Yes, Yes I would !!

Posted on January 6, 2012 by greg

So tired. Why can’t I sleep if I am this tired? I have slept 5 hours in the past 4 days, not good. I know I need to sleep but I just can’t seem to find the right bed. This bed is too soft, that one is too hard; ok shut-up Goldilocks and go to sleep. Then there is the construction, Goldilocks never had to put up with the non-stop hammering, I think every building in Peru is under construction. Why did I sell my tent, I could just pitch it behind that sand dune and sleep under the stars, can’t hammer in the desert.

My mind keeps playing tricks on me, drifting off to places I don’t want it to go; it does this when it is too tired. Need to sleep.  I have been careless recently with the bike and think I have damaged the brand new chain and sprocket, now I need to get to Lima and have it looked at. Shit, I should have been more mindful of the bike, I let it slip and now it will cost me.  Too tired to pay attention.

My body starts to ache, not while I am riding only when I stop, nothing hurts when I ride. Stretch more dummy! Follow your exercise routine. Too tired to exercise, tired because you did not exercise, now what do I do.  If I could only sleep for more than 1 hour all would be well. I don’t seem to be able to be speak Spanish anymore, nobody understands me, wasn’t having this problem back in Ecuador, must be slurring my words.

I arrive in Lima and meet a contact through the Horizons Unlimited motorcycle network. Turns out he is a mechanic, he also knows a quiet Bed & Breakfast. My luck is changing, amazing how things just seem to work out. But wait it gets even better, my new friend invites me to the local Harley Davidson Club night out, just what I need a night out with some other bikers.

We all meet at TGI Fridays to kick things off.

Harley guy – “Greg, would you like to go to a lingerie fashion show with many beautiful Peruvian models?”

Me – “Yes, Yes I would”   “I will sleep when I am dead”

 

 

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Oasis of my Soul – A Man and his Dog

Posted on January 5, 2012 by greg

Every so often people enter your life and make a real impact. On my journey this has happened frequently, it is the people that I have met along the way that make for the greatest stories and have had a far greater impact on my life than the things I have seen or done. There is one person and one dog that I have never met, not yet anyway, who have influenced me a great deal recently.

Ara and his dog Spirit have been travelling around on a motorcycle with a side care for several years. Their journey is unique in many ways, travelling with a dog, using a side car and most importantly is Ara’s published journal. Their trip was born from loss, the loss of Ara’s son. He writes about his thoughts, his feelings and his loss in such a way that you can’t help but read every word and feel differently afterwards.

Ara is the bravest person I know. To put your inner most thoughts on the web for everyone to read takes more courage than most of us have. As a fellow solo rider I relate very well to Ara, there are many days that my mind will wander with thoughts that I would never be brave enough to publish. We all have our daemons to kill, but not all of us are brave enough to write about them, Ara is.  Because of him I may also start to publish some of my own, writing and riding is therapy for the soul.

Ara’s “Daily therapy, publish weekly or so” is an amazing website, his unselfish and open ways will help your own soul after reading what he has published. An excellent photographer and chef, he sells his photos and recipes from his website. Please check it out and if a photo or recipe sparks your fancy please support my new friend and buy it  http://theoasisofmysoul.com/

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Photosfrom Northern Peru

Posted on January 4, 2012 by greg
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New Year’s Day ride

Posted on January 2, 2012 by greg

I left early on New Year’s Day and began heading south towards Lima. There was no traffic that early as I am sure everyone was nursing a hangover from the previous night’s celebration. It is a new year today, but I did not make any resolutions, life is good and if a change is needed I will make it along the way. I am excited for 2012; I think it will be a special year.

The road was fantastic, through the desert, offering long corners and twists and just the right intervals to keep the ride exciting. The view is amazing; unlike anything I have ever seen before I am just living in the moment, enjoying the ride. I pass an odd looking cemetery, different from the others I have seen here in Peru, so I stop. It is old and seems neglected; many of the markers are without names and there is garbage everywhere. I walk around for a few minutes but the place is kind of creepy so I move on.

