Extended periods of travel in another country inevitably leads to homesickness. Fortunately for me I'll get to cheat a bit. Not only will my old man meet me in Chile to ride the Patagonian leg of the motorcycle trip, but I'll also get to meet up with one of my best mates from back home. Michael just landed in Santiago, Chile, to start his own South American adventure and is scouting out a few locations that I will be visiting later on. We have previous experience travelling South America together, and I'm looking forward to reunite as an out-of-place-yanqui duo in Argentina. He met me down there in 2010 in time for the World Cup and everything it entails in a country like Argentina (e.g. shutting down a city to party in the streets when they win, and doing everything you can to hide your gringo-ness when they lose).
How to blend in and not look like a tourist in Argentina. Buenos Aires Subte, World Cup Quarterfinals Game Day, July 2010. Michael is on the right, doing his best Abercrombie pose. Yours truly is on the center left with Argentine flags painted on his face. An example of flawless assimilation
We had such an awesome time that we're going back for more asado, yerba mate, and 6 AM post-boliche choripan. Michael and I will meet up in Cordoba, Argentina, and heading west toward Chile. From there I split south to start the motorcycle portion of the trip.
If you'd like to see South America according to someone far more hilarious and much much smarter than me, follow along with Michael's blog.