TravelStream™ news feed for member chemoejito on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/chemoejito en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 05 May 2009 21:38:13 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232764080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232764080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232764080/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 21:38:13 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Rio Gallegos, Patagonia, Argentina

January 23rd.                     As we left Comodor this morning the winds began to howl off of the Atlantic Ocean, the temperaturedropping noticeably. We had a cold, hard ride with occasional rain fall as the legendary winds of Patagonia blow us around. The Guanaco´s and sheep staring at us from their pasture, pink flamingos picking away for food in shallow ponds.We arrive in Rio Gallegos late in the evening and both of us are exhausted from the winds.January 24th                   We realize this morning that we are on the doorstep of our goal, we are laughing and bantering despite the fact that we have 2 border crossings in the same day. As we pull up to the first border my jaw drops,there is a line up of cars at least 1/2 km long. We make our way into the office and have to wait almost 2 hours to have our passports stamped and bikes released from Aduana. The line up of people doubling in size as we wait. My estimate is they will be standing in line for over 3 hours. Entering Chile was quick and straight forward. As werolled along we had to get on a ferry to cross the Strait of Magellan. Ruta 3 continued for several kms and it finally ended and we followed road number 257. This was by far the worst road we have traveled on this trip, huge washboards and potholes,  very loose grade A gravel, sitting between the tire tracks. At times 6" deep it was difficult to keep the motorcycle out of this deep gravel with the strong wind pushing us around. On top of all this there is a constant stream of transport trucks driving by throwing the large gravel stones at us. The dust produced as they drive by causes us to chock up and is often so dense that we cannot see where we are going. On one occasion due to the high level of dust from a passing truck and lack of visibility I hit the deep gravel.  The bike swaying back and forth as I try to guide her out of it the gravel which is pulling us left to right several times. Ifinally guide her out of this mess and stop to collect myself. After over 100 km of teeth rattling riding we arrive at Chilean Customs and work through the process again. We then travel 12kms to Argentina customs, by far the best border on this trip. The staff friendly, helpful and efficient while music is playing in the back ground and they all sip their Mate. In less than 20 minutes we were done. The road instantly changing to asphalt, a welcome change after the mess in Chile. The winds continue to get stronger and by the time we reach Rio Grande we both agree to stop for the night.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1224085800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1224085800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1224085800/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 21:33:22 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Fergus, Ontario, Canada

Wow, Five days and we leave. It seems the closer I get to Oct 20th the more there is to do. The excitement and nervousness are reaching epic levels!I am still tying up some loose ends at work. My to-do-list for OMSA is complete.Mike and I  met tonight to pack, unpack,repack, analyze and remove anything we don't deem necessary for the trip or get rid of duplicate items.We need to weigh everything going into the panniers so that we load them as balanced as possible, All motorcycle prep work is complete.I also have made contact with a Canadian couple today who travel to Panama every winter. In fact they own several apartment units and have offered us a place to stay while in Panama. This will be very helpful to us as we have no idea how we are going to get around the Darrien Gap.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1231557540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1231557540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1231557540/tpod.html Tue, 05 May 2009 21:05:11 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Iquique, Chile

Wednesday January 7th                             As I make my way to the Peru / Chilean border I remind myself of the rules I posted much earlier in my blog. I enter Peru customs and get the first stamp. Wow that was easy and now I get the second stamp. I am officially allowed to leave the country. I go to Aduana to release the bike, the official has to get the form from a taxi driver outside because he doesn't have any. I fill out the form and he confirms the VIN number of the bike.... and stamp. Free to leave Peru in less than an hour. Just as we are leaving the Peruvian border a German motorcyclist pulls up. Gerald is riding a BMW GS100 and very overloaded. He meets us at the Chilean border while we are waiting in line. I am not surprised that once at the first window we get sent to another window, then another and yet another. Four forms later, 3 different people and several people in line frustrated with us because we don´t know the system we are ready for inspection. The inspectors are the most thorough yet and pull off both my panniers and inspect them. The instant we cross the border the clocks advance 2 hours instead of it being 9:30 it suddenly jumps to 11:30. We travel with Gerald to the town of Arica where we stop for some lunch. He decides to carry on while Mike and I stay in Arica for the night..There is still plenty of daylight at 8:30 and we are going to have to adjust our internal clocks to match the time change.Thursday January 8th                               We get a wake up call this morning for 7:00, (5:00 our time) my concern is we will sleep to our regular time of 7:00 (9:00 Chilean time) and therefore lose valuable daylight. After a continental breakfast we walk down to the ocean front and watch the crew on the docks refurbish old fishing vessels. We left for the town of Iquique. The ride was boring there was nothing in the desert but sand and I mean nothing but sand, brown sand, white sand, black sand, course sand, fine sand. No plants, no animals, not even a cloud in the sky. Very Sterile.We arrive in Iquique book ourselves into the hostel, cook supper, drink beverages and then research the stop locations of the Dakar Rally.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1233584220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1233584220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1233584220/tpod.html Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:11:51 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Punta Arenas, Patagonia, Chile

