Nothing could be stranger than seeing cars, houses, playgrounds and an entire town buried under several feet of volcanic mud after the erruption of Volcano Chaiten in Chile.
f you ever doubted that Patagonia was amongst one the windiest places on earth, this photo should put your mind to rest. The photo was taken whilst we were in Puerto Natales waiting for the Navimag ferry to take us further north in Chile. On this particular day, the wind was so strong it managed to pick up our tent and blow it over the two meter barbed wire fence into the neighbors yard, shredding the outer material to pieces. A tent weighs nearly nothing, however the tent was not only pegged but also tied down, as well as weighted with a few packs and some bedding, which also managed to get a little tattered.
As with most good things in life, they all seem to come to and end sooner or later. For the World by Road, one of those good things was having Fernando Bischof (aka Nandor, aka F-Dude) as part of the crew. Unfortunately, Fernando’s stay with us on the expedition has come to and end and it was time to say goodbye. It was tough to see Fernando go because he has been with us longer than any previous crew member on the expedition, over three months, and we all got to become pretty good friends.
I am sure everyone has been in the situation where you think you are going to run out of gas or better yet, have actually run out of gas at some point in your life. Whether it is running out of gas while idling in gridlock traffic or realizing that you have gone past the point of no return on stretch of road where the distance between gas stations is a lot further than you thought, it is an unsettling, frustrating yet all to familiar feeling that comes with driving. Even more so than any other scenario, going on a road trip always seems to attract at least the potential for running the tank dry at some stage in the journey.
The World by Road is pleased to announce that all crew members are now officially certified in the world’s most elaborate hobby: scuba diving! On Friday last, Fernando Bischof, Melissa Terry, Darrell Stephenson and Laura Sutton passed the PADI open water scuba written test with flying colors after already having completed the actual open water dives. Aside from the written exam taken in Santiago, all other courses were coordinated and conducted at San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo, Chile. Not only that, but the three English-speaking members have also had the unbeknownst pleasure of adding a barrage of SCUBA-centered words to their flourishing Spanish vocabularies.
