…. it was a very windy, somber ride back to Puerto Natales. Once I had to stop cause the wind was making my head dizzy. I drank some water and stayed out of the wind for 15 minutes and then all was normal again. Another time I was riding behind Nick and suddenly a huge gust blew him over to the other lane, and of course then I went too. Crazy wind. We stopped here for a break. We both really missed Tony and Ina already, the chemistry was perfect, a great team. The German family we will see in Torres Del Paine in the next day or so which will be very nice too.
Riding into Natales who did we find walking on the street, Monica and Bettima. We will see them again in Torres too.
Alejandro, the mechanic from Punta Arenas who was going to send me the tire once I deposited money into his account this morning, wrote to say he would be delivering a moto and that he would meet me at the ferry here in Natales. Perfect!
Nick is a little under the weather so we will stay here in Natales for the night. Having finished the tire purchase and install (forgot to take a picture of Alejandro) (and the Gomeria I had put on my tire … in fact he had a bugger of a time trying to break the bead, both of us stomping and hammeing the rubber with irons in hand), anyway I have nothing to do but write in here. So I thought maybe I would speak of some of the things that happen along the way that are so common or inconsequential as to mention, an anecdote to be precise, like this one ….
… more than often people flash their highbeams when you are speeding toward them to say ‘look here’ and when you do they have their thumbs up or are waving exaggerated ‘hello’s’. It’s really encouraging, and always different. But one of the most humorous is this …. usually truckers are so aware of every detail of the road, whether it be speed, wind, time, temperature, everything really. And they too flash their lights to say hello, but for us it’s more difficult to see them as they usually have fancy reflectors on the windshield in all kinds of colours and patterns that allow them to see out but no one to see in. Anyway, sometimes this happens. You’ll be flying along the road, while fighting the wind here in Patagonia, and if it’s really bad or more importantly the wind coming from a certain direction, it’s often a good thing to duck when you pass a truck with a flat front end to avoid the mini tornado for those brief seconds. But every once in a while a trucker will flash their lights just at the last second and instinctually I’ll raise my arm to say ‘hello’ back and then that’s when they get their laugh; my arm thrown back and the bike and me wobbling all over. Yes I know, you’re thinking why don’t you just flash your lights back and I do, but every once in a while they get you at the last second, caught off guard and no time to flash so the arm comes up and then after I think, ‘They got me again’. Yeah maybe I’m just stupid but it happens to others too. I get a laugh myself every time it happens.
Here’s one that happened the other day when we stopped for gas where the senor gave us neck warmers. He asked where we were from and Nick answered, ‘I’m from the UK’, and Tony and Ina answered ‘We are Alemania(Germany)’, and I said I am Canadiense (but I usually mispronounce the word) and senor said ‘What? Canadiense. What? Canada. Ohhh Canada!’ and I said ‘Como Canada?’, and he looked at me with a strange look on his face, both slowly and clearly so I could understand, ‘Can-a-da’. We laughed to tears after that answer, me a Canadian asking a Spanish guy how to say Canada, but of course I meant Canadiense.
Let’s see … what else happens a lot. Oh, similarily people ask, ‘Where are you from?, and I say, ‘Canada, and you?’. Every time they look confused for a moment before chuckling and saying, ‘here’.
Talking with small children is always a funny experience. The problem is they have a small vocabulary and they mumble and don’t pronounce their words properly, just like an English child of the same age. The problem is when you try to listen to the words they’re using they even get frustrated with me while doing so and when I say ‘I’m sorry I don’t understand’ in Spanish, they get even more frustrated thinking that I don’t understand the meaning of what they are saying, assuming I know exactly every word they are using.
But my favourite anecdote which is common absolutely everywhere is humour. It is always understood and always offered and exchanged. It doesn’t matter how or in what manner it is always understood and then we laugh laugh laugh. It’s even better than speaking the same language, as you really have no idea what they are getting at so when the punch line arrives it’s twice as funny.
My seven favourite words, scents and possessions while on the road; gasolina, aceite, agua, comer, vino, reir, habitacion.
The next morning we said good-bye to Mariabelle and Nicole. We laughed so hard and to tears when I asked about the other kittens, for there was only one. When Mariabelle, gestured that she choked them I asked why and she said they couldn’t see or hear or walk properly. So then I said, ‘Look Senora, (gesticulating), I can jump, I can walk I can see I can wag my tail’, and that was that, we laughed about everything after this chat.
And on our way to Torres Del Paine ….
Once we entered the park, we accidentally rode the wrong way, actually that was my fault, and decided to look for the German family at a campsite we didn’t discuss before. Actually the dude at the park gates said he thought the family was going to an alternative spot, the one we were going to, so we kept riding.
But no they weren’t at this spot. Did I mention the wind gusts, ferocious. We passed three other bikes on the way and they pulled over it was so crazy. Nick and I kept riding though, both tucked down low.
