Buenos Aries .. The end of the expedition

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Saturday 5th December
Sierra de la Ventanna to Buenos Aires

It was an early start so we could ride as group later on, however it was raining hard and we all had to put our wet weather gear on. The early start saw some running out of petrol, as no station were open, luckily Simon and I both with the limited tanks had filled up the evening before. The fuel situation even caught out Jeff in the support van and whilst we were stopped at the petrol station he was spotted in a local’s car filling up a jerry can of diesel! The heavy rain continued all the way and we all met up at the rendezvous café dripping wet. Once lunch was eaten we rode into Buenos Aries as a group although it continued to rain to the end and I think this a fitting end as it was raining as we rode out of Anchorage at the start so it is raining as we rode into Buenos Aries at the Finish. We all parked up for the final time and spent some time congratulating each other with a great deal of emotion lots of hand shaking and hugging before empting the bike and retiring to the local restaurant to celebrate.

Miles
Today 355
Total 22945

Odometer : Anchorage : 6206
Odometer : Buenos Aires : 29679
Odometer : Total since leaving England : 23473

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The road to Buenos Aires

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Monday 30th November
Rio Gallegos to Comodoro Rivadiva

We were up very early to ride this long day, although sunny, it was windy. I took the road out of town and missed the turn off, quickly realising this I rode back to town only to see Paul riding the other way, I waited till he turned around and we found the turn off as the sign was only visible from this direction. After spending some time going west the road Ruta 3 turned north and we then encountered the very strong side winds.

The area is mostly flat plain with occasional rolling hills and some small salty lakes with the odd flamingo wading in them, green scrub land with few trees due to the winds. Taking numerous petrol stops due to the wind causing the bikes to use more fuel, the winds got stronger and stronger, bikes in front of me were comically leant over into the wind and even though the road was straight were wearing the side of the tyres! we were all glad to get to the hotel.


Miles
Today 495
Total 21722
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Tuesday 1 December
Comodoro Rivadiva to Puerto Madryn



Another day of riding into side winds and similar country, though 150 miles in the scenery changed to almost desert, very like northern Chile and Peru.

Again it was simply a matter of riding through the day and very tiring fighting the blustery winds.Towards the end of the ride the wind got worse and unusually came for the landward side instead of the the sea. At one point I passed a large bus coming the other way and it was leaning heavily on its left side due to the force of the wind. Once again we were glad of reaching the hotel and a rest day tomorrow.

Miles
Today 367
Total 22089
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Wednesday 2 December
Puerto Madryn
Day Off

We booked a trip on a boat to see whales, when we arrived at the small town on the Valaez peninsula we found the port closed due to high winds. We all elected to wait at least till 2 in the afternoon to see if the weather changed for the favourable. Luckily at around 2:15 it did and we all climbed aboard the large rib boat holding about 30 people. After 20 minutes we came across a mother whale and small son. We were then treated to 25 minutes of the best show we could have hoped for.

The whales decided to play around the boat almost close enough to touch and everyone got fantastic pictures, it went on so long most stopped taking pictures and just enjoyed the moment. After we spotted two more whales diving for food and sea lions on the rocks sun-bathing. After returning to port we all reflected on what a wonderful day it had been.

Miles
Today 0
Total 22089
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Thursday 3 December
Puerto Madryn to Viedma

Another day just riding north was made more interesting with a side trip to see penguins, after 200 miles I took the turn-off and another 60 miles saw me at the dirt road to Punto Tombo. The road was one of the worst we had ridden with deep marble gravel and no tracks to ride in. Arriving at the small visitor’s area and paying 35 pesos to get in I was treated to more penguins that you can imagine.
They were everywhere walking across the designated path ways sleeping under bushes and in small fox holes, the landscape was littered with them. A lot had chicks and the few of us who had ridden here were able to get some fantastic pictures again the Argentinian coast has delivered some great wildlife to view.


Miles
Today 275
Total 22364
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Friday 4th December
Viedma to Sierra de la Ventanna

Another day riding north however with the prospect of some improved scenery as we were going to spend the last night in a more remote and rugged area before the run to Buenos Aries. The flat farm land gave way to rolling hills with more greenery and the odd tree, leaving the awful side winds behind us. The hotel was set in a valley between high hills in the area know as Sierra de la Ventanna, a park area set in the more crowded area south of Buenos Aries.

Miles
Today 226
Total 22590

Argentina and the last border crossing

Sunday 28th November
Cerro Sombrero to Rio Gallegos

The final day in Chile with short run North, starting at 9.30 a run across the very windy flat plains to the ferry across the Magellan straights, after this we joined Ruta 3 which will take us all the way to Buenos Aries. We also parted company with Fin, the reporter who had joined us south of Santiago and was taking his hired bike back and flying back to Ireland. More miles of riding at an angle this time with the wind coming from the left over the plains and we got to to the final land based border crossing. A combined Chilean and Argentinean post made the crossing relatively quick and painless then more very windy roads with a little hail and snow arriving early at the town of Rio Gallegos.

Miles
Today : 104
Total : 21227

Moving North ..

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Saturday 28th November
Ushuaia to Cerro Sombrero


After two days off in Ushuaia it was with sadness we moved out and started North on the “ride home” to Buenos Aries. A very cold day took me up and over the pass through the spectacular mountain scenery and down onto the flat plain in the north of the island. Missing out the previous stop at Kaiken I had to ride the road till it became dirt after the border crossing into Chile all the way back to the small town of Cerro Sombero, this time with my confidence on dirt coming back after the crashes I enjoyed the ride more today.

Miles
Today : 260
Total : 21123

Fin Del Mundo, The End of The World

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Wednesday 25th November
Kaiken to Ushuaia to the end of the road

This is it the final leg south to Ushuaia after lining up ready to eave as a group, Kevin (trip leader) told me to fall in behind him leading the rest of the group out. We had 60 miles of tarmac wending its way through the high pass in the snow capped mountains on this southern end of the island. It was very cold and we had been advised we may encounter snow, but luckily it stayed clear all the way to Ushuaia, we stopped once to meet up with another group of motorcyclists on their way north then we made the final ride through Ushuaia to the park and the end of the road.

There were 15 miles of damp dirt road and we then parked at the end near the sign “Fin Del Mundo” end of the world, this is the most southerly part of the Americas you can reach by road. Once the support van arrived the Champagne was brought out and we had an hour long celebration here with many photos and congratulations all round. It took a while for us to get back on the bikes taking in what we had achieved, ridden from the top of the Americas in the Arctic Circle to the most southerly part, almost 5 months and my odometer reads 21000 miles covered. Off the group only 7 (including myself) made it the whole journey without spending any time in the van, every inch travelled on our bikes. We stopped in the cafe in the Park for lunch and then made our way back to Ushuaia to the hotel.


Miles
Today : 91
Total : 20863

Odometer : Anchorage : 6206
Odometer : Ushuaia : 27592
Odometer Miles : Total since leaving England : 21389

Tierra Del Fuego South and back to Argentina

Tuesday 24th November
Cerro Sombrero to Kaiken

Almost 60 miles of more dirt road took me to another boarder crossing, on the way I was flagged down by an Argentinian, his 4x4 was parked on a banking. As it turned out he had not parked it there but crashed, the front wheel was broken and they were changing it for the spare. I was not sure how, as a lone motorcyclist, I could help it also transpired that the whole steering arm had snapped causing the accident. Two others of the group arrived and then the support van we got the vehicle onto its four wheels and then offered to send help from the nearest town some 30 miles away. It took another hour to get there on this rough dirt road. I’m not sure how they did but we left the garage with their location we then crossed the border into Argentina. After this a run on tarmac ended with a lakeside hotel with mixtures of cabins and rooms, I had a cabin shared with Mac and Gerald over looking the lake.

