Patagonia the beautiful: La Junta, Chile and another trip south

Current location:  Puerto Montt, Chile

I have been off the air and mostly off the bike,  spending quality time with quality people in one of the most beautiful places I have ever known.  Here is a 2 part photo essay...

Argentina plates always have 3 letters first.  other good finds in traffic yielded FUK and SEX

my arrival in La Junta, Aysen was the first vehicle to enter Paul and Konomi's land.

I was returning to La Junta to spend time with Paul Coleman and Konomi Kikuchi.  Paul has walked almost 50,000 km (30,000 miles)all over the world planting trees as a symbol of peace (more about his journeys at earthwalker.com).  He met and married Konomi in Japan and since 2009 they have been developing a sustainable lifestyle in Patagonia, building a home from bags of earth, and growing all kinds of delicious foods.  You can see pictures of their house and how they built it here: ourlittlething.ning.com.  I helped them with some digging and bagging, but mostly I ate Konomi's delicious food, which comes from their garden and greenhouse.  And

it feels good to get muddy

the view down the valley Risopatron from the house.  You can see the excavation for the guest house and where I camped for a few weeks.  They are building an earthbag house.

the bridges in aysen, patagonia are orange suspension style

japanese babies and skulls...  awesome combo

one more payment and it's mine!

blackberry in spanish: mora

La Junta, Chile

big nalca leaf

looking out from Fort Coleman

using a hose filled with water and two sticks, Paul and Konomi check the building site for level.

Each stick has inch marks. the water level will be the same height, so the difference in the two measurements tells you how far you are out of level.

The house is dirt, and half underground, but well connected to the outside world

my feat started itching, so i went for a 1000 mile hitchhike down to southern patagonia

peaceful protests against the chilean government blocked the road at every town. 

at least they have a stimulation room?

headed out of green chile for treeless argentina

awesome 4x4 mercedes battle camper

hitchhiking south on the Ruta 40 in Argentina is tough.  Some days fewer than 5 cars go by.  My strategy is to walk, because people are more likely to stop when you are in the middle of nowhere.

Pastry in Patagonia

just me and my backpack and the great wide open. for hours and hours

the trucks are the best rides because they are usually going far.

difunta de corea.  this shrine appears all over argentina. 

 the shrine commemorates a woman who went walking in the desert to bring food to her husband, a soldier.  She died of thirst, but continued giving milk to her baby until it was found and saved.  Today people leave bottles of water along the road as offerings.

where i come from, the bullets do more than chip paint.

in south america, you can't get a powerstroke.

wide open spaces on Ruta 40.  people can't just leave you here.  or can they?

Truckload of hay in Tres Lagos.

The road leads you to amazing places...