It starts to get a little cold and foggy and I zip up my jacket. Strange to see this in the desert and I am puzzled as to why. I am surrounded by noting but mountains and sand and I am reminded of my trip to Iran back in 2004 and the drive through the desert there, it was over 50 Celsius. Rounding another corner I see the ocean, I had forgotten how close I was to the ocean, mountains were on both sides of me for so long that I thought I was further inland. The ocean seems far below me. I take an unpaved road to investigate closer to the ocean. It is beautiful, wave’s crash against the cliffs, the high winds blow the sand and there is nobody else around. Someone was here recently, they left some garbage behind. No matter how far I travel or how remote I go there is always human garbage.

A little further down the highway the ocean and the sand meet. Stopping, I walk towards the water and watch the waves, the wind is in my face and the cool air feels refreshing. I turn my back to the wind and look at my motorcycle and the mountains just off in the distance. It hits me “I have rode my motorcycle to Peru”, until this moment the magnitude of the distance had not been so clear. A large yellow transport truck is slowing down and eventually stops near my bike. I wonder what he could want and walk back to the road. The truck driver jumps out, camera in his hands, he wants the same thing as I do, to capture the moment. We take each other’s photos and exchange some details of our lives. I tell him my father was a truck driver and the bond between two New Year’s Day travelers become stronger; he knows I understand the challenges of his life on the road. I remember telling my Dad about my decision to take this adventure of mine. I thought that if anyone would find fault in my decision it would be my Dad; instead he simply said “As long as you have your health, you should do it”. Cancer took him from us five days later. As I pull away I adjust my right mirror and watch as the truck fades away, I never see it again. The past fades in my mirror, it holds many memories for me; all of them good.

 

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Desert to Mountains – Northern Peru

Posted on December 29, 2011 by greg

With such an easy border crossing into Peru I had a full day of riding in front of me. The sun was shining, no rain clouds in sight, and the weather was perfect for riding.  The roads were also perfect, kilometer after kilometer of prefect pothole free pavement. The road hugs the shore line and waves are crashing against the beach, how I love riding next to the ocean. Vultures circle in the distance, there are always vultures, a lone one at the road side looks at me. I think he is the same one that I gave the finger to back in Texas and has been following me ever since, just waiting for the final giant pothole. Not today bird the road is smooth.

There is a familiar smell, the smell of rotting flesh and I am immediately reminded of the dead buffalo on the Alaska Highway. I look to my right and see several dead Sea Lions on the beach, being picked at my vultures. Man they stink, but not as bad as the buffalo, I think the sea air helps move the stench away. I read once that smell is the biggest trigger of memory, why could I not have had a more pleasant smell, like mint. I accelerate down the coast leaving the smell behind.

The road turns into the desert. I am surprised by the desert conditions, I did see photos of it before but there is nothing like the real thing, reminds me a little of Death Valley in California. I don’t realize it at the time but I am beginning to dehydrate, not drinking enough water and I start to get a headache. One of my riding rules is this “If you don’t pee each time you get gas; you’re not drinking enough water”. I haven’t peed all day. I approach a town and decide to call it a day. Something about this place does not feel right; I get water and move on. “Trust your gut, follow your heart” was some of the best advice I have ever been given, my gut says “move on” my heart doesn’t care, its thinking of other things. The next town feels better and I call it a day.

Having enough of the desert I decide to head into the mountains for a couple of days and make the town of San Ignacio my destination.  A little bit more desert riding and then it’s over the mountains. The views are specular and like most of the roads here, very few places to pull over for a photo. My mind had been wandering a little but is now just living in the moment, this road is amazing, so much fun and so beautiful.  I come to a “Y” in the road and decided to ask for directions. There are a few “mototaxi” parked beside a café, wherever there is a “mototaxi” you can almost be sure of finding a guy napping inside. After some excitement over my bike and the usual questions I get pointed in the right direction towards San Ignacio.

This road, as with so many other things on this journey would be better shared. The mountains are green the road is smooth and not much traffic. I stop and take lots of photos and wish I could share this time, I will, on another adventure. I think how nice it would be to have a passenger today, which is until the road turns to crap. I had been riding on perfect blacktop since I came into Peru and now, without warning the road is mud. Mud and potholes and now I am glad I don’t have a passenger, it would not be fun. There is some construction up ahead and I ask the girl turning the sign if the road gets better, she said it did just ahead, she lied. The road just kept getting worse and worse and I considered turning back. There is a man standing beside his motorcycle at the road side so I decide to ask him how much further to San Ignacio. His bike has a flat tire so I decided to help. Unfortunately him I don’t have a patch kit for his tube, so my “help” ends up being in the form of “mototaxi”.  I didn’t want a passenger on this road and now I have one, I need to be careful what I think, maybe Ishould think about winng the lottery. He offers to pay me; I can’t explain “good karma” or “The kindness of strangers” in Spanish so I just refuse his cash with a smile. So many people have helped me along the way, expecting nothing in return; it felt good to return the favour.

