Ruta de Los Seismiles Sur

November 28, 2023

Patience. A stubborn personal trait that develops ever so slowly. The Ruta de los Seismiles Sur was waiting for us. A remote high-altitude desert traverse over the dry Puna region in Argentina. Taking roughly 10 days without restaurants, shops, beds or showers. An exhilarating self-reliant adventure. But due to strong winds, the route would not be accessible for another week. We had to either wait, or skip it and continue our way south. Our impatience almost got the best of us. A week sitting still felt like an eternity. But this time we chose to wait and take the days for some lengthy recovery, which we hadn't really done since the start of our trip. After a couple of days, the forecast changed in our favor. Bright skies and few winds were supposed to be waiting for us. Seemingly the perfect conditions for the next chapter of our journey. Here is the unfiltered diary of our windy adventure.

Day 1. Our ascent up the Puna turned out to be one of the hardest ones yet. Not because of the road conditions, or the altitude, or our heavy bikes containing 10 days of food, but because of the most relentless, persistent winds we encountered so far. The ride crossing the Puna features several "Refugios" at the beginning and final sections of the route. These allow for shelter during strong winds or storms the area is notoriously known for. On our first day, we immediately used one to spend the night as the winds, despite the better forecasts, picked up in the afternoon. They were so strong that Aimée found herself and her bike smacked against the floor in one instance. The shelters are basic. No amenities, just a stone shack with a roof. But we could sleep on the floor after a quick brush up. Although a little mouse kept us awake all night in search of our pastries... He almost got to them, but at around 4 in the morning, Jaap was able to catch him in a moment of indulgence and threw him out the door. We felt sad for the little mouse, but it was him or us. Finally, some sleep.

Day 2. The unforgiving wind was still there. Like a little vacuum cleaner following us and continuously sucking up all our energy. Tough luck... At times we couldn't even hike the bike. Six hours of pushing and pulling resulted in 17 km total distance travelled. Not really the planning we aimed for but we managed to get to the next shelter. Luckily, we got some additional bread from a friendly driver along the way to make up for the lost ration. The highlight of our day! Challenge of the night: tiny leak in Jaap's matress necessitating a two-hourly refill with air. Discomfort aside, without the insulation, the cold at above 4000 masl would be too bad. We needed a fix.

Day 3. We took a 20 km detour to a hotel. The hotel reminded us of the one in the movie "The Shining". A large and very remote building with huge dining areas and corridors. Even including a small boy on a step. A good spot for some additional supplies, a cold drink, a cooked lunch, fixing the mattress, and a tiny reset from our windy approach. After about two hours, we hit the road again for the final stretch of the climb up to the Puna. But of course, wind still there. Will it ever stop?! Tomorrow will be better. We heard it for the third day in a row, but it was still just us with our bikes in our hands pushing our way up. We finished the day in our beloved tent. No mouse, filled mattress, stones covering all pegs to avoid the tent flying off... ready for sleep.

Day 4. The whole night the wind was strong as ever. The tent barely made it. Little sleep. A sense of utter desperation overpowered us. But as the sun came up the wind started to fade. We decided not to speak of it again. Every hour is one for the win. Every hour we take with our deepest gratitude. A humbling experience. On that morning we finally reached the pass at 4540 masl up to the Puna, and we catch a first glimps of the glorious Monte Pissis. At 6795 masl the second highest volcano in the world. 3000m climb complete. Now the traverse really began.

On the Puna the wind was again kicking our butts. No mercy. But what an amazing scenery. This landscape is out of this world. We were speechless. All the desperation and exhaustion that was building up inside got lost in the blink of an eye. And the funniest thing happened. A convoy of 15 or so 4WD vehicles passed us each giving us the biggest applause, and one by one the windows rolled open with hands sticking out giving us water, fruits and candy. It felt like we were walking the "avondvierdaagse" and got cheered on from the sideline by our parents. We loved it. What a special moment. We slept at 4500 masl. It was cold. Too bad the body has no temperature memory.

Day 5. Absolute beauty and terror went hand in hand this day. The road was terrible. Loose sand stopped us from being able to cycle most of the time. It was one of those days we wondered what on earth we are doing out here... but the rewards are unequaled in any other way. So we kept on going. Heck, we didn't have a choice...