Miles
Today : 202
Total : 20772

Another short stay in Chile

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Saturday 21st November
El Calafate to Tres Pasos

With my ankle, shoulder and ribs still sore it was a relief to start the day on tarmac but after 60 miles this turned back to dirt road for some 40 miles then back to tarmac. The run was on wind swept roads and general flat plains, the turn off to the boarder was a small dirt road and most of us missed it having to turn round. Straight after the border we trued left and shortly came upon the Estancia Tres Pasos were I pitched my tent as I had elected to camp here a while back. The estancia was set in the valley between steep hills and a group of us elected to walk up the nearest hill as we had been told of the condors flying, after reaching the top we spotted a couple floating gracefully on the wind before landing on a rocky perch on the opposite hill. The hill afforded us a fantastic view of the valley and the snow capped mountains in the distance of Torres Del Paine.

Miles
Today : 164
Total : 20292
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Sunday 22nd November
Tres Pasos
Day Off
Despite the aches and pains and the prospect of more dirt road, I decided to ride into the Torres del pain park due to the reports of spectacular scenery and the unusual shape three peaks in the mountains. I was not disappointed, the scenery was spectacular and I spent the afternoon and evening touring the park, visiting a couple of waterfalls and stopping often to take pictures of the mountains and glacial lakes here.


Miles
Today : 137
Total : 20429
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Monday 23rd November
Tres Pasos to Cerro Sombrero

After waking up in a frost covered tent I prepared for another day of mixed tarmac and dirt road. We are now nearing the end of the main purpose of this expedition, Ushuaia. The country here flattens out and I encountered more strong winds with the bike presently leaning to the right after some miles of this I reached the ferry, meeting the rest of the group here. This is the end of the main land mass, the continents and could be considered the end of the road but we cross the Straights of Magellan to Tierra del feugo.

As a group we loaded onto the swaying ferry which uses its engines to keep in line with the ramp. As short 15 minute crossing accompanied by Connersonts Dolphins in the bow wave and we were unloading onto the last part of our journey. Another run across wind swept plains got us to our destination Cerro Sombrero a very small town based around an oil processing plant with little more than a petrol station and a hotel.

Miles
Today : 141
Total : 20570

Back to Argentina ..

Monday 16th November
Puerto Guadal to Los Antiguos

After yesterdays accident it was not a pleasant surprise to see the pouring rain in the morning, the warm and dry wooded accommodation was tempting me to stay, but we have to keep moving. The awful dirt path beckoned so we all just got on with it and successfully rode it up the hill and out, however as I made the sharp left turn out of the gate the front went into soft mud and slid down the ditch at the side of the road, I jumped clear making sure not to aggravate the injury from yesterday. The ride was only 60 miles but after the second fall was as hard as I’ve done before given the driving rain making visibility poor. The road was not forgiving either, combinations of gravel sections and slippery up-hill switch back stony sections making the ride the most uncomfortable, and it was with relief that he rain stopped as I got the to border town. After stopping for fuel I crossed the border with relative ease and a short run to Los Antigos, along the way I could hear a knocking sound from the rear of the bike. Half the group was in a hotel in town and I was with the other half some miles out of town, the support van was in town, so after dropping stuff in the hotel I rode the bike back to get Jeff to check it out. We found the rear brake pads had worn with the outer one now metal on metal. With no spares Jeff came up with a genius idea, use the spare pads for the 1200s that were in the van and as they are different mounting, weld the worn pad to the back of it. We spent some time trying to find a welder, and found a back street car place, but it was shut … siesta time, returning at 5 it was open and we managed to get the guy to weld the plate. The garage was a tin-roofed building with some old cars and parts in it, and he used an arc welder without a mask! 20 pesos later we had a working brake pad and with thanks we left and fitted it to my bike.

Miles
Today 261
Total 19612
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Tuesday 17th November
Los Antiguos to La Angostura

Back onto the famous Ruta 40, a dirt road with miles of gravel sections and sand. The first 40 miles or so were on tarmac, the rest was gravel, a type of gravel we dubbed marbles, round stones that throw the bike all over the place. I tried to keep the bike in the clearer tyre tracks but the side winds were fierce and tended to blow us off course and into the deeper gravel between. Battling this for hours and nursing the sore foot it was relief that we found the entrance to the Estancia, however another 4 miles of a narrow rough track need to be ridden before arriving at the estancia, a lovely farmstead looking across a wide plain to the distant hills. Here I set-up a tent to camp for the night as there were not enough bunks in the estancia to accommodate everyone.

Miles
Today 228
Total 19840
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Wednesday 18th November
La Angostura to El Calafate

Today we rode more of Ruta 40 another 100 miles of gravely dirt road flat and windy for most of it, 60 miles in was running at about 50 mph in 6th gear suddenly came across deep gravel covering the whole road, with the bike in 6th gear I could not get he drive to push through it and the bike went into a “tank slapper”, handle bars moving wildly from side to side until the bike flipped around, I slid to a halt some yards down the road. After picking myself up I checked the bike for damage, lucky no damage, only the left pannier popped off. The support van came up 5 minutes later and Jeff helped me to get the bike up and running again. As I rode the last 40 miles my shoulder started to hurt, though as it transpired the next day, it was only bruising and strained muscles. Once at the fuel stop the rest of the day was spent mostly on tarmac past some spectacular glacial lakes all the way to the next stop at El Calafate


Miles
Today 196
Total 20036

Thursday 19th to Friday 20th November
El Calafate
2 Days off
Spent the first day riding into the glacier park to view the spectacular Moreno Glacier. The secondary we booked onto a tour on a Catamaran which took us around all the accessible glaciers.

Miles
Today 92
Total 20128

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Back to Chile

Thursday 12th November
Bariloche to Futaleufu

For this day we had a change of destination, Futaleufu, on the Chilean side of the border, with an option to go via a dirt road. The road out of town was nice sweeping tarmac after a short run on dirt to join Ruta 40. After 100 miles some of us turned off onto the dirt road, this being more gravel and deep in places. I, Ed and Lorraine stuck together and after 15 miles of dirt entered a town, after much searching we found a tourist information office which directed us back up the road to a turn off by a small police station. We followed the instructions to find a small shed with a sign “Butch Cassidy” a little disappointed with the view Lorraine recalled the instructions in a guide were to go over the fence and walk some 300 metres along. We did so and found the farmstead that Butch Cassidy and The Sundance kid used whilst here in Patagonia. After taking some pictures and eating lunch we proceeded on the dirt road towards the border, this took some hours as the road was difficult and we reached the border posts around 6.30 luckily they were still open. Another 5 miles brought us to the small village of Futaleufu

Miles
Today 248
Total 18909
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Friday 13th November
Futaleufu to Puyuhuapi

We were going to be riding on dirt road all the way today, it started off relatively easy on a gravel strewn road with clear track created by tyre tracks of cars and lorries. However as we proceeded short sections had deep sand were the road had been repaired making the going slow, after 90 miles we got to a small town filled up with petrol and had lunch. Once on the road again we met the roadworks, on dirt road this consists of dumping a load of soft muddy sandy gravel and then compacting it, added to this it started to rain turning sections into very slippy mud pits. One section was a least a half mile long with the bike snaking around on the slippy mud as I tried to keep it in one of the many ruts. It was with relief that the roadworks ended after about 8 miles and the dirt road became more compacted and easier on the run into the village of Puyuhuapi.