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Entering Peru

Posted on December 27, 2011 by greg

I entered Peru through the small town of Huaquillas today in what had to be the easiest border crossing ever. Stamp out of Ecuador, drive 4 kilometers to Peru, fill out a simple form for the bike, drive around the corner and get a stamp from Immigration. Welcome to Peru. The whole process took 40 minutes. No helpers jumping out from behind building or trees, no fees to be paid and no money changers  either (good thing the ATM was no too far away).

I am mentally prepared for border crossing to take an entire day, so at 9:40 am, having the entire day in front of me I decided to just ride.  More later, I am a bit tired today.

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Christmas

Posted on December 26, 2011 by greg

Christmas came and went just as any other day. I woke up to the sounds of dogs barking, horns honking and the hotel owner yelling at the cleaning staff. A swim and a run along the beach was my Christmas morning. I expected the beach to be empty but it wasn’t, later in the day the beach became crowed and if it had not been for the occasional person wearing a Santa hat I would have forgotten it was Christmas.

I met an American couple walking along the beach. “Aren’t you lonely being by yourself on Christmas” she asks me.  I may be by myself but I am not alone; there are people thinking of me and I am thinking of them. Thanks to the gifts of modern technology, I was able to communicate with the people who mattered.

I took the time to wash, inspect and repack my bike. I think I found the cause of the noise I was hearing, a minor detail and easy to fix. I am surprised by how little I carry. I look at some of the backpackers walking by, so overloaded they have trouble walking upright, and wonder what they could possibly be carrying. They don’t need tools or spare parts, and many of them look like they don’t change clothes all that often, so what could they have in those giant packs. Keep it simple, you don’t need much when you travel, what you think you need you won’t and what you need you will have forgotten but can be bought locally.

I am going to need clothes soon; I have lost a lot of weight, healthy food, exercise and fresh air, that’s all. I think about the suits and ties’ hanging in my mother’s closet and wonder when I will put one on again. Hopefully it is for a fun occasion, but I will need to find a tailor first to take in the waist. If I can find a welder to weld aluminum in the middle of nowhere I think I can find a tailor, I don’t worry about these things much anymore.

Christmas dinner consisted of two bananas, a papaya and three mangos. The lady selling the fruit told me that mangos were good for my penis, I ate them first.

Christmas sunset

Christmas sunset

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The ride to Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2011 by greg

Tomorrow will make 5 months of solo travel, from Toronto to Alaska to Ecuador for a total of 38,011km.

I turned right onto the main highway and knew immediately that it was going to be an interesting ride. The highway was hugging the coast, waves were smashing on the beach and I was only 2km into my 157km day. The road was smooth and I started to think of how fortunate I am to be able to take this journey of mine and how the experiences and friendships that have resulted will forever change me. I have experienced violence and kindness on the same day, extreme poverty and extreme wealth are often only around the corner from each other and random acts of kindness are becoming common. Friendships have been formed from only a twenty minute conversation in a rainy parking lot, from sharing a bottle of vodka and trading travel stories and by simply using the same method of transportation. These friendships are stronger than I imagined they could be and I know will last well beyond my journey.

I come to a “Y” in the road and of course, no sign. The town I am looking for is on the beach so I stay right on the road closet to the ocean, both options look inviting. A few kilometers into my new route the pavement ends and the road turn to gravel, I approach a village and will ask for directions. A woman is leaving the cemetery, she has obviously been crying, the holidays are harder for some. “It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all”, I wonder if this woman would agree, probably not today. I will ask someone else for directions.

Some goats run out in front of the bike and start running in the same direction I am riding. Now I am on a goat path, yep definitely the wrong road. I ask a man walking alongside the road and he confirms that I am going the right direction ”Just keep going straight” he tells me.  The road ahead is being graded and is muddy in spots, I have memories of Alaska. I see no other vehicles and I am happy my tank and stomach are full. The bike fishtails in the mud and then, pavement. I am back on the main highway heading along the coast.  

A long straight paved road lies before be, it’s inviting, so I open the throttle. My adrenaline pumps as I come to a sign warning of twisty roads ahead, I don’t slow down. I am going to enjoy this road. After the fourth twist the ocean appears, it is amazing so I slow down to take it all in. Huge cliffs and a harbor full of fishing boats, I have memories of Newfoundland. Newfoundland seems like a life time ago, but it was only June when I rode out there, so much has happened since that trip.

So much of this coast line is undeveloped. It is nice to see the natural beauty this way; I wonder how long it will last, how long before a developer builds a mega resort. I stop for gas, I don’t need any but I have not seen a gas station all day. The gas station attendant tells me I am lucky to have such a nice bike, I tell him he is lucky to be surrounded by such beauty. “Yes but you are more lucky because you rode your moto here”.  I think he is right.

I arrive at the town of Montinta, my destination and the place I have decided to call home for Christmas. I do my usual search for a place to stay, secure parking, wifi and affordable. How I envy the backpackers sometimes, no worries about parking. There are lots of hostels and hotels here but I find only one with secure parking. It has two of the three things I need, the wifi from my room is terrible and I have to walk to the front to get access. As I sit here watching the sunset over the ocean, wifi does not seem so important.

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Passing the Equator

Posted on December 22, 2011 by greg

As I sit here and looking over my maps, I realize that I have passed the Equator, long ago. I did not see any markers, no big signs and no tourist shops, maybe I was day dreaming again or maybe it was the rain. Maybe I will go back and look for it, or maybe not.

It is Christmas in a few days and I am looking for a place to park myself and the bike and relax. I think I will take a few days off and recharge, give the bike some much needed care and enjoy the warm weather. I have been riding a lot the five days, almost 2,000km. There has been no particular reason for covering this distance I was just enjoying the ride, the days are longer in the southern hemisphere  and the bike just kept on going.  Fortunately my brain has allowed me to live in the moment, no thoughts of yesterday or tomorrow just the NOW. This has not been an easy thing for me, living in the now, but I am learning. In my previous life as an accountant I could never live in the now, report on the past, budget for the future the only NOW was when things were due. I have to remind myself that I have left that life behind in Canada. So I ride, and ride and now I have a case of Monkey But, so tomorrow I will stop and rest and spend a few days taking in the local culture.

I am also going to focus on my Spanish a lot more. I enjoy speaking another language other than English and take great pride in understanding and being understood, and I want more. Many of my conversations relate to directions, clearing customs, how fast my bike will go, how much the bike cost and more recently “we are going to search you bike for narcotics”. I want a different and meaningful conversation, so I will learn more Spanish.

Ecuador is an amazing country to ride through, the roads are fantastic and the scenery will blow you away. I should have stopped and taken more photos, tomorrow I will for sure. Yesterday I touched the clouds while passing through a mountain range to reach the sea. The clouds were so thick that it was often hard to see and I was careful not to lose focus. At least there were no potholes.

 

Links

This should do the trick. Lucky for me I have a bottle http://www.antimonkeybutt.com/

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Entering Ecuador – Advantage Motorcycle

Posted on December 20, 2011 by greg

It was a tough decision to leave Colombia. I was enjoying it there and there was still so much more to see, but the weather was not co-operating. Waking up to another day of rain, I made the decision to head south.

As I approached the border I could not believe the back up of vehicles. I immediately started to regret my decision and thought about turning around and finding another border crossing. But then I just did what motorcycles here always do, drove up the center lane and cut to the front of the line. The line was over 2km long and I was now at the front of it, handing in my bike papers and getting my passport stamped, the advantage of having two wheels.

Next came entering Ecuador. I again cut in front of all the traffic and quickly found the office for bringing in the motorcycle. The paperwork for the bike to a little while but the man doing the paperwork was moving at a snail’s pace and every two minutes a woman came in crying because she owed $143.71 USD for something that I did not understand. Then came immigration, the lineup was long and I was expecting to be there for a long time when suddenly a police man sent me to a separate window, why I have no idea. Passport was stamped and two minutes later I was driving in Ecuador.

Five kilometers into Ecuador was another huge back-up of traffic, so I cut to the front again. This time however the police motioned for me to pull over for inspection, they were the Anti-Narcotic squad. My side boxes and top case were searched very thoroughly. Finding nothing I was soon on my way and still ahead of the car that I passed. Advantage motorcycle.  

 

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