January 27th                   I haven't written in several days and am just going to sum up what happened in Ushuaia. I have had a great time in town checking the local shops, restaurants, prison museum and taking a windy boat tour up the Beagle Channel. Ushuaia will always hold a special place in my heart. The sleepy town streets engulfed by the huge surrounding mountains. The ships blaring their horns as they leave port. The long daylight hours and rapidly changing weather always keeping the town folk on their toes. January 28th                   Mike is getting ancy and wants to leave Ushuaia tomorrow, I am still not prepared to leave but at the end of the day I agree to it. My heart is torn knowing this is the last day I will spend here and as we prepare to head North I must now focus on the future and the new life I hope to develop. It would be so much easier to stay on the road and be a mere vagabond but it's not in my nature (I think).January 29th                 We had all of our gear packed up, prepared to leave Ushuaia this morning but as fate would have it the battery was dead. I bum started the bike and went to a local shop and had it recharged. I couldn't recall if I left the rear parking light on all night so I hope I did and there will not be anymore problems................I check the battery tonight just before I go to bed and it is once again dead. I read the owners manual and eliminate all the possibilities as to why it keeps dying. There are a couple of tests I can do but I need a voltmeter. We will return to the garage tomorrow morning. It seems Ushuaia doesn't want us to leave either.January 30th                  Once again I bum start the bike and make my way down to the garage I am lucky the hostel is next to a large hill and can just coast down gaining momentum and enabling me to release the clutch and start the bike.It saves for a lot of pushing. After charging the battery again I perform a draw test and confirm there is no draw on the battery when the key is off. This is good. Then I hold the volt meter on the battery for several minutes. Ah ha.. that's it the battery is not holding it's charge. The garage performed all of their services for free and called a local motorcycle shop for a battery. They stock one and I am forced to pay $150.00 U.S. dollars for a new one. OUCH.We decided to test the new battery and rode on an old road that looked to us on a map to be further south than Lapataia park. The rough gravel roads required full attention and a cold front moves in causing our bodies to get very cold. It's too the point where I am ready to turn around and head back to the hostel but I persevere and continue riding. We cross the Moat river and finally stop at an Argentina Naval post where the road ends. We turn back half frozen and bitterly cold, the winds are howling across the Beagle channel and we push hard to get back to the hostel before dark. January 31st                    We left Ushuaia late this morning and we plan on riding to Rio Grande. I was very emotional as we left and I dawdled well behind Mike trying to get myself and my thoughts together. Unanswered questions. Due to the continued high winds, rain and cold we rode slowly and stopped often on the way. Much to my disdain and frustration all I want right now is alone time I do not want to talk to anyone.We are heading towards Punta Arenas to meet two gentlemen interested in purchasing the bikes.February 1st                    The border formalities leaving Argentina entering Chile were an absolute pleasantry. The staff easy going this morning. There are no bus loads of people only a few locals making the their way across the border. We took a different road from the Chilean border as the road we took in was an absolute nightmare and we though we would take our chances. It was far better with hard packed gravel. The distance traveled to catch the ferry was longer but the time was by far less. As we approached the ferry we drove right onto it. Our timing could not be any better. The ship lifted it's ramp and we crossed the strait quickly. We carried on towards Punta Arenas stopping for some pictures of a mine field. Mike pulled away like a bat out of hell and I followed in no rush. He was out of sight in less than a minute and suddenly my rear tire feels flat. I pull over and confirm it is. I wait for Mike to return for over 10 minutes but there is no sign of him. I am irritated by his lack of waiting for me. I can see a few buildings about a kilometer away and push my bike to the buildings hoping there is somebody there. Mike still has not returned and I strip the bike of all it's gear and jack up the rear end of the bike. An Italian pulls up on his bike and offers to help. I explain the situation. We enter a restaurant /cafe which I find eerie because there is nothing here. The chef explains that there is a camp behind the hill. The Italian takes my tire and new inner tube up the hill while I watch the bikes. Mike returns a half hour later and we share a few strategic words and I head off furious to find my tire and Italian friend. As I enter the camp I see three men with huge crow bars trying to work the tire back onto the rim. I inspect the procedure and to my dismay realize they are tearing the bead around the tire. My patience has run out....I explain to the Italian the problem and he translates.They take it slower and finally get the tire back on. Off course when they try to inflate it it won't hold air because they pinched the new inner tube. I thank the men politely and head back to the bikes with tire and rim. I smoke two cigarettes and curse the whole way down the hillside. I note that Mike is surrounded by 4 other motorcyclists and they know where to get the tire fixed in Punta Arenas, which is an hour and a half away. Mike packs up the tire, the Italian and the new motorcyclists head into the sunset. I walk around the ghost town of Estancion San Gregorio, checking out the old ship wreck. The sun getting lower on the horizon and the wind picking up I put my sweater