Youtube

Wow, I´ve made it onto Youtube!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaC7j4csuRI

This was posted by a fellow motorcyclist and Vstrom rider, Alvaro, from Imbegue (that spelling looks wrong..), Colombia. Pulled over and had a bit of a chat not long after this...

Another friendly Colombian..

Colombia

Colombia has lived up to my expectations as a beautiful place filled with very friendly and helpful people.

(Stayed in this house. Randy, a local and a fellow motorcycle traveller invited me over for a couple days. A super friendly and helpful type of bloke)


Most of my time, so far, has been spent in Cali where I got some work done to my motorbike. It was great finding this slick Suzuki Store in the middle of Cali with all the lastest. Bit of a change to what I have become used to. The Vstrom (that´s the type of Bike I have..) is quite a popular bike over here (well, that´s if you have a bit of spare cash ofcourse, most bikes here are the normal 150cc jobs) so I was quite confident in getting the parts I needed, and a good service (and a good wash..).
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The workshop was one of the smartest I have ever come across and I would have quite happily have eaten my lunch off it, well maybe. So, finally, since Bolivia, I now have a complete front brake lever to use.. got a `new´ secondhand front wheel (though I don´t think it fixed the vibration problem completely..), and some TLC (the bike not me) so all is good in the life of the bike that belongs to Bruce.....

Well almost. The footpeg, which was welded up in Bolivia, decided to break off so it looks like I´ll be looking around for a new one here in Bogotá.

The trip from Calí to Bogotá was pretty interesting.. Part of the trip took me over a mountain pass. Nothing new there. But the amount of trucks on the curvy road - hundreds.. And then it started to rain, no, really pour down.. And then the mountain sides started to slip down onto the road.. Yeah, it was fun. But extremely slow.

Which made me not make it to Bogotá in one day.. So I stayed in a little town called La Mesa. Nice place with a genuine friendly feel to it. I quite liked it. I befriended a young policeman who was eager to practise his english, who also helped me find a hotel for the night. The next morning I met this guy.

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Had a good ol yarn about all sorts of things while he fed me coffee with a good tot of rum (yeah, that was my breakfast..). He used to be a proffesor at a university teaching law, atleast I think I got that right. He didn´t speak english but kindly spoke very slowly and clearly in spanish which helped a lot. Almost stayed longer but decided to move on to Bogotá.

Getting lost coming into a new city has become a bit of a hbit for me, as has finding dodgy areas. This time I managed to score a shot of scotch (hmm, that is twice in one day..) from a bunch of guys sheltering from the rain. Their directions weren´t too bad either. Dodgy, inadequate maps from the Lonely Planet Guide Book don´t really suffice a motorcyce journey..

The Equator

Quite the crowning moment..

Ecuador 1

Ecuador is about the same size as New Zealand and is just as interesting. Needless to say my week and a bit over here is not going to do the place justice but I don´t have much choice.

Why do people grow beards? They are way too itchy, especially in a helmet..
I forget the name of this mountain but its claim to fame is that the top of this mountain is the furthest piont from the earth´s centre - more than to the top of Mt Everest.. Figure that one out!!

Down at sea level the weather is quite warm, humid and tropical. I enjoyed the warm change but soon headed off for the cooler mountainous regions. Here the slopes are steep and patchworked with different crops and fields. I´ve seen a lot of mountains on this trip but each time I am glad to be there. The scenery is always breathtaking and the roads are always interesting..

Baños

Baños means Bathroom or Toilet in English so I thought I´d check it out...

Actually it is a bit of a tourist destination with volcanoes, deep green valleys, hot springs, water falls and close proximation to the Amazon Basin.

I stayed here for a while and the highlight for me was going Canyoning. Now I enjoy a bit of Rock Climbing back home and do mind abseiling down a rope but abseiling down these waterfalls in these lush green valleys/ravines was something else..

The Quilotoan Loop

A fantastic journey through Andean villages and valleys past the amazing Quilotoan Lake, an extinct volcanic crater.

This 150 odd kms of road consisted of all different types of surfaces from good pavement to washed out dirt tracks. The surrounding valleys were green, the locals friendly and an overall peaceful atmosphere. These two days of riding where an absolute pleasure.

A fewparting shots from Peru..

Quite a few of these signs in Peru..

Some friendly Policia
The beach..

Máncora, Peru

Heading North..

Right now I am in this little town called Huanchaco, just north of Trujillo. Which don´t mean much to you. Suffice to say up on the north coast of Peru. Its a bit of a surf resort and I like the feel of the place. Might even stay a bit longer.

Met a few policemen lately. Which I was sort of expecting, given some of the stories I have heard.. However they were all pretty friendly. The first one did try to get some money from me. Reckons I was speeding. Which I probably was but still going slower than most people at that point. Anyway he was quite friendly just dropping a few hints every now and then about money and banks. I didn´t admit anything or offer money but just politely refused. This went on for a while until he gave up after I started to become a bit more adamant about doing nothing wrong and that I saw no need to pay a fine. Got pulled over 5 minutes later. They just wanted to know where I was going etc. Today a policeman kept hinting about needing to buy petrol for his car.. I told him I didn´t understand..

