Into the Wind and Rain, and Floods, and Wind and Wind

Posted on March 14, 2012 by greg

I left El Calafate early as I wanted to make good time on what would be the first day of many before reaching Buenos Aries. The weather co-operated most of the morning, not too cold, reasonable winds for Patagonia and no rain, but that was all about to change.

I went to Rio Gallegos for fuel and food and when leaving that is when the weather changed.  The winds were so strong that I could barely keep the bike on the road. I have never fought winds this strong before, it took all of my strength, the power of a 1000cc engine and lots of luck to keep my bike for being pushed off the road. I was making terrible time going north on highway 3 and was becoming exhausted form riding in such conditions. The following day was much of the same, riding in high winds with very few places to stop and rest.

On third day the rains came. I managed to stop soon enough at a gas station in a small city called Sierra Grande and get my rain gear on in time, but decided to wait the rain out.  That is when my friend David arrived, soaked to the bone riding his KLR 650. I met David back on the ferry crossing the Straights of Magallanes and now our paths were crossing again. The rains let up long enough for us to get 2 kilometers away from shelter and then they started again, harder than they ever were. We had to ride through flooded streets with water so high that it came up over the foot pegs of the bikes.  Parts of Route 3 were also flooded but fortunately the water was not so deep that we could not cross. I have not seen rain this hard since my trip in Vietnam.

The following day brought the sun and of course the wind. It was becoming tiring and boring riding this long desolate highway and fighting the constant winds and changing weather. We decided to rest of a day in the beach town of Mar del Plata. It was not much of a rest though as we had issues finding proper parking for the bikes and I spent most of the day doing laundry following up on e-mails.

We finally made it to Buenos Aries and found a hotel offering “motorcycle parking”. It was here that I met up with 5 other riders that I had met during my adventure.  One of the guys, Kevin I first met in Alaska then again in Lima, Ushuaia and now here, small world. With 7 bikes and bikers here at the hostel it made for a fun filled night of beer and tall tales. Most of us are planning on staying in Buenos Aries for a week or more and why not, the sun is shining, the wind has stopped, finally.

Posted in Argentina | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fire, Ice and Fruit

Posted on March 6, 2012 by greg

Tierra del Fuego – Land of Fire

After leaving Ushuaia I headed for the border with Chile to cross Tierra del Fuego.  I should have stopped writing about how easy border crossing has become as this one was about to become more challenging.  You are not allowed to bring fruit into Chile and I had with me a banana, 2 apples and a peach, which I declared on my customs form. I figured that since I had only 162 kilometers of barren land to cross that my lunch would be a non-issue, how wrong I was. First I was told that it was a good thing that I was honest for declaring my “contraband” as the fine for bringing fruit into Chile was very large. I then had my lunch confiscated (just like grade school all over again). The worst part was still to come, the Chilean border guards did not give me back my vehicle import papers, in all the commotion over my lunch it also slipped my mind.

I stopped and checked my map to find the shortest way out of Tierra del Fuego and back into Argentina. My map showed three roads and the one I came in on was the shortest. After about 20 kilometers I started to think the road looked much different, I assumed the road looked different going north and didn’t give it a second thought, until the road looked very different and was a lot more difficult to ride.  I eventually had to ask a guy herding sheep if I was going the right way and fortunately I was. He told me that I had  only another 25 kilometers of go to the Straights of Magellan’s and the ferry to the final border crossing. I made it this far without a GPS and I knew I would find my way out eventually.  On the ferry I met another rider, David, from the US and we watched as black and white dolphins swam beside the ferry during our 20 minute crossing.

At the border crossing I was asked for my vehicle import papers by the Chilean customs officer. I explained my “adventures in fruit” fiasco from only 2 hours ago. My explanation resulted in a lot of head shaking, a short lecture, lots of fast talking Spanish, more stamps and forms until I was eventually free to move the 2 meters over to the Argentina customs agents.  Lesson learned, when crossing into Chile – beer and chocolate for lunch.

Once in Rio Gallegos Argentina I stopped at the Honda dealer to buy oil for the bike and it was here that David noticed that I had broken my front shock. I felt nothing and had it not been for all the fluid over the front of my bike it would have gone unnoticed. The parts and proper service are not available here in Patagonia and I decided to ride without having it repaired, I have two front shocks and feel things will be OK.

