Motorcycle Explorer December 2014 Issue 3 | Page 148

I left the lovely village of Purmamarca and made my way back to
the Ruta 40, turning onto it soon after Susques to the west of
Purmamarca. Spending the early part of the day on gorgeous
asphalt as it rolled around a multitude of Andean mountain
passes was as good a way to spend a morning as you could
possibly hope for.
I should have known I was having too much of good thing,
because for the rest of the day, the Ruta 40 kicked the balls clear
off me. No sooner had I turned onto the 40, it was back to really
crappy surfaces the whole way to San Antonio de Los Cobres.
The 40 navigates its way along the banks of long since dried up
salt lakes and rivers. Running off at various intervals you can see