alanperrins
four weeks in Ecuador
Follow this story by emailIn October 2016, I celebrated my 50th birthday. My company, Jack Wolfskin, very kindly offered to let me take four weeks off at once to realise at least part of one of my dreams, to travel by motorcycle for a long trip. Ok it is not the continent-busting trip I really want to take but it is the best I can do and still keep my job.
Plagued with indecision about where to go for my extremely valuable four weeks off a solution manifested in the form of Adventure Bike Rider magazine. They offered to “ask their readers and celebrity contacts” where they would go if they just had four weeks. I would then choose my favourite and then make that trip. All sounds simple enough but unfortunately my lovely wife found out that my intended destination included two countries that the UK government were recommending we do not travel too, Algeria and Tunisia. Mmm, marriage or Africa trip? The choice was tough but in the end, I opted to keep my marriage and find another destination.
Everything happens for a reason they say and I believe them. I was looking for a destination that had a varied geography and culture. “That’s easy, Ecuador” said the man down the pub, and he was right. Ecuador has the most diverse landscape of any country. Beautiful beaches, open savannah, jungle, mountains, volcanos and even rain forest! So that’s where I am heading and this is my story.
Retired 6 years ago. Not sure about a lot but one thing I am sure about is that when my time is up and I meet St. Peter at the pearly gates, there is one thing I cannot say, " Take two". I only have one shot at this life. That said, I decided to go to SOUTH AMERICA for 3-4 months. After a month I was so tired of airplanes and buses. I am in Lima Peru and bought a motorcycle. After reading a lot of blogs, I decided that I wanted low tech.new motorcycle. That way I could do the repairs myself and being new it should not need a lot of repairs. I also wanted fuel injection so going from the coast to the Andres would not be a problem. I bought a Kawasaki klr650 adventure bike. Also, everyone mentioned what pain it was to register bikes down here and get insurance. My Kawasaki Dealer, who also became my friend, took care of everything. I will travel for two weeks and when I come back the bike will be ready to ride. Sometimes you just have to follow your dreams and let the chips fall where they fall. I am headed to Patagonia. I was going to come home beginning of December. Now, I will go home when the road trip is over. I am looking for someone to ride with. If you are interested or want more information, please email me at: volleyballrick[at]yahoo[dot]com
Rick