The Andes are Huge!

For scale, that is a double-decker bus next to the cliff in the corner. 

No sense of scale in this photo of the Andes in Argentina.

The white smudge in the background is Aconcagua.  See how much bigger I am than that! 

Aconcagua without me.  It looks bigger because it is.  Aconcagua is the highest peak in the  Western and Southern Hemispheres.

Everywhere we stop people want photos with the bikes.  This was in Los Andes, Chile.  Aconcagua is still bigger!

Grant likes cats.  Here is one in Chile next to the front tire of my bike.  

Pictures of dirt!

Aproaching Illapel, Chile.

Typical switchbacky dirt road in the foothills of the Andes.

Like Disneyland with dirt.

Got a grader?  Make a road!

Scenic spot for a tire change on the Pacific coast north of Taltal, Chile.

In blogs about motorcycle adventures you will almost always find a photo of the  sad street riders who don't like the dirt displaying their joy (and off-road incompetence) with a photo of them kissing asphalt.  I can understand why, of all the BMWs we have seen on this trip exactly 3 have gone any distance off road and two of those had failed suspensions because of it.  We have done hundreds of miles in the dirt, from high altitude to sea level, in rocky, sandy,washboard, mud and water, and had nothing but great fun!

Winding along the coast north of Taltal, Chile.

Our friends in San Pedro de Atacama.  They were the best part of the town.

A giant beautiful playground!

A dirt road north of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

Just west of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

Valle de la Luna, near San Pedro de Atacama, overrated and overrun with tourists.

How to explain it?

Your typical Chileno cannot understand how Jim and I would take 7.5 hours to make a 4 hr drive on purpose by taking twisty dirt switchbacks.  The riders among you will understand.

I had 17 photographs queued to upload.  The hotel connection keeps dropping.  Here is what I was able to upload.  I'll try more while I sleep.

Twisty dirt roads and gold mines.

Dirt switchbacks.  Shortly after this we met the giant yellow dump truck.  Jim is still a little wigged out.

Cactus hedge rows.  You do NOT want to crash through one of these.

Random Notes at Night

I’m writing this at night on the 25 of January, 2012. 

In some ways not having the internet is easier.  I don’t have to worry about whether or not the photos are going to upload or whether I can catch Renee and the boys online.  I figure now would be a good time to write some more random thoughts.

People.  People are the most amazing thing we have seen on this trip.  They have ranged from awful to magnificent.  Today we stopped at one hostel in San Pedro de Atacama.  They didn’t have room and weren’t much help.  While Jim was in learning that, I was sitting on my moto.  A car skids up with two couples inside, they crack open a beer and hand it out the open window.   Then they proceed to introduce themselves and welcome me to San Pedro.  They said the place to get a room was in Calama,  but we didn’t want to go back there.

We wandered through town.  I figured maybe on the far end from where the tourists enter we’d have a chance.  Sure enough I found a place.  The only people there were the operator and three truckers.  The three truckers, Andres, Carlos and one other were very helpful in route planning and were super social.  Pretty soon they had out a camera and were showing us photos of their last haul,  a trailer with mining equipment that had 96 wheels, with a pull tractor and push tractor.  Other photos were of Dakar vehicles and the same church/ town/ volcano photos we’ve been taking.  They shared their mate with us.  It is tasty.

We met Andres first.  He is probably the biggest South American we have come across so far.  As we were locking the bikes together he said "tranquillo".  They lock the gates and his room was right next to where we were parking and he’d take care of them.   Good bunch of guys.

San Pedro de Atacama is overrun with the tourist business.  The central district has the feel of a Disney version of a Chilean town.  You are constantly pestered by tour operators and restaurants.  The main walks are full of bewildered tourists and buskers.  Since most of our time has been away from touristy areas, it was quite an unpleasant change.

Dinner was good, if a little expensive.

So far the best day of riding has been from Putre to Iquique.  The road had seen little maintenance since the last storm that washed out sections.  We passed a grader that was working near the salar.  Only over took the grader and a tour van.  The tour van had 3 clients, including the Swiss woman we met the evening before.  The operator told us where to watch for ambush on the road.  During that section, do not stop for any people.

The difference between Peru and Chile is amazing.  Peru feels lawless and grubby.  Chile feels on the cusp of the first world.   Both countries have ample poverty.  In Peru you risk your life to cross the street.  In Chile, cars stop for pedestrians before they are even at the curb.  The food is much better in Peru.  The people are nice in both countries.

The Altiplano of Chile is just as I imagined, a high plain with volcanoes in the distance in every direction.  One was steaming, which was fun.  The KTMs were awesome on the rough dirt road. 

Rheas are cool.  It was funny to see an ostrich looking bird at 15,000 ft.

Another good person was our waiter at dinner in Iquique. At then end of the expensive meal Jim got the check.  Jim didn’t see that the propina was included.  He double tipped.  The waiter caught the mistake, backed out the transaction and ran it again.  He could have easily just taken the double tip and we never would have known.

Our hotel in Iquique was run down.  One of the first on the nice section of beach with a great location, but clearly maintenance has been ignored.  Too bad, because it could be primo like the pink palace on Waikiki. 

The bikes are running well.  You can really feel the power difference between sea level and 15,000 ft.  At high altitude gear selection matters.  We have acclimatized well.  I’m sure I could sleep comfortably at 13,000 ft.

Now  it is another night later. Who knew you could mix wine with agua gasificada or with coke or beer with coke or fix cars in the middle of nowhere or drink until 1:30 or have a great conversation with a bunch of people who didn’t speak the same language?  Really, people are awesome. 

Note about Chile:  Carlos was right, if you have a problem ask the guys in green (Carabineros) they can help.

Also, half the people we met from Finland didn’t have names that end in “nen”. 

Volcanoes and Vicunas

Typical riding on the Altiplano of Chile, a volcano in the distance and a meandering dirt road.  We rode about 160 miles of dirt yesterday mostly over 14,000 feet and as high as 15,500 feet.

This photo is from the flanks of Nevado de Putre looking west towards the lowlands.

The approach to Putre, which is in the valley below.  The horizontal lines on the hills are abandoned Inca terraces. The photo above was taken from the left flank of the volcano in this photo.

The climb from Arica, Chile, to Putre, Chile was fun, twisty and arid the whole way.  Arrival at Putre is like changing worlds from the arid and hot to the moist and cold.

We rode from Putre to Iquique in a single day.  The riding on the Altiplano was fun, as was the twisty asphalt decscent.  The exhausting part of the ride was the constant winds near the Pacific.

Internet connections have been hard to come by.  Lately it is has either been intermittent connections or meant sitting in the lobby.  My apologies for so few photographs, they take bandwidth I don't have.

In addition to vicunas, we saw rheas,  They are supper fun to see.  Riding along and suddenly you see a huge bird that looks like and ostrich.  We even saw chicks?  They were bigger than chickens but nowhere near full size.

Cab fare? $0.80.

Gerry, higher than the lower 48.

 During this ride, Puna direct to Moquegua, we saw rain, snow, fog, cold, hot, high altitude, low altitude and very few other vehicles.

The GPS said 4646m here (15,240ft).

 Almost the straightest road we saw during the day.

This wasn't even the highest during the day, we were up there a while.

Random geyser in the highlands of Peru.

The geyser again.  It was pretty cool.  The road passes over the cavern in the background.

Our bikes with Puna, Peru, in the background.

Gerry with Pablo.

Jim with Pablo.

Pablo was a great bartender.  Our hotel, the Colonial in Moquegua, sent us to this restaurant in a cab. The cab ride was $0.80 each way.  If you like Pisco Sour, you really need to try Passion Fruit Sour, brilliant!

Hard Rain in Puna

Woke up to a hard driving rain in Puna, Peru, this morning.  We are going to discuss our plans over breakfast.  We are definitely heading towards the Atacama Desert, the only question is which way to do we go. Flexibility!

In the heart of the Inca Empire.

A street in Abancay, Peru.

 Abancay makes Seattle's claim to be a city of hills appear to be absurd.  Crazy steep streets.  This only looks level because it happens to be one of the transverse streets.

Classic upland Peru on the way into Cusco from Nasca. 

Quick snapshot showing the twist rural road while we waited for roadwork to clear a landslide.

This snaking road is on the route between Nasca and Cusco, a major thorofare.  The buses are crazy! They are brave souls that will travel by bus in the mountains of Peru.

Roadside view on approach to Cusco, Peru.

Everywhere you look in the mountains of Peru there is amazing scenery.  It is like Wyoming only much more so!

The old iglesia in Sicuani Peru.  Even in this condition it looks better than the concrete beast that replaced it.

This beautiful church is the nicest thing about Sicuani, Peru.  The people were also friendly, but the town is suffering.  We finally found "the" hotel after a guy at a hostel that didn't have parking for the bikes walked Jim to it.  It was on the block and street we were told and we had ridden right past it.  The sign was broken and it didn't look much like a hotel.  It has the distinction of being the worst hotel I've ever stayed in.  We opted to sleep in our sleeping bags to keep warm and clean.  The cost for the room and to park the motorcycles...S/. 40, or about $13USD.  It wasn't worth that much!

Vendors at a construction backup.  

Despite what you many have heard, many police in Peru are honest.  

Best cab driver ever.

