[Above: Drive Around the World vehicles offloading the Chaiten after an overnight ferry ride across the Gulf of Ancud.]

Journal by Adam Burgess

We left Pucon with a few emails and a 5-hour drive south to Puerte Montt. From there we hopped onto a ferry that headed south across the Gulf of Ancud to Chaiten. On the ferry we were quite a spectacle. Families and travelers gawked at us as we climbed over the tightly packed Land Rovers down below their seating level. As the boat left port we began flipping open the roof tents and the questions started flying. Where are we going? Where are we headed? Colin was cornered by a girl from San Francisco and he has sort of lost his enthusiasm for explaining and so now he just gives one-liners like “yep”, “south”, “the world”. They are then left with little to recycle into another question and they tend to go silent.

After 12 hours overnight on the ferry with no food we drove off and entered the land of dirt roads -- from here until the tip of Argentina, about 1400 miles winding down the altiplano of Patagonia. Which brings me to where in am right now. Crammed in the back seat attempting to type on my laptop while bouncing over washboard roads. Neil, who is driving, has decided to make the trip absolutely agonizing by putting in one of his favourite CD’s, Madonna “Ray of Light”. It is so unbearable. I just instated a volume limit on the album but it’s still loud.

The car has slowly become adorned with bits and bobs from all over. A cow finger puppet from Cusco is hanging its head out of the tape player door, three sea urchins from the northern desert coast of Peru are strung from the rearview mirror, a rock with the Nasca monkey lines sits on the dash next to the newly added and perfectly preserved “Freddy” a massive flying locust/beetle with 2 inch long pinchers and four legs. The rest of the car lies in total disarray. Books, clothes, cameras, coffee mugs, empty cans of Red Bull and battery charger cables are tied together in one big knot and get shoved to the left or right in order to make way for a leg or a butt cheek. Signs of wear are showing on the rigs. Footmarks, dirt, scuffs and coats of dust from the road are slowly changing the color of the interior’s original tan. A week ago Nick gave us a lecture on taking absolute care of these cars so we can resell them for reimbursement and helping cover overhead for the expedition. Today he got his knickers in such a twist about leaving the campsite 5 minutes late for driving that he pulled his Land Rover out not seeing a massive felled tree to his right. The passenger door is now completely bashed in. The first real body damage is always the most painful; thankfully it didn't happen to me.

Logbook for February 3rd, Day 95
Start: Pucón, Chile
Time: 2:00 p.m.
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461'
Finish: Puerto Montt, Chile
Time: 3:00 a.m.
S: : 42* 54.732
W: 72* 43.079
Mileage: 200
Notes: We left later than intended this morning, because our "geeks" had an unavoidable stop at the local internet cafe to download images, etc., to our webpage. It is quite a long process, and the folks at the cafe have agreed to do it for us so we can get on the road. I had to guide everyone out of the driveway at our cabana, and I ended up putting D4 on top of a buried copper water line, breaking it off at the spickett...OOPS! The lady was so nice about it, though. We paid her the repair costs and were on our way. We have a lot of driving ahead of us. (N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.