Americas 2002-03, South on the Road to Adventure

This story really begins about six years ago, which is when this crazy idea popped into my head, and kept poking at my thoughts so I couldn't ignore it. I was in Belize, so not too far from my home in Colorado, when I saw a car with Colorado plates. A simple as it sounds, this sight triggered my dreams about the world's road networks and how great it would be to have the freedom of a vehicle to explore wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and not be limited by public transport.

Without a doubt one of the most crazy and outrageous things I have ever witnessed is the All Saints Day celebration in the town of Todos Santos Cuchumatanes. The fiesta spans three days, and kicks off with an all-day horse race on the first of November. This, however, is hardly a horse race as we know it. When the whistles blow, the piss drunk riders are off in a dusty stampede, whipping their horses' rumps with live chickens, and all that remains visible is a blur of color from the participants' intricate outfits.

Although it was hard to leave Nicaragua so soon, James and I felt the pressure of the onset of winter in Patagonia already, despite the heat and humidity. It would be OK there until March, but we had a LONG way to go! So it was time to pick up the pace a bit and many interesting spots in Nicaragua were placed on each of our "to do on the way back" lists. This list would soon swell in each country we passed through.

In all, we stayed in Quito for a whole week. The Kawasaki shop on Diez de Agosto presented James and me with two finely operational, cleaned and lubed KLRs, and mine had a nice new rear tire. We were ready to roll again and the wonderful thing is they gave us excellent discounts for being travellers: 100% discount on labor (really, no charge!) and 10% was taken off the price of the tire and the new oil. We were blown away by the generosity.

Back in its heyday, Potosi was referenced by the Spaniards in the phrase "es un Potosi", meaning something that was immensely rich. You wouldn't expect to find what used to be the world's richest city at 4100 meters in one of the world's poorest countries after bumping along a dusty dirty road for 150 km, but as James and I rounded the last corner, there was the city, thirty-something grand churches and all the other signs of immense wealth, wrapped around the mountain that is responsible for its existence.

I am pleased to report success on 6,964 meter (22,834 foot) Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas and the second highest of the "seven summits". It started as an idea over a beer in Potosi, Bolivia, and ended with the reality of standing atop the highest point in the world outside of Asia. Although it was a gruelling, very tough experience, and I wouldn't go up there again for a thousand dollars, it is a very rewarding addition to my experience in South America.

Five months, 16500 miles, three seasons, twelve countries and four sets of tires after leaving home, I arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina, the "end of the world". It is as far south as you can get by road and is within spitting distance of Cape Horn. It seems quite strange to have made it after all this time dreaming of riding here and all of the preparations.

I ended up spending more than two weeks in Rio Gallegos. As was to be expected in this Latin American culture, I got a series of “mañana, mañana” responses regarding my parts ordered from Buenos Aires. Luis, the mechanic, got as frustrated as I did when he continually phoned the Kawasaki dealer to prod them along. Five days after promised, the parts arrived and soon thereafter I had a redone water pump (complete replacement of the broken shaft would have cost $375 and three weeks wait), completely refurbished front suspension, and a few other minor improvements.

I have added a few miscellaneous photos from this trip. Have a look.

An early morning scene. Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Antigua by night. Antigua, Guatemala

Geography lessons. Guatemala highlands.