Today, after getting a lot of attention from two locals while we were packing our motorcycles (they were telling us where to put each piece of underwear and clothing in our panniers, although they had no clue what they were talking about), we left Osorno, Chile en route to Bariloche, Argentina.

After an hour of riding we stopped on the side of the road to take some photos. A man came out of a nearby construction site and started talking to us. It was 8:30 a.m. and he was holding a 1.5 liter bottle of beer. We had difficulty understanding anything he said, but eventually figured out that he was inviting us to follow him to his small personal brewery. After several attempts at trying to convince him we had to leave, we were finally able to continue our journey.

As we were going up the mountain, I tried to stop and take a photograph, but I applied the brakes too hard without downshifting. The motorcycle suddenly stalled and I was ejected off the bike— Romain found this to be quite amusing.

The roads we drove on afterwards were completely covered in ashes from a recent volcanic eruption. Everything was gray—it was like we were riding on Mars—and it was spectacular! Although our clothing, cameras, and gear ended up being extremely dirty, we enjoyed every minute.

A little while later, we set the camera on the tripod to take a video of both of us motorcycling together. As we turned around to change directions, Romain and I dropped our bikes at the same time, which triggered a fit of laughter from the both of us.

The last leg of the day we rode along a giant lake with waters that looked like the Caribbean Sea—we could see every shade of blue amongst turquoise patches. The road was zigzagging smoothly and it was wonderful to ride on. As we approached Bariloche, the wind became unbelievably strong with gusts above 70 mph hitting us from the side! We had to ride at a 30-degree angle just to not fall off, making the ride much less fun. The second we arrived in Bariloche we hit the bar to enjoy a nice Argentinean Quilmes!

Check back each week for the continuation of Chris and Romain’s first motorcycle adventure through South America!

Text and Photography: Christopher L Berthe