[Above: The Drive Around the World team enjoys a morning underneath the majestic peaks of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.]

Journal by Adam Burgess

No disagreement with the name -- Torres del Paine -- as I lay here almost completely immobile in the rear seat of the Land Rover. We camped our way down the altiplano of Chile with no villa stops and Internet cafes. It was nice for a change and after the first few nights without washing you become accustomed to your own grime. The sweat attracts the clouds of dust kicked up from the road by the convoy and campfire smoke lingers in everyone’s fleece but at least you have the comfort of knowing that the smell is your own for whatever good that offers. The last night at the National Park we camped near a mineral rich lake of a turquoise blue color. On the placid shore lay a badly decomposed guanaco (endangered llama-like creature), bleached white driftwood, and cobblestones.

In the evening the calm air and glassy lake took a major change as the winds began to howl through our rooftop tents. I lit a small fire between our cars and cooked two sausages for dinner. My food supply was down to 4 pieces of orange cream-filled chocolate, 8 slices of old salami, 2 pieces of cheese covered in somebody’s spilt milk, and three sausages. I swapped one sausage with Nick for a small bread roll and prepared for my sausage sandwich. While cooking the stick burned through and sausage #1 fell into the fire. A moment later the howling winds simultaneously blew my cheese onto the sand and my bread roll into the fire. I managed to overcome the obstacles by rinsing the charcoal-covered wiener and the sand coated slices of cheese with the almond-flavored tequila that Rolf had bought from Tequila, Mexico and by picking off the burnt black layer off of the roll. The tequila seemed to work fine and even improved the flavor of the sausages.

That night we drank the leftovers of the liquor people have accumulated from various stops in the Americas. Among these were rum, almond tequila, tequila gold, some horrible chemical-tasting juice bought in Argentina, red wine, bootlegged mescal from Mexico, and gin. A rough mix. The next day we woke up rather late and after a pot of Land Rover coffee and a jam-covered slice of bread we began kicking a soccer ball around in a circle. This went on for a while and we started getting quite skilled at keeping all 6 players juggling it to each other without letting it hit the ground. At about that moment I reached down to pick it up and my back completely blew out. I was immobile and could hardly walk. Existing was excruciating and now I am still lying on my back unable to lean over or walk properly. I have had others put on my socks and shoes and when I look in the mirror I am clearly crooked, my body is leaning to the right with extreme misalignment. So as the car rumbles across the dirt road leading to the “End of the World” I am considering buying a ticket to Buenos Aires and waiting there for the crew to arrive 10 days later. It will offer me time to recuperate while giving me a chance to edit together a short video for Nick to throw at some new sponsors.

Getting injured on something like this is my worst nightmare. Everyone around me is totally functional while I can only sit around in envy and pain. Being ill I can handle but being immobile is the ultimate frustration. I hope my back gets better over time because Brazil is coming up shortly and I’ve been looking forward to dancing and surfing the days away.

Logbook for February 10th, Day 102
Start: Laguna Armaga, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile
Time: 2:00 p.m.
S: 50*58.377
W: 72*43.859
Finish: Puerto Natales, Chile
Time: 9:45 p.m.
S: 51*43.597
W: 72*30.423
Mileage: 122
Notes: It was overcast and a bit drizzly when we woke up next to the lake, but it didn't dampen our spirits. We made coffee before departing for the park's entrance. Unfortunately, poor Adam threw out his back playing catch, and, after having played around most of the morning, we didn't enter the park until 3:00. Adam is in bad shape. We spent a few hours taking in some of the views, such as glaciers, mountains, wildlife (including a fox), and the famous Torres del Paines. We left in high spirits for our drive to Puerto Natales. There, after much searching, we arrived at Hospedaje Alicia. It was like being at Grandma's house. (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.

[Above: A Drive Around the World Land Rover in the famous Torres del Paine National Park of southern Chile.]

Journal by Neil Dana

Today was a dream. We woke up in the Patagonia desert in a dry riverbed alongside a hill and surrounding plains. We were just on the other side of Tres Lagos, a super tiny town in the middle of Argentina. The air was crisp and the temperature was chilly. The sun was shining and we packed up our tents, stopped at the gas station in town and tightened all the exhaust manifold bolts of our Land Rovers. The roads here are all dirt and the constant shaking for the past week or so is rattling our nuts and bolts loose. On each of our cars, we have 6 bolts that hold the two pipes into the engine block, and every single one of our cars has at least one missing. So we have to tighten them up every morning now. In fact, sometimes twice a day, these roads are brutal.

As bumpy as the roads are, the scenery is unreal. Like I said, a dreamscape. The Argentine desert is extremely vast and we drive on it for hours and hours all day and only see a car or two every hour. If we are off the main road, we won't see any other vehicles. We are in the middle of nowhere and I adore it. The relaxation you feel when driving for hours on long roads through arid desert is like meditation. We were also drinking hierba de mate which is a plant grown in Chile and Argentina that is similar to caffeine, but doesn't have the side effects. In fact, it is one molecule away from caffeine. So drinking mate for hours on the road out of our mate drinking gourds is quite a delightful experience. You pour the tea directly into the gourd and add hot water, then stick a long metal straw-like device into the cup. At the tip of the straw is a small oval pod with tiny holes that act as a filter for the loose tea in the cup. Then you suck it up and enjoy the bitter taste that fills your mouth.

So after we tightened our bolts, we got on the road and picked up Nancy about 15 miles down the road. She left a while earlier to go biking until we caught up. We drove for hours and passed some beautiful turquoise rivers and lakes along the way. The sky was scattered with puffy white clouds, nestled against yellowish green meadows and rolling hills with dust being kicked up in the air from vehicles and harsh winds. The winds were blowing anywhere from 20-35 knots and it was a bit sketchy on the road at times. If we had sails on the roof, we would save a lot of gas money.

We were heading towards Torres del Paine, which is one of the, if not THE most famous national park in Chile. And yes, Chile, so we had to cross another border today, again, into Chile. So we left Chile a few days ago into Argentina and now we were headed towards Chile one more time. At least the border crossings here are a piece of cake.

We arrived at the border, which is another very unique small town, or building in the desert. We exited Argentina in a jiffy, and then drove to the entrance of Chile and filled out the paperwork, and we were done within an hour. These South American borders are so mellow compared to Central America, especially the Chile and Argentina borders within the Patagonia region.

While we were at the border, we stopped to get a bite to eat and we ran into another film crew for a local Chilean TV channel, and we told them about what we were doing, and it turns out, they knew a guy in town who was a sheep herder who has Parkinson's. So Todd and our Drive Around the World guest, Sebastian went off to interview him and learn more about Parkinson's in foreign countries. Todd will have to write about that experience for you on another log. He did say the guy was amazing though!

After that, we headed towards Torres del Paine. On the way, we had an array of wildlife show itself to us. We saw some nandus, guanacos and a condor. The guanacos are like a mixture of a deer and a vicuna, but much bigger. They are gorgeous and make a very squeaky cute sound. We ended up filming them for a while, and then at one point I went to chase them to make them run, and they did run a bit, but then they just stopped and let us get really close. It was awesome. They are really beautiful animals. Then there are the nandus, which are similar to ostriches and have a really goofy walk. And while we were putting some of our fuel from our reserve jerry cans into our vehicles, we saw a condor fly by. And yes, reserve fuel cans, we were running low and had to fill up with our reserves. In fact, we just arrived to our campsite outside of the park of Torres del Paine, alongside a lake with a view of the Torres del Paine mountains. The towering mountains and glaciers alongside this lake are phenomenal. They are so vertical and just shoot into the sky! Tomorrow, we are heading further into the park, and then back out of the park, so we are limited to how far in we can go due to our gasoline. We are in the boonies out here, and it is spectacular.

Right now, we just set up camp, made a fire and had dinner. We are listening to music as I write. I figured I might as well write my log right now while the day is fresh on my mind. The moon is getting smaller and the stars are unbelievable right now. Have you ever seen the Southern Cross? Phew, what a sight, especially tonight, in the middle of the desert without a light in view for many many miles. It is also really windy right now and our tents are taking a beating, but this is fantastic, to feel raging winds against your face, you feel alive!! What a day, and what a night. I am going to get back to the fire now and enjoy this beautiful place. The Patagonia is a must see for everyone, truly magical.

