In January, a couple from Rovaniemi left Rovaniemi for South America for a bicycle trip lasting about a year. In September they arrived in the Andes mountains on the Chilean coast.
Tuija Kauppinen describes one of the highlights of the trip as a visit to a small Peruvian village of about 20 inhabitants. Together with the villagers, they were able to see how alpacas are cared for.
– It was a bit like being with the reindeer herders. They had gathered the alpacas, which normally roam the pastures half-wild, into the enclosure in the same way as the reindeer are gathered. It was a nice exchange of experiences, and it was really impressive.
Ilkka Kauppinen says that at the time of the interview, the couple was in Tocopilla, a seaside town the size of Kemi, which makes its living from fishing and seaweed collection.
The duo’s goal is to start pedaling back inland after breakfast, which initially means climbing 1,200 meters uphill. After that, the Atacama desert begins.
The biggest challenge in the desert is that water may not be found for hundreds of kilometers.
– If it is said that there are big distances in Lapland, then here they are even bigger. For example, yesterday we were thinking about one route, but there would not have been water or food for 500 kilometers and the climb would have been more than 3000 meters. It was then decided to take a slightly easier route, but yes, there will be enough challenges here too.
The merchants’ journey is supposed to end in Ushuaia, the \”North Cape of South America\ which is the southernmost tip of the continent. joka on mantereen eteläisimmässä kärjessä.
– We don’t have an exact day defined when we will be there. However, it’s good to be there sometime in March next year at the latest, because that’s when the really cold winter starts. Although it is a little less snowy than in Lapland.