The road south

The road: the Careterra Austral, in english, the Southern Highway, an ambitious name for something that is often poorly-graded gravel backroad.
The bike: the Specialized Deja-two, aka "La Pequena", aka the big, pink tandem. This thing is a two-person parade on 26" wheels. I will continue the tradition of giving children or old men rides on the back while Karinne checks out accomodations; the kids love it, the parents not so much, the old men are scared shitless.
The music: Currently I have the Kills, the Cloud Cult, the Mountain Goats on heavy rotation. For a band as potentially hippie-pretentious as the Cloud Cult, holy crap, they pull it off somehow. I have somehow missed them playing nearby twice, to my regret. "For the moment I can see way better than I've ever seen" CC. Amen.
The gear: the lightest we can manage. We hauled too much stuff across southern Mexico, and we don't want to do that again. Still, things add up. I've stolen Karinne's kitchen scale to weigh such silly things as shoes, water filters, and even shorts.
The plan: gloriously vague. We'll fly to Santiago, spend a couple days there, and catch a bus south. Then we'll ride around a bunch. Honestly that is the extent of the current plan.
On a completely different topic, Java the dog turned 21 dog years yesterday. She got no booze, but some venison chunks, which disappeared amazingly quickly.