James & Rob's Blog

Dear Friends and Supporters of 180 degrees,

A belated Happy New Year from Santiago in Chile.

The festive season has been intensively active for us, covering the lower half of Peru and the upper half of Chile, rounding up the total cycled distance to 8500 miles since New York! It was about a week before Christmas when we crossed the Chilean border, staying the night in a renowned Surf town called Arica. The difference in prosperity was instantly visible, the Super market better stocked, and unfortunately, prices not too distant from those we're used to in the UK! It is a real wonder that towns like this, so deep in the arid Atacama, are able to survive. There are no rivers, only dry undisturbed river beds and all the water has to be either tankered in or procured by trapping the occasional coastal fog in fine nets that collect the condensation. It really is unbelievably barren. For a stretch of almost 1000 km we did not see a single animal, plant or insect.

The Atacama has an almost disturbingly empty wilderness, characterised by strewn rocks dotting the endless red dust. It is bounded on one side by the cold Pacific, and the other by a seemingly impenetrable wall of mountains. The ambiance is constantly transfigured throughout the day, often with the most beautiful moments found as the receding sun sets the desert alight with deeper reds and flaming yellows on the higher peaks. Later still it is easy to see why this area hosts some of the world's largest observatories. Dozen of miles from anywhere, we were lucky enough to camp beneath some of the world's clearest skies. It sometimes seems as though there are more stars than the dark spaces between them.

After four sweltering, hilly days we arrived in Antofagasta on December 23rd. A partly collapsed tunnel from a recent earthquake had forced us to squeeze it down from 5 days because of limited opening hours. We were grateful for the extra rest day this provided though and Antofagasta was a pleasant, if not slightly industrious Christmas location. Unfortunately our planning had been a little bad, and we'd forgotten to buy any food for a festive dinner. Shamefully, we were forced to retreat to the only open restaurant, and devoured a particularly poor McDonald's. Dreaming of roast Turkey we made our way to the Sea front and realised that Christmas at 30 degrees C, playing on a beach and swimming in the Ocean wasn't so bad!

We gingerly forced ourselves back on the bikes for a bit of Boxing Day exercise, not really relishing the prospect of a further nine days in the Atacama. Six days later, on New Years Eve we arrived in a coastal resort town called La Serena. We were lucky enough to be invited for a meal with a local family and shared the midnight fireworks with them. As we began cycling on New Year's morning most of the town appeared to still be drearily returning from the celebrations! Of the previous nine months, the last two weeks have been some of the hardest to keep focused as the four of us have thought of the friends and family we have been without. Much to our relief however, the relentless Desert had begun to soften and was now populated with low gauze bushes which provided ample excuse to be happy! The following two days were a lot colder as thick mist enveloped the land closest to the Sea, a strange phenomenon caused by the icy cold Humboldt Current. We were already keen to escape from this as we climbed our way towards Santiago, and were rewarded handsomely. Emerging from a long smoke filled tunnel we gazed along an incredible valley. Lush with vegetation, between soaring mountains the V-shape perfectly framed the snowy giant of Aconcagua towering at the far end. Glad of the renewed sunshine it wasn't long before we were entering the metropolitan jungle of Chile's Capital. It's an amazing place. It would be hard to complain about somewhere which not only has the cultural buzz and facilities of a premier City, but can be one of only a very few places where you can enjoy world class skiing in the morning and only two hours later some of the planets best Surfing!

It is our last significant stop before Punta Arenas and the end of the Cycling sections. It has been a busy few days compounded by the fact that Diego is sadly leaving us to return to University in Texas. He has been a key part of the team and many of the videos found on the website have been filmed and edited by him. Luckily though, we are now joined by Cecile, a talented Parisian film editor and we are really looking forward to travelling south with her fresh enthusiasm.

We are now facing the most critical 3 weeks of the expedition. We need to find GBP 70,000 to be able to pay the charter fee for the Yacht in the Southern Ocean. If we cannot find this then the Journey stops in Punta Arenas, incomplete. We are desperately in need of any ideas and support. We can provide opportunities to Sponsors, or loan money using post expedition commercial media rights to re-pay. We have our work cut out in the following days, but we need help and would be so grateful to hear of any ideas. Please feel free to email us.

Thank you all, you have provided the air in our wings to reach this far and now the finish line is almost in sight.

Wishing you all the best in the year ahead,

James and Rob