South America -> USA - Trip Complete - 2nd Pg Photo Heavy

Evergreen · Derestricted Danger Joined: 14 Mar 2016 Karma :

Oh god Southern Bolivia!! Smile

it was probably the toughest and loneliest raod (if you can call that a road) in South America for me. Great memories though. Kind of like being on another planet...

PM if you need any help in Peru & Colombia, made some great friends over there:)

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

Yeah Lagunas Route was tough, but a great sense of accomplishment after the fact.

Thanks for the offer, I may well take you up on that, although it's harder to not make friends here as you know Smile

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Snowdonia Rider · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Oct 2014 Karma :

Mawsley · Traffic Copper Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Karma :

Stunning pictures.

It make me want to return to the North. We spent six years in Ven/Colombia/Ecuador - wonderful place to ride...although I'm not so sure about Venezuela nowadays.

Evergreen · Derestricted Danger Joined: 14 Mar 2016 Karma :

There's a Camino de la Muerte in pretty much every South American country if you just look for them:) In Colombia, the bit between Pasto and Mocoa is a bit similar to the Yungas road-lots of landslides/rocky bits as well but definitely worth it, only you won't get a t shirt after riding it:) The military/police usually advise not to go through the Putumayo region (apparently that's where the FARC folks hangs out) but that's where all the fun is and it's stunning as well!

P.S. are you riding to Machu Picchu? Lots of people leave bikes in Cuzco and take the train, but the reality is that the road there is perfectly fine. Mostly gravel but again well worth it. And once you reach Hidroelectrica there's a security guard living there, he usually agrees to look after your bike for about 15 soles a day-you can leave the bike there (perfectly safe) and hike along the train tracks to the Jardines de Mandor campsite (much cheaper and nicer than the touristy Aguas Calientes). Oh, and lots of tour guides in Cuzco love telling gringos how they MUST buy the Machu Picchu tickets there - that's bullshit, the Aguas Calientes office always has them and the price is the same/cheaper.

P.P.S do the Canon del Pato if you're heading that way - another Yungas only along an amazing canyon!:)also Chachapoyas - riding Piura is usually kinda boring but the Celendin/Chachapoyas region is awesome/practically no gringos there yet so the locals are still very much willing to help instead of trying to sell you stuff.

Sorry...got excited:)

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

Yeah thanks for the info, as you were writing that I was in Machu Picchu hehe. And yea the road to Hidroelectrica is perfectly doable. I opted to instead ride as far as Santa Teresa and had fun on that little 40km stretch, left the bike in a hostal and then took a collectivo to Hidro, also bought my machu picchu tickets in Aguas calientes no problems.

Was interesting to see live traveling from the backpackers point of view. Gotta say i prefer bike traveling.

Yeah lots of people are telling me Chachapoyas is cool, am going to stick to the mountain side of things as i go north up Peru for sure.
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

Evergreen · Derestricted Danger Joined: 14 Mar 2016 Karma :

After experiencing a Peruvian collectivo I'd probably prefer walking Mr. Green

i did some backpacking in Peru too-couldn't wait to get on the bike after a few days!!

Are you doing the Amazon in Peru? Puerto Maldonado is cheaper than Iquitos and you still get pretty much the same deal-piranha fishing and alligators and the whole 'jungle experience' including Ayahuasca Mr. Green

plus you can ride all the way to Maldonado whereas for Iquitos, you need to take the boat. When I was there the gold miners were on strike so the roads were blocked for a while but otherwise a fun ride.

But you're probably ahead already anyway:) do you have a blog? Would be interesting to see where you go:)

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

I thought about it and everyone who I have met who has been into the Jungle says its great.

I just am not a big fan of insects and humidity... Going to leave Cusco on Monday and stick to the mountains on my way north, roughly Ayacucho, Huancayo, (Lima for tyres), Huaraz (Cordilerra Blanca) and ontowards Cajamarca and Chachapoyas. That's the plan anyway.

No blog i'm afraid just a facebook page to keep family and friends in the loop. If i was doing something actually challenging such as riding the darien gap, or doing that pass at the end of the carretera austral from villa o'higgins into argentina, that to me would be blog worthy in my opinion.
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TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

Success!

I started the trip in September 2015 by flying from London out to Santiago, Chile and buying a brand new CRF250L. I finished up 18 months later selling the Bike in San Francisco, California and flying home in March 2017.