After getting to a hotel in Puna, Peru, we needed to go to town to get SOAT vehicle insurance.  After having been waved through scores of roadblocks we were finally stopped (see photo above)  we didn't have SOAT, it is a pretty big fine, but they let us go if we promised to buy insurance in the next town.  We called a cab because we'd already spent enough time lost in Puna.  The cab fare back to town was 10 Solers.  I told the cabby what we needed.  He was immediately on the phone and figured out where we needed to go.  We never would have found it.  Took us inside, explained our predicament (I would say he interpreted for us but he didn't speak English. His Spanish was just really easy for me to understand).  After getting us through that mess, he then drove us back to the hotel.  The fare was 30 Soles.  More than fair considering each way was 10 and he spent more time helping us than driving us.  We gave him 50 Soles.  He was thrilled and so were we.  20 Soles is about $7. (Carlos, I know you told us not to over-tip, but this guy went above and beyond)

As for the insurance, the insurance system will only accept license numbers that have letters in them. Mine plate doesn't have any numbers.  I had the same issue crossing the border into Peru but the Aduana Agents figured out I wasn't kidding and just entered the info.  The software at the insurance agency would NOT accept the plate without letters.  I suggested using WAXXXXXX, but she just gave me a signed, stamped note with her phone and cell and an explanation and said the police would likely accept it and to try to talk my way out of the fine.  I was already able to do that once without the note.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Photos from our ride out of Nasca on Jan 18, 2012.

View from the bike about 15 minutes before we found a hotel in Abancay, Peru.

We rode at the bottom of the canyon in the distance a few kilometers after this photos was  taken.

Snow and rain at almost 15,000 ft.

Jim and the Austrians.  All three had BMWs and 2 of the 3 had failed suspensions.  They should have stuck with their own make!

Two little boys in Peru.  

Meeting the Austrians. 

This was about 25km west of Nasca, Peru.

This view of Nasca gives a pretty good idea of the feel of the town.

Driving in Lima

One of my biggest fears was driving in big cities in South America.  In particular I was afraid of Lima because of its well established reputation.  As we approached Lima in Peru I met another motorcyclist who had been living in California but was now living in Lima.  He immediately asked how we were doing in traffic.  He explained that driving in Chile is like driving in Europe.  Driving in Peru is like driving in Africa and Lima was completely nuts.

He was right!

Well, actually, after 3 days of watching and participating in the traffic I am no longer afraid and I am beginning to enjoy it.  There is definitely a method to their madness.  One big difference from traffic in the US is that in Lima everyone actually pays attention to what is going on around them.  No putting on make-up or reading while driving here.   Also since it is commonly understood that traffic controls and lane striping are merely suggestions, people are aware that they must stay on their toes.

At first the cacophony of horns is confusing, and frankly a little frightening.  But I can now state with confidence the main reasons why they honk their horns:

1) A friendly notice that they are about to violate your right of way.  Just a heads up, no offense intended.  A mild variation of this is the honk to let you know they are coming if you might not have noticed.  This honking is actually quite helpful.

2) Honking because you are not being aggressive enough and are delaying traffic, please keep it moving.  Happily I can say I learned this  by watching others, not by being slow.  It is very helpful to have a large power to weight ratio, be narrow and maneuverable in this traffic.

3)This rule probably took the longest to understand...they honk and honk and honk until you finally look and they wave, or take your photo, or give you a thumbs up and smile.  The Dakar Rally and everything about it, including bikes that look like rally bikes, or in the case of mine have Dakar written all over it (literally with words and pictures) are warmly received.

4) This reason I have not personally seen, but I'm sure it is the case:  Each vehicle licensed in Peru has an indicator light on the dash.  If you have not honked your horn in the last 5 minutes the light comes on as a reminder to honk and the driver does so.

I will post video of traffic here when I get back to the states.  It really is hard to believe.

Misconceptions

New places are never quite as you imagine them.  Carlos and Helga Grez asked what was different than we expected. It is a great question!  Many of my notions derived from expanding my experience of Mexico to all of Latin America.  Of course, they are going to be as different as London, England is different from Kansas City, Missouri.  I expected that we be surrounded with music with accordions and brass instruments...nope, American Pop and classics.  I was really worried about border crossings...sure there is a wait, but the places are loaded with curious travelers who go out of their way to help and border agents who cheerfully do their job to help you through.  Cuisine...NOT Mexican food.  Chile is bland.  Argentina is meat.  Peru is delicious.

Huge dunes.

The photo doesn't show the huge winds here.  This is the view opposite the huge dunes above.

Typical gas stop during the Rally.  Even when told we are spectators, people are still curious and friendly.

From our cabana in Camana, Peru.