I rode to El Calafate and visited the “Glacier Perito Moreno”. I have never seen such a wall of ice before, it was amazing. Unfortunately I did not get to see any huge chunks fall off into the water below but I did see several smaller pieces which put into perspective the size of the glacier. Truly amazing!  I have seen such incredible things on this trip and this was another one that I am glad I did not miss.

Given my broken front shock I have decided not to visit Torres del Paine or ride Route 40, two things I really wanted to do on this trip. Better to have unfinished business than a major repair or accident here at the end of the world. I will add it to my list of “unfinished business” which also includes; The Sacred Valley in Peru, Salt Flats in Bolivia and riding Mexico with my friend Mike. Sounds like the making of “Greg’s Adventure PART 2”.

 

Posted in Argentina | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Reaching Ushuaia

Posted on March 1, 2012 by greg

When I woke up on the morning of February 27th in Rio Gallegos, Argentina I had the original plan of taking 2 days to do the 600 kilometers to Ushuaia. For me, 600 kilometers is not far, but I also had to exit Argentina, enter Chile, take a ferry across the Straights of Magallanes, ride approximately 150 kilometer of gravel roads in questionable condition, exit Chile, reenter Argentina cross the Garibaldi Mountain Pass until I would finally be in Ushuaia. So why rush, the goal was to arrive and not die doing it.

The border crossing into Chile was busy but uneventful and before I knew it I was on the ferry crossing the Straights of Magallanes. The boat was right there when I arrived as if it was wait just for me. Next came the gravel road ad it looked like it had been graded within the last few days, how perfect. Several Lamas, fox and the occasional Rhea  kept crossing in front of me but luckily far enough off that I did not have to slow down and was actually able to get a couple of photos. Exit Chile, enter Argentina and I was back on the pavement and getting fuel. With a full tank of gas I knew I could make it to Ushuaia without stopping, it was still early so daylight was not an issue either. The closer I got the more excited I became, the end of the road, Ushuaia, months of riding and the final goal was only a few hundred kilometers away.

I stopped at the sign pointing to Rio Grande, the city I planned on stopping at for the night , it was still early only 3pm, I could make it to Ushuaia before nightfall. It was also my daughter’s birthday and I could send her a birthday greeting from the most southern city in the world if I just pushed on. So I rode on. It was cold and I was riding fast, getting colder with every kilometer. As I rounded a corner in the road there was an obligatory police check point and I was motioned to stop. Officer in Spanish “you are riding too fast”, Me in English – I don’t speak Spanish, Officer in Spanish “where are you going”, me in Spanish “Ushuaia! I have been riding for over 7 months from Canada”, Officer in Spanish “you do speak Spanish!!! go on but slow down”. I guess 180 km/hr was a bit fast, and I slowed down to something more reasonable for the mountain pass.

And then it appeared, the city of Ushuaia! Photos were taken, a birthday wish was sent and much beer was consumed. I spent the following day (Feb 28th) taking it all in, I rode a total of 59,218 kilometers across the Americas and it was a bit overwhelming. The 29th was spent exploring Ushuaia and answering the question “what’s next”.   Answer – ride North, it’s not like it is possible to go any further south.

Posted in Argentina | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Ushuaia !!!

Posted on February 28, 2012 by greg

I finally made it!!!  Tired and exhausted but I made it. Enjoy the photos, I will post details after I celebrate!

Posted in Argentina | 9 Comments

Argentina – Country #14

Posted on February 24, 2012 by greg

Border crossing have become somewhat routine and uneventful and Argentina, my 14th country was no different.  Line up and fill out a form, stamp,  another line and another stamp: welcome to Argentina.

Wanting to get south I just started to ride once I was across the border, stopping just briefly for a few photos by a lake. The riding was great, the sun was shining the road was perfect and I was able to cover a lot of distance. I made it to the town of Esquel and started my hotel search. Noticing three other riders obviously travelling, I quickly joined them and we started a hotel search together. My new friends were from Alaska and were also heading to Ushuaia. We became instant friends and started to share tall tales over beer shortly after the bikes were securely parked. I am amazed at how small the world has become, my Alaska friends crossed the Darien Gap the same day I did and we actually met once before back in Colombia, we have also since met many of the same other motorcycle travelers.