Ciao,

Neil
neil@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for February 9th, Day 101
Start: Tres Lagos, Argentina
Time: 7:15 a.m.
S: 49*36.020
W: 71*28.226
Finish: Laguna Armaga, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile
Time: 9:30 p.m.
S: 50*58.377
W: 72*43.859
Mileage: 256
Notes: We woke up to a beautiful pink sunrise in the dry riverbed. I was up early to get an hour or so head start on my bike. The ride was incredible, bisecting giant wild fields full of guanaco. It was also quite hilly and gravelly, so after 2 hours, I was happy to see the convoy. It was a good 20 miles, not bad for a morning in Patagonia. We had an amazing drive to the outskirts of the famous Parque Nacional Torres del Pine. We made camp on the banks of Lago Almaden, just outside of the park, and we enjoyed dinner and beverages in the intense winds of the lake's shores. (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.

[Above: Colin rides the whitewater of the Rio Maiten in Chile.]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

Well, the last few days were extremely interesting and I don't even know where to start so I just will. I spent some time in Pucon, a few days in fact, and I had a fun time, except (and as you know there is always an except with me) the last night there, someone broke into room and stole my laptop. So anyway, we left Pucon, Chile and drove south to a town called Puerto Montt, where we ate some snails and then boarded a ferry with our cars for Patagonia and the Carretera Austral, or the Southern Highway. The next morning we arrived in beautiful Patagonia, which really reminded me of the South Island of New Zealand. Anyway, its ridiculously beautiful there -- I mean, bright blue lakes, snow-covered mountains, all that stuff. We drove and camped and in beautiful riverside spot and did the same the next day, and the next, and on that next day we found a really cool campsite right on the river Maiten.

Rolf and I were feeling rather adventurous that day so we decided to do something crazy. We suited up in Adam and Neil's wetsuits, I grabbed my boogie board and Rolf grabbed a spare empty water can and we jumped into the river. I guess we were inspired by our rafting trip from last week and we just wanted to hit some rapids again. Anyway, the river was ridiculously cold at first. The first set of rapids we hit were really shallow, knee banging shallow. Rolf and I made it through all right and floated through a nice mellow patch to the second rapids, which were a little deeper. The speed of the water picked up fast and before we knew it Rolf and I were hurtling breakneck straight for a wall. We hit and my board was sucked under, I tread water frantically until my board reappeared and then looked around for Rolf, but he was nowhere to be seen, I only saw his floating water can, eventually he popped up, looking a little haggard.

We made it though that alive and floated down river a little. You see, about a mile down river was a huge lake (Lago General Carrera), and that was out target. We decided to keep going for it and were rewarded with some great rapids. Rolf continually was bumping into rocks due to his lack of a boogie board, although I was making it through unscathed. It was pretty funny to look back and see him floundering with the water container in his hand. Anyway, at one point we decided it was going to take too long to get to the lake, so we got out and walked back and did two of the fun rapids again. After that we once again emerged from the river and hiked the half mile or so back to the campsite, where the team had prepared a giant bonfire.

The bonfire was great. Huge even, and a lot of fun, although two unfortunate events did occur. First, I left my new spiffy sandals too close to the raging inferno and they shrunk a size and second, after it was all done, I was looking through the 190 or so pictures I had taken in the last couple of days and the memory card on my camera farted out and I lost all of them, which really sucked. Anyway, we rose the next morning and headed for Argentina, on our way to the beautiful glaciers of southern Patagonia. Hopefully the pictures I take there will make it so you can all see how awe inspiring this place is.

Rock on,

Colin
colin@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for February 6th, Day 98
Start: Lago Elizalda, Chile
Time: 8:00 a.m.
S: 45*46.296
W: 72*43.079
Finish: Lago General Carrera, Chile
Time: 8:00 p.m.
S: 46*44.751
W: 72* 31.163
Mileage: 117
Notes: We drove all day through unbelieveable countryside and along dusty roads. There's salmon and trout in the rivers and lakes we pass, and Nick and I cannot wait to catch 'em. Soon. I feel it wil happen soon. We camped on Rio El Maiten this evening, an icy cold, fast-moving river flowing into a lake. Colin, on his boogie board, and Rolf, on a gerry can, hopped into the river upstream (in wetsuits) and floated out to the lake. It was hilarious to watch, and we have photos. The evening was capped off with one of the biggest bonfires I've ever seen. I'm not saying the boys are pyromaniacs or anything, but they are. (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.

[Above: Nancy Olson in the middle of a call to a radio show in Chicago, from the side of the road in Chilean Patagonia.]

Journal by Nancy Olson

Well, I have a lot of writing to do, so I need to try to keep this short. We have been driving south from Pucon for several days now, and we are happy to be traveling with an authentic Chilean, a friend of Todd’s named Sebastian Belmar, 24, of Santiago. He’s riding with us in D3, so we get to fire questions at him all day long about the sites we are seeing and the animals we encounter. He’s a biologist, and he has a real passion for wildlife. That’s something we have in common. We have seen nandus (Chilean emus), guanacos (wild critters that look like a cross between a llama and a deer), condors (world’s biggest bird), black-necked geese (endangered species), dolphins, and sheep, and I even caught a young armadillo.

We’ve been camping a lot during this leg of our journey, and we’re all pretty happy about that. With an extra passenger in D3 who needs a place to sleep, I have volunteered to sleep on the ground in my sleeping bag and bivy sack. It’s amazing to sleep under the stars, and you can’t find a better landscape in which to camp than we find here in Patagonia. We’re traveling along the Carretera Austral, which just happens to be the world’s most beautiful highway. We drive until we don’t feel like driving anymore, and then we pull over and set up our tents. Last night, we were on the banks of a raging, salmon-filled river. Soon, I’m going to buy some better lures so I can catch a fish! As we travel, we are treated to spectacular views of towering snow-capped peaks, brilliant blue lakes, crystal-clear rivers, and green-and-yellow fields. It’s a feast for the eyes, and it makes us all very happy.

I know today is Thursday, but I want to tell you about Saturday…two days from now. I will use the past tense, since I am a week late with this journal…

I met radio-show host Paul Bryan, 1983 Texas Chili Cook-Off champion and the voice behind a live program called “Drive Chicago”, last year during my stint with the 2003 Land Rover G4 Challenge. After the national selections for that, I was invited to call into his show for the first time, and we have had a wonderful friendship ever since. I saw Paul again in Colorado in July, at a media event for Land Rover’s TreK competition. It was then that I told him about my upcoming participation in Drive Around the World, and he invited me to call into his show every few weeks to give his listeners updates from the road.

I have called Paul, via Iridium satellite phone, from Costa Rica, Peru, the top of Vulcan Villarrica in Pucon, and, most recently, from 46 degrees south latitude in Patagonia. I have to share a piece of that experience, because I think a few young readers might get a kick out of it. (Also, I don’t think I’ve told my mom or any of my friends or family any of this. Two birds, one stone, you know.)

The way these calls work is, I call the studio, and they put me on hold to see if Paul is in a position to take the call right away. Then, either they come back on the phone, or I hear Paul introduce me before putting me on the speaker with him. He always has a very clever, very fluid and flattering way of making the introduction.

This time, I called during his special 3-hour (usually he has the hour between 9 and 10 a.m. CST) broadcast from the Chicago Auto Show. I was a little early, so I was on hold while he introduced and interviewed the guest ahead of me. I was tickled to hear him introduce tire-empire heir and star of The Bachelor, Andrew Firestone. Apparently, the hot young Firestone is single again, as things in the world of reality television hadn’t gone the way they “were supposed to.” (I am truly, truly sorry to hear that, Andrew. Is there anything I can do to help?) Andrew was on the air to invite people to stop by the Bridgestone booth, where he would be signing autographs and visiting with auto-show goers.

When Andrew hung up, Paul introduced me by saying that, if Firestone had any sense at all, he would hop on a plane down to, “Paraguay, or Uruguay, or wherever the heck Nancy Olson is right now, instead of flying out to Chicago.” Hahaha! Thanks, Paul. That’s cute, and I truly appreciate your kindness and our friendship. I love calling in to “Drive Chicago”; it’s good for my ego. (I’m sorry I didn’t mention on the air that, while we think Andrew is cute, the team is proud to be driving with confidence on our super-sweet BFGoodrich mud terrains.)

