Valdivia, Chile, day 765
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Biking total: 113 days, 5667 km, 28’500 altimeters.
Climbing total: 252 days, 3401 km, 127’400 altimeters.
Sailing total: 400 days, 13’669 nm, 26 altimeters (Panama Channel)
We biked 1294 km to the base of Aconcagua and climbed the highest peak in South America only with muscle power.
On Aconcagua we have done a clean up and collected 300 kg of rubbish from other expeditions.
After the climb we took a bath in a natural hot spring at Puente de Inca, before Sabine joined me again to bike 1294 km back to Valdivia:
It was fun to bike down the Portillo pass. In Los Andes we got a warm welcome from family Sauvedra. In Santiago the German Ambassador Joachim Schmillen invited us again in his residence. Vicente cooked like in paradise and we met our members Brigitte and Valea from Geneva with lots of presents, so we felt like Heaven; – many thanks to our families and friends!
After all we said goodbye to our helpful Swiss Consulates Meya and Jean-Didier Javet and the super TOP-Aconcagua-crew, to our funny Tiroler boys, to our kind friend Manuel Santiago and to the nice staff of the German residence. We left Santiago in Xmas fever and 32 degrees Celsius.
Sometimes we took a bath to cool down. Fortunately the temperature was improving the more South we biked. The landscape was again spectacular. Unfortunately our blind passenger could not see it, but enjoyed the fresh air.
In Victoria we were invited at the birthday party of Luis Meynet. His wife Violeta Meynet become the first TOPtoTOP physical therapist . Together we will try to organize help for a school for disabled children in Victoria (more later). When we left Victoria we were full of fresh meat and our baby will have big muscles after all these proteins. Vitamins are also important in a pregnancy: – we were just in time to eat fresh fruits from the trees at Kirsten’s in Villarica.
Then we biked to Swiss family Kathrin, Dani und Marvin Hany. They decided to stay in Chile and started with a blue beery farm. Kathrin has a library of books about pregnancy and also some cloths for our baby!
On the way South we were also able to coordinate our school visits. – Just before Valdivia a dog showed us how it works at THE DAY! … and at 8 a.m. today a TV station joined us for the last leg.
We finished the new record Pacific – Aconcagua – Pacific without motor and made a distance of 2838 km with a total of 16’300 altimeters in 48 days!
As soon as we arrived at the TOPtoTOP sailboat Pachamama at ALWOPLAST in Valdivia, we were the most wanted for journalists. – Many thanks to Paulina Infante and Carlos Diaz for organizing the media!
Happy Xmas and a good New Year 2005!