After saying goodbye to my Alaska friends I continued to head south. My bike was about to reach 70,000 kilometers ad I love watching the numbers change when I reach such milestones.  Fortunately I was able to keep one eye on the odometer and the other on the road, because without warning a bird that looked like a baby Ostrich ran right in front of my bike. Braking, weaving the bike and I missed the stupid bird by just a few centimeters. I pulled over to try and get a photo but by the time I stopped, took of my think winter gloves, unzipped my jacket to grab the camera the bird was gone and so was the 70,000km milestone, the odometer read 70,001 km. After fighting high winds and cold I finally made it to the small town of Sarmiento and looked up the bird I saw on the road, it is called Rhea Americana.

Posted in Argentina | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Stuck in Chile

Posted on February 17, 2012 by greg

The ferry in Chile was not quite what I was expecting; it felt more like a cargo ship than a ferry and smelled like one as well. The ferry was cheap and was going to get me around much of the nasty parts of Route 40 and closer to my goal of Ushuaia Argentina. Or so I thought.

After 36 hours and several  stops the ferry was finaly in the harbour of Puerto Chacabuco, Chile. It was here that I was told about the protests in the region, and not by anybody official but by another passenger, who was also just informed. When bad news is delivered by a pretty woman it is somehow easier to take, Marie was very attractive and her news was very bad, for me anyway. It seems that this entire region is protesting over various issues and has set up road blockades throughout the region, no vehicles in or out. People wanting to leave on foot were free to walk and hope for the kindness of strangers to give them passage from one road blockade to the next.

Most of this news was given to me after I disembarked the ferry, and as I watched it sail away empty I considered my options. I decided to try my luck and see if the protestors would let me pass, I just wanted to cross into Argentina and be on my way. At the first barricade, where there were tires burning and many people were gathered. With nothing more than a smile and a brief explanation as to where I was going and why, I was allowed to pass and told to have a nice trip. Easy, what nice people.  At the second barricade about 10 kilometers later, I simply slowed down, drove past the burning tires and waved, waves were returned and I was on my way. This was getting easy and I was excited about getting to Argentina.

 I approach the third barricade, in Puerto Aysen, this one looked like a battle zone, tires were burning, rocks were all over the road and it was much bigger and dirtier than the others. I was approached my two serious looking men, before saying anything we shook hands, handshakes have gone along way for me on this trip and I was hoping that this time would be no different.  But it would be. The more serious looking of the two men told me I could not pass. I explained to him where I was going and why, he didn’t care. I waited for a few minutes, trying to think of more Spanish words to help me out of the situation. I decided to ask about the protest and hopefully gain some insight on what was happening. Form what I could understand the entire region is protesting over, fuel prices, needing a university and life being difficult, I am sure there was more but I didn’t understand everything he said. He also informed me that talks had been going on with government officials since 10am that morning, it was now 1pm.  I showed sympathy and great concern but was still not allowed to pass.

I returned to Puerto Chacabuco to find a hotel and think about my options, there won’t be another ferry for 3 days. The protestors at the first blockade helped me find a cheap place to stay. In town I met a European family travelling the same route as I am in their van, they have been stuck here for 4 days already and filled me in on the events that have been going on. Apparently the protests started small and there were only a few blockades set up, but the other day they did turn violent. In Puerto Aysen rocks were thrown at police, police used water cannons and fired rubber bullets.  Since then the blockades have doubled and the police are nowhere to be seen. This was quite surprising given how nice people have been and how calm everyone appears. Right now, just outside my window teenagers are playing soccer in a field and a big dog I napping on the sidewalk.

There is only one road out of this town. There is one gas station and they are not open. There are very few stores and their supplies are getting low (I bought beer and chocolate bars, I am good). If the protest does not stop in three days I will have no choice but to return the way I came and take an alternate route. I have time to study the map.