Miles
Today 117
Total 19026
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Saturday 14th November
Puyuhuapiu to Coyhaique

More off road past some spectacular scenery, rivers and mountains, the road stayed better than yesterday with long runs of clear compacted dirt allowing the run to the next town to be really enjoyable.

Miles
Today 145
Total 19171
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Sunday 15th November
Coyhaique to Puerto Guadal

We continued on the dirt roads this time with more up-hill and down hill sections and more loose gravel sections, the road was good with long straight sections and clear tracks to follow, although cold the rain stayed off till later and then only light helping to bind the gravel and give good grip. Running quickly we made good time arriving at the entrance to hotel mid-afternoon, the track down to the hotel was however awful, but we all negotiated it well, at the bottom there was a steep up-ill section to the parking area, I waited till the others had parked and then open the throttle to get the bike up the hill, however the back wheel was in a section of deep gravel and this flung the bike out from underneath me. I landed heavily on the left side with the bike on top of my left leg, as it slid it twisted my left ankle whilst I fell onto the small fence at the side of the track, I managed to extract myself whilst the others came to help pick me and the bike up. After one of tem parked it for me they got ice for my ankle and I spent some time with this on before going to asses the damage, the bike was fine with just the bracket for the left pannier bent. Once bent back into position the pannier was remounted on the bike, proving once again that the Metal Mule pannier system lives up to it’s reputation as the strongest on the market.



Miles
Today 180
Total 19351

Argentina .. again

Monday 9th November
Osorno to San Martin de los Andes

This was a cold day very reminiscent of England, even the scenery looked familiar. I was riding with Gerald and Ed and Lorraine and we stopped at a very nice small car museum outside the town, and had coffee while we waited for it to open. We then proceeded up the pass to the border and exited Chile fairly quickly just before a buss load of tourists.

As we proceeded between the borders we then hit snow on the high pass but with full off road tyres and taking it easy we had no problem negotiating the winter wonderland we found here. Again the crossing of the Argentina border proceeded well and we continued along. The road was a wet dirt road for some miles with sleet and snow, very potholed and had quite a lot of gravel on the bends to negotiate. All along the way there were spectacular views of the lakes and snow sprinkled mountains in this area of the Andes. The village appeared shortly after we turned onto tarmac.

Miles
Today 152
Total 18436
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Tuesday 10th November
San Martin de los Andes to San Carlos de Bariloche

Today was to be a short road ride but with an option for some 50 miles of extra dirt around lago Nahuelhuapi. I and 8 others decided to take to optional route. The road to the turn off was spectacular, a smooth winding road between the peaks of the Andes here in Patagonia. It was quite cold, more like winter weather than the usual summer weather here, after a fuel and coffee stop we turned off onto the gravel and dirt road. Some 15 miles in we came to a view point over the lake.

The views were spectacular with snow sprinkled mountains framing the blue-green lake. Continuing on the journey the dirt road dipped and twisted through a lightly forested area at the side of the lake giving the opportunity to stop for lunch at the lakeside. Towards the end of the road I cam across Kevin and a few others waiting for the van, one of the riders, Andy had hit a very large embedded rock and broken the entire swing arm on the 1200GS.

The damage was extensive snapping the casing for the drive shaft and the swing arm all the way back to the swivel point, he was very lucky not to fall and brought the bike to a stop some 30 yards down the road. The front wheel was badly damaged and it is now not certain if he will have to ride the rest of the trip in the support van. Once in the van we continued the rest of the dirt road with some deep gravel bits and soft earth where the road had been graded, then back onto tarmac to the hotel in the lake side town of Bariloche.

Miles
Today 225
Total 18661
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Wednesday 11 November
San Carlos de Bariloche
Day off

Miles
Today 0
Total 18661

Chile .. again

Monday 2 November
Uspallata to Santiago

A shorter riding day up though the cold pass and crossing the Border back into Chile, we rode out as a group, the ride along the pass was accompanied by very strong cross winds. The pass wended it way up through the Andean mountains with a number of tunnels until as we approached the border, there was a very long tunnel through the mountain. The border crossing was very complicated as it was a combined Chilean/Argentinean run post, with numerous forms to be filed in and stamped at a confusing array of windows.

Purely by chance I went to each window in the correct order and with the correct forms, leaving me 20 minutes ahead of all the others. As we had to ride in a group into Santiago I waited until the others we through and joined the group behind the tour leader Kevin.

We rode all the way to control point were we were to meet the police rider escort, however we were some 2 hours early so had to wait there until the appointed time. We were met by the owner of the BMW service centre and the police and escorted all the way into Santiago with traffic being stopped and TV cameras taking pictures.

Miles
Today 173
Total 17696
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Tuesday 3rd November to Friday 6th November
Santiago
Bike servicing and 4 days off

Miles
Today 0
Total 17696
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Saturday 7th November
Santiago to Salto de Laja

Long riding day south of the city on motorway it was very much more developed here than northern Chile and very like Europe. A colder day with temperatures closer to England had all of us with our warm clothing and layers beneath our riding jackets.

We had some rain along the way and other than a stop for lunch at a Bavarian restaurant we stayed on the motorway all the way to the small tourist village of Salto de Laja which has a very impressive waterfall. Lucky the late evening sun came out and I got some nice pictures of the waterfall with a rainbow in the spray.

Miles
Today 303
Total 17999
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Sunday 8th November
Salto de Laja to Osorno

This was another straight riding day along the motorway south of Santiago, and again very cold. As we had little to do but ride most of us were feeling the cold today even though it was n colder than yesterday. Osorno was were we were to get new tyres, off road front and back, so we had to get there as early as possible, an early start and straight riding with a few coffee stops. Having left the panniers at the hotel we went straight to the garage to get the new tyres fitted.

Miles
Today 285
Total 18284

Chile

Tuesday 27th October
Arequipa to Arica


This day is a long riding day on straight roads in the desert, we crossed the border into Chile. Chile is very much more developed but the scenery around is still dusty though impressive desert.


Miles
Today 279
Total 15859
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Wednesday 28th October
Arica to Antofagasta

Very long riding day again in deserts with some spectacular views as we went up and down the canyons and hills. Stopped at the ghost mining town of Humberstone. Great view as we moved to the coast near Iquique.

Stopped at La Portada on the way into Antofagasta, a view of a rock formation on the coast.

Miles
Today 464
Total 16323
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Thursday 29th October
Antofagasta to El Salvador


We turned inland to more desert riding, visited “El Mano” the hand, a large sculpture of a hand in the desert. Another long run of desert riding in the Aticama desert, one of the driest places on earth fierce side-wind had the fuel consumption high and a sore neck for me although a very enjoyable ride.

