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The Motorcycle Diaries
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)) Fruit is still delivered by bicycle in Buenos Aires. This delivery bike is similar to bikes that were used in Buenos Aires for grocery deliveries in 1952 (and, are still used!) )) Paola on the beach at Playa Union, near Puerto Madryn. This is well south of Miramar where Che and friend Alberto went to visit Che's girlfriend before they headed east across the plains of Patagonia. )) Paola posing with our support van on the plains of Patagonia in January 2007. The road taken by Che and Alberto would have been as desolate but gravel in January 1952. )) The church in Bariloche with Lake Nahuel Huapi in the background. Che and Alberto passed through Bariloche on their way to the pass over the Andes. )) Paola at Lago Frias in the Andes right at the Chilean-Argentine border. The Motorcycle Diaries shows Alberto and Che going through snow right after they left the lake to cross over the pass into Chile. We didn't have snow but we delayed our ride a day in January 2007 to avoid a snowstorm! Che did not actually describe riding through snow in his written narrative, one of the few places in the film where Salles invented a scene for the effect. )) Paola on the road to Lago Todos los Santos in Chile. Che and his partner would have taken the same road in 1952. )) Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador and founder of Santiago, Chile - Santiago reminded Che of his home town of Cordoba, Argentina, "our own Mediterranean city." )) The Road to Iquique - Northern Chile, including the Atacama desert, is one of the driest parts of the world. Che and Alberto hitchiked to Iquique after visiting the open pit copper mine at Chuquicamata. )) The abandoned company mining town of Humberstone near Iquique, Chile - North American and European mining companies have mined copper and atmospheric nitrates in Northern Chile since the 19th century. Che was profoundly affected by the working conditions of the miners. )) The travelers had noted that their route followed that of Pedro de Valdivia backwards from Santiago, Chile across the Atacama Desert to Cuzco, Peru. Here we are in the main square in Cuzco. )) Near the market in Pisac which Che and Alberto visited on their way to Machu Picchu. )) In the Motorcycle Diaries Che and Alberto are both shown being photographed in front of this stone wall at Machu Picchu. That's Rick, not Che. )) In the movie Che and Alberto had the leper colony at San Pablo as their destination. It didn't look much different from this. )) The Amazon River boat in the film looked very much like this boat which Rick spent two nights on in April of 2005. |
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I’ve taken only three trips to South America: once to Peru, once to Chile, and once to Argentina and Chile to do our ExpeditionPlus! bicycle tour across the continent. As I watched The Motorcycle Diaries for the second time I was struck by how much Che Guevara and I overlapped in our explorations of this vast and fascinating continent. The photos in this essay try to document that overlap while giving you some suggestions of where you might consider going if you plan a trip.
Rick Price, Ph.D in Cultural Geography, and his wife, Paola Malpezzi-Price, Ph.D in Romance Languages, are the owners and founders of ExperiencePlus! Specialty Tours, Inc. Since 1969 they have walked and bicycled throughout Europe, exploring local cultures and collecting stories. Many of the essays, book reviews, and recipes in the ExperiencePlus! Reading Room derive from their travel experiences over the years. If you would like to contact Rick or Paola you can e-mail them at 