Participating in Paul Bryan’s program not only gives me an opportunity to talk to a friend back in the States, but it also allows me to reach out to his audience and invite them to visit www.drivearoundtheworld.com to read about our expedition, participate in our free online education program, and contribute to Parkinson’s Disease research by entering to win a 2003, Certified, Pre-Owned Land Rover Discovery expedition vehicle, fully kitted-out with more than $15 K in expedition accessories, for a donation of only $10 (100% of which goes directly to the Parkinson’s Institute). We are struggling to get the word out about our expedition, so it’s a huge deal to get to talk to a wide listening audience on Paul Bryan’s “Drive Chicago.”

So, anyway, I just wanted to share that little morsel with you, and I hope you aren’t bored to tears. We’re still truckin’, and the next time you hear from me, I should be writing from the Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, at the very end of the world. El fin del mundo. Tierra del Fuego.

Take it easy, ya’ll.

Nancy
nancy@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for February 5th, Day 97
Start: South of Lago Yelcho, Chile
Time: 7:00 a.m.
S: 43* 31.471
W: 72* 20.571
Finish: Lago Elizalda, Chile
Time: 10:00 p.m.
S: 45*46.296
W: 72*43.079
Mileage: 250
Notes: We're driving along the world's most beautiful and most dangerous (debatable) highway, the Carretera Austral. Just picture mountains, fields, streams, and lakes, with zero polution, and a smorgasborg of wildlife. We're in Heaven, and we love camping whenever we can. Can't beat the scenery. (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.

[Above: Todd talks to a Chilean gaucho along a river near Lake Yelcho.]

Journal by Todd Borgie

Nancy, Sebastian (my Chilean Brother), and I began the day sitting in a parking lot wondering if we were going to be able to catch a ferry with everyone else. We were all hoping the ferry would be full and if we would be able to set off on our own adventure driving south. We were the first to volunteer for solo driving duty, upon learning that there was only space for three more vehicles on the ferry. I think everyone was jealous that we had the prospect of driving for a day on our own.

Despite our hopes, the ferry people were able to fit us on the ferry. This made me a little nervous as my paranoia was raised by the thought of overloaded ferries. Oh well! We drove on and popped the tent. I think most of the passengers on ferry were jealous as we had the most comfortable spots on the ferry, despite the winds. Sebastian opted to sleep in the car so Nancy and I climbed into the tent and tried watching Monty Python’s Life of Brian on my laptop; however the wind was so loud that we could not hear so we just decided to hang it up and go to sleep.

We woke up the next morning well rested and excited to begin driving Chile's Austral Highway (austral means relating to the south). It is supposed to be one of the most scenic highways in the world; however it is reputed to be dangerous with all of its curves and crazy drivers.

Let me back up and introduce Sebastian. Sebastian is my Chilean brother. Chanda’s brother, Russ, and I traveled to Chile three years ago. During our trip preparation my "mother", who is a professor (both online and on site) at a junior college, had an online student from Chile. She asked him if it would be ok if I contacted him to ask him questions about Chile. He agreed to answer our questions and before we knew it he extended an invitation to us to stay at his house. Victor, my mother’s student, has three children, one of which is Sebastian. When Russ and I were in Chile, our new Chilean family took car of us and Sebastian and his brother Mattias took us all around. We have kept in contact every since, and Sebastian is joining us for the next week because he is on summer vacation, from his biology studies at university. (He has written up some information on wildlife in Chile, so be sure and go the education site and ask him questions!)

Back to our story: In the morning I met Sebastian talking to a couple of truck drivers who were transporting young salmon from the hatchery to salmon farms (fisheries). Each truck had about three tanks filled with finger-sized salmon. Apparently Chile is one of the largest producers of salmon, exporting 50% of their production to the United States. Another large producer of salmon is Norway. This made sense to me as I looked around. The southern Chilean landscape was carved out by large glaciers a long time ago. Glacier carving along the coastlines usually creates fjords which are large channels intruding into the landmasses. Norway, Chile and Alaska have fjords. The fjords are often zones where freshwater meets saltwater. For this reason I guess fjords are perfect for salmon production as salmon need to swim up to fresh water to lay their eggs, after the eggs hatch the young salmon will swim to saltwater where they mature. They only return to fresh water when they need to lay their eggs.

After our salmon lesson I spent some time watching the landscape go by. I saw ducks and even a pair of penguins fishing in the cold water. Sebastian and I were hoping to see dolphins and orcas. Snow capped mountains rose immediately from the waters edge and the sites were truly amazing.

For some odd reason, I thought the ferry would arrive at its destination very soon so I just continued to look around. Everyone I asked told me we would arrive at our destination in less than an hour. I kept looking around, not putting any sun block on, uffda!

Neil was playing his guitar so I joined him for about an hour. After about 3 more hours, around 3:00pm we finally arrived at our destination. The ferry ride took about 13 hours in total.

We went into town had some food, as we were all starved and picked up some supplies for the road. Chaiten reminded me of small towns in Alaska, it was an accumulation of buildings and not much more. It provided us food, respite, and gas; so what more can you ask for?

After taking care of our business we set out on the Austral Highway (La Carretera Austral). We quickly left pavement and the dusty gravel roads would carry us for the remainder of the day. We needed to get as far as we could as we are going to meet someone in Coyaique 400 km south of Chaiten. The drive was beautiful, but bumpy. This forced us all to take our noses out of our computers and look around at the spectacular scenery. I was pleased to see we were in a new ecological zone. After looking up some information we realized that we were officially in a temperate rainforest, very similar to the temperate rain forests in Washington state, characterized by very tall conifers, and an incomplete tree canopy (life tropical rainforest) offering opportunities for lower story broad-leafed plants and ferns to exist.

We drove until about 8:30pm (sundown is about 9:30pm). Scouting a place for camping we came across some land near a river. We were a bit concerned because we had to go through and open gate, but this place was perfect. It was only a stones throw from the road, it was completely invisible from the road, it was near a river, and it was really beautiful.

Soon, a Chilean gaucho arrived in our campsite mounted upon his horse. He just wanted to see who we were and he told us that there was no problem camping here. At this point we sent people to collect firewood and others began popping their tents. We saw a lot cool moss, it was red, and some interesting insects like deer beetles.

We built a campfire, cooked some grub, and enjoyed each other’s company. We all slowly trickled to bed knowing that we had to get up really early to make our next day's appointment.

Todd
todd@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for February 4th, Day 96
Start: Puerto Montt, Chile
Time: 3:10 p.m.
S: 42* 54.732
W: 72* 43.079
Finish: South of Lago Yelcho, Chile
Time: 8:30 p.m.
S: 43* 31.471
W: 72* 20.571
Mileage: 53
Notes: It was touch-and-go getting D3 onto the ferry, and Todd and I were a bit disappointed when we made it. We had anticipated a day of driving and exploring on our own. But we were happy once we were aboard and sailing. It was a comfortable night's sleep in our Hannibal tents, and the view from the ferry when the sun came up was breathtaking. Patagonia's sunshine, snowcapped peaks, fjords, and wildlife (including penguins) made us all smile. (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.

[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.

Nancy poses at the top of Vulcan Villarrica in Pucon, Chile.

Logbook for February 2nd, Day 94
Start: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461'
Finish: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461'
Mileage: 000
Notes: Well, again, Nick and Chanda (and Todd, of course) worked all day long. Justin, too spent the day typing. He never left the internet café all day, as far as I know. Diligent boy--err, I mean man. Diligent man. He did just turn 30, so I guess mama's little baby's all grows up. (I'm quoting a movie, so don't knock my grammar!) Um, so, let's see...what did everybody else do today? There was a lot of time spent by all at the internet cafés. I cut Rolf's hair, and very badly I might add. I gave him a little bald streak, so it looks like he got in a fight with a mountain cat. Colin and Rolf cooked steak sandwiches. We all watched "Monsters, Inc." and then several episodes of my all-time favorite show (next to Seinfeld), "King of the Hill." That's about it. We leave tomorrow, and it's probably about time. We get restless staying in one place for so long, even when the place is as cool as Pucón. (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.

