Coming in over the Paso Los Libertadores connecting Mendoza (Argentina) with Santiago. We then went down and from Puerto Montt took a detour across Chiloe Island, before starting the Carretera Austral in Chaiten. Going all the way south until Villa O'Higgins we crossed back into Argentina at Candelario Mancilla. After a quick detour in Argentina we crossed back into Chile at Cerro Castillo and rode down through Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas, towards the ferry bringing us to Tierra del Fuego!

Crossing the border from Bolivia at Villazon / La Quiaca we cycle down the amazing Ruta Nacional 9 towards Salta. Here we switch to the Ruta 68, otherwise known as the Ruta de Vino, to Cafayate where we get on the Ruta 40. Cycling down to Mendoza we swtich into Chile and come back into Argentina much further south at El Chalten. Then we go south towards El Calafate and back into Chile at Cerro Castillo. Once we cross the border again on Tierra del Fuego we ride all the way down to the southernmost city in the world; Ushuaia!

Potosí is the site of the most famous silver mine in the Americas; the Cerro Rico. This was the main supply of silver for Spain during the period of the New World Spanish Empire (15th to 20th century). Today the mine is still producing and we learned about the harmful effects of the mining activities on the region's water supply. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/out-from-the-depths

Coming in from Peru we cycled through Copacabana and followed the waters of Lake Titicaca until we arrived in La Paz. From there we went towards Oruro and went south until we came across the white seas of salt of the Salar de Uyuni. From the town of Uyuni we then went towards the Argentinian border at Villazon; with two side trips to Potosí and Sucre.

We entered Peru at the La Balsa / Namballe border and followed the road until the junction at Pedro Ruiz. Here we went left through the Amazon towards Moyobamba and Tarapoto, from where we went south to Tingo Maria and Lima. From Lima we went back up into the mountains towards Cusco, from where we cycled up on the Altiplano towards Puno and the border with Bolivia. (unfortunately we experienced a lot of troubles with our camera equipment during our time in Peru).

While in Quito, Michiel went with our friend Arnaud from www.lemondeleplushaut.com to climb Cotopaxi (5.896 meters) and Illiniza Norte (5.126 meters).

We entered Ecuador at El Tulcan after crossing the border from Colombia. Here we left the PanAmerican Highway to ride through the high altitude paramos of the El Angel Nature Reserve. We then went across the Equator, through Otavalo, Ibarra, and Quito before going off-road again to cycle through Cotopaxi National Park and around the Quilotoa Crater Lake. From there we went through Baños and cycled the entire Troncal Amazónica down to Loja and Vilcabamba. From here we rode towards the Peruvian border at Zumba.

While in Pasto we met with ADC (the Peasants’ Development Association); a NGO working throughout the Nariño department in Colombia. They took us to see the Cocha Lake, a RAMSAR protected site. Here we went first to Don Roberto to visit his Refugio Cristalino and then to Jaime Castro and his Reserva Natural Encanto Andino.

Together with the Fundacion ProCuenca de las Piedras we went up into the mountains around Popayán to visit Stone River and the farm of Don Francisco.

We went to the Zoo in Cali to first talk to a group of students about our project and then to learn more about Colombian and other wildlife.

Thanks to an introduction made by the World Wildlife Fund we met with Fundación Omacha in Puerto Nariño in the Colombian-Peruvian-Brazilian border region, deep in the Amazonian jungle. Here we learnt about threats to freshwater systems and species such as water pollution as a result of mining, deforestation and its effect on water levels, and displacement of bellwether species due to the building of large water infrastructure projects. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/up-the-river-without-a-paddle/

Coming back from Bogota we went to Ibagué in the Colombian department of Tolima, and met with Semillas de Agua; a local partner of the World Wildlife Fund. They showed us around and we learnt a lot about the Coello river basin and issues existing there with water pollution.

Starting in Cartagena, we biked down Ruta 25 towards El Bongo and went inland to make our way towards Santa Cruz de Mompox. From there we mostly pushed our bikes to get through flooded El Banco and back on the main road. Turning right at San Alberto (just before Bucaramanga) we biked into the hills and towards Medellin. After spending some time in that city we went onwards to Cali. A detour by bus and by plane then took us to Bogota, Villa de Leyva, Leticia, and Ibague. Back on the bikes again we pushed onwards through Popayan, Pasto, and finally to the border with Ecuador at Ipiales.

Visiting a Fundauniban project in the three communities of Mamón, Orihueca, and 16 de Julio in the banana producing area of the Magdalena department in northern Colombia. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/surrounded-by-bananas/

We visited another World Bank supported water project in Nicaragua; this one was in the early stages of bringing piped water services to a rural community outside of Managua. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/promises-of-blue-gold/

Funded by the World Bank, this project aims to provide clean drinking water to the people of the San Isidro Camino de Bolas neighborhood in Managua who lost their main source of potable water two years ago when their well collapsed. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/water-in-a-rapidly-growing-city/

Cycling through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama

We visited a water project in a small, rural community up in the mountains of Guatemala. Demotech, a Dutch organization, is teaching the local Kaqchikel people how to make and maintain rope pumps built out of nothing more than wood, wire, tin, bicycle spokes, and old car tires. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/building-water-pumps-in-xepatan/

In Mexico City we got into contact with the World Bank, who organized a visit to a water project in the mountains north of Oaxaca for us. Read more about this visit in our blog: www.cycleforwater.com/oaxaca-oax/

Michiel will take one picture each and every day for the year of 2011. A picture that stands symbol for that particular day as we try to cycle from Alaska to Argentina on bamboo bicycles to raise awareness for the global water crisis. www.cycleforwater.com

Crossing the border near Tijuana we rode down the entire Baja Peninsula towards La Paz. From here we took a cargo ship to mainland Mexico at Mazatlan and continued cycling through Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán to get to Mexico City. From Mexico City we headed through mountainous Morelos and Puebla towards Oaxaca. Only Chiapas then still had to be conquered in order to get to the border with Guatemala.

After arriving in the USA we rode down to Olympia to stay with some of Joost's relatives. Here we took some time to see Washington and head up to explore Seattle and Vancouver. Also, Michiel took some time to visit family in Nova Scotia while Joost went to a friend's cabin in Idaho. Afterwards we rode down the I5 to Portland (Oregon) from where we took some backroads to get to the coast. From here it was a straight shot down Highway 101 into California and to the Mexican border, going through San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego (while also spending a weekend in Las Vegas).

Michiel went to visit his aunt and uncle in Nova Scotia for a week, while Joost remained in Washington and Idaho traveling around those areas.

Last day of Prince Rupert, taking the ferry through the Inside Passage, cycling across Vancouver Island and crossing the border into the USA at the Olympic Peninsula!

Starting out in Watson Lake, we cycled the amazing and unbelievably scenic Stewart-Cassiar Highway south towards Prince Rupert

Crossing the border near Tok / Beaver Creek we kept following the AlCan and had to cycle roughly 500 km through the rugged and beautiful Yukon; this is what and who we came across

On July 4th, 2010 we flew from Amsterdam to Anchorage, spend some time exploring the area and gathering last-minute supplies. Then on July 7th we flew up to Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope to start cycling down the Dalton Highway towards Fairbanks. From here we switched East on to the Richardson Hwy and the Alcan to get to the border with Canada.

An overview of some of our last days in the Netherlands before we headed out to Anchorage, AK

We were invited to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) conference in Miami, Florida during the weekend of April 16-18, 2010. Following this event, we traveled to San Francisco to pick up our custom built bamboo bicycle frames at Calfee Design.