Miles
Today 305
Total 16628

Argentina

Friday 30th October
El Salvador to Tinogasta





Started off on tarmac then we turned off onto dirt roads on very worn road tyres. The dirt started with a little gravel then went to nice hard packed dirt. The views as we climbed into the Andes were spectacular, long road of dirt in a plain surrounded by the peaks of mountains, this is what this journey is all about, breathtaking. Slow riding to save fuel as no fuel until the next town in Argentina.
After the Chilean border we hit much more difficult dirt, deep sand pits and gravel, on these road tyres it took its toll, with two bad accidents. Paul then Nick both running quickly hit unexpected sand and gravel crashing heavily, Nick took a hit to his ribs and had to go into the van, Paul’s accident damaged his bike and he too took a hit to his ribs. Paul’s accident was seen by Nigel and he described the bike as cart wheeling at least 3 times.

Though he had been knocked unconscious, he decided to carry on using Nick’s bike, while his bike went into the van and Nick was taken to hospital. At the Argentinian border Nick was taken straight though in the van to hospital while some of the equipment was left at the boarder to be collected later by the van. In the mean while I managed to get 288 miles out of the 16 litre tank making it to the town without using my spare fuel. As we descended the temperature rose to a balmy 41 deg C.

Miles
Today 319
Total 16947
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Saturday 31 October
Tinogasta to Villa Union

A warm day riding on normal roads then up through a dirt road pass with great views to the town of Villa Union.

Miles
Today 212
Total 17159
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Sunday 1st November
Villa Union to Uspallata

Long riding day with 30 miles of gravel dirt road using very worn road tyres. No accidents this time, though tow of the group ended running through the mountains on what can only be described as a donkey trail. This all because they were following a GPS route and the GPS had been set for dirt! We moved into the mountains with some spectacular views and much cooler weather arriving in this basic but nice town.

Miles
Today 364
Total 17523

Peru .... a real adventure

Saturday 24th October
Puno to Chivay

Well 200 or so miles do not seem too bad, but I started this day early not knowing what was to come. I wanted to see the Inca funeral towers at Sillustani which was a official short detour so I started an hour and a half earlier than the others so as not to be behind. The road out of town was a bad, rutted, compacted mud road swinging up the steep hillside, I stopped in the station to fill with the only gas available 84 grade. After this a tricky run through the road works got me onto the main road out, and shortly to the turn off for the Inca ruins. I spent a little over 40 minutes in the historic site and the amazing scenery of the lake and surroundings explains why the Incas would use this area.

I started back on the main road probably just 10 minutes behind the support van, but in the next small city Juliaca, I was held up by police stop checks, then by the parades and the closure of the central plaza. As most towns in Peru have little or no signs and no logic to lay-out, it took me a while to get to the other side, I had asked some police the way out, when another turned up on his motorbike and offered to lead me out to the correct road. After thanking him I got going on the road to try to catch up the others who were by now at least an hour ahead.

30 miles down the road on this 4000 metre high plateau in the middle of “no where” I had a puncture on the rear wheel, at first it looked not too bad, a small nail was sticking out of the tyre. As the tyres on this bike are tubed I had to take the wheel off and remove the tyre to check the inner tube, once off I could see the nail had not just punctured the tube but cut a long 20 cm gash in it. As best I could I tried to patch this tear, after putting the wheel back on and using my small portable compressor it was clear I was not going to be able to fix this. A police 4x4 appeared, I flagged them down and asked to use their mobile to call the support van back, but they had no signal. I was about to negotiate a lift to the nearest small village 20 miles away when three bikes appeared on the horizon. They were Argentinean bikers, on tour, with a mixture of bikes. After explaining as best I could the problem, in Spanglish, they then to my relief magically produced a spare inner tube of the correct size. I bought this from them and after being helped to fit it, I got the bike back onto the road. With much thanking the police and bikers for their help, was off on the rest of the days ride again. Further on this plateau I encountered, first a sand storm, then a full thunder storm with hail and snow which continued for half an hour. The route then took a turn off the main road onto the worst road I have ridden on, to say it was potholed is an understatement, there were more potholes than tarmac. It continued for 30 miles of boneshaking, before taking a fork left where it became, thankfully, new tarmac.

This road took me up to the highest pass I’ve been to, 4910 metres (16108 feet) and the rarefied air, even making getting off the bike to take pictures a real effort, but worth it for the stunning views of the high Andean mountains. After this the road wound its way through a series of switch-backs back down to 3800 metres to arrive at the hotel 5 hours late, much to the relief of the group and myself!

Miles
Today : 213
Total : 15418
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Sunday 25th October
Chivay to Arequipa

After an early start we rode out on Colca Canyon for 30 miles to the Mirador Del Condor, a viewing point for Condors. After some 20 minutes we spotted two condors circling in the distance, where they stayed for a while. We then had to ride out on the same dirt road bac to the village again and then. back up over the 4910 metre high pass. Back along the very pot holed road we had ridden yesterday to the main road. From here on in it was nice sweeping smooth road all the rest of the way into the large city of Arequipa


Miles
Today 162
Total 15580
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Peru

Monday 12th October
Macara to Chiclayo


Today we cross the boarder into Peru, it seems the trip is going too fast as we enter another country, a short 2 mile ride to the boarder and the now familiar procedure to cross, book ourselves out then the bike, book ourselves in then the bike. As usual the procedure to book the bike in (temporary import) takes the longest, but as there are n computers involved and this is a quiet boarder crossing it only took a couple of hours. Once out of the boarder town the scenery changed after 120 miles there was a very long straight road, almost 100 miles through a desert area, the scenery of a desert is not that spectacular, but I have never ridden or been to a desert and it is still an interesting experience.

As the ride continued in a small group of 5 of us, with no petrol stations in sight two of the bikes got very low, I slowed to 40 mph to reduce the fuel consumption and had only 15 miles of fuel left when we found a petrol station. There had, un-usually been no money changers at the boarder and the station did not accept US dollars, so most of us could not pay for fuel, luckily Julia had 10 Sols local currency, just enough to top up the other bikes, I then used my increasingly useful spare fuel can this got me the 30 miles to the city, but it was close for some of us.


Miles
Today : 269
Total : 13666
_______________________________________

Tuesday 13th October
Chiclayo to Huanchaco


Before riding on a number of the group took the morning to visit Lord of Sipan Museum, lots of the gold artefacts on display from the tombs of this pre-Inca civilisation, which had escaped the grave robbers and been properly excavated. From here a shorter run continued in the deserts of north west Peru despite 10 miles out the city’s rubbish was being dumped here and burned, it still was a new experience riding in the desert with very long straight runs of road surrounded by a military firing range then out of the blue suddenly cultivated fields of sugar cane and other crops appeared. The desert continued all the way to the coastal fishing town of Huanchaco, with it’s reed boat fishing fleet.

Miles
Today : 133
Total : 13799
_______________________________________

Wednesday 14th October
Huanchaco to Caraz

I got up early to see the fishing boats come in but they hadn’t gone out this day. Desert runs 100 miles straight roads. Tuned off some more tarmac before Canyon del Pato 60 miles of dirt road, supposed to be easy. Turned out to be very stony bouncing the bike around had to watch out for stones sticking out of the ground , spectacular scenery, very few places like this, had 34 tunnels, with trucks careering through very difficult, some places sand and deep gravel 5 bikes fell no serious damage, Richard fell for the first time on trip. This was a real test of the bikes and some had bolts and other bits fall off, one bike had a severe buckle in the wheel rim requiring the judicious use of the hammer to stop the tyre coming off! He ride took us through the small mountain villages only giving us an impression of how hard people’s lives must be.

Miles
Today : 190
Total : 13989
_______________________________________

Thursday 15th October
Caraz to Barranca

Started about 8.30 riding easy though the tarmac was not good mid morning, lots of deep pot holes. Road through the Andes we got to 13000 foot at places with a back-drop of snow capped mountains, it got very cold and put warm gear on. Later the road turned into an amazing series of switch backs taking us back down to sea level very quickly, a short run to join the pan-am. I went to visit the chimu fortress a pre-Inca civilisation, and then back down the pan-am to the town, which was a very basic working town with little to remark on, except the continuous use of the horns from cars and taxis. This continued through the night without rest.

Miles
Today : 181
Total : 14170
_______________________________________


Frday 16th October
Barranca to Nazca

Started very early with no breakfast to get past Lima, 9.30 before we got to Lima 90 or so miles down the road. The traffic was very heavy despite them having built a fly over through the central part of the city, it took us almost an hour to negotiate our ay out of this big city. The run took us to lunch at a road side café then I was riding alone using the simple compass to navigate the sometime complicated road system with little in the way of signs. Another 150 miles down the road another ride came alongside and pointed to a garage, turned out this was Peter a German riding another F800GS joining us in Nasca. He then joined me for the rest of the ride, stopping at the viewing tower for the Nasca lines and then made our way to the hotel in the town some 15 miles on

Miles
Today : 403
Total : 14573
_______________________________________

Saturday 17th October
Nazcar
Day Off

Went on a flying trip around the Nasca lines in the morning and did some essential bike maintenance. In the afternoon went to visit the ancient mummies of the desert here. These had been well preserved by the lack of rainfall (30mm per 2 years) and the mummification process of covering the bodies with salt and wrapping them in cotton. We all stopped taking photos as this site was very macabre.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 14573
_______________________________________

Sunday 18th October
Nascar to Abancay
A very nice run up and over the Andes, we reached 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) and one of the group started to suffer symptoms of altitude sickness. The road was potholes badly at first but still good fun to ride as it swept through some fantastic scenery. After a break 90 miles in the road improved increasing the pace a sweeping though the high Andes. Near the highest point a weather front moved in we were subjected to hail, not small hail but larger marble sized hail. Moving at speed resulted in some stinging blows even through the armoured bike jacket so I had to slow until it passed. We also encountered packs of vicunas and lamas which have a habit of jumping into the road, one of the group had a glancing blow leaving fur on his boot, a very lucky escape as in other years people have ended up being medi-vac'd due to just such encounters.

Miles
Today : 289
Total : 14862
_______________________________________

Monday 19th October
Abancay to Cusco

More great riding in the high Andes, climbing up above Abancay on 25 miles of switch backs which took nearly an hour, we were still only about 5 miles from the town but had climbed a couple of thousand metres again reaching well over 4000 meters. The views here of the snow capped Andes was superb and continued for the rest of the ride even though we started to descend. A short turn off on the way took me to the Inca Fortress of Ollantaytammbo I stopped for a late lunch here then went to visit the fortress climbing all the way to the top having spectacular views of the Ina Sacred Valley. This fortress was the last stand of the Incas against the Spanish, though they stood little chance against the superior weapons.

Miles
Today : 98
Total : 14960
_______________________________________

Tuesday 20th October
Cusco
Visit Machu Picchu


Cusco is at 3400 metres and some of the group were feeling this but we were up early to catch a bus and then a train, unfortunately the Peruvian authorities do not allow any motor vehicles to use the road to the modern village below Machu Picchu The train (backpacker) took about 3 hours to get to the village where we then took the official buss up to winding road to the entrance to Machu Picchu. The place is now normally packed with tourists, we were lucky as it was a light day and the views of the site and surrounding mountains were spectacular. After a 2 hour guided tour the heavens opened up and we made our way back down to the village below to catch the train back to Cusco, eventually arriving 9.30 pm.


Miles
Today : 0
Total : 14960
_______________________________________

Wednesday 21st October
Cusco
Day Off

Visited the historic Cathedral built upon the original Inca temple. The Spanish demolished the temples and used the stone to build the cathedral.


Miles
Today : 0
Total : 14960
_______________________________________

Thursday 22nd October
Cusco to Puno

Riding out of the very nice city of Cusco I looked for any Petrol station selling 95 octane fuel, but could only find 90, this becoming the norm for Peru and even some stations having no 90 and only 84 (probably equivalent to 75 by our standards). The run out of the city was straight forward, the road becoming very good with lots of sweeping bends as I climbed up to 4300 metres from the cities 3400 metres, at the top I was on a plateau and the roads became long and straight, the scenery was again spectacular with the plain surrounded by the Andean mountain tops, some snow capped. The temperature dropped and I found myself using my warm under jacket again, I haven’t needed this since Canada and have acclimatised to the higher temperatures so am now feeling the cold. Although roads where long and straight here, there was still plenty to look at as we passed though the numerous villages where the kept Llamas, cattle, sheep and pigs, all roaming around free and occasionally a hazard on the road. The final part of the days ride was on the lookout for a petrol station, I had had no petrol since Cusco, but no stations had anything other than “84” the bike performed well and I got to Puno on the 16 litre in the tank with 20 miles still showing.

Miles
Today : 245
Total : 15205
_______________________________________

Friday 23 October
Puno
Day Off

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 15205
_______________________________________

Ecuador

Thursday 8th October
Popayan to Otovalo

A border crossing, long run to get there nice twisty roads though took some time, got to the boarder 2.30pm then had a very long wait till got through as the computer was very slow. In the last group we didn’t get out of the boarder till 6.45 pm. Rode in the dark in Ecuador, border town did not have any petrol stations open due to petrol smuggling the next station 60 miles away, put my spare in jims bike, Julia and Mac running on reserve just as they were about to run out we found an open station, had dinner (rice and meat balls) then on to the hotel. As we had rode at night I didn’t get any impression of Ecuador.

Miles
Today :301
Total : 12771
_______________________________________

Friday 9th October
Otovalo to Quito
Cross the Equator

Very short day, we took a relaxed ride to the Equator where of course we stopped to take pictures, we were allowed to take the bikes right on to the area around the monument marker. Although the roads seem to be good at the moment the short ride still has not allowed me to get any real impression of the country.

Miles
Today :69
Total : 12840
_______________________________________


Saturday 10th October
Quito to Cuenca

Negotiating our way out of this large bustling city was not easy, it’s a complex maze of busy streets and traffic. The ride took us into the mountains past small villages and farms. Although the scenery was impressive there was an impression that life here high up is very hard, with people ploughing the fields using oxen and hand guided ploughs. A number of times I saw people carrying large loads of wood on their backs, most of whom were wearing traditional clothes associated with Peru. Riding along the plateau I came across a development in the middle of nowhere, incredibly the sign said it was a Golf course, and I could not believe that money was being spent on this and not to improve the infrastructure for the people here. Later in the ride we hit fog and rain with badly potholed roads this slowed us to a crawl, after coming out of the fog stopped at a petrol station and found the top hose on my bike about to come off. I spent some time resetting the hose and the stainless steel jubilee clip even though the system was still very hot, using a socket to tighten it this time. Hopefully this will sort this issue that has been plaguing me for some time.

