Camping with sleeping bags and ground mats is the way forward. After our nights in the desert and on the beach, using our bike clothes for padding and warmth, in future it's ditch the sleeping bag and take the ground mat.

We enjoyed one last blast out into the Elqui valley, in the foothills of the Andes, tasted Pisco Sours (brandy, lime, sugar, ice), supped wine, star gazed and also navel gazed.

Then we shot back down south to Lorraine's and managed to see the final stages of the Dakar rally (formally the Paris/Dakar but moved to South America in 2009 after security threats).

The last few weeks have been a wind down, apart from the fork seal the bike has been working well.

We relaxed at Lorraine's (Author and Photographer) cliff top beach house on the Pacific just north of Santiago. Days were spent doing DIY.

She is a brave woman letting me lose with a power-tool on a wooden house.

We walked dogs, and ate seaweed

We cooked steak on the beach.

And drifted around in a raft drinking beer (2 more things my mother told me not to do).

Then we came back to Santiago.

Apart from needing to fly home from here, we wanted to meet up with Juan (Jnr) and Juan (Snr) again. And hatched a plot for a group visit to the Carretera Austral in the future.

Then there was the small matter of arranging a sale of the bike, using Marco, the mechanic who helped us 3 months ago. Hopefully we have managed to set the ball in motion for him to "own" the bike and sell it on our behalf (and then send us the money :-) ). He will be fixing all the minor issues (especially the fork seal and valve adjustment) and making it pretty again.

If anyone is interested, there is a very good BMW F650 Funduro with an excellent running record :-) for sale in Santiago.

And the title of the blog post ? That led into a rant, but I decided not to finish on one. After all we have had a great time. Sometimes the bike seemed to conspire against us, but that was just part of the trip and it often led to meeting people as well as new route choices. Originally we intended to keep the bike, and use it again on another trip. Plans change, we have new plans, that still involve riding motorbikes in foreign lands.

I would and probably will buy a bike in another country again. It all adds to the adventure.

We never made it to The Colca Canyon in Peru, one of my main targets, and now I know how Jean feels about missing Bryce Canyon on two trips to the USA. I'll just have to go back and try again.

The time has come to switch hemispheres again. Today it is summer, on Friday it will be winter.

Extra Snippets

OK, a small rant or two after all ......

Toilet cisterns - I seem to have been a traveling plumber. One of the first tasks to be performed at many destinations has been to lift the cistern lid and reconnect the flush mechanism. Or, in at least one case, fit a whole new handle.

Toilet rolls - The appearance and quantity of them was, as a general rule, inversely proportional to the cost of the establishment. The cheaper it was, the more likely there would be a whole roll supplied. In slightly plusher establishments there seemed to be a strict 1/2 roll only rule, if you asked for more only a 1/2 role would be proffered. The exception to this rule was the Sunny Days Hostel in Arica, Chile. With three full rolls supplied!

Toilet bins - And then what do you do with the used paper ? You place it in a bin, fair enough. But why do so many places insist on those small round bins? The ones with a flip lid, usually already overflowing. You have to carefully maneuver the used paper into it and quickly remove your hand with out touching the already encrusted surface, before it snaps back and spits the paper out.

Coffee - Sometimes, like the toilet rolls, the supply of coffee at breakfast could be feast or famine. For example, in Cafayate, Argentina the following occurred :-

Day1 - The hotel owner (we called him 'Basil') poured us coffee, came back shortly afterwards and offered refills, but not needed as cups still full. Then never came back again once cups were empty.

Day2 - Catching on to him we drank the coffee quickly so that when he returned with his refill pot he was surprised when we said "yes please". As his pot was actually empty he disappeared to "make some more". We sat and waited for a long time as he peeped from the kitchen occasionally until eventually, about 30 minutes later, he returned with fresh coffee.

Day3 - He poured us 1/2 a cup each each and asked "enough?". We asked for full cups, which he reluctantly poured out, then disappeared to never be seen again.

Stats

Number of times Jean rode the bike = 2 (once to bump start it, and once to ride it into a hostal).

Countries visited = 3 (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia)

Countries refused entry to = 1 (Peru)

Number of breakdowns requiring mechanical intervention = 7

Number of punctures = 0 (my favorite one)

Number of times chain adjusted =0 (yes, 0 in 10,000kms)

Items of clothing set on fire = 2 (The waterproofs)

Number of times bike dropped = 0 ( I was on my best behaviour)

Number of new Spanish motorcycle words and terrns learned = many.