A view of Pucon, Chile, from mid-way up Volcan Villarrica on Justin's birthday. Somewhere out there, Justin is plummeting from a perfectly good airplane.

Logbook for February 1st, Day 93
Start: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Finish: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Mileage: 000
Notes: Today was for work and for play. I did some writing, basically putting together an article and captioning some photos for the Royal Geographical Society. Nick and Chanda worked on sponsorship deliverables and website stuff all day. Todd worked on the education website. Most of the boys went to the lake. Justin jumped out of an airplane. Today, he turned 30, so he treated himself to an airborne exit from a perfectly good aircraft. I tooled around on my Santa Cruz and inquired about renting a sailboat. I can rent a Lazer (small boat) for 5,000 pesos (about $10) per hour. Maybe tomorrow...Corndog is interested, too. We have one more day here in Pucón. (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.

[Above: Justin Mounts prepares to go skydiving on his 30th birthday.]

Journal by Justin Mounts

I walk briskly through the trees on the edge of the river. The leaves crunch under my feet as water slowly drips into the dust. A quick dart past the bamboo sprouts and thorny bushes leaves me scrambling down some bowling ball-sized stones into a small washout. Paddle in my hand, I hurry up the other side to the top of a large boulder to keep up with the team. Once on top, I gaze down to the rapids and look at a 12-foot drop off. Are we really supposed to raft that? The team shouts, “Geromino!” and we hurry back to where we started…

We are in Pucon, Chile -- the adventure sports capital of Peru. It is a town very similar to Lake Tahoe, California, with the exception of the pretentiousness. It is a place that is still developing, as is evidenced by the rows of new condominiums under construction. This place is very different to other Latin American locales we have found ourselves in recently. There are very few overtly visible signs of poverty, and this is a place where those with money in Peru spend their vacations.

Today is the last day of my 20’s. In a few short hours, I will turn 30 years old. In order to fully appreciate my last day of “youth”, several members of the team and I are going whitewater rafting. After a quick breakfast of huevos revueltos con jamon y queso (scrambled eggs with ham and cheese), we meet our river guide for the day, Rodolfo. He is a young Chilean in his early 20’s with a thirst for life and a love of the outdoors. He spends the Chilean summers in Pucon working as a guide to give touristas the best possible experience they can have with their short amount of time in Pucon. This coming winter, he will move to Canada to do similar work and to see more parts of the world.

Rodolfo load us up into the back of a small pickup truck, equipped with benches lining the sides of the bed. Seated military style, with dust blowing all around us, we head to the river where we will get our daily dose of adventure. When we arrive, several team members don pale pink and beige wetsuits that vaguely remind me of stretch pants worn by hair band front men in the late 80’s. Added to that are full life vests and small helmets which make us look like we are prepared to bounce off anything that comes in our path. We are truly a sight to see. Thankfully, none of us has brought a camera to capture this moment. We look ridiculous.

After a quick safety briefing, we put the raft in the water and shove off. We review some team paddling strategies and the commands that will be used today on the river. They are simple, and the team nods in understanding as our raft begins its one-hour drift down the river.

Today is the perfect day for this. The warm sun heats our suits and skin keeping us comfortable as the cold water splashes around us. As a wake-me-up, Rodolfo recommends that we jump (more like fall) out of the raft to enjoy the crisp, clear water. It is refreshing to say the least. At first, the water is a shock to the system, sending sharp sensations all over my body. I come up for air, the cold water boldly energizing my mind and spirit. Slowly, we climb back into the raft and charge toward our first group of rapids.

They are a small set of rapids used by the guides as a warm up, first to set the tone for the day and second to evaluate the skill of the paddlers. We pass the test with flying colors. As we turn around to look back up the river at the rapids we just crossed, we now change our opinions on having a camera along for this journey. We continue down the river, bouncing and splashing as we go. First over a set of rapids that sprays Colin and Todd in the front. Second, over a vicious set that bounces Todd out of the front and basically into Rolf’s lap one row behind and on the other side of the boat. The third set twists the boat in both directions sending all of us sprawling around the boat, but no one was lost.

As we pass each subsequent set of rapids, we all cheer and laugh, recounting the last several days of the expedition. The team has adopted the battle cry of “Geromino!” (yes, Geromino -- not Geronimo) -- an exclamation that made it’s way into our lexicon late one evening as we were discussion the smell of a local beverage. For the full story, buy me a beer sometime. It is worth recounting.

Rodolfo directs us to steer the raft over to the side of the river so we can conduct a reccie to survey a particular challenging portion of the river that most tourists are not allowed to traverse. We stand high on a boulder overlooking the charging rapids, our bravado quickly placed on the shelf as we witness how difficult this drop off is. In addition to a drop twice the size of anything we’ve covered today and a faster than normal water flow, there is a small obstacle in the middle of our path. A volkswagon-sized boulder splits the river in two. On one side, the safer route that ties back into the river over manageable rapids. On the other, a choppier set of rapids with a rip current that could potentially pin a person under the water’s surface if any of us are unfortunate enough to be pulled from the raft.

It is a gut check for sure. Rodolfo repeats that we must decide to ride the rapids or portage around them as a group, and that the risk involved with this portion of the river is sizeable. A quick glance around the group reveals the answer -- devilish grins and thumbs up. Let’s go!

We load into the boat and charge the rapids. “STRONG! STONG!” the call comes from the back. Everyone paddles furiously to get up the speed necessary to keep from folding the raft in half as we approach the boulder. Feverishly, we paddle, echoing Rodolfo’s commands to the front men over the roaring sound of the river and the rapids immediately in our front. A rush of cold water sprays the team as we drop in and begin flailing at the mercy of the river. “RIGHT SIDE!” comes the call, and everyone on the left side of the boat slides to the right edge to keep the raft from tipping over. The chaotic movements of the boat cease, and the raft gently drifts in a counter-clockwise motion enabling all of us to see our accomplishments. With a final cry of “GEROMINO!” we raise our paddles over our heads to clack them together as a group, triumphant.

As we drifted down the remaining part of the course, I soaked in every drop of beauty around me, considering the option of jumping overboard to let the river carry me freely down the last part of the course. I leaned backward and drop into the water over the side of the boat for one last time. As I free floated in the cold, clear water -- out of control and at the mercy of the river, I was reminded of a phrase that has served me well in the past. “Only after you have let go of everything are you free to do anything.” And that’s so true, especially with life on the road. Sometimes in order to control over the things in life that truly matter, you must give up control over everything else in order to gain a fresh perspective. Bring on my 30’s…

Until next time, I wish you well from the far side of the world.

Justin
justin@drivearoundtheworld.com

P.S. We were to find out later that one of Rodolfo’s best friends passed away while kayaking in Chile the day we were out on the river. A not so subtle reminder that life may be short for any one of us, and that we should take advantage of every day we’re given.

Logbook for January 31st, Day 92
Start: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Finish: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Mileage: 000
Notes: The weather and the activities of the day were perfect. I had to wake up at 0630 to get ready and meet my climbing party at Sur Expeditions, which is just down the street. I've never hired a guide for a climb, and it's not my preferred method, but I didn't have a choice with Volcán Villarrica. I don't know the mountain well enough to go alone, and they don't let people climb without a guide, so I shelled out some cash to climb with strangers. It was worth it, though. I met a nice Dutch couple, Angéle and Menno, I made a new friend in Pedro, our guide, and I saw LAVA! It splashed violently out of a crater at the volcano's summit, and we all braved choking gases to peer in and take pictures. It was truly amazing to witness, and I have photos and mpegs. The volcano is only about 8400 feet high, but it took us forever to stroll up it. We arrived at the top at noon, and I had a 12:00 phone call to make. I broke out the Iridium satellite phone and called Paul Bryan's radio show in Chicago. It was my third call to Paul during the expedition, and I am to call my buddy Paul every few weeks to let him and his listeners know what's happening on our expedition. I became friends with him during the Land Rover G4 Challenge, and I really enjoy being on his program. Check it out "Drive Chicago" on Chicago's WLS News Talk AM 890, if you'd like, Saturdays, 9-10 a.m., Central. It was fun being on the air in Chicago while sitting on a ledge on a mountain in Chile. As we were sliding down in the snow on our butts (glissading), I realized the rest of my team was beginning their 2:00 descent of Rio Trancura with their rafting guide. Apparently, they all had a great time, and they were impressed with themselves and their teamwork abilities. I think they had a good, macho, guys'-day-out. We all arrived home at about the same time, and we swapped stories. Later, I watched The Pricess Bride with Colin, and the other guys went to the lake to chill out in preparation for Justin's birthday festivities. He turns the big 3-0 tomorrow... We hit the clubs at about 1:00 a.m., and the guys danced up a storm. Adam is an AMAZING ballroom dancer. You name it, he can dance it. Rolf and Chanda and I left after just two hours, because we were beat (and bored), but I don't thing the guys made it back until the wee hours of the morning. It was a great day. (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.