The Route:

South America: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NUM3B28yC67PQS-9Py-ZCpgZX5E&usp=sharing

Central America, Mexico & USA:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eWEUeFlBMwBxJmAXCmh2NusibVY&usp=sharing

I had saved about 10-12 thousand quid and sold my GSXR-750 and I come back with 140 quid. For that money I got a bunch of experiences and memories that will never be forgotten, I learned a second language, I fell in love, I experimented with many things, I paid numerous bribes (all of them when I was out of line), I lost months of traveling budget overnight due to Brexit, I discovered business opportunities, I did exactly what I wanted every day for 18 months with no obligations to anyone other than to myself. I have seen other possible lifestyles / ways of life that are not possible in the UK.

What did I learn? Well Spanish for one thing, The trip re-affirmed my belief that 90+% of human beings around the world are essentially good people. Go out into the world with Buena Onda (good vibes in Spanish) and it is generally reflected back at you. The negative impressions we have about countries like Colombia and Mexico are fear mongering. Unless you goto these countries as a disrespectful gringo or want to muscle in on the drug business of the cartels you will have no issues and will be shown kindness and hospitality which is rare in the UK.

I would recommend anyone thinking about this kind of trip to do it. Forget the big expensive adventure bikes. Buy something small and cheap that the locals ride, pack lightly, learn spanish and have the time of your life! Highlight Countries were Chile, Colombia and Mexico. The Argentines are still a bit salty over the Falklands...

I am now back in London and just today secured full-time employment. My plan is to work for a year or two and start a a business with some of the contacts I have made out there. Also I can't see my future in the UK anymore, as someone said in another thread we are a seething volcano of rage and resentment.

Happy to answer any questions anyone might have as BCF was probably where i got my first inspiration to ride down to spain on my old bandit 600, and then later to Mongolia and back after seeing Nathan and Itchy's trips. If i can motivate any of you to bugger off to South America all the better Thumbs Up

arry · Super Spammer Joined: 03 Jan 2009 Karma :

Epic. Thanks for sharing.

Northern Monkey · World Chat Champion Joined: 17 Nov 2013 Karma :

Wow. Just wow
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Wafer_Thin_Ham · Super Spammer Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Karma :

Great trip, great photos and a great read. Thumbs Up

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recman · World Chat Champion Joined: 26 Mar 2012 Karma :

Another real adventure. Excellent pics. Thumbs Up

pepperami · Super Spammer Joined: 17 Jan 2010 Karma :

Impressed Pepperami is impressed Thumbs Up

Tell me, did you have any personal safety issues.? For example, baddies trying to steal your stuff?
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chickenstrip · Super Spammer Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :

Increíble!

There are some folks who can't understand those who sell and give up everything to go on trips such as this. If they still can't understand it after looking through this thread, there must be something very, very wrong with them. Personally, I am muy jealous!
Well done, and thank you for posting it all here DonUK. Inspiring stuff Thumbs Up

P.S. Just thinking about your mention in an earlier post of not having done anything particularly challenging or new on this adventure. I would say that to the vast majority of us, this trip is interesting enough to warrant a more in-depth account. There are loads of books about people's travels out there that are completely uninspiring to read. A lot of what makes such travel tales interesting is the personality and writing style of the author, not necessarily what they actually did or saw. If you write well, it will be worth reading. I have said elsewhere that I found Nick Sanders' R1 round-the-world video boring. That certainly isn't because of where he went; just his 'style' of narration, and the fact that he didn't seem to have anything to say about those places. Just a thought Smile

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waffles · World Chat Champion Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Karma :

I would definitely like to hear more, those pictures are stunning.
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Enduro Numpty · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 31 Oct 2012 Karma :

Stunning photographs and epic travels. Thanks again for sharing. Like chickenstrip says, if you've got the ability to write well there's definitely a book in there that I'd read.

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

Thanks for nice comments guys, In regards to a writeup/book, I think i will almost certainly do an more indepth write-up at some point, probably as the reality of settling into a boring work-life dawns on me as a way to relive my adventure. I have had lots of people tell me to write a book etc. Problem is, i am not a fantastic writer and quite a private guy, I'm not the share-everything type so most of the really interesting stuff is where I really fucked up or was just personal experiences and that might have to stay private or just for close friends... So I feel a book would basically end up being something fairly bland and descriptive. Neutral

doggone · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 May 2004 Karma :

Was the CRF a good choice with hindsight?
Not sure I'd like to ride mine huge distances but it has been reliable and cheap to run.

TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :

chickenstrip · Super Spammer Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :

pepperami · Super Spammer Joined: 17 Jan 2010 Karma :

-Matt- · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Karma :

Looks absolutely brilliant - cheers for sharing Thumbs Up

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grr666 · Super Spammer Joined: 16 Jun 2014 Karma :

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TheDonUK · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :