Monthly Archives: March, 2010
The Desert and down to Chile
The ride from Nazca, Peru was fairly uneventful. I spent 3 very long days on the road. Riding from sun up to sundown mostly through the desert. Passing the time with tunes on my ipod and through contemplation of all kinds of subjects meaningful and otherwise. I was worried about running out of gas several times as the distances in the Chilean deserts between towns with gas stations is staggering. On the fourth day I rode from La Serena to Vina. A four hour ride. The smells changed, the desert disappeared. Orchards, vineyards, and farmland dominating the landscape and the signs of a civilization blessed with a much higher degree of prosperity than anything I’d seen since leaving the United States four months ago.
I”m now in Vina Del Mar Chile and the end of my ride is now in sight. Its the fall down here and the nights are crisp. The leaves are beginning to turn and the world as it is prepares for the winter. I contemplate this as I realize that I have gone nearly half way around the world on a motorcycle. Vina Del Mar is very close to the opposite latitude of Vancouver, where i left from. And further south, lies an area devastated by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. Vina was lucky enough to avoid any major damage or death, but the country is visibly shaken.
I met up with John’s good friend Brian a couple of days ago who at the moment calls Vina home. We spent a day on the beach where he explained to me under normal circumstances it would be packed with foreign and domestic tourists, but was almost deserted. The main topic of conversation is the earthquake in bars, cafes, and the homes of all Chileans.
I’ve been welcomed into Brian’s home with great kindness. A room to stay in, a safe place for my bike, and full use of the house. Brian works up north on eight day shifts and won’t be back for another week now. It has been really nice to live out of a household again and not a hotel. I plan on taking full advantage of my situation and plan on doing a bit of exploring in the city and in Valparaiso, the city right next door.
I will be considering my options on how to finish the trip off over the next week. I want to go further south and may end up going through the earthquake zone here in Chile and then cross over into Argentina and loop back up into Santiago. Or I may cross over to Beunos Aries. Either way the next few weeks are sure to hold an abundance of adventure still to be had.
Glad to have you all along,
Kent
Columbia, Equador, and Peru
Picking up where I left off, I left Turbo feeling ready to conquer some roads. The road from Turbo to Medillien was of very poor quality, but it was the only option I had. Aside from the fact that I was navigating sharp corners high up in the mountains on gravel roads, the military presence was heavy. Armored trucks and personal carriers were stationed every five to 10 km. Turbo is in the Darian region of Columbia where the war on drugs and guerrillas still has a major impact. Next stop, Mediellen, at one time considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the world.
Mediellien proved to be the complete opposite of what I had imagined. The city is very modern, easy to navigate, and exceptionally beautiful. However, it is a city of stark contrasts. In some places you can walk across the street into the wrong neighborhood where your life will surely be in danger. I didn’t venture into any of these places. I found the Pan-American Highway and was on my way.
Columbia is Beautiful. From lush valleys to massive green mountains to pristine lakes and rivers, this country was easy on the eyes. My first night was spent in a little mountain village. The views were staggering, day and night. There are homes and farms all over the mountain sides and in the night, the valley looks like a massive Christmas light decoration.
The people here were incredibly kind and hospitable.
The next day I drove all day. I was on a mission. My parents had arranged to meet me on the 19th on February in Huan Chaco Peru. I had seven days to get through the rest of Columbia, all of Ecuador, and a bit of Peru. At one point, the Colombian Pan-American turned into a big four lane freeway and I was able to make really good time. Later in the day the road turned back into a two lane twisting through the mountains bordering Ecuador. I spent the night in a town about an hour and a half from the Ecuador border. I traveled Columbia in two days.
Getting into Ecuador was a breeze. I quickly learned that, not to be out done by the Colombians, the people in Ecuador were just as kind and welcoming. Ecuador is basically one big mountain range. The mountains are massive and green. The Pan-American winds its way up and down the mountains for about 1500kms. This was going to be fun. I pictured one of those “CAUTION Curves ahead” signs at the entrance to Ecuador, but this time instead of a measly “Next 15km” or something like that it would say “Next 1500km.” At times the road is up to 17000ft at the top of some of the peaks. This would prove to be a bit much on my finely tuned carburetor.
The first day in Ecuador I would be passing through the Equator. I told my self to be sure to stop and get the picture of the Equator marker with my half of my self in each hemisphere. But I never looked at a map to see where exactly it was and by the time i looked at a map to check I was about 4 hours past. I also drove through Quito which proved to be fairly frustrating and crazy. It was almost nightfall by the time I got out of the city and it had started to rain. I found a motel along the highway and hunkered down for the night.