[Above: Nancy Olson's photo of a crevasse on the Villarrica Volcano outside of Pucon.]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

Well, it's Friday, my blog day, and the Drive Around the World team is here in beautiful Pucon, Chile. Pucon is a tourist town, centered on a picturesque lake and ringed by snow-capped volcanoes. Being here, I can't help but to be reminded of two other towns I have visited in my travels -- Lake Tahoe in California and Lake Wanaka in New Zealand. There is a certain vibe in these mountain lake towns that is very distinguishable, and I’m sure there are fifty more towns in this world that are very similar vibe-wise.

Activities are similar in all of them. Lakeside lounging put aside; the not-so-fainthearted are offered many opportunities to get their blood pumping. Rafting, kayaking, snowboarding, mountain climbing, skydiving and the like are all offered at most of these towns and the tourists take the opportunities at every chance. I know the majority of our team will be going rafting tomorrow and I am very excited to get some long-needed adrenaline into my bloodstream, all this driving has been making me lazy.

Logbook for January 30th, Day 91
Start: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Finish: Pucón, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Mileage: 000
Notes: Today was a work day our "film guys", Neil, Colin, and Adam, spent the day taking the sponsorship photos we still needed. They have a wonderful backdrop here with the volcano and the lake. Nick and Chanda spent most of the day readying and updating our webpage. Todd worked on our educational site. Rolf worked on his many articles and writing projects. Justin wrote a zillion press releases, and I wrote and edited. I also toured the town on my Santa Cruz. Tomorrow, most of the gang, excluding Nick, Chanda, and myself, will haul-butt down river rapids in a giant raft. Nick and Chanda will be working...I will be climbing the Vulcán Villarrica, which is a tiny little 2800-meter (8,400 ft) active volcano. It has been smoking since we've been here, and tonight, we saw its top glowing red with molten lava. I hope it doesn't choose to burst while we're in town! The weather here is brilliant. Warm and sunny. We all want to live here! (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.

[Above: The Villarrica Volcano blows smoke outside of Pucon, Chile.]

Journal by Nancy Olson

We woke up drenched in mist this morning. Huddled up wagon-train style in the middle of a horse-and-cow pasture beside the ocean, we had allowed ourselves to drift off to sleep without securing our campsite or even zipping our tents. The tranquility of the previous evening and our lazy day seduced each of us into dropping our guard. When we awoke with wet sleeping bags, we realized our blunder.

You see, mist is a silent soaker. Had it been raining, or had it so much as smelled like rain, we would have properly staked out our window awnings and zipped up our doors. As it were, everything was left wide open so we could enjoy the cool breeze and the briny scent of the ocean. The previous evening had been misty, too, but nobody other than The Corndog, who sleeps in a tent on the ground, woke up wet. Heck, I had slept on the ground in a sleeping bag and bivy the night before, and I was fine. Who knew?

So, wet and sleepy, but without dampened spirits, we awoke and fired up the Coleman stove. We would have two huge pots of delicious Land Rover Café before packing up camp and heading out to the Autopista toward Pucon, Chile. As soon as the sun came out, the mist burned off and revealed a perfectly warm and sunny day. We had 460 miles separating us from our destination, and we were determined to get there.

Pucon is the adventure/outdoor capital of Chile, and we were ready to play. The speed limit on the Autopista is 120 kph, and our Land Rovers were chomping at the bit. We made great time, arriving in Pucon by 8:00 p.m., and our arrival did not go unnoticed. Actually, people practically lined the streets to witness our caravan coming through the small town preceding Pucon. By the time we’d arrived in downtown Pucon, people had heard of us.

As we were searching for a cheap hostel, somebody walked up to Justin and asked who we were. He said word had spread like wildfire, and the whole city was wondering who was driving the four Land Rovers. We also met a cute young river guide from Sur Expeditions, Rodolfo, who said he’d love to try to get the team a good deal on a rafting trip. He also said he’d see what he could do about discounting my guided summit of the Vulcan Villarrica. Villarrica is an active volcano overlooking Pucon, and you are only allowed to climb with a guide. On the night we arrived, it was smoking and glowing red at the top. I was in for an exciting view on the summit.

We found a nice deal at Cabanas Newen, a summer-camp style cluster of cabins just off the main street. We rented two for the nine of us, and I slept in the top bunk above Todd. Rolf got the single bed in our room, and Nick and Chanda were in the “matrimonio” next door. Justin and the “film guys” got the other cabin. Ours is an awesome little place with a kitchen and a small living area.

Justin, Neil, Adam, and Colin were the only troopers with energy enough to hit the town our first night, so the rest of us hit the hay. It was wonderful sleeping in a real bed, and I reveled in the chilly air and my warm blankets. The nights are nice and cool, just like I like ‘em. The latitude of Pucon is the same degrees south as Big Bear, California, is north. This place reminds us of home, and while that is a good thing, we all feel a little homesick for friends and family.

I fell asleep quickly, happy in the knowledge that just one day of work in beautiful Pucon separated me from a much-needed jaunt up a mountain. I can hardly wait.

Nancy
nancy@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for January 29th, Day 90
Start: Pichilemu, Chile
Time: 0930
S: 34* 25.787'
W: 79* 02.601'
Finish: Pucón, Chile
Time: 2000
S: 39* 16.518'
W: 071* 58.461
Mileage: 460

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.

[Above: Horses grazing near the beach we camped at in Pichilemu.]

Journal by Todd Borgie, photo by Neil Dana

We drove hard yesterday and this morning we woke up in the middle of a pasture, horses and all. The view was tremendous, ocean on three sides and a flat plain looking over the ocean below. It is always important to find flat ground when camping, otherwise we roll from one end of the tent to the other, which is truly uncomfortable for those involved.

We have been working really hard for the past couple of months so we decided that we could take the next few days easy and enjoy the sites of southern Chile. Olson was the first one up, after unharnessing her bike she went for a ride. I am not sure where she went, but lucky for us she returned with about 2-dozen eggs, ham, cheese and bread. By the time I rolled out of my tent the camping equipment was being set up. Coffee, as usual was the first thing on the agenda and Rolf and I got to it. Quoting the line, “ Sun is coming up, got cakes on the griddle”, inspired me to throw on my newly purchased John Denver album.

The film guys had made their exit, searching for the perfect wave, and Nick and Chanda had left on a little stroll, which left Nancy, Rolf and I to hold down the fort. Nancy did most of the work, making breakfast, but we kept her company.

The breakfast was one of the best we have had in a long time, and I for one kept eating as long as she was serving.

The rest of the day consisted of everyone doing what they wanted do, except Nick, who was beginning to get sick again, hopefully that won’t last long. I worked on writing up the recent Parkinson’s clinic visit, which inspired me and reminded me again what this expedition was truly about. We really want to publicize information on the various Parkinson's communities around the world; what they are doing, the challenges they are facing, and the global impact this disease is having. Also it is important for us to help assess whether the disease is growing or staying about the same percentage-wise in the population.

As night fell Nancy and Colin made a wonderful of dinner of pasta and red sauce. We watched the wet fog blow in from the ocean listening to Ravi Shankar and mused about whether Nora Jones was really his daughter. Soon the moisture became too much and we all took refuge from it, as one by one we slipped into our tents to escape the wet evening.

Todd
todd@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for January 28th, Day 89
Start: Pichilemu, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 34* 25.787'
W: 79* 02.601'
Finish: Pichilemu, Chile
Time: N/A
S: 34* 25.787'
W: 79* 02.601'
Mileage: 000

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.

Parkinson's patients undergoe physical therapy at the Parkinson's League in Santiago.