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Mile 0, for the Second time

Posted on February 13, 2012 by greg

It was a cold, overcast day on August 5th, 2011 when I arrived in Dawson Creek, Canada and had my photo taken at Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. 192 days, 42,060 kilometers later on another cold and overcast day I would take a similar photo at Mile 0 of the Pan American Highway in Quellon, Chile.

After Dawson Creek I would ride north to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, reaching a major milestone in my journey and then turn my bike south, I have not rode north since. Now in Quellon I will take a ferry south, back to the mainland and head to Ushuaia Argentina, the most southern city in the world, where I will then ride north for the first time in months.

Neither of these two “Mile 0” markers represented either the beginning or the end of my adventure. The beginning of the adventure is clear, it occurred while standing on the temples of Angkor Watt, Cambodia in January 2010. I made a promise to myself to make a significant motorcycle adventure and to do it soon. The end of the adventure is another story. One day soon I will have to return to work (unless I win the lottery), but that does that not mean the adventure ends. “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” George Eliot I have decided to live everyday as an adventure, no matter what I am doing. The adventure ends the day the death certificate is issued.

Today another motorcycle adventure began the planning stage. My good friend committed to make a trip with me in 3 years’ time.  Destination to be determined, throw a dart at the globe, pick a country from a hat, we will do whatever works. Three years seems too far away to begin planning, but I think he needs at least 2 years to build the courage to tell his wife.  Just remember my friend – being brave means being the only one who knows you are afraid.

I will spend the day tomorrow preparing for the difficult ride to Ushuaia. I will cross the interior of Argentina, over mountains, gravel roads and experience remoteness for the first time in a while. I need to figure out how to strap on the extra gas cans on to my bike, buy some food and hopefully long underwear. I have watched every episode of Survivorman at least twice, read all of his books and from that have learned not to go into this type of situation unprepared.

Links

Survivorman http://lesstroud.ca/survivorman/home.php the coolest program to ever get on television. I had the pleasure of meeting Les Stroud before I took my adventure, he is an inspiration. Thanks Les for the advice on my first aid kit.

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Southern Chile & memories of Home

Posted on February 9, 2012 by greg

I woke up to the sound of what can only be described as an air raid siren, like the ones I remember from watching WW2 movies with my Dad. Was it possible that the Nazi’s were bombing Chile? I didn’t care, I was tired and rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Sleep never came so I decided to get an early start.

It was the first cool morning that I have had in Chile, it felt refreshing. I was now glad for the early start as the cool air would wake me up. I headed south and started to get a familiar feeling; it was if I had taken this highway before. Things looked and felt familiar but I knew I was going the right direction. I started to get memories of home. It was the road that was so familiar, with pine trees on each side, giant Shell gas stations with all the extra shops and services, it was just like Ontario. Lots of signs for camping, many rivers and lakes and more backpackers than I could keep track of, all heading for the countryside, just like in Canada. One thing I did see a lot of that you won’t see in Canada were hitchhikers, people are too afraid to hitchhike in Canada, too many crime shows on TV if you ask me.

I little further down the highway I could see snowcapped mountains off in the distance. Memories of Alberta and Alaska flooded my mind. Seems so long ago, but it wasn’t really. It was an interesting ride and my mind was drifting back to memories of my childhood and summers spent in our little camper by the lake, maybe I will buy one when I get back. The Pan American highway here is very straight and I didn’t have to pay attention to much, and wasn’t paying attention to my speed. The cop and his radar gun were paying attention though and I had to talk my way out of yet another ticket. This cop was a little easier than the rest, he found my excuse amusing “My fingers are cold; I need to find some hot coffee”.  Don’t try that excuse back in Canada.

Eventually I reached the city of Puerto Montt and instantly had memories of Vancouver. There was a cruise ship in the harbor, mountain off in the distance and a long boardwalk along the shore, similar to Vancouver.  Over 1,000km today, most of it spent in the past. Tomorrow I am going to look into taking a ferry further south and spend the day in the present, living in the moment.  

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Road Always Curves

Posted on February 7, 2012 by greg

After spending several fun filled days in Santiago with a very good friend from Canada we walked together to the Metro, reminisced about old times and said our goodbyes. A promise was made to meet again soon, another place and time. It will be a promise kept. I am very fortunate to have good friends.

