The author on one of the consistently perfect days during his ride in Chile.

One of the tiny, picturesque seafood restaurants hugging the seaside in Los Vilos.

Riding up the Elqui Valley, home of the country's major pisco production

The Hotel Vichuquen, located on a lake high in coastal mountain range south of Santiago.

The volcano above Lake Villarrica in Chile's Lake District.

Making sure you know which way to run should the volcano erupt.

Riding in Chile can take you from the ocean up into the mountains within a few short hours.

The ocean views in Chile are stunning and very accessible.

The entrance to the Residenca Historica hotel located in the Colchagua wine valley two hours south of Santiago.

A rainbow over the Maipo River Valley, one of the country's premiere wine regions.

"The Chilean Andes are a fine chaos of mountains spreading away. They are sublime, like hearing a chorus of the Messiah in full orchestra."  - Charles Darwin, 1835

In March 2005, my wife and I purchased a stone castle in the heart of Chile's wine country southeast of Santiago. The property had been abandoned for more than six years and required significant renovation. While the planning and oversight of the restoration was exciting and rewarding, for the almost five years we have been traveling to Chile, all of our attentions were focused on the project with little time to explore. To rectify this lack of knowledge about our newly adopted country, I took a brief sabbatical in the fall of 2009, deciding the best way to see and understand our new home was to travel its back roads by motorcycle.    

Two months before I left Toronto, I shipped my F800GS to the port of San Antonio, south of Valparaiso. Once it arrived, Chilean customs informed me that it was illegal to import used motorcycles into the country. A new motorcycle was just fine, as was a new or used car, but not a used motorcycle. By now, I was accustomed to Chilean bureaucracy, so with my fluent Spanish-speaking son, I met with a charming young customs official. Yes, it was true I could not import a used bike into Chile, but I could bring one in for three months on my tourist visa. After a few hours of paperwork and some small charges, the bike was delivered into my care.

Chile possesses a geological and geographic footprint that is unique in the world. Despite being one of the smallest countries in South America, covering only about 800,000 square kilometers, it extends more than 4,300 kilometers from north to south, almost as long as Canada or the USA extends from east to west, but is, on average, only 175 kilometers wide. The landscape climbs dramatically in this short distance from sea level to some of the highest mountain peaks in the world rising well above 7,000 meters.

Bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountains to the east, Chile includes the world's driest desert to the north, verdant and lush vineyards and gardens benefiting from a Mediterranean-like climate in the central heart of the country, south through a beautiful lake region that would rival the English countryside, to the sub-Arctic splendor of Patagonia and a large part of Antarctica. For motorcycle touring, the country offers an abundance of riches.

When planning a trip in Chile, you can go either north, or south. One major highway, Ruta Cinco, extends from the top of Chile to the bottom, a part of the Pan American highway system. It is a well maintained, four-lane freeway and the major transportation route for most of the goods, services and people in the country. It can be quite busy, and it cannot be avoided. However, you can use Ruta Cinco to find less traveled routes west to the coast or east into the mountains, the majority of which are well maintained and offer wonderful, twisty adventures through glorious mountain and seaside vistas. There are also numerous dirt and gravel mining roads up into the mountains for the more adventurous bike tourer.

My initial exploration took me south through the Colchagua wine valley to the small town of Marchihue and the lovely nearby Residenca Historica hotel. Originally a Jesuit monastery built in the late 19th century, it has been lovingly and beautifully restored by its owners Vivien Jones Saporetti and her Italian architect husband Silvio. The hotel, a true oasis of comfort, is an excellent base from which to explore what is Chile's most prominent wine producing area. Numerous wineries conduct tours, tastings, with many having fine restaurants and gift shops full of local crafts. I can particularly recommend La Viňa Viu Manet just east of Santa Cruz, a beautiful setting with one of the finest restaurants I have found in Chile.  

Continuing south, I next traveled toward Lake Vichuquen near the Pacific coast, and encountered my first real adventure. I came to an almost-full, slow rolling stop at a signed intersection, but did not put my feet down. As I accelerated away, two of Chile's finest police, or carabineros, pulled me over. I realized they were going to charge me with failing to stop when they confiscated my passport, driver's license, ownership for the motorcycle and the reams of paper involved with the temporary permit allowing it into Chile. They told me I needed to go somewhere the next day to pay a fine, at which time all my papers would be returned.

The details of where and when I was to attend were a bit vague, and as they began to leave with all my papers, I called a good Chilean friend, Pancho Gazitua, and asked him to talk to the officers. I am not sure what he said, but following the conversation, the carabineros got out of their truck, came to attention, saluted me, handed me back all my papers, and wished me a pleasant trip. The moral here is that if you are ever stopped by the Chilean police, call Pancho.

I spent the night in a small and very pleasant inn on Lake Vichuquen, a destination for wealthy Chileans owning cottages on this beautiful lake high in the cordillera that hugs the coast. There are two hotels on the lake, both providing superb views of the lake and surrounding mountains and both with excellent restaurants.