Journal by Adam Burgess, photo by Neil Dana

On our last day in Santiago the cars had been repaired at the dealership (minor repairs) and we had a stop at the city’s only Parkinson’s Clinic. I went there with Todd, Colin and Neil while the others picked up the cars. Todd wanted us to film an interview with Mr. Gibson, a dentist who had come down with Parkinson’s 15 years ago. He was in pretty bad shape with the disease, you could tell he knew what he wanted to say and where he wanted to move but his muscle control and the constant shaking of his head and arms was pretty debilitating. The interview suffered as a result and very little personal story was conveyed. This in part was due to the fact that a woman from the clinic came in as his sidekick and answered many of the questions for him.

We watched the patients do group physiotherapy exercises to the chants of an instructor and quickly it was evident at the different stages of degeneration amongst the group. As I watched I imagined that despite the fact that they were all headed for the same process of nervous destruction some must have been feeling better off than the people who could hardly move there in their chairs. Occasionally you’d see one patient slowly get up out of their chair and shuffle over slowly to help another pick up a ball or an elastic exercise band to start the next set of exercises. I tried to imagine myself sitting in those chairs raising my shaking arms above my head with every ounce of effort knowing how easy it once was and immediately every pain and complaint I had waned in comparison.

Logbook for January 27th, Day 88
Start: Santiago, Chile
Time: 0930
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Finish: Pichilemu, Chile
Time: 0200
S: 34* 25.787'
W: 79* 02.601'
Mileage: 189
Notes: We're on the coast. After a pleasant drive west from Santiago, we have arrived in the pea-soup-like coastal fog of Pichilemu. More specifically, we are in the middle of a cow pasture on a point called Punta Lobos, or Coyote Point (unless lobo actually means wolf, in which case we are at Wolf Point.). Haven't seen any coyotes, but we have seen a herd of horses. We picked our vehicles up in the morning, and morning turned into afternoon, and then we had a visit to a Parkinson's research center in downtown Santiago before loading up and driving out to Pichilemu. The waves are enormous. I can hear 'em, but I can't see 'em. They sound like a roaring freight train. Tomorrow, Neil and Adam will surf them....yikes... (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.

[Above: Welcome to Chile!]

Journal by Neil Dana

We have been traveling through all of Central America and quite a bit of South America, and it has been phenomenal. I have been looking forward to seeing and experiencing many Latin countries for most of my life. I have always been fascinated with cultural differences and the various ways people live in foreign countries. Not only are the people very different in these countries, so are the landscapes and architectural structures. Many people live out of wooden shacks in the middle of the desert, as others live in walls made of mud bricks in the Andes. Not only the countryside, but the cities are extremely different as well.

So it is a big surprise to come to Chile. I was not expecting the state of economic wellbeing. Chile is completely different than all the countries we have driven through so far. In fact, it is almost as if we just went through a distance warp back to California. Chile is a very close replica of California. The buildings are modern, the roads are perfect, the landscape is the same, and people are much more image-conscious and stylish. We are actually traveling the same latitudes as California, which explains why the climate and landscape is just like home. In the Santiago area, it is much like San Diego and L.A. climate, which is desert planted with vegetation. As we travel south, it is like going into Northern California with the rolling hills and trees everywhere. There are also tons of vineyards as well. And, the people are no longer dark, they are all very Caucasian, coming from European descent.

So to tell you the truth, Chile is the least interesting country I have been to so far, as far as culture goes. We are still heading south and I know that the landscapes of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia and all the other majestic places will be filled with incredible beauty. It is like driving from Southern Cal up towards Canada and Alaska, intensely beautiful. It is just funny how similar the people are to home. It doesn't feel like a typical Latin American country.

Today, we didn't drive anywhere. We are in Santiago and our Land Rovers are being serviced. I was busy finishing up editing photos for our sponsors, and the rest of the team was busy doing other things as well. Whenever we have a change to have time in a city, we tend to get a lot of busy-work done. We were also waiting for Rolf to arrive from Cusco. He was sick and had to write some articles, so he stayed back a few days. We went to this Internet cafe that literally had about 50-75 big screen computers. The place would fill up with kids playing these computer games against each other. It was pretty wild to see. I guess it is our modern day arcade.

We ended up taking the subway, which is a very nice metro station, each one individually decorated with paintings or tiled walls, etc. We took it to a part of town called La Suecia, which is a few streets that are filled with wonderful restaurants and bars and discotheques. They are filled with people, and employees on the street trying to pull you in to each various establishment. We ate some tasty food and had some delicious milkshakes. This street is kind of like a mini-Disneyland, with themed restaurants and fun places to hang out. Everyone there was in their most stylish outfits. It was an evening out on the town, Santiago style.

Santiago is a very big city, and is spread out, like Los Angeles is, the main difference is that instead of having 6 lanes for cars, Santiago has 2 lanes for cars, and 3 lanes exclusively for buses!!! I have never seen so many buses; it is amazing. They have a great public transport system in Santiago. You can get from one end of the city to other for 45 cents.

Well, we are leaving Santiago soon to go south and I am looking forward to hitting Pichilemu and going surfing, as well as heading all the way south into the deep countryside. I think it will be some of the most beautiful nature we have seen yet.

Until next time,

Neil Dana
neil@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for January 26th, Day 87
Start: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Finish: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Mileage: 000
Notes: I'm not sure about the rest of the team, but I sure had fun today. Nick and Chanda spent ALL DAY on their laptops in the internet cafe. Todd, I know, had a blast with his Chile family, with whom he spent a lot of time several years ago when visiting and working in Chile. He had a nice reunion yesterday and today. I rode my Santa Cruz bike to Land Rover. On the way, I stopped in a bike shop and had an excellent conversation with Jose, the owner, for about 40 minutes. He admired my bike, and we had a great discussion about bikes in general. Oh, how I love bikes. He was saying I should look into the international bicycle industry. Travel, decent money, and BIKES. I'll consider it. I continued my ride through the perilous city streets of Santiago after bidding Jose a fond farewell, and my round trip ended up being about three and a half hours. Well, that's what I call a good day. The team had a mellow evening. Nick and Chanda had Indian food at Best Western, Justin and I had sushi at a local joint, and Todd saw his Chile family. I haven't seen much of the film guys, so I'm not sure what they were up to. IMPORTANT NOTE: Rolf is back with the team after spending much time in Cusco, Peru, writing some articles. Poor guy, though, the only person he saw all day today was me. He saw me leaving and returning. Tomorrow, we all head to the beach! (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.

Nick and Chanda sit at their laptops in an Internet cafe in Santiago. Working, as usual.

Photo by Nancy Olson

Logbook for January 25th, Day 86
Start: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Finish: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Mileage: 000
Notes: Today was basically a "do what you need to do" day for the team. Most of us slept late and then went to work on the programs for which we are responsible. Most of the team spent much of the day in the awesome local internet cafe. I've a sneaking suspicion that some played the cafe's hugely popular computer game, Counterstrike, which is available at their webpage at www.frag.cl. The place is packed with young boys screaming and yelling as they shoot things to bits. Justin visited a museum and spent some time wandering the city. I spent most of the day writing in my room and in the cafe. I apologize for the boring entry here. Tomorrow might be much of the same...Oh, one note of warning: If you go to Domino's Pizza, especially in a foreign land, DO NOT order the Americano. That means "extra cheese." The last thing anybody needs is extra cheese. It's about two inches thick on top of your pie... (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.

Logbook for January 24th, Day 85
Start: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Finish: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Mileage: 000
Notes: Right now, we are as far south of the Equator as California is north...Today we slept in and then woke up to begin working on our individual task lists. I was going to do a lot of writing, but I rode my Santa Cruz mountain bike, instead. Todd paid an educational visit to a pre-columbian art museum, Nick and Justin had an interview at Land Rover with the popular local news network, and everybody else did their own thing. I rode for two hours, picking my way through the city streets to wind up at the Land Rover dealership. There, I hung out with Nick and Justin for a while, and then the three of us got a ride to a local mall to eat. It could easily have been a California mall. Same shops, same prices, same weather. We had our first Starbuck's coffee since the expedition began, and then we caught a bus to the metro to come back to the hostel. We rested a bit before jumping back on the metro at about 9:30 to meet Francisco from Land Rover for some dinner. We had sort of a weird night out before returning to the hostel. Santiago's party scene wasn't as great as we thought it'd be. Tomorrow, more work. (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.