back on and sit beside a building to keep out of the wind. I watch a Gaucho head towards me with a wheel barrow. We chat the best we could and I note that his wheel barrow is full of wood and a freshly killed and skinned lamb. He walks behind the house and lights a fire. I cozy up to it while he and the chef from the cafe aggressively pull the lamb onto huge iron stakes. They lay the lamb over the open fire and sip on their Mate. Later the wine comes out and the Gaucho is getting hammered. I refuse a drink thinking Mike will be back soon and I do not want to be under the influence. As the lamb sizzles over the wood smoke my hunger kicks in and my mouth begins to salivate...... a truck pulls up next to the house, four men jump out and begin talking with the Gauncho. One of them speaks English and asks where I am from and what is wrong with the bike. I tell my story, he offers for me to eat with them. We go inside the house and more and more people show up.Three cases of wine appear it's dark now and I keep poking my head out the door expecting Mike to arrive, I tell the entire work crew who are from the gas exploration camp behind the hill about our adventure. The questions are flying as the wine is being drunk and I still keep refusing. I am worried sick about Mike, finally he arrives and or American Friend Jeff is with him. The tire is repaired and the two of them are hungry and frozen. I hurry them inside telling them to eat. The Manager of the crew tells us we can spend the night next door, which is a huge relief to us.While Mike and Jeff are eating I reassemble my bike with one of the crew members help. I slip back inside and enjoy a glass or two of fine Chilean red wine. We stay up late... far too late and head to our room around 12:30. I gather my things that were sitting behind a fence and bush and realize for the second time on this trip my helmet has been stolen. I was terribly disappointed, after making the best out of a bad situation and having people welcome us to their feast with great company I couldn't help but be upset. I fall asleep after star gazing in the unpolluted skies laughing at the irony.February 2nd                   So a new challenge to face this morning, as we repack the bikes, Mike and I debate our options. A few minutes later a tour group of BMW's pull over and I race over to talk to them. I ask them if anybody has a spare helmet, Mauricio explains they have a support truck just ten minutes behind and they have a spare helmet inside the truck I could have. I spent several minutes inquiring about their tour company. I learn the people on this tour pay $400.00 per day to rent the bikes. The tour is completely set-up from start to finish with hotel reservations, meals and border work paper all completed by them. Holy Mackinaw these people are paying $12000.00 U.S. to ride around Northern Chile and Argentina and that's just for the bike rentals. I wonder how much everything else cost? They will spend as much in three weeks renting the bikes as I have for the last three and a half months riding through fourteen countries all expenses included. The support vehicle shows up and they give me the helmet I thank them repeatedly as I wave them off. I am elated that once again my problem is solved.We stop for a final photo with Jeff, refuel the bikes, exchange firm handshakes and a farewell. As we ride towards Punta Arenas I can sense that this will be our last ride. A somber thought. Once again I dawdle enjoying the scenery, can it be true it's almost over. We drive around Punta Arenas and find a suitable hotel. Mike contacts the potential buyers and we are meeting with them tomorrow morning at 8:00. We both take the bikes to the car wash and give them a good wash just to encourage the sale.Later in the evening I research options for flights home in case the sale happens.February 3rd                   We awaken at 7:00 this morning both excited and nervous about the prospects of selling the bikes, we ride down to the intersection where we arranged to meet the potential buyers. We wait anxiously checking Mike's watch frequently. It's 8:15 and they are late.. hm.. my mind becomes cynical thinking about the likelihood of such a deal really panning out. It's 8:20 and they show up, they are very nice and are eager to critique the bikes.They ask to ride them and we both agree. We throw all the spare parts, manuals and our helmets in to sweeten the pot. They agree to buy the bikes for the asking price.We had to wait until 11:00a.m. for Aduana to open and fill in the paperwork, so we parked the bikes across from the office and we all went out for some breakfast. We headed back to the office and filled in the paperwork. The new owners are ecstatic and we shuffle into the back of a car where they pull out a huge wad of Chilean Peso's. My eye's light up and tell them the deal was $6500.00 u.s. They seem a little taken back but agreed that was the deal so Mike stayed with the bikes while we found a cambio to exchange currencies. After several minutes of negotiations the banker and the buyers had an agreement on the exchange rate. We leave the office with all that money in my pocket. I confirm with Mike that the deal is final. We get several pictures with the new owners of the bikes. They drive them over to the customs office and park them in security. I'm not quit sure what the rules are in Chile but the bikes must be held in customs for a minimum of a week. They offer us a ride back to the hotel, Mike seems to think he left a spare bike part at the hotel and wants to give it to the new owner. I refuse, thinking of all the cash in my pocket. I quickly make myself vanish while Mike heads back to the hotel. I stop at an internet cafe and quickly research flights home. Our best option is with Air Canada from Santiago to Toronto. It is a direct flight and is also the least expensive. The challenge now is how do we get from Punta Arenas to Santiago. Mike meets me at the cafe and we decided to find a couple of travel agents to check out flights from Punta Arenas to Santiago. We get pricing, flights availability and times. We stop for a late lunch because we are both starving. Mike asks me to keep it a secret from Kirsten about the sale of the bikes. We stop at SKY Airlines and find out they have two flights available at 6:00 this evening. It's 4:30 now and I double check the print out's of Air Canada's flights, perfect we can fly to Santiago tonight and leave from there to Toronto the following afternoon. We agree to