The next day I tried to drive another big chunk of the country. It was Carnival today. A big celebration for the whole country and a national long weekend holiday. It was cool to see, but every little town I went through had a huge street party going and I had to drive right through the middle. A perfect target for water balloons. I spent the rest of the day dodging buckets of water water balloons and people with hoses standing along the side of the road getting cars and everything else going by. Most of the projectiles I was able to dodge. But some kids were pretty smart. They would hide behind bushes or on the roofs of houses so I couldn’t see them. I got nailed pretty good a couple of times. It made the drive kinda fun. Generally eight hours of driving even on beautiful paved roads through mountains can get a little tedious. I made it to a town about 2 and a half hours from the border. Not bad.
The town was way up in the mountains. The air was crisp and clean, and the views spectacular.
The next day I headed to the border and arrived in good time. I accidentally took a wrong turn before the border though and went 20 minutes down a side road. No big deal. But the kids with the water were out in force. And I had to go through everything twice because I had to turn back. There was one group of kids that had set up the perfect trap. Four of them on each side of the road just on the other side of a slow corner. With no room to maneuver I got soaked the first time alright. And absolutely destroyed when I came back. I’m sure they heard me coming on the way back, they all had massive evil grins and perhaps larger buckets of water.
Finally in Peru, I was actually looking forward to a little bit of straight road driving. The coast of Peru is just a big ol desert. The roads are straight and flat and the sand goes for miles. I immediately noticed a difference in the quality of life for some northern Peruvians in these towns. They were incredibly dirty. Garbage was absolutely everywhere and the smell was horrendous. Some peoples front yards were literally just big piles of garbage. The desert was also littered with trash. I saw many people throwing all kinds of stuff out of the windows of their cars. It was a bit disturbing. I spent the night in Piura. I would be in Huan Chaco the next day.
I woke up early and drove the three hours to Huan Chaco where I let out a big sigh of relief. I found my self a nice hotel and settled in to wait the next three nights for my parents to arrive. I did lots of relaxing and surfing. It was nice to be stationary.
My parents arrived on the 19th and I moved into the same hotel as them. A beautiful spot overlooking the beach, daily room cleanings, food and pretty much anything else available with a simple call. This was the life.
The next day I had planned to go up to a famous surf spot called Chicama where the longest left hand wave in the world can be seen and surfed. My parents would go into Trujillo for the day and see the city. I had some great surfing although the waves weren’t all that big. With a bigger swell that place would be amazing.
Over the next few days with my parents we visited several archeological sites and museums about the ancient desert civilizations in the area. The ruins were very remarkable and museums even more so. The dead kings were buried with lots of gold things and pottery. Good description right.
My favorite site was Chan Chan. It was just outside of Huan Chaco and was the capital city for one of the ancient civilizations. It has been wonderfully restored and is really a wonder to walk though. Our guide was also excellent. He had a horn made out of a shell and also played a ancient flute-like instrument for us.
My parents left on the 25th to go to Lima for a day and then back to Calgary. It was great to see them and our time spent together just flew by.
The next day I was going to go into Trujillo and get some work done on my bike. I needed a new rear tire, chain and sprocket, oil change, new brake pads, and several things fixed on my rack. But, I ended up just chillin out in the hotel, getting room service. and surfin all day.
Okay, so the next day I went into Trujillo and found a mechanic. We spent all day sourcing the parts from various shops across the city. We were able to get all the work done on the bike, but I would need to come back to get the rack done.
Unfortunately I got sick for the next two days. I spent alot of time watching the Olympics which was kinda nice as I really hadn’t seen any yet. On Sunday I watched the hockey game. You know the one. Then I got back to the shop on Monday and got things sorted with my rack.
Tuesday, I was back on the road. I drove to Huacho. Nothing much to see really. The desert is kinda boring. The next day I drove through Lima and down to Nazca to see the Nazca Lines. Today I took a flight over the desert where the lines are. It was really cool to see them. Its incredible to think that they were made by a civilization a couple of thousand of years ago. The accuracy is amazing.
Tomorrow I’ll be back on the road. I’ve got another couple of long days ahead of me. I’m on my way to Vina, Chile to meet up with a friend of John’s who is going to put me up for a few days I hope. If he doesn’t, John’s going to kick him in the neck. Or something like that.
Cheers
Kent
