As Pete had already explained to me, leaving Mendoza on a hangover was inevitable, and on top of thi

The final stint, with only 21 days till Christmas. By this stage we had ridden through 24 countries, covering over 25,000 miles. The question remains…..did we make it to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world?
Day 217, Friday 14th December. We woke up at 8.30am in a rustic Bolivian farm house. car rentals for handicapped in chicago area Our fear and anxiety from the previous night had now changed to feelings of excitement. With blue skies and sunshine the epic mountain road sweeping through a deep valley was no longer a nightmare, but rather car rentals for handicapped in chicago area a motorcycle adventurers dream. The landscape was incredible, and the last 50km of gravel cliff edge road was a perfect way to finish car rentals for handicapped in chicago area off Bolivia before crossing into Argentina.
car rentals for handicapped in chicago area 30km outside of Villazon we finally joined a brand new stretch of tarmac. Despite our love for off-road, the asphalt was a welcome change at the time, and I felt a great sense of self-achievement having accomplished our route through the depths of Bolivia.
Having been told the Argentine Peso is quite frankly 'all over the place', and that once we were in Argentina we would be unable to withdraw car rentals for handicapped in chicago area US dollars, we decide to use a bank in Bolivia to withdraw $400USD each. After sorting the money, and then using an internet cafe to drop Team BMW a quick email advising them not to follow our route down 'Highway 1′, we headed to the border.
This particular border crossing was the busiest of the trip so far. Whilst Pete sweated it out waiting with the bikes and luggage in the blistering midday sun I joined the back of a lengthy customs queue. Things seemed to be looking up as an official noticed our bikes and much to our surprise took our passports straight to the front. This good fortune didn't last long though, as we then sat for hours waiting for the Aduana office to re-open after lunch. It was late afternoon by the time we finally made it into Argentina, and despite not having car rentals for handicapped in chicago area ridden many miles it already felt like it had been a long day. At this point we took a moment to congratulate one-another, as we had now ridden around the world from the UK and more than fulfilled our original objective of riding from Alaska to Argentina! However, we were soon brought back down to earth by a large road sign….
We stopped at the first town in order to withdraw some local currency, get a bite to eat and try and sort insurance. This makes it sound relatively straight forward, but as usual each of these tasks proved almost impossible! After-all you're on a biking trip, generally in the arse end of nowhere, in towns not exactly set-up to cater for your average gringo tourist expecting to use chip and pin in a Sainsburys Local. Forget worrying about extortionate cash handling and non sterling transaction fees, just plough through your cards until you find one that works, car rentals for handicapped in chicago area and if your lucky then enjoy the sound of an ATM rattling through potentially counterfeit notes and dispensing some of your hard earned savings!
It was a huge surprise to actually stumble across an insurance office, but no surprise to find it closed car rentals for handicapped in chicago area for a few hours. After killing some time trying to find money and food we went back for a second attempt. Thankfully it was open this time, but despite donning a large sign saying 'buy motor insurance here', I wasn't shocked to hear the guy say, "no, we don't do motorcycle insurance". Of course you don't. We sat on the pavement exhausted, and made a decision to simply forget about it for now and ride on without it.
In true Tough Miles style, a few kilometres down the road we realised we had forgotten car rentals for handicapped in chicago area to change our Bolivianos into Pesos. Unfortunately we still had a significant amount, and therefore decided we had no option other than to turn back. Unbelievably, upon arriving back at the border an Aduana official approached us to hand us some paperwork car rentals for handicapped in chicago area they had forgotten to give us as we entered the country! This was a huge stroke of luck, as getting out of Argentina without the necessary paperwork would have undoubtedly caused a serious headache! car rentals for handicapped in chicago area Pete then proceeded to explain our problem with regards to exchanging our currency, and much to our amazement he was allowed to walk back across the border, without car rentals for handicapped in chicago area repeating all the usual formalities, visit a money changer and stroll back into Argentina! Job done, time to hit the road.