[Above: The cityscape of Santiago, Chile.]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

Latin American cities. At this point I've been to a lot of them and I'm kinda sorta getting bored of them. Yeah, there's lots to do at night, but what of the day? I'm not really one for museums, so they're out. What's left, parks? well I've seen enough of those to last me a while. Usually, i just end up in internet cafés writing my blog, and then spend all night out on the town. Take yesterday for instance. I got up, I ate. I read my book (Solomon's Song) for a long time, and then I went out on the town until six something in the morning. Today, I slept it off until 4:40, although I think I was still sleeping off that 40 hour drive we did to get here. Anyway, the city thing just isn't doing it for me; I definitely prefer towns. Contrary to popular belief, there's actually usually more to do in towns. Or at least, those things to do are a little easier to find. Anyway, hopefully, Neil and Adam and I will be heading to the beach for two days tomorrow while the team waits for thier cars to get out of the shop. It's about time we had a little beach time, its been a while.

Logbook for January 23rd, Day 84
Start: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Finish: Santiago, Chile
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Mileage: 000
Notes: After driving until 0330 this morning, we got a couple of hours of sleep before having to be up to move our vehicles at 0730. We are so not firing on all 8 cyllinders, mentally. The visit with Land Rover was a good one, and our vehicles are there receiving the once-over now. Adam and I came directly home to our hostel after Land Rover, taking advantage of Santiago's fantastic public transportation system. Their metro is ultra-modern and super-clean. I put my head on my pillow at 1:00 p.m., and I didn't wake up again until about 9:30 the next morning. We may never catch up on sleep from our two days of nonstop driving, but I'm certainly going to try. (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.

[Above: Nancy Olson's shadow reflected on the floor of the Atacama Desert.]

Journal by Nancy Olson

My mom always taught me, if I don’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. The problem is, today is my journal day, and I have to say something. My job is to tell you fine people what is going on here on our little road trip. So, with that in mind, I will search for something nice to say. Hmm…let’s see…something nice…

I can’t think of anything nice, so that’ll have to come later. I’ll keep my whining to a minimum here. I’m angry because we just drove all night. I mean, we got up, started driving, ran out of gas because we haven’t filled our Scepter jerry-cans since emptying them to ship the Land Rovers to Ecuador, and then just kept right on driving through the night. For that reason, my journal starts just after midnight, at the very birth of Thursday. Gosh, I wish I had something nice to say. I could torture you all with an ultra-marathon of a journal.

After running out of gas and scrounging enough liters off the locals to get us to the next station 90 km down the road, we had a “team meeting” to discuss whether we would press on or camp. It was one in the morning by this time, and we had a whole lot of desert ahead of us. Oh, and don’t worry; we still haven’t filled our jerry cans, so there’s a good chance for more high-drama in the future.

I wanted to make camp, and, apparently, so did Justin. We have 1000 km to Santiago, and we don’t want to get there on the weekend. We need to get there before the weekend so the local Land Rover dealership can start performing routine maintenance on our vehicles. (Also, we’re running Mobil 1 in each of our vehicles, for the whole 34,000 miles, without changing our oil, and we are supposed to send back oil samples for testing every 10,000 miles. We’re going to draw those samples in Santiago. We like participating in this test, because it’ll be fun to help prove what we already know: that Mobil 1 is great.)

So, we put it to a vote whether we would camp or push on for another hour. Knowing full well that we would never stop after an hour, and feeling like it’s wiser to camp at a known, secure position to sleep and then wake up fresh, I voted to stop. Justin voted to stop. Todd was duped into thinking we’d actually stop after an hour and voted “go”, as did the rest of the team. We decided that getting to our destination is more important than sticking to our safety procedures. Decisions such as “not driving at night” are pre-made, written-in-stone decisions. They are made ahead of time so that the expedition members don’t have to risk making a poor decision later on when they are affected by lack of sleep or are caught up in the excitement of the moment. Putting the destination ahead of the safety and common sense is not acceptable, in my opinion.

I find it impossible to sleep in the passenger seat while somebody else drives at night, so I drove while Todd slept. Shortly after sunrise, we pulled over for a driver change. I crashed hard and barely mustered the gumption to wake up for lunch. We hit an Internet café and grabbed some chow. The fish I had was so good, I think I want to eat fish and only fish the whole time we’re in Chile. (There! I did it! I said something nice!)

Shortly after getting back on the road, I fell asleep again. Because we drove through the night and I am completely wrecked, I won’t have too many pictures of Chile. At nightfall, I took over the driving again, and we drove until we arrived in Santiago at about three in the morning. Oh! Woops! I guess that means it’s no longer my journal day! It’s Friday, so I’d better stop writing. One more positive item: Santiago is beautiful. It’s clean. The people are nice. Chile is reminding us all of California, and we’re all homesick now.

I’m not mad; I just need some sleep.

Best to all,

Nancy
nancy@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for January 22nd, Day 83
Start: Somewhere in Chile, 0715
S: 25* 53.620'
W: 70* 27.993'
Finish: Santiago, Chile, 0330
S: 33* 26.913'
W: 70* 40.034'
Mileage: 599
Notes: This is Day Two of our maniacal marathon drive to Santiago. I will never be able to recover from two all-nighters on the road. I slept some during the day while Todd drove. And drove. And drove some more. I'm missing much of Chile, but I'm learning a lot about the back of my eyelids. The part of Chile that I wasn't asleep for looks a lot like southern California. We drove from the desert highlands to the coast, and everybody agrees it is California-esque. We stopped at a mall today to eat, and I'm happy to report that consumerism is alive and well here. I's a shock being back in a wealthy nation after traveling through the 3rd World for so long. Something tells me we'll have fun in Chile. We arrived in Santiago at 3:30 in the morning after fighting the sleep monster all night. I wonder if we'll ever recover. Tomorrow, we have an appointment at Land Rover Santiago to have maintenance done on our vehicles. (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.

[Above: DATW Land Rovers in Chile's Atacama Desert.]

Journal by Todd Borgie

Yesterday was cold and rainy, and we were all short of breath. Today the sun is shining, we are in shorts, and we are chillin' in one of the driest places on earth. We are in the mighty Atacama Desert, an area of mineral and metal wealth, and a contested area between Chile, Bolivia and Peru, who are not the friendliest of neighbors. This area was the sight of a war (War of the Pacific) from 1879-1884, which Chile won. Bolivia lost its only access to the sea and Peru lost some land. You can tell by the graffiti on the bathroom walls that irritated feelings still persist. Final disputes resulting from this war were finally resolved in the year 2000 when Chile and Peru finally came to an agreement over the use of the Port of Arica, now Chilean territory.

It was wonderful to be in Chile again and it was nice to be down at sea level. Even though it was warmer than we had been used to, at least the slightest effort would not make us breathe hard. As we rolled into Arica last night, one of the major hints that Chile was a fully developed country were the pet-food billboards we saw. If a country is advertising pet food it has got to be doing OK.

As I mentioned, the Atacama region of Chile is one of the driest places on earth. Yet, the temperatures are not oppressively warm. Actually, Arica is one of the hot spots for Chilean beachgoers. We saw the crowds, as it is currently summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Although rainfall occurs only two to four times a century, the area gets quite a bit of fog as caused by the thermal inversion layer that comes off the ocean. A thermal inversion layer is defined as a layer of air in which the usual rule that temperature of air decreases with altitude does not apply. The ocean current (the Humboldt Current) passing by this area is directly from Antarctica, thus the water is cold. The cold current produces a layer of cold air that lies on top of the cold water. This layer of air acts like a wedge, pushing the warm air from the land up while the cooler air is trapped below (thermal inversion). This phenomenon produces fog and also monitors the temperature, preventing incredibly high temperatures.

Due to its dryness, we did not see much vegetation as we drove down the center of Chile.
Being in Chile was like a mighty embrace. Chile was starkly different from the previous places we had been to; it was a completely developed nation, and it made us feel like we were back in the States. I felt like we were rolling through the Mojave Desert and I would soon be home in Los Angeles with chocolate chip cookies waiting for me at my parents' house. I loved basking in that feeling that I was almost home, but then again didn’t want to wake up to the heartbreak, that California was 10,000 miles away. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in Chile, but after 3 months on the road it is not unusual to miss your family and home.

