Motorcycle Transportation

Round The World on a motorcycle http://www.thebigbiketrip.com/

2 Guys 2 bikes as at 1st Oct over 62000 miles and lots more to go. Bikes changed colour (and some shape)

Date:2008-09-30 16:08:33

Author:Robin Breese Davies

Update October 2008 The time which has passed since my last update feels more like 7 weeks than 7 months, when I wrote last I was in northern Colombia wondering why it is one of the least travelled countries in South America, one reason is because of the bad press it receives around the world as being unsafe, rebel fighters kidnapping people at every opportunity and not much to see for the tourist, this is simply untrue, yes there are dangers like in every country in the world but up until now (Brazil is going to run it close I think) Colombia has been my favourite country in Latin America, no other South American country can claim to have a Caribbean & Pacific Coast, Rain Forests, The Andes, Amazon Basin, a thriving economy as well as one of the most beautiful colonial cities still intact (Cartagena), but I am happy to keep the secret safe as one day I will return and hope to mingle with the locals as easily as last time. After Colombia we visited Venezuela for a couple of weeks to see the start of the Andes, Angel Falls, relax on their Caribbean coast line and make the most of petrol being 7 pence a UK gallon. Angel Falls were incredible, swimming at the base and looking almost 1km straight up to the top was amazing. After that we headed up to Merida to ride on the tallest cable car in the world and play in the snow in summer, after that we followed the Andes back into Colombia and then into Ecuador, experienced all the amusing experiments you can only perform on the Equator, then south to their action resort town of Banos where we almost died doing extreme white water rafting, luckily for us the other people on our boat pleaded for it to be stopped so Rik & I saved our pride, but deep down I know I had a sigh of relief when we didn’t continue on down the river, I thought I was experienced in white water sports and thought I couldn’t be daunted, how wrong I was. From Ecuador we travelled south in Peru, from the northern deserts we travelled down the Pan American and into the Canyon del Pato which was one of the best motorcycling experiences of my life, then we hiked some of the Cordillera Blanca which packs in over 50 peaks over 5700m high in the space of 180km, majestic to see but even more incredible to motorcycle in and around, then south towards Cuzco where our 4 day Inca Trek started, this is world famous so I don’t need to go into detail but it exceeded my already high expectations. You could spend 6 months in Peru and still have so much left to see and do, our 6 weeks there were incredible but we still have so much to return for. We entered Bolivia via Lake Titicaca which is the highest navigable lake in the world and then on to La Paz. Our first impression of Bolivia was blighted by the police who on three different occasions in the first hour wanted a bribe, we paid at first but by the third time we got wise, smiled and told them f*2k off and catch us if you can in your 1960’s Russian high speed pursuit cars, then while Rik was checking into our hostel one guy distracted me while another tried to steal something off Rik’s bike but failed, so our first night in Bolivia was a time of reflection but all was made to feel better by their cheap alcohol. I am not sure of our average altitude whilst travelling in Bolivia but I don’t think we ever dropped below 3200m, this was evident travelling from La Paz (highest capital in the world) to Potosi (highest city in the world) when we were cruising in -8 degrees centigrade, with the wind chill that must have been nearer -15. In Potosi we did the famous mine tour to see the unbelievable working conditions, no wonder the miners only have a 10 year life expectancy once they have started work, I couldn’t handle the two hour tour but blowing up dynamite afterwards was certainly fun. Bolivia only has 5% of their roads paved so we were getting used to riding on gravel or in sand until I managed to unintentionally through my bike 12ft off a bridge and into a river, I was fine despite performing a perfect 10 somersault landing 20ft on the sand bank the other side of the river, but the bike needed some repairs. I hoped to do this in Uyuni but no chance, I don’t think I could have got the right spark plug if I needed one there let alone all the parts. A British couple who lived and worked there (or so we were told) offered their help, he apparently owned a truck just across the border in Chile so the plan was to go there, pick up the truck and return to Uyuni and take my bike across the border and get it fixed without any problems in Chile. Whilst we were crossing the border he got arrested by the Chilean police, we were then told that he was wanted in Chile for several different crimes including smuggling, theft and murder, so our first reaction was what about all our gear which we safely left with his wife in Uyuni, it took us 36 hours to get back to Uyuni and when we did we realised that we had been tricked by professionals, she had stolen almost all of our clothes, electronics, documents, cash, bike keys, talk about being kicked when already in need of help, we were just happy that we were safe as ultimately I think their plan was to use our bikes to smuggle drugs out of Bolivia. The challenge now was to simply get out of Bolivia as fast as we could south to Argentina. After 3 days of riding a broken bike with no suspension along gravel and sand roads arriving in Argentina was bliss, good food, drink, friendly people and paved roads, I love off roading but I had had enough by this stage. Northern Argentina is beautiful, lots of mountains, different colours, great wine and of course steak, we made the most of all this and took our time getting to Buenos Aires where the bike would be fixed. During our time travelling south to BA we realised that it was still going to be a challenge to get the parts needed for the bike but also to replace everything that we had stolen, so it worked out to be cheaper and quicker to return home, by the goods and then return to Argentina, this also gave me a chance to see my family which was fantastic. The bike is now black and red, she is named The Bitch 3 and seems to be holding up well. Our first stop after Buenos Aires was Iguassu Falls, from both the Argentine & Brazilian side the experience was incredible, possibly my favourite place I have been to in my life, it did not feel busy so you could find your own spot and just take it all in, no wonder it aspires to be one of the 7 modern natural wonders of the world. I am currently writing this on board a small ferry travelling up the Rio Madeira, Rio Amazon & Rio Negra to Manaus, next will be the challenge of the Guiana’s, back down the East Coast of Brazil, Uruguay and down south to Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Ushuaia and back up the Chilean side of the Andes ready for the start of Dakar Rally in the first week of January. After that we will be in Australia until the end of March from there who knows, we both want to be home in October 2009 but we have yet to decide our route from Australia, the most likely at this point in time is South Korea, then a ferry to Vladivostok, Russia and take the Trans-Siberian back into Europe via Mongolia & Kazakhstan. That’s about it from me, sorry this is a long one, the last 6 months has been quite eventful. As usual all the pictures, maps, videos, thanks are all on the website. Keep in touch, with love. Robin w. thebigbiketrip.com w. youtube/thebigbiketrip e. robinbreesedavies@hotmail.com

Click here to add your own story and upload your own photos.