Distance to Date: 2901 km , 1740 miles

We are almost there -- almost to the end of Stage 1: Santiago, Chile. And to think that 1740 miles is roughly halfway across the States! We are currently 20 kms (12 miles) north of Los Angeles (in Chile, that is) and about 500 kms (300 miles) south of Santiago as we make this update ...from a gas station where we're camping for the night. Luxury has never felt better!

We continue to push for the goal of 1000 "Likes" -- please help us by sharing our project with your friends and family. As we near Santiago, we are finalizing our arrangements to visit schools for the blind. This is one of our main objectives of the project and we will share with you videos and photos of those activities.

Below is a video Jedd made to share why making a documentary about our project is important to him. He's one of the Directors of Photography who will work on the Panama segment of the film.

Temuco is a lively town with many vendors. This one, well, if you're the sort that likes horse meat, then you are in luck. We visit the huge farmers' market and Christi checks out the goods. Fresh fruits and veggies are everywhere! We really feel like we are traveling here. Naturally, Tauru discovers the "food court." A quick lunch? A big bowl of homemade stew with salad and bread. This is the best fast food ever. Tauru is in food heaven. PS: It's not carne equino! We stay with a Chilean couple, Eliana and Aurelio, for 3 nights and share stories and smiles over a delicous Chilean meal. To drink? Carmenere - Chilean wine, of course! (Their daughter is a film-maker; check out her award-winning documentary, hija. After all the bike-pedaling, bike-fixing, and other such non-stop action, we decide to take a "vacation" and make a day-trip by bus to nearby towns. Tauru takes in the view of Lago Villa Rica. And in the distance, the volcano, also called Villa Rica. Christi enjoys a day when she can stop to smell the roses. Perfect. We visit the touristy town of Pucon and enjoy the architecture. We say fairwell to Eliana and Aurelio as they head out on their big journey northward!! Oh, wait... We head north, but our days of sunshine fade away. In Victoria, we find our place amidst the trucks and the fog. PS: As you can tell, this is not hidden "stealth camping." People are great down here in South America -- they let you camp wherever most the time. The next morning, we ride past this bridge on our way into Collipulli. The bridge was designed by the same man who designed the Eiffel Tower - notice the resemblance. When we arrive in Collipulli, there is just one obvious thing to do - visit the... Panaderia, of course! We cook up a big soup of chicken, lentils and loads of veggies. By the size of our pot, we are serious about our kitchen-ware. A big pot for a big pumpkin! That is one HUGE pumpkin! You buy chunks of it by weight. 200 grams? 500 grams? We visit Los Angeles to re-load with food, our fuel. We want honey and love Fuji apples, so we visit this man. He wants Christi to try some juice. What flavor? Membrillo! What's a membrillo? It's a quince. What's a quince? Christi finds out. She thinks about it. And it's delicious. How about some more? Why not? See Jedd's video...