Day 6. Breaking point reached. New day, additional challenges. After waking up next to a partly frozen river, we had to cross it not once, but 5 times, having to off-load our bikes and carry all our stuff over it barefooted in some cases where it was almost knee-deep. 4 hours in for the day, 10 km travelled. Are we going to make it? We wondered... The rest of the day we kept on pushing our bikes. We made very slow progress. At times we were desperate. Throughout the day we had to drag our bikes through either loose sand or muddy terrain. Cycling was almost impossible. When we again got stuck in the sand we break in tears. Aimée shouts, "why are we doing this?! I want it to stop!" But nobody could hear her. Only the two of us. We kept on pushing hoping to find a place to camp without wind. Which had again been pushing us back relentlessly. We ended up dragging our bikes over a 4700 masl pass into the next valley with protection from the wind. We finally arrived right before sundown and set up camp. The day took 11 hours, crossing the most brutal terrain thus far. We hoped for better days to come.

Day 7. We woke up to a beautiful bright blue sky. The night was peaceful, no sounds, no wind, just sleep. The morning starts slowly. Coffee, peanut butter sandwich, clean up routine. All in the most tranquil spot, right in the middle of the wilderness. We are again reminded that despite al set-backs, this still might just be worth it. That day we climbed two passes of 4950 masl. The roads were somewhat better. Still a lot of mud to plow through due to melting snow. Inclines of 7% felt like 20%. We could cycle half of the time until we hit the second pass of the day. There we didn't cycle at all. Just dragging and pushing through the muddy sand. But then, we made it up the last pass. Victory with a stunning downhill as the reward. The scenery was glorious. Like we were on Mars. So much of nothing. Breathtaking. It had been two days since we last saw someone. But we were one day away from the land of the living, we hoped..

Day 8. The final stretch to better roads and civilization. That is, a border post with the Chilean border and 4WD vehicles with tourists exploring the area. We woke up in the freezing wind and decided to pack up quickly and ride to a windless spot for breakfast. At a deserted mining camp we found shelter and a little fox. He sat by us as we prepared our coffee. Curiously, during one of our first nights camping on this route, a similar fox was also sitting next to our tent undisturbed. We like to think it is Jaap Sr. watching over us.

This day we rode most of the time, only a few kilometers of pushing. Some of the pushing could probably have been ridden, but to save our soar butts from getting even worse bumping over all the stones and washboards, we decided that a pace so slow that you are only barely able to keep balance is better done hiking the bike. The last 20 km before finally reaching a numbered road again were beautiful and very well ride-able compared to what we had before. Although we did have to go through a minefield of spiky plants trying to dodge each one for over 10 km like a Mario Kart game. All those hours racing did pay off, as miraculously our tires came out unscathed!

Day 9. Almost there. The day we dropped down from the Puna. From 4200 masl, past the final laguna down to as far as we could manage. The start of our day would have been a beautiful, smooth descent over asphalt. Beautiful it was, but smooth, far from it. The road was cracked into thousands of pieces forcing us to pull the brakes every 10 meter or so. We laughed, and cried. This route... never cutting any slack. 40 km later we arrived at laguna Brava where we ate our final lunch at high altitude. Tortillas with sausages and a sprinkle of sand as a free condiment supplied by the everlasting winds. A small group of Vincuñas accompanied us; amazing creatures that are roaming the plains, bringing color and a little life to the place. Upon crossing the laguna several jeeps with local tourists stopped beside us again. They all asked about our story and were in awe. Applause, selfies, congratulations... it made us feel like two smelly rock stars. The people are so kind and without exception asked us if everything is alright, if we needed anything, if they could help. It made us realize once more that venturing these heights by bicycle is not to be taken lightly. We felt proudness. Yet also complete exhaustion. We were so tired that we finished the day riding 142 km just to be able to sleep in a bed and take a shower. We found it in a small village right before the end of the route, which we finished on day 10. Mission accomplished.

Like two first-time, eager Dutch world-cyclists we gave it a go. Clearly our basic heavy touring bikes with narrow tires made the journey extra challenging. That we knew up front. In fact, it is advised against it to do it with our kind of bikes. But he, these are the ones we brought and this is our time. No guts no glory. Seeking out adventure is not only about experiencing amazing landscapes, being in nature or completely self-reliant for multiple days. It is also about exploring your limits. We found ours. But we did it! And we'll never forget it.