Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Chile (shown in film): 1897 km Time spent in Chile (shown in film): 29 days Having crossed the border from Bolivia to Chile at over 4600 m.a.s.l., we shot down the perfectly paved highway 27 towards San Pedro de Atacama. The incredible sight of the vast Atacama desert basin far below and ahead of us could only be topped by the sight of the 2000 meter high wall we had descended from, behind us. Once again, like in Perú before, we had spent weeks, even months, well above 3000-4000 meters… and it was about time for a change. So after two nights in San Pedro, an incredibly touristy but nice town, we set off through the Atacama, the driest non-polar desert in the world, towards the coast of Chile, without knowing what to expect... and what a great ride it was! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/ Thank you to our travel insurance partner, Dr-Walter! Support us by using our affiliate-link: https://www.protrip-world.com/de/?vkn=86265

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Bolivia: 1396 km Time spent in Bolivia: 48 days It's hard to put into words the feeling you get when you're standing in the middle of the largest salt flat in the world and stare into an endless sea of white! Cycling across the Salar de Uyuni truly is an incredible experience. After spending three relaxing weeks in La Paz, our longest break in one spot in over 15 months, we set off south through Bolivia towards the Salar and beyond. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/ Thank you to our travel insurance partner, Dr-Walter! Support us by using our affiliate-link: https://www.protrip-world.com/de/?vkn=86265

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Ecuador (total): 1601 km Time spent in Ecuador (total): 55 days The night before we attempted to cycled up to the refuge of Chimborazo at 4800 m.a.s.l., we camped at 4200 m, on a wide open, high-altitude plain. We found some shelter from the relentless wind behind a little hill, with a spectacular view of the volcano! Chimborazo, the highest mountain in the world (when measured from the Earth’s core) at 6263 m, is an incredible sight to behold! ...and we were lucky enough to experience it in good weather. When we had previously cycled at altitudes between 3000 and 4000 meters, we had never really experienced any strong symptoms of altitude sickness, or noticed a significant reduction in our fitness. But this time, starting at around 4400 m, we could really feel our lungs and muscles being starved of oxygen. It felt like with literally every meter more, we had less and less power, until at some point we weren't sure anymore, if we could make it... Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Ecuador (shown in film): 601 km Time spent in Ecuador (shown in film): 18 days A few days after crossing the border to Ecuador, a massive landslide on the E45 highway towards Quito made our jaws drop. Not only at the scale of the destruction, but also because we couldn’t understand how we had come to be in a situation where we would have to take a 260 km detour! ...to make matters worse, we only had eight days left to reach Quito, in order to catch our flight to the Galápagos Islands. But after coming to terms with the circumstances, we actually had a pretty nice time taking a detour deep through the Amazon jungle and over a 4000 m.a.s.l. pass. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Colombia (total): 1384 km Time spent in Colombia (total): 32 days After leaving Colombia's coffee region and cycling through the Valle del Cauca, we headed back into the mountains and across the Andes once again, this time taking the notorious "Trampolín de la Muerte", Colombia's death road! Also known as "Trampolín del Diablo" (Devil's trampoline) or "Adiós mi vida" (Bye bye my life), the 60+ km dirt road between San Francisco and Mocoa, in the very south of Colombia, has claimed quite a few lives over the years. Apparently, in 2011 alone, over 500 people died on the death road, mainly from landslides pushing vehicles over the edge. Nowadays, the road has become somewhat of a tourist attraction, particularly for (motor)cyclists, as it offers spectacular views of the Andes mountains and a challenging ride... something we can definitely confirm! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Colombia (shown in film): 379 km Time spent in Colombia (shown in film): 12 days After spontaneously being invited into a family's home while setting up our bikes at the airport in Bogotá, we had the most amazing start to a new country imaginable. We ended up staying several days with the family, visiting Monserrate and going to the mall together. But eventually the time came to say goodbye and we headed into the mountains, over a 3270 m.a.s.l pass, towards Colombia's coffee region. On our second day cycling in the mountains, after some heavy rain, we encountered the muddiest road we've ever cycled... and it was a real adventure...! Featured Song: "Last Sunrise" by FRANI https://www.instagram.com/i.am.frani/ https://youtube.com/channel/UCmohI_qQqf1MDQh4z3fFA-A Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Costa Rica: 336 km Time spent in Costa Rica: 20 days Before our two-week vacation with Tobi's friends in Costa Rica could begin, we had to endure three final cycling days, which pushed us to our physical and mental limits! Especially the last day saw us climbing 1700 m and tested us with a puncture just a few kilometers before our destination. We had really been looking forward to our vacation for months and had definitely noticed how overdue it was for us. The past 7 months we had been pushing it pretty hard, with 5 days of Covid quarantine being our longest time off cycling in that period. The amazing rainforests and wildlife make Costa Rica an incredible place, but is it really paradise?... Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in Nicaragua: 355 km Time spent in Nicaragua: 8 days Nicaragua - Where everything had to go wrong for it to go right! Our time in Nicaragua didn’t start well. In fact, it started pretty badly with a tedious 3 hour immigration process plagued by inefficiency. This definitely didn’t set the right tone and we found ourselves annoyed by the fact that we merely had to “cross” Nicaragua to get to Costa Rica, where a two week, bike-free “vacation” would await us. Things also didn’t continue well, after both of us fell sick immediately after crossing the border. We had a fever, pretty intense bone / muscle pains and were super weak, making it impossible to continue cycling... But, after a few days, things started to turn around and we ended up having a pretty nice time in Nicaragua! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/

Around the World with Bikes & Guitar! Distance cycled in El Salvador & Honduras: 519 km Time spent in El Salvador & Honduras: 7 days El Salvador, sometimes still regarded as one of the most dangerous countries in the world, has surprisingly become one of our favorite on our journey so far. Not because of overly breathtaking landscapes or so, but simply because we had many great experiences within the few days we were there. From finding a desolate campground right on a beautiful beach, to sleeping at churches and being offered breakfast in the morning, things were really going our way! And the people were always super helpful and kind. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chainsandchords Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chainsandchords/ Check out our Website: https://www.chainsandchords.com/