That evening car rentals for handicapped in chicago area we stopped at Humahuaca. Despite not being in the guide book, Humahuaca, a small city in the Jujuy province, seemed to be a bit of a tourist hot spot with various hostels to choose from. Unlike your average backpacker we had the bikes to worry about, so we based our decision on finding them a suitable home for the night! Most people reading this probably dream about owning a big garage, well they don't come much better than this…..
car rentals for handicapped in chicago area The following day we hit the road by 9.30am. At this stage we were roughly 1450km from Mendoza, where we planned to spend a bit of time with friends car rentals for handicapped in chicago area and service the bikes. Our aim was to try and cover this distance over 2 days, a bit of a push on a DRZ400 but certainly doable…..especially with the luxury of a custom made Bill Mayor Saddle. Whenever we stopped I couldn't help but look around the bikes to make sure everything appeared OK. Pete shouted over "Stop poking around Engineer, just sit back and enjoy your Empanada for once". On this occasion lunch was ruined by yet another car rentals for handicapped in chicago area tyre failure. The Mefo Explorer had been a fantastic choice of tyre, providing good grip on and off-road. Having been fitted in Oceanside, California, it had covered a huge number of miles. car rentals for handicapped in chicago area However, car rentals for handicapped in chicago area my rear had finally given up, and a piece of missing tread now exposed a large patch of canvas.
As we've seen many times before, within a matter of minutes a helpful local was on the case. He rushed down his lunch in order to lead us into town before the dreaded siesta ruined our chances car rentals for handicapped in chicago area of rescuing the day. We followed him around in his rusty pickup truck visiting various motorcycle shops to try and find a replacement tyre. Unfortunately we were out of luck. Despite being worried about how long the tyre would now last we had little option but to push on. By the time we reached the next town it was 2pm, and everywhere was closed until 4.30. At this point we made a decision to cross our fingers and continue the ride. There was a much larger town 100km away, where we would stand a much better chance of finding something. Thankfully the canvas held up and we eventually managed to find a new tyre. The only option was a skinny Pirelli road number, which we fitted on the pavement. Who needs a centre stand??
On Sunday 16th December we rode 800km in blistering car rentals for handicapped in chicago area heat through desert terrain. A long day, and we both struggled car rentals for handicapped in chicago area to stay awake. Sometimes it's so hard to occupy your mind, and if you start watching the clock it's crazy how long a kilometre can feel. Upon arriving in Mendoza we were totally knackered. We stopped at the side of the road in some shade, got the laptop out and set about trying to contact our friends and find a hostel with suitable parking. Dripping in sweat, feeling partially deaf and exhausted, these times are tough.
Mendoza is an incredible city, with beautiful wide streets lined with trees, Argentinian steak houses and decent bars. I was finally car rentals for handicapped in chicago area experiencing the joys of Latin America Pete had told me about. The climate was great, with nice warm sunshine yet cool in shade. One of the main tourist activities in this region is wine tasting, with all the hostels car rentals for handicapped in chicago area organising large tours around hundreds of wineries. Although this sounds like great fun, we didn't have time for this, Tough Miles had business to do.
Monday and Tuesday were spent hunting down new tyres, fitting new chains, changing oil and spark plugs, and generally making sure the bikes were ready for the next stint. Besides these service requirements car rentals for handicapped in chicago area it was a chance to get the laundry car rentals for handicapped in chicago area done, back up the riding footage and see to any online admin. We also needed to look at the route, time was tighter than ever and we had a mission to complete.
Our final tyre choice at this stage was limited. For Pete we managed to find a pair of Metzeler Sahara 3′s from a small independent shop. These were expensive, but seemed like a good tyre to hopefully finish the trip on. I was able to get the same for my front, but not for the rear. The 'emergency Pirelli' would do for getting car rentals for handicapped in chicago area me down to Chile, but it was wearing more quickly than I had hoped, and we still didn't know what kind of road conditions to expect in the deep south. With this in mind I opted to carry a Pirelli car rentals for handicapped in chicago area MT-21, and only fit it if sh*t hit the fan.
On Wednesday 19th December we left Mendoza and began our journey towards Bariloche. Whilst packing up on another stinking hangover some girls came out of the hostel and asked if they could take some photos. One of them said "I want to show my boyfriend what real men do". I laughed and thought to myself, really, is this really what real men do? What the hell are me and Pete doing then? At that point in time I would have given my right arm to to be tucked up at home in bed with a hot water bottle and a haulix!
As Pete had already explained to me, leaving Mendoza on a hangover was inevitable, and on top of this we had to stop and buy more oil, spare bungees and fuel. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and for the first 200km it was cold, wet and windy, with bundles of tumble weed blowing across the road. Tough Miles, but this is what real men do! In the afternoon the hangover lifted and the weather car rentals for handicapped in chicago area perked up. We made good progress and finally stopped at a town called Santa-Izabel. We had covered 450km, therefore leaving 800k's to reach Bariloche the following day. Another classic 450,800.
As we neared Bariloche the scenery was stunning, with the road following a winding river through the hills. However, the weather soon became freezing, and as we entered the town it began to snow. Recent riots meant the streets were quiet, and most of the shops seemed to be shut. Nevertheless we didn't have any troub