October 25 Devlin:
  I cycled out of Nazca at 6:30, just as the town was waking up. There was a cold wind blowing from the ocean that made it quite cold to cycle. As I moved out of town the wind freshened and in the next 5 km's, when I moved out into the desert proper, it was blowing so strong that it threatened to stop me as I struggled uphill. At one stage I even considered getting off and running with my bike as it would surely be faster. As I went on though the wind dropped a little and I eventually finished with very stiff legs, still feeling the strain from Machu Picchu. As I drove on the pick-up, we passed through scenery like I have never seen before, and I have been places. Mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, with massive towering sand dunes and bizarre rock formations. The shoreline alternated between rocky and rugged then sandy stretches. Little coves were usually occupied by small fishing boats that belonged to the small, nearby villages. This place seems to be heaven and hell at the same time. Beautiful to look at but a harsh desert climate to live in.

October 26 Merce:
  Today I started very early: 5:30 in the morning. I was the first person in our day relay, because Dev, who is usually the first one, had the free day. The free day means to stay in the vehicle and take care of it while the people are riding! The distance for today wasn't long at all - 47 km - but it took me more than two and a half hours. Both the wind, that yesterday played against us, and the never-ending uphill I had, once I left Camana, made me feel exhausted. It is incredible to think that in less than a month we will finish the cycling section. I am starting to feel a little tired sometimes and bored to wake up everyday and jump on the bicycle, even though the landscape always helps to motivate me. The desert is so different from the places I used to visit that I find myself absolutely aware and interested in it. Even though we have been traveling here for many days, I still feel surprised that people live here, in this beautiful but so inhospitable place. During the day it is very common to cross little houses made with mud and straw, where you can see the ladies and children working in the dry fields and some dogs playing around. Near the running water there is a green oasis, giving a chance for the villagers to cultivate rice and grass for the livestock.

We left Camana and the next city we arrived at was Moquegua, where we had a couple of hours to explore while Piggy was at the mechanic's. With Dyl and Heidi, I went to the noisy and fun market to get some groceries, and with the girls we found the time to go to an internet place downtown. The "Plaza de Armas" was beautiful with a nice cathedral and the Socamuyo Museum. Since we left North America, today was the first time we slept again on the side of the route, and not in a gas station. There is nothing quieter for me than to put my sleeping bag just on the ground without any tent covering the sky. It was a dark and starry night, and at 7:30 I was laying down and enjoying the moment before I fell sleep, where all my dreams seem to be possible.

October 27 Heidi:
  Today we finished our cycling from Peru and crossed into Chile. It was a very different border from anything we'd experienced before. For the first time, they made us take out each and every bag and load them on the conveyor belt to scan them and check what was inside. This is no easy feat considering the amount of stuff we have collectively acquired. I would estimate that between 40 and 50 bags had to be lugged back and forth, checked and then put back in place. But all the paperwork was finished in record time and we even had a couple extra hours to cycle a longer distance. The scenery is much the same, we are still in a desert and I can almost taste the dryness of the air.

I have been feeling very different within myself lately, not good nor bad. The order in which we cycle puts Jess and Merce in the other vehicle for most of the day and I can feel a gap widening between me and them. There had definitely been a special bond between the girls, an extra bit of caring and love, but it is like everything else... if it is not nurtured, it tends to lose it's brilliance. There are times when I curse Pole to Pole for making me miss my family, home, friends, school, freedom, life etc. Then there are times when I still can't believe that I am on this incredible journey, experiencing so much. Lately, I've definitely been feeling the former, sometimes feeling like I'm not pushed enough, sometimes like I'm being pushed too much, sometimes frustrated and sometimes downright angry. It is hard to be in a group where everyone is so strong in their own ways, people clash and the effect is like ripples from a stone, everyone feels them. But the ultimate struggle is within ourselves; this is something that everyone has realized. I am the one who decides when to grow, when to laugh it off, when to accept it, when to speak up, when to face the music, when to make that extra effort. It is all me and I can't expect anyone else to take responsibility. What a challenge....

October 28 Jessica:
  Today, our crazy Japanese Naoki-san mentioned that there was a duty free port very near to where we were cycling today. According to him, the mall had over 400 stores filled with everything you can possibly imagine...all tax free! We all decided that it would be worth the detour to go check it out, so instead of making it a full day, we cut it into two separate relays. The first relay of 20 km each took us to the junction to Iquique, the port. We arrived and spent two hours trying to find the best deals on running shoes and sunglasses for the pole. We didn't have much luck and continued on to start our next relay that ended up being cut short because we were late returning from Iquique. No worries though, it led us into a beautiful desert sunset full of magnificent colors permeating across the arid land. What a treat with which to end the day. I have been trying really hard recently to stay in the moment, to live each day to the fullest. I can't help but think about going home and seeing my beautiful family who I miss so much lately, about going back to school and seeing friends, about sleepless study nights full of coffee and snacks to stay awake...I know that I need to be here, body, mind, and spirit, here in this amazing place, on this incredible journey. I am never again going to do something like this and I don't want to spend the last couple months wishing I were somewhere else. That is my challenge right now...no matter how hard the cycle, or how strong the wind, or how steep the uphill, I want to enjoy every single moment I have left here in the life of Pole to Pole.

