A Travel Story by Belinda and Patrick Peck
After one glorious week in BA- Big Apple, we are pushing on!! We really enjoyed staying with Brigette and discovering Buenos Aires. Pat did some maintenance stuff to the bike and Bin watched Evita video 3 times and is now singing `Dont cry for me Argentina` all the time.
BA is the second biggest town in South America with an incredibly good highway system. BA has the widest street in the world which carries 30 lanes of traffic!! The people are really friendly and in reasonably good spirits considering the economic conditions of the country.
We have been overwhelmed by Argentinian generosity and hospitality. What a great country with great people. After leaving Buenos Aires we followed the coast towards Mar del Plata checking out the beaches, of course, the lovely little seaside villages and the houses!!
At Mar del Plata we met Monno and family, thanks to Nevione and Don Crawford, and were treated to two magnificent Argentinian Asados- BBQs- Mumma mia, these BBQs put Aussie BBQs to shame!! We also finally got the shock fixed by Andy Garcia PH (156 820 045) in Mar del Plata and he really knew what he was doing!!
On our way to Ushuaia we diverted off highway 3 for a bit of a gravel run to El Calefate to see the famous Perito Moreno Glacier (well, famous in these parts anyway!!). It was amazing, one of the most spectacular sites we have seen, rivaling Iguassu Falls!! The Glacier moves 2 metres per day and ¨calves off¨ every 10 minutes into a large glacial lake. It sounds like a huge roaring animal and is mesmerising- Pat watched it for 4 whole hours and saw some amazingly large slabs fall off into the lake creating enormous waves!!
When we wrote last we were just about to board the Ferry in Puerto Natales, Chile. Wow, what a trip, it was definately the way to go as there are no roads in Southern Chile and the only other option was the notorious Route 40- a rough gravel road in Argentina running along the top of the Andes. Pat and Luis enjoyed the break from driving and Belinda enjoyed the break on her bum! We sat back like a couple of oldies on a cruise ship and read, ate, slept, OK- we did party a bit too and Belinda even excelled at Bingo, though always yelling "Bingo" too late!!!
Pat and Monno Argentinian kissing in Mar de Plata!!
Oscar doing a great Argentinan BBQ in Viedma.
Luis and Pat sharing a cerveza at a beach in Argentina.
The bike is looking fantastic- like new in fact. We spent 10 days in Mendoza getting the best mechanic in town to give her a service, change brake pads and check everything. We also got the best painter in town to give her a new paint job, we put on a new rear tyre and she is now ready to go for the next lucky travellers that buy her. Thanks to Sergio, a local businessman who happens to have a Super Tenere also and is now a great friend.
Wow, what a trip. We rate our trip 11 out of 10 and the main difference between this and other trips was the motorcycle. It allowed us total freedom to go wherever we wanted and stop wherever we wanted and get off the wellworn ¨gringotrail¨.
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A GREAT ADVENTURE IN CHILE OR ARGENTINA AND BEYOND!!
Yamaha Super Tenere XTZ 750 for sale in or around Santiago-Iquique, Chile, or Northern Argentina South America NOW.
see great photos of bike,starting with:
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/peck/000328.php
From Salta we travelled over the 4,700m pass (Paso de Jama) to San Pedro de Atacama. We travelled through the largest and dryest desert in the world- it was amazing.
Hi Us again!! We have got another Yamaha Super Tenerre and are preparing our next trip. We will go to Thailand and Malaysia from Feb 2004- April 2004. We will then fly to London, pick up the bike from a ship and cicumnavigate the Meditteranean Sea. Bank to London or maybe Germany, leave the bike there and fly to Canada Nov- Dec, then home via New Zealand and back to work Feb 2005.
Thats the plan at this stage. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, its back to work to pay for this trip!!!
We have finally broken free, left work, rented the house, got the bike ready and hit the road. We fly out from Brisbane 15 Feb 2004, so we have heaps of time. Our first night we spent with Col and Rowena Neate in Port Hinchinbrook in their stunning ocean front apartment; second and third nights with Leiva and Murray Frame in Townsville in their magnificent show home with views from every room overlooking Magnetic Island!! What a great start to a great trip!!
Since our last entry we have travelled down the Queensland coast to Brisbane, stopping in and seeing all Pats BOUGI Boys mates (motorcycle club- stands for Bad, Old, Ugly, Guilty, Insane) all along the east coast of Qld. Highlights included: Ninbin- a hip, little town from the 60's where even the kids greeted us with "pease man, wanna buy some pot?!!" We thought it was a hoot! Byron Bay was also fantastic and the surf was pumping. We had a great time with Mum and Nev at Tweed Heads and walked Chris's dog 4 times a day!!
We are in paradise (we know we have said that many times, but this really is the ultimate!!) Great beaches, great snorkelling, great food, friendly people and dont forget Cheap as Chips!!! When we last wrote we were on our way to The Perhentian Islands in Malaysia- they were fastastic- great snorkelling right out the front of our gorgeous bungalow right on the beachfront. The food was fantastic- fresh seafood and mango shakes to die for. We stayed for a week, beachcombing and discovering something new and exciting every day.
Pat and Dr Gary Wilson putting Miss Adventure to bed in her crate for the trip from Brisbane to London Feb 2004
Bin and Pat watching the sunset with a cocktail!! Way to go!
Magical Phi Phi Island great beaches, snorkelling, restaurants- paradise to us.
When we dont have a motorbike, this is how we cruise- on the back of a bus!
Miss AdventureII (Super Tenere- the motorbike) Bin, Beth Penhalagon, Beths daughter-Mandy, Pat on our first day.C
We left the gorgeous islands of Thailand for the dirty Myanmar border town called Kawthoung and nearly did an about face! The land borders are just starting to open to tourists and we only saw one other tourist in the 10 days that we toured the southern arm of Myanmar. The people were as friendly as the Thais, but there subtle differences were: the mud coating on their faces to protect them from the sun; most of the men wore sarongs (like a long skirt) and the women would carry heavy loads on their head and do most of the physical labour, ie construction.