take the last two seats. It is 4:45 and Mike heads back to the hotel to pack while I race to the internet cafe to purchase our Air Canada tickets home. The internet is slow and it takes fifteen minutes to book the tickets. I run back to the hotel 4 blocks away and uphill. I ask the hotel clerk to call us a cab mucho rapido. I quickly pack my items and run down three flights of stairs. The taxi shows up and it's 5:30 shit this is the cut off time for our flight. We tell the cab driver we are in a big rush and that our flight leaves at 6:00 , he races through the city. We get stuck at a set of lights because a construction crew is changing the lights. The taxi driver is doing more than double the speed limit as we race out of the city towards the airport. The door's open to the cab before it could stop, we jump out and grab our luggage we race to the terminal where the SKY Service staff calls out our names as we approach the counter they sticker our bags and we race through airport security. We get on the plan sweating buckets from all the rushing. We both let out a laugh. An adventure it is my friend as the plane is taxied down the runway. We land at Santiago at 10:00, we wait for our luggage and then exit the terminal. We are greeted by a beautiful and cheerful women who represents different hotels and tries to sell them packages. We weighed our options and decide to stay at the expensive Holiday Inn directly across from the airport. She gave us a 15% discount voucher for our room. We walked across the street and booked ourselves in. The concierge showed us our rooms and we almost fell over in delight. The room was enormous, a great view of the city offered by the glass wall. The beds and pillows soft and clean and the bathroom was fit for a king. We are ecstatic, what a fitting way to end our trip. We unpack and head down to the bar, our last night of the trip deserves a round of celebrations. February 4th                  We both slept soundly last night and we didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning. We head down to the restaurant for coffee and breakfast. I check e-mails and find out that Elske has arranged for Mike's parents to pick him up at the airport  She asks me to keep it a secret, so now there will be a surprise for Mike as well! We check out of our room at 11:00 and enjoy the hotel amenities and warm sunny weather. We eat supper late and finally at 3:45 check in with Air Canada. We grab a coffee and sit outside for an hour talking about the trip, our futures and how this trip will change us. It was one of our best conversation's the entire trip. We board the plane at 5:45 and are in the air by 6:00. February 5th                   We landed at 5:55 this morning, I am tired and irritable. The customs official gave me a hard time getting back into Canada, but after a lengthy explanation he understood and allowed me through. We pick up our luggage and once again are given a hard time by customs because our panniers look "militant" I explain to the officer about our trip and he smiles, welcomes us home and allows us through. We enter the waiting area. Mike doesn't realize his parents are standing in front of him and is pleasantly surprised. My wife hasn't arrived yet and I laugh to myself because once again she is late. I head outside and the cold crisp air bites my nose off. What a huge temperature difference from Santiago where it was 28 degrees when we left to this cold uninviting minus 28. Mike and I get our last picture together from the trip, we shake hands and he and his parents leave the airport. Both reality and the cold hit me hard as we drive west on the 401, the road signs excellent directing us exactly where we need to go, the trip is over, I am happy and content to be home but already yearn for the challenges and excitement of missing road signs.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232917800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232917800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232917800/tpod.html Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:02:53 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina

January 25th                  The final day of riding to the Fin del Monde, everything I do today is deliberately intentional. My senses tuned and appreciative off all the familiarities of my machine and gear.The familiar click of the panniers as I latch and lock them to the motorcycle. The careful preride inspection, oiling the chain listening to the familiar tick, tick, tick as it rounds its sprocket. The zip of my jacket zipper. The opening of the choke and the gentle push of the start button. The cold engine coming to life underneath me, the vibrations dropping as I slowly close the choke. A quick blip of the throttle to confirm the engine is warm enough to ride. With the clutch in a couple of snow flakes drift pass my nose, I push the shifter down to first from neutral. I stop for a second and look across the ocean, the waves slap against the coastline, birds glide just above the ocean surface, dark grey clouds threaten rain or snow. The engine revs as we pull away. We travel 213 kilometers to Ushuaia, the grasslands change to pine forests barely hanging onto life as the bright green moss chokes the trees on every limb. The moss frozen in time as the constant prevailing wind forces them to hang sideways off the branches. The pine forest gives way to deep black mountains and the flat road begins to curve its way around the mountainside as we approach the city.  A big grin on my face as we leave the last corner and see the sign for Ushuaia. I let out a holler and we stop for pictures. I am emotional as we head into the most Southern City in the world. We find a hostel and book ourselves in... and then head to Bahia Lapatia park. The absolute most Southern point in the world anyone can drive too by road. Our goal.We stop at the park entrance sign and as the tour buses pull in we become instant stars. People asking us question after question, wanting to take our picture or sit on the bikes for a photo. Asking us if we really drove from Canada. Big hand shakes, pats on the backs, thumbs up and smiles. We take our pictures and finally escape the masses. Mike and I knuckle tap as we ride away from the sign. The gravel road twists and the dust causes my eyes to water. As we leave the park we cross an old wooden clad bridge the loose boards rattle under our moving tires and I swear the bridge is applauding.................................
