My Home is the Road
Dog.O.Mobil on Tour
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South America 2024 and beyond
Where do you find the Dog.O.Mobil at the moment?
Pictures from previous tours

Peru
Condoroma

Peru
Uros Islands

Chile
Ruta 11

Chile
Dust road at the salar Atacama

Argentinia
Salinas Grandes de Jujuy

Argentinia
Laguna Blanca, Puna

Chile / Argentinia
Paso Agua Negra

Chile
Sunrise near Combarbala

Chile
Santiago skyline

Chile
Estero Nuevo Reino

Chile - Volcano Osorno

Chile - Isla Grande de Chiloé

On X12
Chile

Puerto Grosse
Chile

Lago Gral Carrera
Chile

Lago Posadas
Argentina

Lago Belgrano
Argentina

El Calafate
Argentinien

Lago Amarga
Chile

Morning view
Bahia el Bote
Chile

R255
Chile

Volcan Lanin
Argentina

Reserva La Payunia
Argentina

The Andes from RN 149
Argentina

Parque Provincial Ischigualasto
Argentina

Quebrada de los Cuervos
Uruguay

Cementerio Central
Uruguay

Patio de Escuelas Menores
Salamanca, Spain

Black Forrest
Mt Feldberg

Denmark
Nyborg

Norway
Røssvatnet

Lodingen
Norway

Norway
Hinnoya

One of many lakes
Sweden

Demark
Øresundbron

France
Jura

Vosges
France

Boshtova
Albania

Bulgaria
Near Kasanlak

Klisura Rijeke Pive
Montenegro

Wrocław
Poland

Greece
near Arkadiko Chorio

Senj
Croatia

Slovakia
Štrbské Pleso

Danube
Romania

Bosnia and Herzegovina
near Kalinovik

near Constanța
Romania

Poland
near Poznań

towards Berat
Albania

Andromonástēro
Greece

Maramureș
Romania
Impressions

Pallay Punchu - Layo Canas
When I look at the top destinations in Peru, the Rainbow Mountains, Vinicunca and Palcoyo are among the top 5 destinations. It was only by chance that I came across Pallay Punchu at Laguna Langui.
I had already seen various cerros with many colors, but this idyll at 4,700 m inspired me. Probably also because I only came across 10 tourists in 2 days compared to the hundreds a day at the Rainbow Mountains and the whole thing is free.
At Pallay Punchu - Layo Canas the alpaccas still graze freely along the road

Paisaje Arqueológico de Waqrapukara
The ride from Laguna Pomacanchi to Campi was spectacular. Before Acomayo I left Ruta 117 and drove the next hour on the steep slopes of the mountains. The road in Campi was tight and bumpi however thereafter was great. The views from my pitch were reward enough.
The hike to Waqrapukara was too much for me. However the outlook during the hike was worth the 15 km on approx 4'000 m.a.s.l.
Another example for a less touristy location in Peru, I saw 3 other hikers that day

Highest pass in Peru
Yesterday, more by chance than by design, I found myself on the Ruta 34 E with the Dog.O.Mobil on a pass that has no name but is 4'789 meters above sea level. If you are looking for it, its location on Google Maps is about here
I couldn't really enjoy it much, as it rained, snowed and stormed all afternoon at over 4'500 m.a.s.l. What's more, the Ruta 34 E was the worst fucxxxx dust road in South America for me. I had never had so many potholes over 25 km before.

Puerto de Tiquina
Puerto de Tiquina on Lake Titicaca is a ferry port where wooden ferries still bring everything from cars to trucks to the other side of the lake.
It only takes about 15 minutes and costs less than €5. Many Europeans can't imagine such a thing 🥳

Highest Pitch in Chile
What can I say, after crossing the Paso Agua Negra at over 4'700 m.s.a.l without any problems, I had been looking for higher and higher pitches over the last few weeks.
At Lago Chungará I cracked 4'500 m.a.s.l. It wasn't just the altitude, but also the fact that I drove up from Arica (sea level) with just one stop.
The pitch was brilliant, the view unbeatable. Temperatures at night were below -5 Celsius and I had to leave the parking heater on all night for the first time. But I didn't feel too bad at that altitude.

Lago Chungará & Volcán Parinacota
My last stop in Chile was Lago Chungará at the border to Bolivia. There are so many volcanoes and mountains in the Parque Nacional Lauca that this national park is definitely my favourite in Chile.
Firstly, because the panorama at over 4'500 metres is hard to describe, but it is brilliant. Secondly, because the wildlife at this altitude has so much more to offer besides llamas, flamingos, pumas and vincunas.
But if I'm honest, the altitude did get to me. I was glad to go to lower altitudes in Bolivia

Llamas
In the last 2 weeks I have seen one or two llamas, then groups and at the weekend herds. They can reach almost two meters in length, weigh up to 190 kg
I stayed with a breeder who had more than 200. The animals are so damn photogenic and the little ones are really cute.