Miles
Today : 288
Total : 13128
_______________________________________


Sunday 11th October
Cuenca to Macara

Today we ride to the border town of Macara in preparation to cross into Peru. Again we rode through the mountains of Ecuador with its twisty potholed roads and great views of the mountains. Riding high we hit some substantial rain and put the wet weather gear on, as the road was difficult and twisty the ride continued into the dark, when we descended the temperature rose but wanting to get there, kept the wet weather gear on slowly boiling, but eventually reaching the small boarder town of Macara. This town is very basic with little facilities basically a stop over point for the boarder crossing, it was when we arrived that we found out there had been two bad crashes, one required the bike transported to the hotel on the back of a pick-up, Nigel had been going around a bend when a pickup had appeared, hitting the brakes he fell hard, the bike suffered damage to the screen and top end and he had severe bruising to his shoulder. The other accident occurred to Simon (he joined us in Bogotá) he had a flat tyre at 50 mph and could not control the bike. Luckily he had little damage to the bike or himself, the luggage (metal mules) simply had scratches on them, and a broken clutch lever mount. It was lucky both bikes were patched up and rideable the next day as we did not have our support van it was still in customs.

Miles
Today : 269
Total : 13397
_______________________________________

Columbia

Thursday 1st October
Panama City to Bogotá City (Columbia)
Flight

The bikes, we had heard had arrived in Bogotá yesterday, so we were on our way to Bogotá. It took a short flight of 1 ½ hours to get to our Third section of our trip South America, as always the airports of all countries look the same and operate the same, only the different language on the signs denotes the country you are in. Once out of the air port the change was apparent, the temperature had dropped considerably and the humidity had gone as Bogotá is at altitude. Once we had collected our baggage, we left this in the taxi van and went to the customs to collect the bikes, this took about 3 hours to get the paperwork sorted and go collect the bikes from the warehouse. However once there we find we have to drive the bikes through an office and down a set of steep steps outside, the warehouse is only geared up to load lorries with their high, drive in bays. Once out of this the drive to the hotel was interesting to say the least, wacky races would be mild compared to this, well when in Rome …. So last minute lane changing, squeezing the bikes into any gap and forcing your way through the traffic is all par for the course, and a lot of fun! Later most of s decided to eat in town, it was very surprising, looking for all intents and purposes like any European café culture area, bar clubs and restaurants.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 11763
_______________________________________


Friday 2 October
Bogotá
Bike servicing

I spent the day servicing my bike, we had been allowed the use of the local BMW dealer’s workshop, and this turned out to be a very large dealership, as large as any back in the UK. The workshop was kitted out with all the specialist tools and we were given the run of the workshop.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 11763
_______________________________________

Saturday 3 October
Bogotá

I spent the morning unpacking the kit from the flight ready to load onto the bike, in the afternoon was a presentation in the dealership, as we were the first large group to go to Columbia, we were a big event, and many guests had been invited. Our bikes were put on display in the showroom still covered in dirt as they wanted them displayed like that. After a presentation we answered questions from guests and hosts about our bikes, as best we could, my Spanish is poor, but I muddled though and think some of them understood me!

Miles
Today : o
Total : 11763
_______________________________________

Sunday 4th October
Bogotá to Medellin

An early start for our first ride in Columbia as we joined some Columbian bikers as escorts to ride north to the city of Medellin. The first section started with miles of mountain twisty road getting warmer at first then cooler again as we wended our ay through the mountains. Although the mileage was not too long, but because the road was twisty we could not make good progress, after the lunch stop, the road became more a little quicker, it still took us into the darkness to get to the city a total of 12 hours of riding.

Miles
Today : 313
Total : 12076
_______________________________________

Monday 5th October
Medellin
Day off

Spent the day wandering around the city, being in a valley it’s easy to navigate and as a modern metro system, this again is very surprising and its very like many European cities. I like this city it appears to be a very nice and pleasant place to be.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 12076
_______________________________________


Tuesday 6th October
Medellin to Cerritos

Again the riding in this country is superb, the hills and mountains very green as I climbed the temperature dropped and these roads were good with lots of bends. Later I dropped out of the mountains on to a flat plain with an increase in temperature I could see lots of sugar cane fields.

Miles
Today : 172
Total : 12248
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Wednesday 7th October
Cerritos to Popayan

Miles
Today : 222
Total 12470

Panama

Sunday 27th September
Cahuita to David (Panama)

It barely seems yesterday we entered Central America and we are crossing into our last Central American country, Panama. An advanced party of 6 had departed yesterday for Panama as between the borders is the first of the two, difficult to cross, “banana bridges” and the crossing needed to be done in smaller groups.We had short 40 mile ride to the first part, the exit from Costa Rica, a quick stamp in the passport then fill in a form and exiting the bikes was done in a relatively quick hour. We then each had to negotiate the “banana bridge” a metal lattice railway bridge with some planks laid longitudinally each side of the rails for vehicles. These present no problem to car and trucks, but to a bike they are a nightmare with gaps big enough to loose your front or back wheel in. We walked the length to determine the best side, the left, then it was a matter of constant walking pace speed and concentration to keep on the planks, ignoring the missing sections of the “safety” fence and the big drop to the river below. All except one made it across without mishap, the one dropped his bike 5 times requiring help from the others to get it back on the planks. Having crossed the bridge we had to enter Panama, another “fumigation” (quick spray of soapy water on the tyres) for a charge of 1 dollar then stamp in the passport got us to the vehicle import office.

This office was not in the computer age and a single officer typed out all the documents on an old style type-writer, which looked like it had been bought in the 50’s. This all took another 2 hours while we waited in the heat before we could proceed. The rest of the journey took us up and over the mountains and into much cooler weather with rain storms, some of the groups caught up in these and could barely see due to the heavy rain. I was lucky and missed the worst of the rain arriving in David late afternoon although not without problems, as I got into the centre of town the bike developed a problem with the gears and I was only able to select first gear. having asked a policeman the way to the hotel, I got to the hotel and immediately looked into the problem, it would not be good to ride the 300 miles to Panama city in first gear! After much scratching of heads, I tried bending the gear lever out, I remembered on the off-road course that some bikes had had the same problem due to a bent gear lever, this much to my relief sorted the problem and I retired to my room.

Miles
Today 180
Total : 11476
_______________________________________

Monday 28th September
David to Panama City

I did not get chance to see the town of David, but it’s a basic working town and truck stop, we spend little time riding here in Panama, we have to make the 300 or so miles to Panama City our last stop in Central America. The ride to the city started at 6.30 and we made good time on the main Pan Am highway though a generally boring road with sections of dual carriageway. As ever we still had to dodge around the substantial potholes and bad surface which would suddenly appear out of the blue after miles of good tarmac. We rode, as a group, across the impressive “Americas Bridge” and into the City, a city of wild contrast as we see a “shanty town” of houses back dropped by the skyscrapers of the main city. This is the first “high rise” city we have encountered on our journey, as we have avoided most population centres. We parked up outside the “El Panama” a very posh hotel, though outside its very hot and humid, but I seem to have acclimatised to this and find the air conditioned rooms too cold. I had to also empty the panniers and tank bag into the kit bag I had used to get to Alaska, it was very strange and disruptive, as I had been living out of the panniers for the last couple of months. Once settled in a quick trip to the local laundry shop and a walk around to get my bearings. We then went out to find the “London Pub” for food and drink, it took us 20 minutes of walking to find it, disappointingly it only served Boddingtons bitter from "out of date" cans.

Miles
Today : 287
Total : 11763
_______________________________________

Tuesday 29th September
Panama City
Day Off

Again being hot and humid we had to hang around the hotel waiting for the go to take the bikes to the airport warehouse, at around 10 am we were go. It took almost an hour to get to the airport, on the way we had two toll booths, at the second one my bike ground to halt with the smell of burning at the back end. Closer inspection I found the rear brakes seized on and the disc was glowing red hot, I was stuck in the middle of the lane to the toll booths with lots of traffic behind sounding their horns! I used my water from my back pack to cool the calliper and adjusted the brake as much as I could, enough just to get it free and move the bike to the side of the road. Leaving it for 20 minutes allowed it to cool enough to ride to the airport, where we then spent the next 4 hours processing the paperwork to get the bikes air freighted. After this a taxi ride back to the hotel saw us getting in around 3.30 pm, too late to get any shopping banking or posting done. It was this time we found out that an ex-president of Panama had passed away, this meant that this day and the next all public offices closed and most shops. The evening was spent on group meal and a show of local traditional dancing which was very colourful though a little wooden.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 11763
_______________________________________

Wednesday 30th September
Panama City
Day Off

Getting up early we hired a Taxi to go see the Panama Canal, the early start was because the big ships go through early. The taxi driver was quite knowledgeable on the canal and the city so we got a running commentary the whole time, we got there in time to see a large container ship pass through the first set of locks. What I did not know was the canal is only part of the way across, most of the transit is on a man-made lake system, the larger part of the canal is in the south to join up with this lake system. The lake is 26 metres above sea level and is kept full of water due to rain created by the surrounding rain forest, driving the conservation of this area. The rest of the day was spent lounging around and final packing for the flight tomorrow as everything is closed even the post office for this Memorial Day. This is our last full day in Central America, we have been in each country only a few days each, some more than others but just enough to be able to get a basic feel for each as we ride through.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 11763
_______________________________________

Costa Rica

Tuesday 22nd September
San Juan Del Sur to Playa Hermosa (Costa Rica)

As this was a boarder crossing we started off early 7.00am and travelled the 50 miles to the boarder, the procedure here tends to be helped if you hire unofficial helpers (who have official badges!), we spent 2 hours booking out of Nicaragua, first ourselves then the bikes. We then had a short ride (100 meters) to the parking compound for Costa Rica, where we found out that a lorry had just taken out all the power cables to the office, the office consisting of a bus with some computers in it. The bus is there as the main office burnt down some months ago, so now the staff where slowly boiling, waiting for temporary power to be got working, with a line of angry truckers waiting. It took 2 hours to get temporary power to the bus then another hour while the air conditioner took effect so the staff trapped in the bus could cool down to get to work. They then had to deal with us and a load of angry truckers. With much barging and shoving we got some of our paperwork done, however lots of mistakes were found, passport numbers wrong or VIN numbers wrong and we had to go back and get these corrected. If any were wrong we would not be able to leave the country at the other border. The whole process took 5 hours in the heat of the day and I was glad to be back on the bike in the cooling stream of air. Once riding it was immediately obvious Costa Rica is much more developed and westernised, the roads being better maintained but more obviously the whole infrastructure around being more like we are used to, power cables, poles etc. at the side of the road looking better, farms more defined and regular. Buildings and houses are better maintained with gardens appearing again, though I had not noticed them missing until now.
We rolled into another beach hotel and finished the day with a swim and beers watching the sunset with a thunder storm in the distance.

Miles
Today : 98
Total : 10939
_______________________________________

Wednesday 23rd September
Playa Hermosa to Volcan Arenal, La Fortuna

We were due to ride the dirt road over the mountains but the recent thunder storms had made the road impassable so we had to divert on a longer run around using tarmac roads. Although still hot and sticky we proceeded on pleasant roads until turning off were there are road works, they allowed the bike to proceed but this consisted of running across planks of wood across deep ditches. After this we had a straight run until the lake where the road twisted and turned around the lake for 30 miles with sections of broken u road and narrow bridges creating an interesting ride. The volcano was ringed by cloud but I could see the top belching out clouds of steam.

Miles
Today : 189
Total : 11128
_______________________________________

Thursday 24th September
Volcan Arenal to La Virgen (Selve Verde Lodge)

Again starting the humid heat the road continued to be twisty and challenging until we got to the main roads. After a while we hit rain, the heaviest rain so far and it continued as we proceeded towards the water falls, a stopping point on our way. Before we got there a group of us were stopped by locals, they told us there had been an earthquake here the last month and the road and a hotel by the waterfalls had collapsed. This left the road impassable, we waited till all the group arrived and then rode in a group on an alternative route, taking some 2 hours longer and most arriving us before night fall.

Miles
Today : 168
Total : 11296
_______________________________________

Friday 25th September
La Virgen (Jungle lodge)
Day off



This lodge is right in the jungle with paths throughout, the noise is incredible and never stops, I guess you just get used to it after a while. We spend this day white water rafting down the local river then the afternoon on zip slides though the jungle, a fantastic experience, the evening spent relaxing and trying not to get too hot.


Miles
Today : 0
Total : 11296
_______________________________________

Saturday 26th September
La Virgen to Cahuita




A simple ride got us to this coastal town, the area continues to be jungle hot and humid, plenty of palm and similar tropical fauna. The ride was short and undemanding along major roads skirting the coast with the sea in view for the later part of it , of note was passing though a town called Liverpool. An early afternoon arrival allowed for a swim in the sea then drinks by the swimming pool in the hotel, once again this adventure motorcycling is really hard :>) Costa Rica is very Americanised with a lot of English speakers due to the volume of tourists normally here, we are riding in these central American countries during the off season, due to the weather being too hot and humid and it being the wet season. We therefore find most towns and hotels empty of other tourists and the beaches empty.

Miles
Today : 113
Total : 11296

Nicaragua

Sunday 20th September – Day 58
Danali to Granada (Nicaragua)




A short run of 28 miles saw us at the boarder at 8.30 am, it was still hot and sticky but thankfully cloud cover came in and took some of the heat away. We had to book ourselves out first, then the bikes for each of which there was a charge $3 and $7. We then had to get ourselves stamped into Nicaragua, then buy insurance for the bike. This consists of unofficial-officials sitting at the side of the road filling out official looking forms which of course we had to pay 300 Cordoba’s for! Then the process of waiting in line for 2 -3 hours as each bikes documents were checked and typed into a computer with each of us getting a printout as an official import document, during the wait I replaced the headlight bulb which has just gone that morning. After each bike was then checked for VIN and plate numbers we then had to go to the police section to have this checked again by them and then the import document signed. We could then all leave, but as we got to the barrier the officials there again wanted to check the import document! The whole process had taken abut 4 hours, but we were on our way to Granada, although this is a very poor country the roads are surprisingly good, however after an hours run we meet our first official corruption, police stops where they accuse you of traffic violations such a speeding and passing on double yellows. The only way to play this is to feign not understanding them due to the language barrier. This works for some of us but others ended up paying varying amounts of “fines”, I’m not sure this money sees the government coffers though. Towards the end of the day I took a quick side trip to the Masaya Volcano where you can drive up to the car park at the very edge of the caldera. The signs here warn of eruptions where you are supposed to shelter under your car, also to leave you vehicle ready to leave in a hurry! I got there late afternoon so have some spectacular picture of the sun hazed by the sulphurous clouds exuded by the volcano, at one point the wind shifted I got a lungful of the acrid air.


Miles
Today : 210
Total : 10759
_______________________________________

Monday 21st September
Granada to San Juan Del Sur

Even with a late start partly deliberate and partly due to one of the group having a puncture this short riding day saw us get fairly quickly to the Pacific resort of San Juan del sur. Having left the bikes at the hotel we went to the beach for a swim in the very warm water, I helped one of the locals get his boat into the water, this was fun as we had to time it with the larger waves, eventually catching a big wave and getting the boat afloat. Afterwards we sat in a beach bar and watched the most amazing sunset while drinking beers, this adventure motorcycling is really hard!!!

Miles
Today : 82
Total : 10841

Honduras

Thursday 17th September
Antigua Guatemala to Copan Ruinas





Another early start as we had 150 miles to the boarder with Honduras, we had to negotiate the nightmare of Guatemala city to get to the otherside. This took almost 2 hours to get 20 miles as we had our first traffic jams and complex ring roads to ride through. After this was a run through the poorer areas of Guatemala before getting to the boarder. The boarder crossig was the usual red tape and a few dollars for various charges even getting your passport stamped carried a 3 dollar charge before they would let you out, also an exit charge for the bike. We then had to pay to get into Honduras, they had to check the bike's VIN before issuing the certificate, they also required 2 photocopies of the passport and V5 documents for which there was another charge! After this a short 10 miles run got us to the village of Copan Runias, ut not before negotiating the road, which had some sections just missing, large secion of tarmac having fallen down the hill.

Miles
Today : 160
Total : 10231
_______________________________________

Friday 18th September
Copan Ruinas
Day off
We spent most of the morning visiting the Mayan ruins, very similar to the ones at Palenque in Mexico, this area is the southern most area of Mayan past culture. The rest of the day spent washing clothes, relaxing and posting cards, I hope the get there.


Miles
Today : 0
Total : 10231
_______________________________________

Saturday 19 September - Day 57
Copan Ruinas to Danli

Today we ride across Honduras, it started with very nice sweeping roads, I was surprised at the condition of the roads, only occasional pot holes and bad surface, occasionally turning to gravel. After about 90 miles the road became dirt, although we had negotiated worse, this was a graded road where mud was mixed with stone to form a sort of surface. After rains this exposes numerous sharp pointy stones making travel like running on a random washboard. As it was dry this road was tolerable with the occasional rut created by rain water not tyre tracks. After this was a major road, leading to the big city of Tegucigalpal, here we ha to negotiate the traffic, as one rider put it, “it’s like being in the wacky races” traffic all over the place, under and over taking. All sorts of mayhem gong on and thrown into the mix police road blocks checking vehicles, probably for the ousted President. As we cam into Danali there had been a pro-president protest and we could here police sirens in the distance. This area appears more affluent, but the rubbish at the side of the road and the people walking carrying all sorts on their backs belied the lake of money.

Miles
Today : 318
Total : 10549

Guatemala

Saturday 12th September
San Cristobal to Panajachel (Guatemala)



Well we move now to Central America, the ride started off in the cool, with grey clouds, a welcome relief from the heat,. 100 miles saw us at the Mexican boarder just as the sun appeared, we had to get booked out, passports were first and fairly quick, just stamped with exit date. Then book out (export) the bikes, we have temporary import documents which the customs collected on-mass, then the guy walked around all the bikes checking the VIN numbers and pealing off the import sticker. He then went back to the office and we waited 2 + hours as he entered the details into his computer. We were then each issued a certificate of export and climbed onto the bike and rode the 2 miles to the Guatemalan boarder. He contrast could not have been more stark, semi-organised chaos reigned, fist each bike had to be fumigated (quick spray on the tyres) for which we were charged, then onto immigration to have the passports stamped. Once this is done we moved to customs where we get our vehicle import certificates, luckily there is no longer a requirement for a tourist card as they have computerised the office ! Once they have created the import document, they hold onto your documents while you go into anther office(bank) to pay the import charge, then back to the desk to retrieve the documents,. However these was a mistake on the VIN number on mine and it took a lot more processing to get this corrected. The boarder is surrounded by a market, and exiting the boarder is like driving though one of our pedestrian markets, people everywhere, out of the boarder the roads were surprisingly good and the road wound its way through an impressive valley flanked by steep, green covered mountains. After a short flat run and a stop for lunch this road moved higher and became a dual carriageway, as it climbed we moved into heavy rain and cloud barley able to see the road until turning off to our first stop, Panajachel.
!

Miles
Today : 246
Total : 9971
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Sunday 13th September
Panajachel to Chichicastenango



As it was a short hop to our next town we started off late, having wandered down to the lake, accords from us was the impressive sight of two extinct volcanoes ringed at the top by clouds. A relaxed wander though the town buying bottled water and a t-shirt then a short journey to the market town of Chichicastenango. After parking the bikes at the back of the hotel, unloading and getting a shower, I went to the market. Wow what a sight, people everywhere just a milling chaos, of small dark haired people, a whirlwind of movement. The Guatemalans are generally short, so I standout like a sore thumb, but don’t feel un-welcome, just the opposite. The whole experience of Guatemala is so much life, everything moving continually, the native brightly coloured, clothes worn by most, and a real pride in the country even though poor. The market was big, covering a good section f the town, most of the area comes to this market every Sunday to sell their produce, from food to tools and every kind of craft article. Even though it is supposed to finish at 3.00 pm it continued until 4.30, then it disappeared, and the empty streets appeared from under the dismantled stalls.


Miles
Today : 25
Total : 9996
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Monday 14th September
Chichicastenango to Antigua Guatemala



We were due to go to Biotopo through dirt mountain roads to this jungle village, however we had found out the mountain that the road runs on had completely collapsed last December taking the road with it. So it was decided to go to Antigua Guatemala a day early cutting some miles out of our journey. The run was very short around 75 miles giving us a nice easy run. We started late not because of this but because the celebrations for Guatemalan Independence day started early, the schools close and the kids go into parades. The parade here blocked the road out of town, however this allowed us to watch another colourful display of Guatemalan culture. Once over a leisurely drive go us to Antigua though we had to dodge busses of school kids all throwing water at each other. The busses here need mention as they are old American schools busses, but they paint them up in bright colours and drive around like mad men. Most busses are packed to the gills as most people here don’t have cars and are a real feature of Guatemala. In Antigua the festivities continued into the evening with parades of bands in the plaza, drums, trumpets, whistles and glockenspiels., creating a cacophony of sound, and this the day before Independence day

Miles
Today : 75
Total : 10071
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Tuesday 15th September
Antigua Guatemala
Day Off

Generally not much to report, sent this day updating this blog and wandering arround the town. We wathced the Independence day celabrations, this was less that the previous day, like New years Eve most of the celbrations take place at Midnght.


Miles
Today : 0
Total : 10071
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Wednesday 16th September
Antigua Guatemala
Day Off




We had arranged to go on a tour to a live Volcano, so it was up early ready to be picked up at 6.00am. After a 40 minute drive out to the Volcano, we had an 1 our and a half hike up the steep slopes till we got to the live lava beds at 7000 foot. The sumit was another 1500 feet above us but it's not possible to get there. However we did get to stand on the very hot rocks within 15-20 feet of the running lava. After taking pivture roating marshmellows, we moved away to allow our shoes to cool, mie took 20 minutes before the soles had cooled. I guess in England with health and safety we would not be allowed anywhere near it, but here we got as close as you can, an amazing sight.

Miles
Today : 0
Total : 10071