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232323860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232323860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1232323860/tpod.html Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:55:37 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Osorno, Patagonia, Chile

January 16th                   Due to the fact that I had no pillow and Mike decided he needed to snore last night, I awaken this morning tired and irritable.It takes several cups of strong coffee to get myself motivated. Mike and Carlos have already left for the mechanics so Mike can get the valves adjusted. Jacque and I decide to head downtown to explore the city and get some breakfast.Things are so much easier when you speak the language and she had us getting on a bus in no time. I couldn't help but notice the bus drivers right hand, his knuckles black and calloused from constantly fumbling with the change in his narrow change box. We spent a few hours checking out the city catching a couple of photos of interesting buildings. I relaxed for the balance of the afternoon puttering with the bike but really doing nothing. Late in the evening we BBQ´d a nice meal with our Columbian friends.January 17th                  We sadly say good bye to our Columbian friends this morning. We hope to catch up with them later in the trip but I suspect we won´t see them again. They have quickly become good friends and I enjoyed their company immensely. We follow Ruta 68 until it connects to Ruta 5, the trees,vineyards and orchards producing Chile´s finest crops. A huge field of sunflowers on my right makes me smile as we pass several John Deere combines on the highway . The Andes slowly rise to my left and I notice a few snow capped peaks.We stop in the town of Los Angeles for the night and there is a McDonald´s across the street from our hotel.We have several contacts now as we try to arrange the shipment of our bikes home. Mike has also made contact with a gentlemen in Punta Arenas possibly interested in purchasing the bikes. My thoughts today have focused mainly on the fact that we have almost reached our goal. It´s bitter sweet knowing that we have almost made it and at the same time knowing the adventure is nearing it´s end.January 18th                   A cool and crisp morning, the sun shining and the scenery has my spirits high. We pass huge managed Pine tree forests the smell crisp and clean. While continuing down Ruta 5 the forests give way to golden wheat fields the stalks gently rolling and waving to me. We pass huge raspberry fields the tart smell makes my nose flare and my saliva glands water. The ditches are now covered in a bouquet of wild flowers similar to home. The clouds are thin and wispy and remind me of an attempt to erase a mistake made with a #2 HB pencil. The cheap eraser end never removing the line entirely, but just producing a soft blotch on the sheet of paper. Late in the afternoon we are pulled over by the Chilean Cabineros (police), who I need to add are very aggressive with their radars and stopping procedure. Literally walking out onto the highway and standing in your lane and forcing you to stop and pull over. We were not speeding when stopped, they were just doing a routine check. They chat us up asking all sorts of questions and trying to explain too us where to catch big troucha when they see the fishing rod we carry. The gas stations in Southern Chile are excellent providing great locations to pull over and enjoy a cup of coffee.As we roll into Osorno for the evening the street signs guide us to the downtown core. We find a hostel with parking almost immediately. As I head to bed for the evening a family is sitting around sharing and drinking what appears to be tea from a single small tin cup using a steel straw, the cup full of a green substance that looks like tea. They pass the cup to me and it´s delicious. They call the drink Mate and with my approval of the drink give me their tin cup,steel straw and bag of herb´s. I am very appreciative and will enjoy mate for a long time.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1231208640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1231208640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1231208640/tpod.html Sat, 21 Mar 2009 10:08:41 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Arequipa, Peru

January 2nd, 2009                                      Over the course of time one of us was bound to get sick on our travels. Mike has been battling an upset stomach for over a week, and with strong and sound advice from his wife the night before she left and myself refusing to leave Lima until he saw a doctor he finally went. We had originally planned to change the oil in the bikes, adjust chains and lube and clean the air filters today. While Mike was busy at the doctors I set forth and did the maintenance on the bikes. He finally returned about 3 1/2 hours later with a bandage over his arm and a prescription in hand. His skin colour and mood much improved. I asked him which kidney he sold to pay for the trip and he quickly did a check and confirmed neither had been removed. We had a good laugh, finished the maintenance and allowed Mike to relax for the rest of the day.Saturday January 3rd                                       We have spent almost two weeks in Lima and after confirming that Mike was well enough to ride we left the city. It was suspiciously quite today, traffic volume was low and the Pan - Am highway was uncongested. We left the city without being cut off or honked at by a taxi driver. As the city landscape shrunk in my mirrors beach front resorts started cropping up. There are hundreds of huge billboards advertising homes, Inca Kola and since when did Doritos start making bikini bottoms? The advertisements were flashy, three dimensional and very creative. This lasted apx 50 kms before they too disappeared behind me.We are traveling through the desert again and boredom quickly sets in as the road has nothing to offer but brown vistas and no curves. We stop at an oasis called Huancachina for the night. It was an interesting "hole" that was used by the Peruvian rich and famous many years ago. The hamlet population of 200 serving hundreds of tourists with dune buggy rides up the huge sand dunes and sand board surfing. Every hotel in the Hamlet was booked but one. Mike negotiated the price with the hotel receptionist and we checked ourselves in. This has been the worst hotel we have had on our trip. The room wreaks of urine, the toilet has no seat, the shower floor filthy, the water pressure yeah right there is a trickle coming out of the tap. We sleep in our clothes as we are afraid what may be living in between the sheets. It was a restless night of sleep.Sunday January 4th                                      Ten past six, eyes wide open I jump out of bed and listen to cats fighting outside our cell.We decide to leave this place immediately. We skip breakfast and return to highway. As we cruise along the highway we see a sign announcing the Nazca lines. We stop and climb up the viewing tower, I couldn't believe we could not see the lines from road level, they were right in front of our face. The people that created these lines by removing the suntanned rocks from the desert surface allowing the bleached rocks below to show, must have had a purpose in creating these lines. But I don´t have any theories. We check out a different observation spot only to see huge lines running across the desert. We refuel in the town of Nazca and continue on our way. We stop in the town of Chalco 150 kms from Nazca for lunch. There is no gas station so we cannot refuel, the road then begins to carve around the desert mountains and the Pacific coast. The road unguarded from the 150 foot drop to the sea which is pounding against the coastline. It was a great change of pace and our minds are forced to focus on this curvaceous road. Then the lack of refueling creeps into my mind as the kilometers rack up. No road signs and no gas stations I thumb the petcock to reserve each kilometer getting closer to empty. Finally a town and yes a gas station. We refuel and return to carving the road. We stop in the town of Camanara for the night exhausted from a superb ride.          Monday January 5th                                     There is nothing like waking up to sunshine on your face and the birds outside singing, I feel like I am at home in late spring. We have had great weather the entire trip. We carry on to Arequipa the road providing some very tight blind curves and huge sweeping curves through the desert mountains.Once again crossing lush valleys that are being fed by rivers flowing through them corn, grapes, watermelons and Holstein cows all partake in the valleys lushness.Far off in the horizon are huge snow peaked mountains poking their noses mysteriously out off the desert. The curves getting tighter and more technical as we get closer to Arequipa. On one turn I exceed the amount of traction available to me the rear tire twitching beneath me. I chuckle to myself and roll off the throttle slightly.We enter the highly congested city of Arequipa, for every 1 personal vehicle on the road I swear there are 15 taxi´s. Just one huge beehive of beeping, buzzing yellow taxi's, totally jamming up the streets.Once a hostel is found and the bikes parked we spent some time exploring the down town core. There are several antique shops, great restaurants and cafe´s. The Plaza is the finest I have seen on this trip with delicate brickwork and wrought iron, a beautiful fountain in the center and lush green trees and  hundreds of people enjoying the square.We had supper and I splurged and enjoyed two great cups of coffee, not the horrible instant Nescafe stuff that they all call coffee. NO real fine grind coffee Mmm. delicious.Tuesday January 6th                                 A very windy ride today from Arequipa to Tacna, the road has returned to an open expanse of desert with one long straight path cut through it. The winds so strong we noticed there were mini tornadoes cutting across the desert. We pushed hard all day fighting the strong winds our heads shaken like a bobble head in a pimped out Spanish slam car. I am exhausted from the winds constant attack on my body.We are going to cross the border to Chile tomorrow and we look forward to a new country´s challenges and beauties.                                 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1229476680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1229476680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1229476680/tpod.html Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:37:04 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Huaraz, Peru

Sunday December 14th                       We both awaken early this morning and are packed up and on the road before 8:00. We continue through the desert getting an occasional glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. The far off mountains are growing in size. We have decided to head for the mountainous town of Huarez today. We exit the Pan AM highway and get on a  different highway. It is brand new asphalt and I was grinning from ear to ear with anticipation. We are going from sea level to over 3400 meters above sea level in less than 100 km´s this should be a great ride. Less than 15 minutes onto the highway there is construction. There is very loose gravel covering the old asphalt. The bike´s rear tire twitching and sliding as we follow the serpentine road. The highway is reduced to one lane, the surface has changed again to a thick loose gravel freshly grated. Followed only by fresh tar being sprayed onto the road. Oncoming buses and cars force us onto the tar. The bike and myself are covered. We continue climbing the construction finally ends and the road returns to a more typical potholed highway. We reach an elevation of 4100 meters. The scenery is stunning we see our first Meringue capped Mountain. We stop to take in the beauty. A bus driver goes flying past us swerving to miss the potholes. The entire bus swaying as he swerves around a curve. I swear these guys are ex F1 racers and are experiencing mid life crisis. We are very careful as we travel around blind curves knowing full well that a bus could very well be oncoming in our lane. The road then stops it´s steep incline and plateaus. A very beautiful vista, as we look down from where we came from. A lush river valley lined with mud brick homes straw and grasses poking out of the brick work. The Chimney´s wafting a thin wisp of smoke from the previous evenings fire. We continue on to Huarez some locals waving. We stop at a hostel and book ourselves in. A group of teenagers walk past and Tsk.. us calling us gringos.We found a great restaurant cooking chicken on an open spit fire. On the walk back to the hostel the sun is setting and I can see the mountains behind the town have turned entirely pink. I race back to the hotel to grab the camera but I am too late. The show is over.Monday December 15th                                     Over a hearty breakfast Mike and I decided to separate for the day and do our own exploring. He heads south and I decide to head north. As I am leaving the town of Huarez I get pulled over by the police inspectors they demand to see my "papers" for the bike. I left them at the room and after struggling to explain where they are he lets me through. Less than 5 minutes later I am pulled over again by an officer on a Harley - Davidson. He is just curious as to what I am riding and where I am from. I carry on my way just taking my time enjoying the scenery and cool but sunny air. I witness a local tuning a harp, several local woman working in construction on the side of the road, it was a peculiar site they all have their traditional clothes on and yellow hard hats. I enter the town of Yangay, this town was completely destroyed by an earthquake, mud slide and avalanche in 1970 killing over 18000 people, the town was rebuilt further from the mountainside. I find the appropriate road to Huascaran National Park. As I climb up the mountainside road, the beauty is majestic. Deep quabrados cut through the mountains. Clear streams running through them support wild flowers, sunflowers and roses, quenoa trees line the road side as I weave our way up this dusty and sand covered road. There are so many smells here I cannot distinguish or place where they come from. I as enter several small villages the local dogs insist I don´t belong there and chase me as quickly out of town as possible. I am always surprised how fast some dogs can run. I enter the park and continue the ascent to Lake Llanganuco. I stop here for almost an hour. The lake is emerald green, the mountains directly behind it and huge sheer cliffs tower behind me. Just as I am gearing up to leave a German couple pulled up on a KTM, their English is weak and we basically shook hands and carried on. The ride back down the mountain was great, I pushed the boundaries of myself and the bike coming down the curvaceous mountainside. I return to the highway and get a little speed happy. It´s great not having all the gear on the bike slowing us down. Just before entering Huarez I decide it´s best to ease off the throttle. I make my way to the opposite side of town and am forced to stop at a red light. On the opposite side of the street are 3 traffic police. I think they don´t see me and I sit there willing the light to turn green. Yes.... green means go and crap.... the whistle and a point to the side of the road. They must have saw me approach the intersection. All three traffic police walk over to me. They are all smiles asking me all sorts of questions in very broken English. " What kind of bike?, how many cylinders? how many cc´s?" A fourth Motorcycle police officer pulls up and joins the conversation. We shake hands, laughing and they can´t believe I drove all the way from Canada. I head back to the hostel. The Motorcycle cop along side. I come to my stop and he gives a big thumbs up. What an incredible ride and day.  Mike gets back from his ride15 minutes later, we are both giddy sharing our days stories. Hunger sets in and we head out on the town, we find the most amazing pizzeria I have ever eaten in. When we walk through the doors and the smell of wood, bread, garlic and basil tantalizes our senses while we wait for our order. A spectacular day indeed.Tuesday December 16th                                    This is always a difficult day for me, this is our son´s birthday. I always find myself never knowing what to do on this date. I usually need the day to myself just to reflect and be grateful for the people in my life I do have. I visited the museum of Archeology today. They have the largest collection of ancient stone sculptures in South America. Each one is unique, some display warriors, others display animals and even still others have imaginary animals carved into the face of the stone. Each one hand carved apx 2500 b.c. and each one unique in detail and quality. I spent the rest of the day walking around the town exploring the market and a couple of their parks. I stumbled across a motorcycle repair shop but like most things in this town it was closed from 1:00 to 3:00. I received an e-mail from our friend Jeff  he is also in Huarez and am hoping to meet him for dinner this evening.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1229210940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1229210940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1229210940/tpod.html Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:30:51 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Casma, Peru

Wednesday Dec10th                                A nice sunny day with a cool Breeze. We left our over priced hotel and headed for Trujillo We stopped to refuel the motorcycles and a Peruvian fighter plane flew past us very low. The engines noise is so loud it hurt my ears. We carried on riding through the desert, the landscape slowly getting greener.At one point I stopped to snap a photo because in the middle of the desert there was irrigated fields of corn, hot peppers and flowers as far as the eye can see. Not what I expected to see. I made a road side stop later in the day, an Aussie traveling around the world on his BMW stopped and we chatted for several minutes. We knew we were very close to the beach town called Huanchaco and decided to try our luck and find a hotel there rather than being stuck in another city. We entered the town and I was highly unimpressed. The buildings in very rough condition and there is nothing here. We asked a boy about a hotel. He pointed up the highway saying 5 minutes.We carried on and found a fun surfing town. We booked ourselves into a hotel room and found a place for dinner. Just as we were finishing dinner we met a woman from Russia (fluent in English) who is traveling through South America. We arrange to meet her the following evening for drinks.Thursday Dec 11th                                                   The weather here is perfect, warm with a nice cool breeze blowing off of the ocean. Over breakfast this morning I met an American, Canadian and Brit who are all here to learn how to surf. This beach has an excellent left handed break that is perfect for new surfers to learn how to surf. I spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach the cool mist caused by the waves breaking against the shore reminded me of a freshly poured glass of pop and how the spritz tickles my nose as I drink it. Late in the afternoon I watched the local fisherman paddle their reed boats called caballitos back to shore, their nets full of  purple crabs. I decide I am going to get a ride in one of these boats tomorrow.  After supper we met our new Russian friend Ellana. We spent a couple of hours explaining to each other what our countries are like and our trips. She is an interesting woman, she has swam with piranhas and tried one of the local Shamans hallucinogenic medicines. Friday Dec 12th.                          Another perfect day. I finished reading my book on the beach and arranged to go for a ride in one of the caballitos. It was a great way to travel in the water. The older gentleman guides us through the water his experience guides us both, the little boat bobbed up and down in the water, my bum soaked from the ocean but the rest of me dry. They glide over the waves and when coming back to shore the waves push this little boat to very high speeds. What a terrific experience. We spent most of the evening planning our route and time frame from Lima to Santiago Chile.Saturday Dec 13th.                            