October 29 Jay:
  We started to cross the Andes Mountains. I had traveled some hills today. It was about 23 kilometers straight, going up. It was also a very high altitude, so it was hard to breathe. I took about two and a half hours to cover 23 kilometers. It usually takes less than an hour, if it's flat. It was hard... and than I had about 20 kilometers straight down hill. I was nearly flying with my bicycle. I felt like sitting on a motorcycle. I think everything goes the same in our life. When there's hard times, there's good times afterwards. So...even if it's hard to keep on doing it, I'll keep working on it. It was all uphill and downhill, but it was a good lesson for me.

October 30 Naoki:
  There is only 160km from San Pedro de Atacama to the Argentina border, "Pasode Jama". The Andes mountain range and Atacama highlands waited for us on the way to the border. That is to say, it was steep uphill today. Atacama highlands have a particular environment. Although it is a desolate-like desert, a beautiful lake filled with emerald green water suddenly appeared in front of me. I saw the land covering some white, so I guessed that it was snow. But, it was salt. A huge salt lake stretched to the horizon and to my surprise some flamingoes live in there! The altitude showing on my bike part was around 4500m, and I had many up and downward hills on the road. I was biking being short of breath. And I remembered the North Pole from this rugged and solitary desert. If snow switched to sand, this strict environment is very similar to the North Pole. I feel Atacama highland is a different kind of polar region. Possibly I had light altitude sickness and my mind was vague. But I can remember just one thing and that is the color of sky, which was a very strong blue. It was seriously clear and deep. The contrast of color between the blue sky and reddish brown desert really impressed itself on my mind. We arrived at the Argentina border at midnight. At last we were in Argentina!!

October 31 Renaud:
  Down the Andes! We finally crossed them and are now only three to four days away from our last big city, Buenos Aires. As we arrived in more civilized parts of the region, I suddenly realized how European the cars around me were: no more American or Japanese vehicles everywhere, but Fiat, Renault and Mercedes. In those days I'm also reading a Newsweek magazine about Asia, the new Asia and how young people are changing society. Their tool: Internet and an ever-accelerating society, rushing after new needs and new ways to be excited. And here I am, cut from the world in Pole to Pole, thinking that humans should slow down to be more with nature and their surroundings. The answer is probably in the middle, as usual. Anyway, our international group has survived the inside and outside pressures put on us. The last month being the "southern fridge" is easier: let's ski, unpack, cook, sleep, cook again, pack and follow the buckle again. One thing though about how the group worked: when people from different cultures get together, they somehow find a medium place to communicate with each other. We have three members from North-America, as are the people in the office and Martyn; plus we trained for a long time there. Our group culture is then obvious: North-American! I'm rather critical about that, thinking that because of this we did not push each other hard enough, or we did not achieve as well an independent and fast opening mind. On the other hand the "no-conflict" syndrome, trying to avoid touchy subjects, has certainly helped us stay together now. Well, the past is gone and this one was really not too bad. Let's see what the next team will be made of and what choice they'll make!

November 1 Dylan:
  San Salvador de Jujuy to San Miguel de Tucuman.

To describe the countryside here, the closest (almost identical in some ways) comparison I could have would be to that of southern California: Semi-arid, with beautiful green hills inviting you out onto the flat plain beyond. Meanwhile the towering heights of the Andes stand as an immovable sentinel at our backs. All brings memories of my childhood with visits to Santa Barbara California, where my mother grew up. Memories. Memories and questions of perceptions of past have flooded my world these past weeks. Why EXACTLY! am I here? With the trip starting to come to the home stretch, I ask have we accomplished what we set out to do? And did we know exactly what we set out to accomplish before we set out? It is a challenge for me to remain focused as I find many, if not most, of the group focus is now on post Pole to Pole. These kinds of questions bark even louder as the now reality of more affluent Argentina seeps in. Again: megastores, massive industry, large plot agriculture, the omnipresent homogeneity of suburbia, and a very recognizable increase in the amount of vehicles. Personal vehicles - one for every house. The cynical side of me debalks this world and finds hopelessness in the contrasts of realities which we have witnessed over the past months. I find it discouraging and dillusioning to think that what many of us call first world culture (secure, safe, survival needs met, comfortabe financially and thriving with the pop culture of Coca-Cola, television and Hollywood) may be incredibly intriguing and desirable to many of those lesser haves in more Third World countries. As I look around me at all this (First world reality), I ask if this is our evolutionary finality and or desire. Is this what we wish to use as an example of the human process of evolution, hence the terms First and Third world? Using our team as an example, I am learning to appreciate diversity and its power to create things anew. As my cynic passes, I am thankful for the paradox that exists between these worlds, that there is no one way to see things, do things, or be different things. These questions are ones I have no answers for, nor may I ever but I can hope, through the uniqueness of diversity and the power of human will, with our different views and experiences of the world we can get a little closer to those answers.

