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Author Topic: Riding to Patagonia  (Read 120394 times)
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« Reply #420 on: July 18, 2017, 05:14:28 PM »

I think it was attending annuals​ ritualistic bonfires up north with a bunch of aging wildings who have an odd obsession with baked beans that did it.  That, and staring into Corey's eyes too long. He's like Rasputin and Ignacius J Reily and Stonewall Jackson had a threesome and he was the result.

No lie: I've goggled how to build a container house in the woods more than a few times. I've officially passed the Rubicon of sanity.
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« Reply #421 on: July 18, 2017, 07:14:26 PM »

Normal sucks!  Keep up the good work waytogo
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« Reply #422 on: July 19, 2017, 03:42:03 AM »

I'd blame it on Corey too. Grin
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« Reply #423 on: July 20, 2017, 12:09:01 PM »

Ok, let's wrap up Peru...

Finally I reached the piece de resistance of Peru: Cusco & Machu Picchu.  Cusco is a great city, another well-preserved colonial gem of Latin America.  Recommended to those that are passing through is the Norton Bar (named after the moto brand) overlooking the main square.

To anyone considering riding to MP, I advise against it.  It's six hrs from Cusco to hydroelectric plant, the last two of which is dusty mountainside cliff where you will be passing (or passed by) a collectivo or truck every three minutes.  Better to park the bike in Cusco and take a two-day tour.













I was contemplating skipping MP because I hate crowds and I had a sneaky feeling that, having seen a hundred million photos of it at this point in my life, it could only disappoint.  I was wrong.  It really is a magical place.  Even with the crowds it felt more like some place out of an Indiana Jones movie than anywhere else I've been.  More hidden than Teotihuacan, more mystical than Tikal.

You access MP from the town of Aguascalientes, which is tucked away in a river valley.  No roads there and the only way to arrive is via train or to park at the hydroelectric plant and walk 11km to the town center.   But for such a remote spot, it was bustling with modernity: wifi, modern hotels, bars with craft beers, etc.









Because the hike up to MP (or bus ride, if you're so inclined) starts at 5am you end up arriving at the site in time to watch the sunrise, which only adds to the majesty.  It is very well preserved, which my guide attributed to becoming a World Heritage site in 1983.














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« Reply #424 on: July 21, 2017, 08:00:40 AM »

Amazing. it is on top of my bucket list.
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« Reply #425 on: July 21, 2017, 10:23:07 AM »

I've been on the same boat. I know so many people that went to MP and showed me pictures that I've always thought to skip it. I guess I won't be convinced until I see it for myself.
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« Reply #426 on: July 25, 2017, 04:50:25 AM »


wow- thanks for sharing with us!!  what an incredible trip.
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« Reply #427 on: July 25, 2017, 03:11:33 PM »

wow- thanks for sharing with us!!  what an incredible trip.

Thanks.  Incredible indeed.  And I still have Patagonia yet to reach, which by many accounts is more beautiful than anything on the continent.


I've been on the same boat. I know so many people that went to MP and showed me pictures that I've always thought to skip it. I guess I won't be convinced until I see it for myself.

If you fancy hard vacations, consider flying and renting from Toby and channeling Che as you ride to MP.  It's worth it just for the drinking and banter at Javier's (Toby's mechanic) shop.

http://www.aroundtheblockmotoadventures.com/
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« Reply #428 on: July 25, 2017, 04:09:20 PM »

Ok, Bolivia.

Entered via Titicaca route.  Big lake at 3800m.  Nothing more to say, really, which I guess says it all.



















From the lake I headed to La Paz for a few days and then on to Sucre.  La Paz is enormous and too dense and loud for my tastes, but I did find a cool scene of dive bars and little eateries that were fun.  The road from Oruro to Sucre that I chose was under construction, with a good rhythm of pavement, planed gravel, and raw dirt.  So much of the country is empty space between industrial hamlets, and I seemed to pass through all of it.  Construction took out a bit of road near a major river, and cars had simply driven down along the banks and crossed the water.  I followed suit, but didn't expect a good 3ft of flowing water.  I state it here: I hate river crossings.  I am always afraid of unknown depths and the danger of going over and muddy water getting sucked up into the engine.  I get it, I'm a wuss as dirt riders go.  I'm okay with that.

Anyway, the river was up to my knees sitting on the bike and so the rest of the day I was riding in the cold with feet soaked inside my boots.  Ended up around 4800m where unmelted snow lay in the shadows.  Another long and tough day of riding and by the time I got to Sucre I swore I would only take asphalt tracks until I came down off the altiplano.

















Sucre's a nice colonial city, similar in feel to Cuenca and a bit like Cuzco.  My rooster sound had been getting worse (a known problem with the DR650 starter) and in the high altitude and frosty mornings I'd been having more and more trouble getting her to start.  In Oruro I started her and rode off forgetting to put the choke in.  Eventually, she stalled but then wouldn't start.  Ended up resorting to a running start that worked on the third or fourth try.  Pushing 450 lbs of moto as fast as you can at 3700m is no easy task.  After that, i resolved to get the starter looked at at the next major city.