Our goal today was to reach the town of Huarez. We get some breakfast into us and start another day of adventure. The fog is heavy this morning until we pass Trujillo. We continue driving through desert, another adventure traveler turned around and I stopped to chat with him. He is an eccentric Puerto Rican also riding a 2001 KLR with over 200,000 kms on it. He just had it rebuilt in Lima. He also warned me that the Pan Am highway 100 kms south of Lima is blocked right now because of a protest. Mike who didn't realize I had stopped to talk to this fellow finally returned. We pushed on and WOW what is that smell, I am gagging as the fish smell is over powering my nose as we enter the town of Chimbote. It seems this town relies heavily upon fishing. I can't wait to get out of here. We realize by two o'clock we will not make it to our goal of Huarez the high winds blowing us around and tiring us out which also reduced our travel speed. We stop at a little seaside village called Tortuga but do not feel this is our best option for the night and move on to Casma. Several  fishing trucks pass us on the highway and my senses are overwhelmed again with the nasty smell of Chimbote. For the 1st time in this trip we successfully find a good hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet in Casma. We will head for the Huarez in the Andes tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1228875360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1228875360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chemoejito/1/1228875360/tpod.html Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:17:34 -0400 The ride of my life, Fergus to Ushuaia by KLR

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Chiclayo, Peru

Sunday December 7th                                 I awaken this morning sneezing and coughing I have caught another cold, the weather is dark and  I am sure it is going to rain. We try to find a place for breakfast this morning, however Loja is a very religious city and there is very little open on Sunday´s. After walking around for 20 minutes we give up our search. We try to leave town and get lost twice, considering nothing is open there is a lot of traffic. Once on the Pan Am highway we were greeted with a well paved road. We spent most of the day twisting our way down from the Andes into the town of Macara. The temperature here is much warmer than in the Andes. The town itself is a typical border town of which I despise.There is very little vegetation here and everything is dusty. Very little is open in town and we are hungry for some supper. We found a bar open and go inside this dark, filthy little hole in the wall. Men so drunk they are passed out on the table. Others singing out of tune to some depressing Spanish music. Others still hustling girls who look no older than 16 while the rest of them drink their spirits and constantly spit on the floor. We sit as close to the door as possible in case some machismo male decides he is a bigger man than another. We order some food and eat quickly. Considering how shady the bar is the food isn't half bad. We retire back to our room after buying a couple of beers from the hotel clerk. Monday December 8th                                   After a very poor night of sleep trying to fight my fever and cold I awaken at 7:00, I´m sure psychologically the border crossing today didn't help. We pack the bikes up, find a place to eat and head for the border. We stop one last time in Ecuador for Gas which I need to mention cost a whopping $1.38 per gallon.In less than 15 minutes we sit at the Peru border. Leaving Ecuador took us less than 10 minutes. A quick stamp of the passport, hand over our immigration papers for the bikes and it´s off to the Peru border. Again the process is simple. We get ourselves into the country then see the authority to get the bikes into Peru. The gentleman that helped us had no routine or methodology and it took him almost an hour to get the paperwork ready for Mikes bike, mine was done in half the time. I didn't mind though he was a good natured older gentleman laughing with us, asking us questions trying to decipher what he meant. I really felt like he was enjoying our company and didn't want us to leave. The final process was to have the police sign our paperwork and we were done. As we enter Peru in less than 5 kilometers the poverty and rough way of  life became immediately apparent. Homes are once again made out of bamboo and mud or mud bricks. There are stunted trees and very few crops. The appearance of the locals is a little rougher, their faces seem more sunken, their clothes older and not nearly as clean. However the rough way of life doesn't seem to discourage them. All day as we are driving towards the city of Piura people are waving at us, giving us thumbs up. Children are running out of their homes just too see us. The human spirit amazes me, it seems the poorer people are the more kind and friendly they become. We have read and heard many stories about how corrupt the Peruvian police are. We have decide it best to take our time and not speed in this country. Once at our hotel we celebrated our 7th week on the road.Tuesday December 9th                                   We have a short day of riding ahead of us today, I manage to check CBC news on line and catch up on Canadian news. It´s amazing how distant it all feels. As we left Piura this morning we are sent back driving through the desert. The Pan AM highway dotted with little towns for the first 40 kilometers.Again I can´t help asking myself how do these people live here or maybe I am just trying to grasp at why. There is little if no water, they can´t grow crops, there´s is no vegetation to keep animals and yet, somehow these towns exist.Later there is nothing but desert, huge sand dunes tumbling over each other, river beds completely dried out, sand tornadoes twirling about across the horizon.The road straight for almost 200 kilometers. The wind blowing very strong from our Starboard side, the sand etching it´s way into our eyes, mouth, ears...everywhere. The prevailing winds so strong there is no vegetation at all.There were a total of 5 curves between Piura and Chiclayo, this is the straightest road we have seen since we left the U.S. It´s hard to believe but it was a nice change. It gave me a chance too allow my thoughts to drift...........                                                                    
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