The day before my friend left I was thrown a huge curve ball, nothing to do with his visit, or my motorcycle adventure, and an issue that is hard and would take long to explain. Suffice it to say that I have some unexpected work in front of me; I will be out $750 at least and it had me feeling down and concerned for most of the day.

If I could teach only one thing to others from my experience on this adventure it would be that there will always be curves in the road, some a more difficult to navigate than others, but they can all be overcome and then the road will be straight, but only for a while. Most problems in life have a method of solving them, a process, steps to follow, the trick is to stay calm, think over the process and act in a rational and well thought out manner. To use and old cliché “Think outside the box” is also very beneficial when dealing with challenges that come our way, not every curve in the road is the same.

This adventure of mine has given me a new set of skills, things I never learned in a classroom or behind the corporate desk.  When you have leaky tire in the middle of the Andres there is no manual to give you problem solving instructions. I have also learned that money is often the least important problem solving tool. Kindness, a smile, patience and a willingness to trust in others will get you out of more jams than traditional North American thinking.

I am stuck in a Hostel for another day solving my problem, getting new tires on the bike, fixing my boots, doing some writing and trying not to think too much. There is a sign on the wall downstairs “Spend some time alone everyday”. I have seen this expression before and it is something I believe in, so much for not thinking too much. I also now believe that everyone needs to take a journey like mine, not necessarily by motorcycle for over 50,000 kilometers, but an extended journey outside of your current comfort zone. You will learn more about yourself, life, the world and the people in it then you ever would from watching a documentary or reading a book. You will change, for the better and in ways you never expected. Enlightenment rarely comes on mountain tops, or while standing in front of wonders of the world. It comes while walking down a crowded street looking for ice cream, or in my case a gas station but only after spending some time alone.

I read somewhere an interesting thought “when you are 95% complete you are only 50% of the way there”. The last 5% is the most difficult. I am almost in Ushuaia Argentina, the final goal that I have set for myself on the journey. I know that the road in front of me will be difficult, literately and figuratively, the pavement ends, the temperature will drop significantly, gas stations become even further apart and there will be less people around to help if needed. I will finish, I will reach Ushuaia, and everything is going to work out. I am more determined now than ever.

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Northern Chile

Posted on February 6, 2012 by greg

It was one of the very few times I had an appointment in this adventure of mine, but when I crossed into Chile I had only a few days to reach Santiago.  A friend of mine was coming from Canada to visit me in Chile, resupply me with a few needed items and best of all, share a beer and tell tall tales. I was excited to see him, it has been 7 months since I have seen a familiar face and there was a lot of catching up to do. I was also excited about the jar of peanut butter that he was bringing me; it is a hard thing to get down here.

The border crossing was easy and I made it to the city of Iquique easily. The ride was very smooth and in many ways reminded me of crossing into Peru, kilometer after kilometer of desert on well paved roads. Iquique is a great little beach town and I watched the waves crash into the beach while the sunset over the ocean before calling it a night.

The second day I headed for another beach town and got an early enough start so that I could have a swim that evening. My hotel search turned out to be both difficult and in the end most interesting. Hotel after hotel, hostel after hostel were with full or too expensive. While parked I met a group of Brazilian bikers on a 10 day 3 country ride. Since we shared a common goal, finding a hotel, we decided to stick together. Hotel search was successful, but expensive and I now had some new friends, only one problem, none of the Brazilian riders spoke English and only one spoke Spanish. All of us checked out the local sites, had dinner, shared laughs and beer, all through Spanish and sign language. I find it amazing how fast people can become friends, even language and cultural differences are not barriers. I want to write about this more, it has been a common theme in my trip, hard to find the right words though. Another post, soon.

I eventually made it to Santiago, despite rear tire problems (problem being they were bald and losing air) and met my good friend Brett. We spent several days in Santiago, catching up, eating drinking and enjoying the city. I was shocked at the items he brought to me as they were not just from him, a few other friends sent things to me as well, clothes, a first aid kit, some wonderful homemade brownies, so many items that if I started listing them all I would miss something important. I am fortunate to have such good friends; I miss them even more now.

Posted in Chile | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment