Round the World - in Stages

Well here we are 5 years on ready to travel on the bike again. On arriving home from our first overland motorcycle trip in 2007 we had a four year plan to travel again which blew out to 5 years but finally we are on the move again.Time dulls the memory, we had forgotten the sheer hard work it takes to pack up your life for 12 to 18 months and we could never have done it without the support of friends, family and the HU Community who have kept us inspired when we would begin to lose focus.

So once again we will start at the beginning......................

Well D Day has arrived and we are off to pick up the bike.Enso first goes to Customs in Valparaiso town by himself and when he returns, we get into his friend's pick-up and we are off out to the shipping agent's warehouse, about 20km away. On arrival we enter the main building where Enso negotiates, and gets several pieces of paper stamped several hundred times (slight exaggeration), after this we are informed that only one person can go with Enso to uncrate the bike, so I sit and wait and wait and wait.

We arrive in the delightful San Martin de Los Andes after a glorious days ride. After a couple of half hearted attempts at trying to find a camping ground we give up and head to the Tourist Information Office where we find a delightful young lady who speaks perfect English and directs us to the Puma Youth Hostel.Another brilliant find, a gorgeous double room in the attic, kitchen facilities, wifi, hot water and fabulous staff. Some days are just easy and this was one of them. We throw our panniers in the room, shower and off to wander the streets.

Still in Fitz Roy we are up and at em early-ish, the sun is out, it's still semi-windy but there is no dust storm, so we pack up, Skill takes the bike seat off to find the tubing to decant some fuel into our emergency bottles (starting to get a little further between fuel stops now). There is sand/dust in every nook and cranny, under the seat, covering the battery, in the tool compartment, everywhere, all from the dust storm.

Day 6 Saturday 1st December Yet another overnight transit, and we awake to 10 cm of fresh snow on the front deck of the ship, but by the time we have had breakfast the crew have hosed it off.
Snow on the deck

Sorry we have skipped ahead with our blog, but because we experienced so much in such a short period of time we wanted to get it down while it was still fresh in our memories. We will do a backtrack/catch-up soon.........................so here is Antarctica Part 1......

Blog Backtracking...... our time in Ushuaia before we leave for Antarctica. We are pretty excited to be in Ushuaia, we have heard so much about this place from our fellow motorcycling friends over the years. We find the Freestyle Hostel with no problems, secure parking out the back after negotiating a building site, throw our gear into the room, for tonight we have to share a dorm room with two Italian ladies but tomorrow we get to move into our own private room. We then head out for a king crab empanada and Quilmes beer.

We sadly leave Ushuaia after nearly a month. Long sad goodbyes to Nancy and Mariano then it is onto the bike. It is cold and rainy, we then have to queue for fuel at the YPF, as the two previous service stations are out of fuel.It is a pretty miserable ride up over the Garibaldi Pass where the rain turns to sleet and the temperature is down to 0 degrees.

Boxing day is here and we need to leave this little oasis of El Chalten and head North, we refuel and add an extra 5 litres (in a 5 litre plastic water bottle) to the bike. As fellow travellers, Grant and Jules Guerin so succinctly put it, we are now a travelling molotov cocktail.We have calculated it will be a little over 300km to Gobernador Gregores, about the limit of our fuel range so the extra is an insurance policy.

Our days in Pucon are quite blissful, our first morning we awake to a beautiful sunny day and although it is very hot, we have a piscina (pool) to cool off in, the views to Volcan Villarica are uninterrupted and quite spectacular, although it is not puffing out any smoke. We do the usual chores, washing, mending, and research. The most exciting thing about Pucon is the huge amounts of different foods available, we score Burrito mix and Petaks Tikka Masala curry sauce, heaps of fruit and veges, we are in seventh heaven.

Our first day on the farm is a reasonably quiet one, it is Sunday and we help John with a few odd jobs before Annette arrives home later in the afternoon, a late night of catch ups, drinks and tall stories is the order of the day.The following day we head down the farm for a morning of tumble-weed weeding, the weather is oppressively hot and sticky, so by lunch time it is time for a siesta and a swim. In the late afternoon we return to the farm for a bit more work. This is the pattern of events for the next week.

It is Saturday 2nd March and we finally decide that we need to get on the road again but feel rather guilty leaving poor John and Annette with 40 tonnes of plums to harvest, our timing was probably not the best, but hope we provided some help with all the pre-harvest preparation jobs.We make the short ride into San Rafael where we attempt to get some money out but with no success at all, after lining up to try 4 ATMs we realise it is not the usual Argentine ATM 'no cash' problem. Our card of choice is not working!

Leaving Cafayate we head out with plans to ride Ruta 40 to Cachi, we stop to refuel at the YPF but with no luck, an English speaking Argentinian on a BMW redirects us to another fuel station up the road and follows us there. After refuelling he advises us not to ride Ruta 40, 'very dangerous' he says and gives us a map with alternative routes which we reluctantly decide to take, but it is such a stunning ride along the RN68 we wonder if Ruta 40 could be any better?

Well what will today bring, another new country - into Bolivia!We get away by 10.00am after manoeuvring the bike out of the building very carefully, as you can see.

We get the bike out of Hostal Copacabana

People come to Sucre for three days and stay for three months, it is just that kind of place. It is a really easy city to negotiate, there are great restaurants, markets/supermarkets, cultural museums and activities.Life here is simple. Our move to Hostel Pachamama (Mother Earth) proves to be the right one, the cost is 100 Bol ($15.00AUD) per night and we have our own big room with ensuite on the second floor overlooking the garden. It really is a gorgeous place.

Samaipata will go down on our favourites list. We spend 5 days here enjoying the tranquil, peaceful surroundings. The evening we arrive we find a bar and to our delight share the evening with fellow Aussie and former resident of Brisvegas, Kirsty. She and her husband Dave own and run the delightful “La Boheme” Bar on the main square. Kirsty is a Samaipatian enthusiast and gives us her take on the best food in town, which happens to be across the road at “La Cocina” run by 2 Istanbulians.. The food is a Mexican/Turkish fusion and although incredibly simple, it is amazing.

We awake in a new country, Peru, a place we have dreamed of coming to for nearly 30 years. Our excitement is tempered by our tiredness, yesterday's border crossings, teamed with the rain and cold had been a bit of a marathon effort, for this reason we start the day slowly. We make breakfast in our room then go for a walk around the village of Chucuito. It is a lovely, sleepy little village and it's inhabitants are incredibly friendly.

Out and about in Chucuito

We are lucky enough to be in Cusco in the two week lead up to Inti Rami – the festival of the Winter Solstice. It is truly amazing, there is always something going on in the Plaze de ArmesCusco sits at 3300 metres above see level. It is the continents oldest continuously inhabited city, steeped in history, the narrow cobblestoned streets are lined with huge Incan built walls, and while it is undeniably a tourist city it is also undeniably beautiful and still quite authentic. It truly is a lovely, living city.

After the weekend we are eager to hit the road even if it is a short 3 hour ride to Ollantaytambo.For the first time since we arrived in Santiago 9 months ago we have pre-booked our accommodation in Ollantaytambo at the lovely Hotel Munay Tika. The hotel is gorgeous, we have the most amazing views from our room and the staff are so helpful. The only problem is getting the bike through the garden door. It is more than a tight fit but Skill manages it.

Yesterday was a long day, and last night in Puno it got down to minus 6 degrees Celcius, so we have a bit of a sleep in before venturing out for a bacon and egg breakfast and hitting the road for (hmm is it back to Bolivia or off to Chile) a toss of the coin and Bolivia it is.We leave Puno easily, fill up with fuel and enjoy a short ride to …................... the first police checkpoint. They check our papers, including our SOAT insurance and we are off again.