Luckily, that city was home to two of the coolest and kindest mechanics, and general people for that matter, that I've met on my trip.  Moto shops continue to provide some of the kindest and most interesting people on this journey.  Complete opposite of my experience in the US, where they tend to be cold or cranky or pushy and just generally lack the milk of human kindness.  (Present DMF members, of course, excluded.  Wink )

Esteban and Ricardo are two brothers that work out of a tiny space in the periphery of Sucre and perform moto magic.  They opened up the starter---it was rusted out pretty badly---and cleaned her up.  Had to replace a bushing and the brush ends.  Thing is, DR650 parts aren't common there so he just took the broken bushing to a local metal guy who fabricated one from scratch.  Similar DIY solution for the carbon brushes.  So much different experience than in the states where they just replace anything that is slightly busted.  Throw away culture...

Anyway, I ended up spending the afternoon in their shop chatting about the Dakar and various roads and bike and all the typical shop talk.  They have been to parts of Bolivia, but never beyond.  Shame that opportunity escapes so many deserving folks.  They would be awesome travelers.  If anyone passes through Sucre on a bike, whether you need work done or not, stop and see Ricardo and Esteban (marked in iOverlander app).







And my favorite pic, with the mystery leg...





Oh, and after all that work he charged me just 200 Bolivianos (about $30 USD).
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« Reply #429 on: July 27, 2017, 02:31:07 AM »

ah yes... the DR650 rooster... mine now has a proper little bearing in there.
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« Reply #430 on: July 27, 2017, 05:55:15 AM »

I was getting weird looks every time she cock-a-doodle-do'd.  But as a seasoned owner of a dry clutch ducati, I am used to strangers looking at me like somethings wrong with my bike.
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« Reply #431 on: August 04, 2017, 06:37:19 AM »

After Sucre I headed to the Salar de Uyuni, passing Cerro Rico (aka Cerro Potosi) on the way.  It's a mountain in central Bolivia that was so mineral rich that the Spanish claimed that it was made entirely of silver.  Although most of the silver was depleted by 1800, mining operations continue to this day.  However, as a result of nearly five centuries of mining, sink holes have opened up all over the mountain including one at the summit in 2011 that, despite efforts to stabilize it, continues to sink every year.







I then rode to the Uyuni along Bolivia Route 5, a nice long ride through the altiplano.  Lots of camelids and few people and even fewer vehicles.  The area has the feel of the southwest in the states with lots of small brush, a few cactuses, and dry river beds everywhere.  The difference is that at 4000m here it is a steady cold.  After a few hours of riding you ride through a mountain pass and everything falls away and all there is is flatness and in the distance the salt flats glow bright in the midday sun.





























Among the dozens of llama-crossing signs along the road was one singular rhea-crossing sign, although sadly I saw no rheas.







The Salar itself is a tourist center in the middle of nowhere, as if there were a vacation village build on the moon.  I planned to ride the famed Lagunas Route, which goes from Uyuni through the desert to the Atacama in Chile.  It's about 400km (without gas stations) through sand and rocks and with no trace of a road.  It take about 3 days, depending on how aggressive you ride and how lucky you are with conditions and the bike.  The nights, apparently, as spectacular: the sky glistens with the light of a billion stars.

Sadly, all the scuttlebutt I heard was that parts of the route still had snow from a heavy fall in May.  Traveling alone an such a tough route was intimidating enough (sand!!), but the temperatures and the snow are what did it for me.  So instead I paid for one of the hundred-or-so one-day jeep tours of the flats.  The tours are focused on packing your instagram account with pictures that take advantage of the lack of perspective, and hit the main spots like the Dakar monument and the train graveyard.

Riding through the Salar is pretty crazy: you just go in any direction for hours and nothing gets closer.  There are no markers to gauge distance.  It's like a simulated driving game that through some software glitch is stuck on one level that never ends.























You can see why the instagrammers love this place.  I even got to fight a dinosaur:













Just outside Uyuni is a train graveyard with some cool old trains:














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« Reply #432 on: August 04, 2017, 06:45:26 AM »

Oh, and at the Dakar flag monument I had to seek out the ol' stars and stripes.  The wind and sun had tattered her almost beyond recognition, but she still flaps bold and bright.

'Merica!  Grin







(Was gonna snap a pic of the Australian flag to post here for our Oz buddies, but I forgot what it looked like.  In my defense, your uniforms at the Olympics are always green and yellow but your flag apparently is not.   It's confusing to simple minded people like myself. )   Wink
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« Reply #433 on: August 11, 2017, 01:30:47 PM »

No pic of the Aussie flag is a bummer, but I appreciate the thought! 👍🏻👍🏻
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« Reply #434 on: August 13, 2017, 07:34:39 PM »

 Shocked


 waytogo

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Just as an aside, side note; (and I was scanning the pics (being visiually inclined);was somewhat perturbed to see a pic out a car windshield ... not from the seat of a bike Evil (tisk ...(?); lol ok I read ... your an adventurous wise man ... I think Grin
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