#1: [11-Jan-09] (incomplete)

05-Feb-2009 -- During our bicycle trip from the Equator to Ushuaia we, Edoardo Piazza and Christian Bomio, passed close to various confluences. When we discovered that the confluence 20°S 67°W was still unexplored, the occasion to visit it was too juicy.

The maps didn't show any road close to the point, but there was a railroad track in the area. About 25 km north of the confluence, we left the cobblestone road and started to follow the track. After about 15 km, the train track bent to the east, we then kept pedaling heading south through sandy fields, salty lands, dry river beds and colored rock landscapes. We eventually reached a small village called Machacuyo, about 5 km east of the confluence. The inhabitants couldn't help us identify the best way to join the confluence, so we cycled to the west around a group of hills and we camped in an old rocky river bed, just before the dusk.

The following day we early set up to hike the last 2.25 km left till the confluence. And man, what on Google satellite pictures looked like a flat Pampa, in reality was a hilly and rocky landscape. It took us more then an hour and a half to walk to the confluence at 3959 meters above sea level, but it was worth the effort. Our reward was the terrific scenery of the area, with a glimpse from above on the Salar de Uyuni, the biggest salt flat on Earth, located about 20 km to the West.

After that, our wheels continued cycling south to reach Ushuaia. Our last reported position can be checked on www.zonzo.ch.