4'055 m.a.s.l Pitch
I've been traveling through the Puna for days. I crossed passes up to 4'500 meters above sea level on the way and descended again in the evening to a maximum of 3'500 m.a.s.l.
Worked well. When I was standing at the Cone de Arita yesterday, I told myself that I had to break the 4'000 m.a.s.l. barrier for a pitch. I slept last night at 4'055 m.a.s.l. I feel brilliant! However I have to say it was fresh this morning with 2.5 Celsius outside

Cone de Arita
The Salar de Arizaro is a salt lake in the center of the Puna and lies at an altitude of 3,460 m.a.s.l. The ‘Cono de Arita’ is one of the sights of the Salar and one of my first goals for South America. Goal achieved!
The last 20 kilometers to the Cone de Arita are some of the worst Ripio tracks I have driven to date. I crawled along the track at 10 to 20 km/h at 25 degrees

Paso Aqua Negra (4'753 m.ü.d.M)
It's around 320 kilometers from Vicuña, CL to Jachal, AR, with the Paso Aqua Negra in between. No really steep sections, tarmac road, but from the Embalse La Laguna you drive on gravel. Not a really bad track, but it's enough. It goes over approx. 158 km from 616 m.a.s.l. to 4'753 m.a.s.l., so it goes up about 25 m per kilometer. It looks similar on the other side in Argentina.
I have to say that I was more excited about the journey up and down than the pass itself. Apart from a few signs, there's nothing there.

Fog on the Pacific coast
Without warning, this fog forms on the Pacific coast. The temperature quickly drops from over 25 degrees to well below 20 degrees.
I found this phenomenon so interesting that I made a video with the drone. Unfortunately, the drone crashed after almost 25 minutes. I couldn't find it afterwards. The next morning, Marcus, Siegfried and I tried again. With success!

No Bridge
I drove for approx 1 hour on R-801 and it was one of the most spectacular valleys in Chile so far. But this tiny little bridge, or better what was left of it forced me to go back to Lonquimay. So I had twice the opportunity to enjoy the valley you could say, correct!
The whole R-801 is a gravel road, however the last 20 min to the missing bridge was covered in a black powder, so fine that it got into the car through every crack. Guess what I did the day after 🥴

So near and yet so far
Arrived at Lago Llanquihue in the late afternoon after a hike in the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino. What a view of the Osorno Volcano! Should be doable for me!
In the evening I looked at the weather forecast and I knew that it wouldn't be Osorno. Rain for the next few days. The next morning, the volcano was covered in clouds. It would be a different day and a different volcano!

R7, rain, rain and rain
If there's one thing I'll remember, it's the bad weather along the Carretera Austral. Below travel blog post didn't quite apply to me.
Patagonia in the dry season (December to February). During these months the temperatures are very warm, averaging 20° C, and the amount of rainfall is much lower than in the rest of the year. This is the high season and best time to travel anywhere in Chile

Stuck
What do you do when your mind says no, but you really want to see the glaciers from your pitch..... 2 hours later I was out again.
Thanks to Elisabeth and Carlheinz. Without help it would have taken much longer.

In Chile again
After 2 weeks in Argentinian Patagonia, I crossed over to the Carretera Austral (R7) in Chile. The journey to Paso Roballos and the border station were definitely a highlight for me.
Next stop Cochrane. Refuelling and shopping

Santa Cruz Provice distances
I am still not able to grasp the sheer distances in the Santa Cruz Province and as I call it the Estepa Province
Hardly a journey between 2 must-see spots under 300 kilometers and mostly on tiringly straight roads. Only the wind forces you to stay alert

Fitz Roy
Finally I have seen Fitz Roy. For me the most beautiful place in Patagonia. Even after a 19 km hike I felt so balanced and relaxed

Perito Moreno
At 8:00 this morning I entered the NP Los Glaciars to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier. Paid 45 € and 30 min later I was one of many others, that drove the only one road that gets you to the Mirador. The viewpoint is nicely arranged with pathes that gives you the opportunity to see the Glacier from all angles.

Let's see how the adventure continues
New Year's Eve is like Valentine's Day
Some people party, others sit in front of the TV and I celebrate in Patagonia without fireworks and a TV
Happy New Year!

