Paso De Jama - Another Argentina Chile Border Crossing
Update 15 (January 2023)
Humahuaca to Antofagasta, Chile
By now I had realised I was going to need to go into Chile to get a rear tyre. Chile has a Distributor for Motoz Tyres, so I had arranged for a tyre to be sent to Antofagasta on the coast.
After that I intended finishing up with Chile and Argentina, and going into Bolivia. However, as I was getting ready to leave my Humahuaca cottage, I met the couple next to me. She was from Argentina and he was Swiss. After a while she said, “are you going to the falls”? I thought, there are falls around here? Isn’t it too dry at the moment? It turns out she was talking about Iguazu Falls, about 1,500kms away. A friend in Australia had mentioned them and I’d put it aside until I was far enough north. She rightly pointed out I was there now and if I was going, it was time to turn eastward. After pondering it for an hour I decided that was the way to go, after Antofagasta.
After leaving Humahuaca I needed to set up my travel days to have a reasonable distance to get over the border pass and into Chile. So I decided to have a short day today and then position myself for a comfortable day to go over Paso de Jama and stop the night at San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. I decided to stay at Posada del Silencio which is about the closest accommodation to the pass. That meant today was only about 150km, so I decided to head north and take the more adventurous unsealed road.
I stopped off at Tres Cruces to pick up a bit more food and water. There was one small shop and a place selling food. It was all a bit limited but I found enough to survive on, just in case. It was about 100km of dirt to my destination but I didn’t expect to see too many people.
The abandoned railway station at Tres Cruces.
As it turned out the road was a shocker. No one in their right mind would use it unless they lived out there. I did see one car and a gaucho herding some cattle (or were they sheep, I can’t remember). But it was the worst corrugated road I remember for a long time.
Every now and then, there were these buildings along the road, presumably at some time in the past there was a bus or transport service?
A place to source water, while passing through in the past?
Approaching the village of San Jose de Pozo Colorado, where my accommodation was. With a herd of wild Guanaco in the foreground. There is also a Ñandú which is South America’s largest native bird. They seem to hang around with the Guanaco at times. I’ve seen quite a lot but they tend to take off before I can get a photo. Actually, take off is the wrong wording, as I don’t think they can fly, they run away.
Hosteria Posada del Silencio. My room below left and an afternoon tour of the town. The town is about 3,420 metres above sea level.
Time for another town working bee I suspect.
The towns local meat supply?
The town is about 10km from the Salinas Grandes. It was operating until 7pm so I went for a look. The local community has set up stalls selling anything salt related, including carved figurines. There’s no space for that on a motorcycle, so I took the tour. For 1,500 ARS you can get a guided tour on to the salt lake, weather permitting. The channels help with the crystallisation process. It was a pretty quick tour as I didn’t speak Spanish and the wind was blowing it’s heart out.
After a nice nights sleep, I headed for San Pedro de Atacama, across the border in Chile. I spotted the ruins below, before reaching the border control. It is always intriguing to have a look.
Through another border crossing. The Paso De Jama border control is a joint office on the Argentina side. It was pretty quiet and smooth sailing. I am still carrying my extra fuel container. It’s not very tidy to have it flapping in the breeze up there but it does stand out. It’s interesting looking at the bike in this photo. There are two theories about colour and being seen on a motorcycle. One is that you should have lots of bright colours to stand out. The other says this is not good, as it creates a kind of camouflage with the surrounding colours. And it is better to have a solid colour or silhouette that gives the observer a clear outline of a motorcycle and rider. Of course that’s not much good at night, but my rule is, never ride at night. The bottom line anyway is, ride so you don’t get hit.
I arrived in San Pedro de Atacama around 5pm, good timing. The town didn’t have much appeal to me. It seemed to be struggling under the burden of too many tourists. This is the second time I have not drunk the local tap water, after a warning from my accommodation host. It’s like the town needs to tell the tourists to leave for a year, while they sort out their infrastructure and then come back. But of course it doesn’t work that way.
The ride for 300 odd kilometres into Antofagasta to get my new tyre was pretty straightforward. Not too much to see.
There were a number of old ruins of nitrate mining or producing towns which was quite an industry some 100 years ago.
Having an each way bet at the new industry..
La Puntilla to Humahuaca, Argentina
Update 14 (late January 2023)
Antofagasta, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina
Update 16 (early February 2023)