After a long pause on blogging, I am embarrassed to see that over 2 years has passed, it is time to pick it back up as we pick up our motorcycle travel again. Some things will be similar to the Central America trip in 2010, and other things will be completely different. Ok most things will be different, the only common thread is that we still don't speak Spanish.
As time tends to wait for no-one we have spent the last few years doing less elaborate trips and taking different types of holidays. We enjoyed every minute of them but there was still something missing. It felt like we were getting swept up into other peoples' life plans and were loosing site of our own. Vacation properties, second homes, snow-birding, all the things people strive for most of their lives were test driven and although they were a comfy ride and a good experience there was always something missing. Maybe missing is not the correct word. Longing. That is a better word to describe what was going on. We and maybe more-so I usually had a feeling that we just didn't fit that life...yet.
This was after all the time of our lives to experience new cultures, try and learn a new language, eat the food, drink the wine, climb the mountains, swim the waters, and just plain LIVE!!!
There-in lies a decision. Where to go?
After a brief review of the globe and a somewhat systematic approach to how we do things it made sense to take on the experiences of South America. That is the place on the other side of Panama, yes that is the one CNN keeps telling people to stay away from because it is to dangerous to walk around the city streets, travel to remote areas is highly discouraged, after all those countries are full of all kinds of terrible people wanting to do harm...just like down town LA, Central Park in NYC, Young Street in Toronto, those degenerates in (place location name here). You get the picture. I have often said that if you listen to CNN you would never leave your house. People are just people, and our experience is that if you approach travel with common sense then you will likely make it to the comforts of home once again.
Enough of that.
The plan was hatched to fly the bikes to Bogota Columbia in October and start riding from there. The route, at this time, of course is very rough, ride North-East-ish towards Cartegena then possibly into Venezuela maybe into the Guyanas, South into the Brazilian Amazon, try to ward off Malaria. Then all the way back west, across Peru into Equador, eat drink etc, back across the Andes to Bolivia, Paraguay, and eventually end the journey in Uruguay approximately 4 months later. Strange place to end you think, South East area of the continent. But, the rules are favorable there and the location is convenient. More on that later.
For now you get to read about bike prep, tech trouble, brain teasers, and of course more bike prep.
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