Noticias del Aficionado de Basura

Noticias del Aficionado de Basura (Wheelie WrapUp)
Noticias del Aficionado de Basura : Antofagasta, Chile Wednesday 26 June 2001. THE WHEELIE BIN WRAP UP Hola de La Atacama, News from the lover of Rubbish Bins Well its Sunday morning - just checked my diary (for the 10 th time) and, yes, no immediate appointments (how strange) ...so i thought id initiate another Bandido Boletín de noticias Ah now where was i? ... i think since I last wrote I had tentatively plodded up the road to the port of Coloso, twitching nervously at dogs, trucks and drunken Chileans heading home from a grande borocha tarde (pissup)at the disco tech suitably tanked up with Cerveza (beer) or Pisco (local liqour) I also hadnt started work yet. Well ... suspecting that it wont interest you all that much, and that you would rather be regailed with tales of biking legend and lore, it will be sufficient to say that I am busy. Just joking, youre not going to get off that easy !! Actually I am busy but it is pretty good fun. I have been made welcome (hola!) and given a desk, server, phone [with international access] (... ooyah!) and the constant attentions of Monica the dusky latino tea *attendant (...suprenda!!!) - ah yes ... Me & Monica ...we've got this really good relationship going something along the lines of "Permiso Warrrren" (excuse Waz, are you awake, or do you usually type with your head on the keyboard emitting woodsawing sounds) to which I usually respond "ah er Cafe Americano Grrrande con Leche por favor" (the closest I can get to a muggachino [or a bucketchino]... cafe late is not in Monicas dictionary )
So thats work. Socialising is building up ... probably to overwhelming proportions relative to what I have to achieve in the work dimension. First needing to mention is that it is winter and Chile is one of the best places on the planet for skiing.... Bet you didnt know that hey folks ?!? Neither did I - however the Andes run the 5000km length of the country so I guess there would have to be the odd resort populated by a snowy slope or two. So will have to do some work in Santiago some time I guess. Also I have managed to find a cyclist at work. Unbelievable hey? So far (apart from some fat gringos i blew off the road to Coloso) I havent seen one serious looking rider. The only bikes to be seen are 2nd rate pavement crawling mountain bikes con civiles cruising along in relajado fashion. However this fellow has been known to ride all the way up to the snowline at Santiago doing all the serious switchbacks and similar heavy duty long distance cycling. I had a chat to him whilst on the piss on Friday and he possesses a custom made titanium bike (Titus?)... Perhaps one should expect this of an American Expatriate Engineer (reminiscent of that Engineer in Mitcheners book "The Drifters") I told him I had a Trek - yep hes got one of those too plus an Carbon Fibre Trek MTB called a Z1 ?!? (how much does that cost i wondered?) Anyway this fellow Bernie has also ridden from the mine before which was something i wanted to do. 'The Mine' is about 160k up the road at a height of 10,000 ft. Bernie reckons we can do it in under 4 hours. That will be the mother of all average speeds for me. So stay tuned.... OK, so what have I done you may ask? Ive talked the talk ... but have I walked the walk ? Well I have taken it a bit easy after the op, but guys, this place is absolute BANDIDO HEAVEN ... it absolutely kicks the bollocks off any place Ive ridden. I have been here before and walked and driven around a few places. However on a bike it is absolutley awesome. The hills are huge.. monsterous....gigagigantic !!! Fortunately they are passable even to the moderately fit. The route I have ridden is due west from Anto going towards the Trans American Highway and then on to Minera Escondida (The Mine - The Reason Why I Am Here) This road follows a rail line so the gradient is OK but unrelenting. Did I hear 'Woes' from Ricardo? - well mate, it takes me an hour to get up to La Paso Superior La Negro (i love these Spanish names) ... and then 20 minutes to get back down at an average downhill speed of over 50kmph (past the wreaths and memorials to unfortunate Chileans who have not managed to navigate the bends sucessfully...erk!!).
So thats about 20 km of climbing to get over the coastal foothills and Im not even into the Andes proper yet. However I will get there.... I guess the best bit is the experience of riding thru this sort of country. The desert and mountains make one feel very small. However after an hours travel you look back and get an enormous impression of how far one has travelled. There are so many vistas you pass thru that often one is not too sure where one has come from.. Anyway - hard to explain but I have shoved in a few shots. Unfortunately being a photo and the lens wide angle the size of the hills appears somewhat less than what you see out there. Well thats my page for now Hasta la próxima vez El Waz
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