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Our next sortie’s destination was the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Array). Located on the Chajnantor Plateau, it’s one of the world’s most important international observatories ever built—and still under construction. ALMA is a vast antenna array, whose surfaces have been smoothed to within the thickness of a human hair! Jason’s inner astro-geek was determined to find this revolutionary telescope no matter what.

But the security guy on the main road in, who was about as much fun as a funeral, insisted we wouldn’t be going anywhere near his highly protected pride and joy. So Jason gleaned an alternative route from Google Maps that essentially required us to scale a volcano to get there—according to a sketchy line on the SATNAV, anyway. As no road as such is marked on the map, we proceeded to scramble up the sandy tracks that “suggested” a route over the summit leading to the ALMA.

My bike conked out ascending the first sandy hurdle. Then the front wheel sank in without solace. From there on it was a battle against my lack of skill to tackle this sandy travail. But once I got going, I was flooded with a buzz, albeit an adrenaline-laced, shaky one.

We carefully picked our way around the volcano’s rough and tortuous edges, treaded over patches of snow and eventually reaching a height on par with Everest’s base camp. Over 5,200 meters in sub-zero temperatures… but although I felt vulnerable and dizzy from the torturous altitude, it was so beautiful up there!

Then, just a few hundred meters from reaching the observatory, we encountered a barricade of sand. As I’m not a seasoned sand rider, we were forced to turn around. On the return trail, however, a smattering of smugness seeped in as my wheels somehow managed to avoid going down in the sand, apparently to the chagrin of my partner, who was filming me in anticipation that I would! Alas, we didn’t quite make it to the ALMA, but getting as far as we had was good enough for me.

From this experience a new mantra emerged: Wring as much fun from life, in the most gutsy, earthy, rollicking, lip-licking way possible. Philosopher Alan Watts said it another way, “Let go and be hung up on nothing.” To that, I’d add “and by nobody.”

About The Author:

Lisa Morris’ love for two-wheeled travel is parallel to a soft spot held for scuba diving. Born and bred in Britain, from the age of 16 she travelled extensively worldwide for 15 years in between getting a degree, a career as a civil servant in the education sector, becoming a diving instructor and running Red Sea live-aboard trips.

Lisa is currently riding the Americas on her F650GS (more affectionately known as Pearl) and relishes sharing tales on the trails as a freelance travel writer. Motorcycling from Argentina to Alaska bestows the best of both worlds; topside exploration and fun’derwater. TwoWheeledNomad.com