The day mostly consisted of us driving through the mountains, the dunes and the rocks, with not a plant around. Railroad tracks came out of mining areas, and rocks and sand seemed to be dumped randomly throughout the landscape. To pass the time we debated as to whether the piles of stone and sand were creations of the desert, mining creations, or military embankments. We never really made the determination, but we passed a couple of hours talking about it.

We stopped at a variety of agriculture stations. They wanted to make sure we did not have any fruit with us, as the Mediterranean fruit fly, amongst others was a definite threat to Chile’s large agriculture industry.

The desert was expansive and it lulled us into its rhythm, perhaps too much so. Not used to the large expanses of nothingness between towns, we failed to take our gas stops seriously. We pulled into an agricultural inspection stop, with gas lights just beginning to pop on. After a few, questions it was determined that the next large gas stop was 250km away, Uffda! After a few more questions we realized it was possible to get some gas from a small town 5km away, phew!

The four Land Rovers rolled into the little town and began our search. Unfortunately, one of the two gas venders was off getting more gas (nobody knew when he would return) and the other vender had run out of gas as well. The good news was that there was a town only 90km away that had a 24-hour gas station. Night was approaching and we -- Neil and I -- began canvas the area for gasoline. We bought a gallon from one guy and another 30 liters from another. 20 liters from another guy, and we were looking for 20 liters more to make us comfortable. We discussed the option of filling one car and having it fill up all the jerries, but we were going for broke and were going to attempt to take all four vehicles to the gas stop.

Neil and I found someone that could give us 10 additional liters, but we after a few attempts of siphoning, and a mouthful of gas, we decided that the costs were too high.
The group reconvened about 10:00 p.m., and we distributed that last of the gas and set off into the night air, not knowing how many vehicles would make our desired destination.

Todd
todd@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for January 21st, Day 82
Start: Arica, Chile, 1100
S: 18* 29.003'
W: 70* 18.907'
Finish: Somewhere in Chile, 0715
S: 25* 53.620'
W: 70* 27.993'
Mileage: 590
Notes: Well, we're stopped briefly at an internet cafe on our way to Santiago, so this'll be brief. It's the 22nd, and I'm writing about the 21st. We just drove all night, and I'm not too happy about that. ANYWAY, we left Arica yesterday to head to Santiago, more than 2000 km away. On the way, it was decided that we needed to do a marathon drive in order to get to Santiago in time to do some work before the weekend. So...we were driving and driving and, I'm so embarassed, we realized wouldn't make it to a gas station. The town we were in didn't have one, and it was 90 km to the next one. We spent hours trying to buy liters of fuel off the locals. Finally we had enough for all four vehicles and pressed on, just barely making it to the pumps at about midnight. It was there that the team voted to press on rather than camp in the perfectly good location we were in. Justin and I, by the way, voted to camp and then continue in the morning for safety's sake. Everybody else felt like pressing on to the next town. We ended up pressing on all night, and we are still pressing. It's almost noon on the 22nd now. We're all doing fine, and we're about to go grab chow. Don't worry, we'll stop the minute somebody gets too tired. That's the benefit of having enough drivers to swap out with. We now have another 900 km to Santiago. Talk to you when we get there. (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.

[Above: Llama-like Alpacas on the Bolivia-Chile border.]

Journal by Adam Burgess

To the left and right of northern Chile's two-lane highway is the most peculiar terrain. Its like fields of the largest dirt clods you’ve ever seen for as far as the eye can see. My mind can only imagine another ancient civilization left their impressive mark by growing gigantic oxen, tying them to telephone-pole-sized ploughs and had them churn up the desert floor endlessly. The dirt here is a pinkish tan and nothing grows. We spent the day driving through the End of the World’s largest gorge. I’m glad to be down, safely.

For hours our cars followed the path carved into the side of the dunes. Over the roadsides the sand face continued its sheer drop for thousands of feet down into a slightly green valley. Every few turns another wreath-covered cross or little house inscribed with names appeared where one’s fate entailed tumbling helplessly for 4000 feet, almost as scary as plummeting with women and children in an airliner.

Yesterday we drove for hours from La Paz, Bolivia through the Chilean border and descended 14,000 feet to the coast of Chile. We took off at 6am without breakfast. Five hours later, at the border, we found ourselves surrounded by snow-covered volcanoes and alpacas. Alpacas are interesting creatures. They walk like four-legged chickens, are covered with fantastic maroon, black and tan wool, when they see you they “meeep” and they taste like a small cow.

After passing through the border we began to drop. Within an hour or so we came down about 13,000 feet and all of a sudden I could breathe again. I love oxygen. Hunger was rife and as we rounded another corner of the desolate Chilean desert I noticed on the side of the road the most exquisite little abode. A refurbished train carriage was adorned with a hand built windmill that twirled in the evening wind. Scattered around this nucleus was sheltered seating under driftwood structures and tarps. I hailed the others over the CB radio and convinced them all to turn around for food. I couldn’t resist such an interesting composition. We pulled the ever-so-common three point turn in the highway and rolled into the desert café. Two beautiful little girls were in the front waving to us with smiles and wool caps. Neil asked if they had comida and they said yes. We weren’t sure where to go but they lead us into the shack attached to the carriage. Bizarre. We had just stepped into a hobbit’s kitchen/living room. There were barstools around a kiln oven and the layers of clutter lay so thick that there are too few words to describe what fell on our eyes. From behind a tattered curtain floated in a woman in a flannel shirt and dirty sweatpants. The clothes hung on her like obstacles and appeared to have been treated as such. Cold blue eyes beamed out from a once attractive face. She looked European but the desert sun had paid its toll early. She extended a slow limp handshake to the eight of us one by one. We asked if she had food and she scanned through her mind to arrive at the conclusion that there was two pizza loaves left. From a black garbage bag she pulled two hard circular crusts and picked at them for a moment. “20 minutes we can have some pizza for you…but first lets go outside I’ll show you around Michael Land.”

From there we went over to the solar oven and windmills. Andrea’s explanation of how it worked morphed rather aimlessly into anti-establishment proselytizing. She defined her location as not a part of Chile, Bolivia or Peru and was miffed at the concept of “where are you from?” Patiently the crew stood listening to her infinite meandering philosophies as the sun set through the desert canyon. It grew cold and time had passed. We felt victims of a Twilight Zone episode. After about 45 minutes of captivity Nick stepped in as leader and announced to Andrea that he was very thankful for her fascinating story but that we had hoped to eat rather quickly and continue driving. She snapped back with the comment that there is a McDonalds in Arica. We left with the last rays of sun petering down on the desert floor and headed for the coastal town of Arica.

Logbook for January 20th, Day 81
Start: La Paz, Bolivia
N: 16* 30.162'
W: 68* 08.133'
Finish: Arica, Chile
N: 18* 29.003'
W: 70* 18.907
Mileage: uh, woops. Coming soon...
Notes: We're in Chile! It's such a contrast being back in a first-world nation. They have street lights...and lines down the middle of road! We arrived at hte Chilean border at about 1245 and had to wait 40 minutes for the border control agents to return from lunch. Then we drove about half of the distance through "no-man's land" between the exit point in Bolivia and the entry point in Chile. We stopped there to make our monthly sat-phone conference call to media and sponsors. We were on the altiplano at 15,000' above sea level, so of course I had to break out the Santa Cruz and go for a bike ride. Not a lot of oxygen up there! The call went very well, and we headed for Chile. On the way, we passed by a huge mine field--Chile and Bolivia aren't the best of friends. In the background all around us were the beautiful snowcapped mountains of the Andes. This was the most beautiful border we'd ever seen--and it was the fastest and most professional. They actually had an assembly line for stamping us in. It only took about 20 minutes, a new record, to get through the border. On the way into Arica, we descended from a peak of 15,300' to sea level. We dropped about 800' more than the height of Mt. Whitney in California (the U.S.'s highest peak, excluding Alaska). We had an easy drive, and our gas mileage was INCREDIBLE! It helps when your entire trip is downhill. We found a hostel with good parking right away and called it a night. Tomorrow, we're off to Santiago. (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.