of 3 degrees, Skill checks the temp in San Rafael minus 6 degrees, so we wait awhile for it to warm up, which it doesn't, then make the 300 km ride across the pampa (keeping our fingers crossed the bike doesn't play up across this isolated area) to San Rafael. When we arrive in San Rafael at midday it is still 3 degrees.

We arrive at the farm just after lunch, the bike has run like a dream thankfully, but fuel consumption is still higher than normal so we are sure something is still wrong. But intermittent bike problems will just have to be sorted out later. We are met by John and Annette, the dogs, the cat and the ducks. It is at this point I discover I am so cold that I cannot physically get off the bike and Annette has to help me off. We are treated to a warm fire and pumpkin soup for lunch. Annette is an angel.

We spend a week at the farm, travelling backwards and forwards to San Rafael to buy our bus tickets to Santiago, buy a bag to take our gear home in and also organise our bike storage at the back of the barn. All goes according to plan and in early September John delivers us to the San Rafael bus station where we make a 3 ½ hour bus trip to Mendoza. It is then a 10 hour bus trip back across the Andes to Santiago. After jostling for position we get our luggage, find the underground and get to our hostel where we check in and walk around the corner to our apartment block. Unfortunately they have given us the wrong key so back to the hostel, acquire the right key and collapse in a heap in a really lovely little bedsit apartment. Fortunately there is a big supermarket underneath the apartment block so we shop for dinner and breakfast. It is now 11.00 pm. It has been a long day.

Our lovely little apartment in Santiago

For the next two days we get a few jobs done, such as washing the tent in the bath tub so we can get it back in through Australian customs along with other organisational matters.

We wash the tent in the bathtub.

Finally on the 9th September 2013 we catch a cab to the Santiago airport and board our QANTAS flight home.

Skill having breakfast at Santiago Airport

We are both looking forward to seeing all our friends and family. The flight home is great except for the four hours of turbulence after take off, thus delaying our lunch until dinner, however the staff were great as was the constant supply of food. After 13 hours we touch down in Sydney before a quick connection to Brisbane. At 10.45pm we are back on Queensland soil. Welcome home!!!!!

Once home in Australia we continue our travel epic (about 10 000 km), we visit with family and friends, attend the Australian HU Meeting, travel as far south as Victoria for a special wedding, then North to Gladstone to see John's family. We spend most of our time between Toowoomba, the Sunshine Coast and Kingaroy where my Mum and Dad are based. We also make a road trip to Sydney to catch up with our dear friends Kath and Sean, we then have a quick visit to Sydney to organise US visas. We planned to spend only three months at home in Australia but when looking to return around Christmas time we could not bring ourselves to pay $3500.00 for a one way ticket back to South America so spend Christmas and New Year with friends and family and make the return journey in February. Below are a few happy snaps of our time at home in Australia

Our home away from home, Sliprail Cottage - Kingaroy

Storms build at my parent's farm - Kingaroy

The Great Ocean Road Victoria

The Great Ocean Road Victoria

Koala - on friend's farm in Victoria

Pelicans at sunset - camped out on a road trip

Lan chilling out at a beautiful campsite in Victoria