I wish you a Merry Xmas
I wish you a Merry Christmas
from the shores of the Pacific Ocean
north of Punta Arenas

A coffee outside would be great
After almost a week of rain and strong winds, I can once again enjoy a cup of coffee in front of the Dog.O.Mobil with a view of Tierra Del Fuego.
It's only 13 Celsius, but it feels so good. Afterwards I make myself a campfire to round off the Saturday in style

From Montevideo to the Chile border
Last spring, I wanted to know how many kilometers I would cover on this tour. Furkot had planned around 32,000 kilometers from Montevideo to Cartagena in Colombia. The distance to Tierra del Fuego was to be around 5,500 kilometers and the direct route (along the RN3) around 3,000 kilometers.
Up to the border in Monte Aymond it was finally 7,600 km. All the small detours to avoid traveling on the RN40 added up to 2,000 km.

Now it's got me, had to go to the workshop
In Rio Gallegos, at the wreck, the driver's door was almost torn off. It was windy, but the gusts of wind were fierce. The door wouldn't close, warped, and a hinge was broken. Drove 25 km with the broken door to the next workshop
A VW workshop repaired it. They just laughed about the rookie error.... But they were so helpful

330 km and only 1 small city
Drove from Puerto San Julián to Rio Gallegos and only saw 1 city next to the RN3. 2 junctions and the rest was Estepa, wasteland. Nothing on the left, nothing on the right. Only exits to Estancias which I couldn´t see
A little bit like in a Mad Max movie

After the rescue mission
Once upon a time, there was a proud drone owner who wanted to make beautiful videos of flamingos. But there was a flamingo that didn't know right from left. The drone is now R.I.P on Mar Chiquita

Comparsa in Palermo
A comparsa parades very slowly down the street in Palermo. A comparsa group of candombe drummers and dancers

Dog.O.Mobil made it to the harbor
I have just received the picture from the agent. Friday 25th 18:00 local time. The Dog.O.Mobil is in the harbor and with a bit of luck I'll be able to take delivery of it on Monday

Grande Francia in Montevideo
On Oct 23rd the Grande Francia arrived in the harbor of Montevideo around 11:00 in the evening. Now everything just has to be in and on the Dog.O.Mobil🤪. Over 9 month of preparation finally goes into action.