November 2 Devlin:
  Today was not my best day on tour. I have been getting sick lately and today I felt the worst I have ever felt on the bicycle. I was dizzy and having stomach troubles. It was so bad that at 50 kms I had to stop and rest for fear of passing out. I was still faced with another 20+ km and I struggled on to the end where I picked up the vehicle. My day got even worse when I got stopped at a road block. "Where is your fire extinguisher?" I acted dumb, as if I didn't understand. Eventually I have to show them something, so we took a red MSR fuel bottle and I explained that this is a highly specialized type of extinguisher. OK. "Where are your emergency triangles?" Now I had to find a red fuel drum and proceed to cut two triangles out with my Leatherman. Unfortunately, I couldn't get away with this one, and the policeman gave me a $107 fine. I told him I didn't have that much so he said we can make a plan. If we pay here, now, we only have to pay $20. I gave him $10 and some small change and we left in a hurry. Once again, we learnt the value of practical problem solving.

November 3 Heidi:
  Jay and I had been waiting for five hours before we finally decided to call the office. Something had to be wrong if Piggy and the rest of the team hadn't shown up by now so we followed our backup plan of communicating through the office. It turned out we had forgotten the Visa card in the ATM a few towns back and Renaud and Naoki were still waiting by the side of the road, way past dark. We had tried to start The Beast earlier in the evening but it was absolutely dead because the ignition had been engaged so we sat hopeless. The day had started off like normal, with a mere 47km each to cycle so we could be within a short distance from Buenos Aires, our goal for tomorrow. Who would have known we'd lose our Visa card and then spend several hours looking for Naoki due to a slight communication problem. Being on the side of the situation where we could not do anything proved to be mentally taxing. It is one thing to be able to at least attempt to do something useful, it is quite different to be really quite helpless. Sitting in The Beast, reading, writing and knitting, I tried to pass away the time patiently but it became increasingly difficult. Scenarios floated up in my mind and even as I lay down to sleep, my eyes refused to close as I tried to think, yet again, of what I could do to be helpful. Nothing, except maybe stay lighthearted and wrestle with my patience. As always, the situation worked itself out and finally around midnight, almost nine hours after we had arrived, Piggy and the rest of the team pulled into the parking lot. And I drifted to sleep, exhausted from doing nothing.

November 4 Mercedes:
  In a few hours we will arrive to Buenos Aires, where my parents are waiting for us. I am very excited and probably that makes me act very impatient too. I felt that the last two days everything was going slower than normal. Today when we started our bike relay, one of the vehicles didn't start, again - problems with the battery! Once we fixed it and started driving, we noticed that we forgot Naoki in the gas station. At this time I was at the end of my nerves, but at least this didn't take too much time because he took a taxi and he caught up to us waving with both arms looking confused at the situation. I arrived home at about 2 pm and, like magic, all of my negative feelings changed instantly when I saw both smiling faces of my mom and dad behind the door of my apartment. There are moments that you never forget and seeing my dad walking and talking like before his accident was the best welcome I could have. I feel incredibly happy. It feels so good to be home and I had forgotten how secure and comforting it could be. It is a nice surprise to see the team feeling excited in my country, even though we had a bad experience with the cops asking for bribes (coima). They look like they are enjoying it: the landscape, the food, the people. At night we had dinner in the parrilla (a barbecue place). It is the most typical way to cook the meat in Argentina. With the team, family and friends, I had a really great time.

November 5 Jay:
  We had a rest day in Buenos Aires. It is going to be the last big city on our journey, so I had many things to do. I had to send some of my stuff back home, needed to buy a suitcase, sunblock for the South Pole, ..blah ..blah ...So it was a big shopping day for me today. I got most of the things done. To be ready for the "Pole" and going back home, made me very excited. In my mind our journey is done. Now it is just 60 more days. I'm tired and miss back home a lot! But...to finish our journey correctly and successfully... I'll give my last power to "P2P!"

November 6 Jessica:
  Dejavu. Today I was taken back to North America where we were bombarded by media of all kinds. Starting in the morning with a press conference at the Secretarial House of Sustainable Development and Environmental Politics, we were faced with T.V. cameras from all over the nation. It felt good to have a few butterflies in my tummy trying to rehearse in my head what I would answer to certain questions. Mercedes naturally received the bulk of the questions because it is her native country, but since I am the only other member who speaks Spanish fluently I knew I had to be prepared in case they wanted to talk to me as well. After the question and answer session we were taken to the National Congress and taken on a tour of the historical building.

OTHER PICTURES & REPORTS: 

Guayaquil to Machu Picchu

Panama to Guayaquil

Nandaime to Panama

Puerto Escondidas to Nandaime

Los Angeles to Puerto Escondidas

Washington to Los Angeles

Ottawa to Washington

Thunder Bay to Ottawa

Vancouver to Thunder Bay

100 Mile House to Vancouver

Inuvik to 100 Mile House

North Pole to Resolute Bay

Training Camp