But it wouldn´t be fair just to mention these incidents as I have met many friendly and helpful police here in Peru. I have asked and received a lot of directions and advice from many of them. Most of the police are doing a great job out here.

Well I having been pushing up the Pan-Amercian highway along the coast of Peru and it really is a doddle to ride. 200kms up in the Andies is as much effort as 600kms or more down on this road. Almost feels like cheating. But. I need to keep moving North at a faster pace for a bit so the PAmerican it is.

I expected the coastal strip of Peru to be quite green and tropical. Instead it is rather arid..

Nasca

Note to self: I will never ever ever ever go for a fly in another small plane ever again.

(Well not til next time..)

On the way to Nasca...

Again I could rave about the roads. This time from Cusco to Nasca. One bit that felt a bit weird, almost eerrie was about 100kms along a valley floor. I could swear I was going down the valley but each time I checked the river it was flowing the other way and water doesn´t flow up hill... It was quite confusing.

Anyhow I have left the cold Andies Mountain passes, for a while.. For the coast.

Haven´t quite made the coast yet as I stopped in Nasca.

Nasca is famous for its mysterious lines and pictures on the desert floor. Made some 2000 years ago. The reason for the lines and pictures are not 100 percent certain but the current theory is that they held a religous significance for the ancient Nasca people. The pictures are huge and can only be seen from the air (which is fine if you are a ´god´I suppose.) or in an airplane.

Which gets me back to the beginning of this post. I got sucked into taking a joyflight over the lines. Apart from taking a long time to actually get into the air (should have known better) all went well as we taxied off and launched into the air.

How could I forget that I have a tendency for motionsickness??

This is the only photo I got.

30 seconds later I started to feel a bit off. The air was `quite´ bumpy and as we wheeled around and around going from one facinating picture on the ground to another I was fighting for sanity. Pictures of a monkey, spider, whale, fish, dog, man and more were glanced at as I tried to focus on the ever moving horizon. While I enjoyed the view and love the feeling of flying I just wanted to go back. Holding a flimsy plastic bag with the remains of your breakfast in it on your lap is not one of my favourite past times.

However after stumbling out of the plane after the 30 min rollercoaster ride I was still glad that I had actually had the opportunity of seeing these facinating pictures for myself.

But never again.

Machu Picchu

What can I say?

Well, firstly, the road to Machu Picchu that I took was awesome. 200kms in 6 hours gives a little indication of the type of road it was, bearing in mind that two thirds were paved.. Absolutely brilliant scenery and a fabulous bit of civil engineering must go into putting these roads here. Even if I didn´t get to MP the roads there were worth it in itself. That is enough raving about the roads..

Do how did I get to MP? I didn´t take the train, per se, as most tourists or some form of trek but instead took the road. This route actually takes you around and past MPicchu and then you walk on the train tracks or take the short train ride (if you are lucky/slack). This is becoming the popular/ cheap way for the shoestring backpackers who take the local busses. But, ofcourse, I didn´t need to take any form of local transport as I have been taking my trusty steed with me. Everywhere.

Anyway the trip to Machu Picchu went like a clockwork, just like a preplanned tourist package. Just as I was about to begin the 10km walk to Agua CAlientes (base for MP) the one of two trains was about to leave... so I caught the train.

Machu Picchu itself was quite facinating. More amazing, for me, was not really the ruins but the unbelievable position of them. Right on top of some of the most inaccessable mountains you can imagine. Which was probably the whole point of a secret getaway... And the reason why it was hidden for so long.

Climbing the steep sided mountain of Waynu Picchu (that is the mountain in the background of a lot of MP Photos, including one here..) was definitely a highlight for me. The steep stone steps, the ruins and the view from the top create a lasting memory.

The trip back to Cusco went quite well. Sort of. I was starting to feel a bit off before I left. I got out of bed too late to catch the only morning train which was the plan anyway. However the two walk took more like 3 hours. Normally if I am unwell I won´t ride but this time I just wanted to get back to Cusco so off I went. Just ride a good steady pace as stay focussed was the plan. All was fine. Got to the top of the last pass (less cloud this time) and started the trip down. My fuel gauge went down from 2 bars to none in 10kms and then started cutting out around each hairpin band, taking longer and longer to start each time. Hmmm. Not good. Decided to roll the rest of the way down (proabably another 10kms) using the rest of the fuel to find a fuel station. Well I found one and was served by a capable 6 year old boy. He could barely get the fuel nozzle high enough to reach my tank (would have taken a photo if my camera wasn´t flat...). Filled up. But the poor boy had no change for me. hmmm. Off to the shop down the road to get change for a 50. Done and I was back on my way. The sun set as I took the last pass arriving back in Cusco in the night. Tired and fighting to focus, almost hitting a huge black cow that was being led across the road as I was coming down the mountain. Just as well I was riding with a larger margin of error than what I might have done.. Anyway got back and promptly fell into bed with a fever, chills, nusea, upset intestines and dizziness. And barely got up for the next 36hours. I was a bit worried as these symptoms point to diseases like malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever... but after a good sleep I was feeling a lot better. Thankfully. Just needed a good rest.

Anyhow back in Cusco...

Another fiesta.