Hand over Hamburg
On Sept 9th I handed over the Sprinter in Hamburg with the support of Overlander Shipping Hamburg. The whole process took less than 45 minutes. Expected arrival in Montevideo is Oct 7th. As shit happens, the Dog.O.Mobil will be on a later vessel and only arrive on the Oct 19th
Previous posts
Bolivia, in search of diesel
What can I say, I was afraid of entering Bolivia. When I arrived at the FRONTERA TAMBO QUEMADO, I was amazed. Directly at the border, there was a complex for entering Chile and a few meters further on, on the other side, the same for entering Bolivia.
Atacama, Chile
Paso Jamas is the northernmost road border crossing between Argentina and Chile. It connects the R27 (Chile) and RN52 (Argentina) and the cities of Purmamarca in Argentina with San Pedro de Atacama in Chile.
There was plenty of green between Salta and the Paso Jama
Salta was my first major city since Santiago and the first thing I noticed was that the city was surrounded by greenery. It was drizzling, but that didn't bother me because I had a few things to do
Puerto Montt to Temuco
It took only about 45 minutes from Chacao to Puerto Montt. Had paid 3 € for the highway, like in France or Italy. What can I say, it took me another 45 minutes to reach my parking lot near the Intendencia Regional de Los Lagos building.
Temuco to Santiago
There are several active volcanoes to the east of Temuco, such as Villarrica (2'840 m.a.s.l.) in the southeast and Llaima (3'125 m.a.s.l.) in Conguillo National Park. I wanted to go a little further northwest to Lonquimay.
Exploring Santiago and the neighbouring south with Marcus
When I picked up Marcus, the country became denser and denser the closer I got to Santiago. As I had time, I drove overland and not on the motorway. I found an interesting pass near Santiago, the Cuesta Lo Prado - Pudahuel .
Norte Chico
After dropping Marcus off at the airport, I travelled north on the Panamericana Norte (Ruta 5) towards the Pacific. I had decided against Valparaiso and Viña del Mar as I had had enough of cities for the time being.
Northwest Argentinia till Salta
After crossing the border at Las Flores, I wanted to end the day at Lago Cuesta del Viento and post a few pictures. I was proud of myself. My first pass over 4'000 m.a.s.l. As the name suggests, the lake is known for its wind and kite surfers.
Isla Grande de Chiloé
After a 4-hour ferry ride, I arrived in Quellón in fine weather. I did not only arrive in Quellón I also entered the Región de Los Lagos. After Región de Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, this was my 3rd province.
Rain on R7 from Tortel to Chaitén
After the Paso Roballos, I was hoping for a good Chilean road. Too bad. The road through the Patagonia National Park (Chile) is pretty battered.
Laguna San Rafael
In Puerto Río Tranquil I turned off onto the X728. Pitches were a dime a dozen and the North Patagonian Ice Field was my backdrop.
West Patagonia, AR
After I had crossed the border in Cerro Castillio on 1.1.25 in the morning at 9.30 a.m. in 40 minutes. The Chileans had checked my van on entering Chile, but no Argentinian wanted to look at it.
Patagonia, Chile
On 20 December, I took the Dog.O.Mobil in the direction of Mont Aymond. After I refueled the van I left Rio Gallegos towards the Border
El Bolson to Monte Aymond
As we travelled on from El Bolsón, I knew that El Bolsón was/is the hippie capital of Argentina. As in Germany, it dated back to the 60s and 70s. I certainly didn't notice much of it.
Parque Marino Isla Pingüino
Ute and Stefan had checked the whole thing out in advance and Darwin Expediciones had gathered enough people to drive to Isla Pingüino.
Bariloche and the 7 Lake District
On the weekend north of Lago Ñorquinco, I tackled all sorts of things. Saturday was just perfect in the sunshine to carry out repairs, clean the van and take a dip in the Rio Remeco.
Mendoza to the 7 Lakes district
After the disappointment of buying wine, we headed south on the RN40. We travelled via Tunuyan and San Carlos on the RN40 to Pareditas.
From Jachal to Mendoza
I was having breakfast at the El Mangrullo campsite in Mendoza when I realized that I hadn't made any notes over the last few days.
Fray Bentos to San José de Jáchal
When you see the usual posts on Instagram, YT or Pinterest, you think Argentina consists of the Andes and Patagonia. Together with the Hyggies, I made my way to the mountains
Parque Provincial Ischigualasto
The Parque Provincial Ischigualasto was the first national park in which we planned to do a guided tour with our own cars.
Uruguay - en el campo
I hadn't found much about Uruguay beforehand, and hadn't actually done much searching. The few things I did find didn't send me into raptures. I would have done Montevideo in 3 days if I hadn't had to pick up the van.
Montevideo
Montevideo has around 1.3 million inhabitants and is the capital of Uruguay. The city was founded by Spain in 1724, where the Ciudad Vieja stands today.
Preparation
The Dog.O.Mobil is on the vessel and I am waiting for the flight to Buenos Aires. Preparation completed ✅
2023 Kitchen remodelling
The Dog.O.Mobil scratches the 3.5to mark on every tour and I tried to figure out what makes it so heavy. I found the YT video from bergbrise-camping EVERY SECOND MOTORHOME OVERLOADED? informative and rejected the idea of increasing the load to 4to. It was more of a coincidence that I noticed that my Ikea kitchen is significantly heavier than I thought. So I saw potential here
Norway and Sweden
As usual I have a plan and their is reality. My plan was to explore Norway from South to North and go back south in Sweden. To reduce costs we decided to go with the Dog.O.Mobil to Copenhagen on the road, cross the Öresundbron (bridge) and explore Sweden first. I have to say... Like many other in 2023
Hiking on the Black Forrest
I use Komoot for 3 years now. In case I am too lazy to plan my own tour , I am going to use a Komoot recommendation.
Vosges - Route des Crêtes
February at the Swiss border had been sunny and actually much too warm. Since I had assumed that things would continue like this, I had considered the trip to the Vosges.
Initial Tour Ideas
My journey to travel with a van started a few years ago with an off-road training and the idea of driving down the Pan Americana from Alaska to Patagonia. It was the book and blog of Dan Grec who in one go inspired and scared me away.
Looking back at 6 months
2 weeks before the end of the sabbatical, my sister-in-law asked me "Did it bring you what you were looking for?" After about 17'500 km and my last hike to the Puy de Sancy, I started thinking about it on the way home
Mountains, Valleys and Lakes
Once again I'm sitting here and don't know what to write about the wonderful Pyrenees. I can't get a song about mountains, valleys and lakes out of my head, and it took me a while to find it -> "Mountains and Valleys" from Bender & Schillinger
Mountains - Borders - Surprises
This morning I started in Font Romeu in France, or better said the ski resort. It was fresh at 9:00 <only 15 degrees>. My planned path should lead me past the Spain enclave of Llívia to Andorra.
France - Occitanie
The Ardeche valley was beautiful, but hot and crowded. I couldn't bring myself to look for a parking space in the valley itself. I prefer it cool at night 😉
The French Alps
The first thing that struck me was the better developed roads on the French side of the Col de la Lombarde. Isola, better Isola 2000, the first stop, is a typical winter sports resort. While there are some summer tourists, the ski slopes, lifts, and ambiance screams ski-resort.
Back in the mountains
After a week in the Maremma with well over 30 Celsius almost every day and, worst of all, mosquitoes, I'm on my way now. The time with my friends in Ribolla was nice, I ate too much and didn't really move.
I am on the road again
After 4 weeks at home I left today <10.08>. It started at 31 degrees and a bright blue sky
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Updated22 April 2025
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