The next day I followed the Pacific Ocean south through Constitucion, Cauqenes, Concepcion, and then east and south through the interior to the towns of Villarrica and Pucon. The roads were in excellent shape with little traffic, as long as you could accelerate past the numerous logging trucks. The region is home to much of Chile's forestry operations, and as you twist and turn through the mountain scenery, the typical old growth forests can be jarringly interrupted by swaths of clear cutting, fortunately much undergoing the process of being replanted. 

I ended my third day in the town of Villarrica, gloriously overlooking an active but breathtakingly beautiful volcano rising to its snow covered peak at the end of a deep blue lake. This region, known as the Lake District, is home to large numbers of Germans and their descendants. You can hear German being spoken, the street names have a Germanic sense, and the hotels have a distinct Teutonic touch. One might expect to find lederhosen-wearing men dancing in the streets holding overflowing beer steins. At the other end of Lake Villarrica is the town of Pucon, a bit more upscale than its neighbor, where neon and electric advertising have been banned and all signage must be made of wood. The town also includes numerous directional indicators showing where to run should the volcano erupt. Very comforting.

If you decide to tour Chile, It is best to make your hotel arrangements in advance. While Chile is rapidly improving its tourism infrastructure, finding decent accommodation en route can be challenging in a number of out-of-the-way areas. The numerous guidebooks available in most bookstores are very helpful, although I would refrain from trusting your GPS to find a bed for the night. I was misled on a number of occasions by this feature, although the system was invaluable in navigating through the larger cities where a lack of directional signs can get you hopelessly lost. Chilean maps and route information for your GPS can be readily obtained at outlets in Santiago or via the Internet.

My second trip took me north along the coast to Los Vilos, a picturesque fishing village situated around a harbor three hours north of Santiago.  There are a number of small cabanas along the beach that serve wonderful seafood, and a stroll along the seafront is sure to find you watching as the local fishermen unload their daily catches. Seafood is in abundance in Chile, and typically, you order your fish of choice, how you want it cooked, along with a selection of sauces and side dishes. Accompanied by a glass of crisp local wine, it is a perfect way to spend a few hours.

Leaving Los Vilos and the coast, I highly recommend following the roads inland toward Illapel, north to Monte Patria and on to Ovalle before heading to La Serena on the coast. These are some of the most twisty roads I have ever ridden - almost four hours of technical riding seldom getting out of second or third gear, with little traffic and glorious views. It is exhilarating, and exhausting.

You will even ride through Chile's National Chinchilla Preserve, so watch for the little critters. The landscape is very reminiscent of central California or southern France with various hues of brown and beige interspersed with verdant and lush cultivated growth along the river valleys. You can see why Gabriel Mistral, Chile's Nobel-winning poet along with Pablo Neruda, claimed that, given a bit of water and a bit of soil, Chileans can grow anything. There is a very nice small hotel just east of Monte Patria, the Hotel Hacienda Juntas, overlooking the deep brown hills and the lush vineyards that nestle along the Rio Los Molles valley.

From La Serena, I suggest riding east up the Elqui Valley through Vicuna and continuing to Pisco Elqui, the home of the country's major pisco (grape) production (the Chilean equivalent of grappa). The valley is a centre for star watching and a number of celestial observatories are open to the public. Apparently, the skies here are clearer than anywhere else in the world, and at night, the stars and constellations are simply magnificent. I can recommend the Hotel Galpon located just before the town of Pisco Elqui and its friendly English-speaking owner Antony.

For my third trip, I headed north again to meet and follow the Dakar Rally as it headed south from La Serena to Santiago in its second consecutive year racing through Argentina and Chile. The Rally had covered most of the northern desert regions, taking a significant toll on the competitors; of the 161 motorcycles and 140 cars that started the race in Buenos Aires a week earlier, only 88 bikes and 57 cars finished. It is fascinating to experience the Rally as a spectator; both on the course and at the bivouacs where the competitors rest while mechanics work on the vehicles. If the Dakar returns to South America in early 2011, it is well worth the trip.

All told, I had ridden almost 6,000 kms with about half the length of the country covered in my two weeks of travel. There are still the far northern desert regions to explore, as well as Patagonia to the far south. Chile is also an excellent base from which to tour other South American countries, including Argentina to the east, Bolivia, and Peru to the north. There is so much to see, and so little time, but who can complain when experiencing the world on two wheels.

David Mills is a communications consultant living in Toronto, Canada and San Juan de Pirque, Chile. He has traveled extensively by motorcycle through North America and Europe. He has written a book about his family's adventures buying and renovating a castle in Chile, available from the author at . 

UPDATE:

About two weeks after my motorcycle returned to Canada, Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest in recorded history. While the destruction and loss of life is tragic, Chileans are a resourceful and courageous people and immediately began the reconstruction. Bike tourers interested in traveling through Chile should know that approximately 90% of the hotels and restaurants in the country are open for business and would welcome you warmly. The roads are also in fine shape. On another positive note, the organizers of the Dakar Rally have committed to holding their third consecutive race in Argentina and Chile beginning in Buenos Aires on January 1, 2011 and running until January 16.