And then I decided to pull over and get a nice shot, but instead the wind got me good. I was only crawling to a stop but if you notice in the photo, my bike is facing the wind, from the direction of my camera, and down I went, swept by the wind from the bottom of the bike. I had often wondered if this is possible and now I know it is, at least at low speed.
The other bikes I mentioned had also turned around and we passed them a second time a little way back in this crazy dust storm. Anyway they stopped to help and one of the guys with both feet planted got knocked over by the wind. In the end we got the bikes up and up twenty feet underneath a small hill for protection.
And here was the photo I was after in the first place.
These people are a group of Italian riders and the crazy thing is after we got the bikes up they said they saw my bike in an Italian Rider magazine. What? They said they reckognized the VW emblem and the turtle shell on the front. What? So they wanted photos with me and exclaimed they were now famous. The only thing I can think is that this ride Jan and I did with our Columbian friends in Medellin, well of the guys wrote for a magazine but to be honest I don’t know anything about this. Anyway we were staying at the same campsite so we would talk more then …. for now out of the wind.
Back at the camp we met with the Italians and well they interviewed me on camera for their own video of their trip. One of the guys said he wanted a picture with me and his wife at my bike. Crazy.
The next day Nick and I thought maybe we might cheat our way to get a view of Mirador Del Torres so we hiked for about three hours on our own path and realized that there was no chance.
The next morning I heard something munching next to my tent, stuck my camera out and took a picture. A minute later the classic horse pee that drowned the ground.
Okay so the big hike to see the three towers. According to the map, four and a half hours in, and four and a half back. Yikes.
I didn’t take many pictures, it was all hiking business, survival as it were. Up one half a mountain and down and then all the way another mountain.
Here I am tired, sore and dejected. A man coming down stops to say, ‘You’re only 15 minutes from the top’. Many people on the way down would say things like, ‘It’s beautiful, you’re almost there, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, 15 minutes, it’s really beautiful’. After he left I sighed and then felt a rumbling in my tummy. Oh no, I’m going to get to the top of the mountain at this most beautiful place and have to do the number 2.
And then the top ….
And sure enough I couldn’t hold it any longer so I climbed down in between some large rocks, surrounded by people taking pictures and enjoying their hard work, and there I was unseen taking a dump. I was laughing to myself while I did.
And then the hard walk down which kills a sore body. All in all it took Nick and I six and a half hours to walk there and back. Not bad but I’ll never do it again, at least that’s what I’ve been saying the last day or so.
The next day, out of the park and back to El Calafate to start heading north for real this time.
And who did I see taking a rest at the beginning of the ripio on the Ruta 40, Arnold and Julie from France. After meeting them in Uyuni, Bolivia, I have run into them three times, twice in Argentina. They said that when they see a bike similar to mine they wonder if it is me and I said I do the same when I see a tandem. And just as I was riding past after refuelling he waved as all travellers do but then I saw the French flag on the back and immediately turned into the place they were refuelling their water. We had a nice family chat and decided the next time we will run into each other will be Southeast Asia. I sure hope so.
On January 8th, 2010, we are in El Calafate. Goodnight and sweet dreams.
I took this picture of a well lit campsite, they had two lights on while they were sleeping.
Here my new friends Fernando, Octavio and Isabelle. We drank Mate, a different form of tea or coffee until they closed the office, then we had a couple sips of something else.
The next morning I woke up very late, 12pm, after staying up until 3 0r 4am. Nick was packed and ready to go so we said good-bye, for a short time anyway. He has already seen the Glaciar and I had not so we decided to meet up in the next day or so. After a coffee and some cereal off I went to see the Perito Moreno Glaciar.
Here you can see parts of the Glaciar falling down into the water. And also you can hear it by clicking below ….
Later on I met Alain here in the campground, riding like Nick a DR 350, and has been riding for two years here in South America. He is also a climber and has incredible photos of the places he has been. He sells his photos to MEC and various outdoor recreation magazines. We had dinner together and exchanged information, north for south and south for north. Now I must stop internetting, if there is such a word, well I like it so it stays. Ciao.
After dinner I went back to my tent to warm up and had a mini siesta awaking to the sound of music from inside the restaurant, so I got up and went inside for the Pena(cultural music).
This man was the strongest of the musicians being that he sung with such passion and fury, mixed with a lot of humour.
I lasted until 3:30am before retiring to my tent, falling asleep to the party still going strong.
The next morning I hit the road to hook up with Nick in El Chalten, and much to my surprise it was a calm day with only a sllight breeze.
But when I hit the last stretch to El Chalten, the winds arrived with such fury that I was hanging on for dear life to stay upright. For the first time the head winds were so strong that my bike couldn’t hold speed in 5th gear, so I dropped down to 4th and often 3rd. I was spooning my bike so tightly and as low as I could possibly be, cursing the wind inside my helmet. Every bend and corner was so terrifying for the wind would change causing me to swerve this way and that all the while facing other oncoming vehicles. Arrgggghhhh!!!!! I couldn’t/didn’t take any more photos after these ones.
When I finally arrived in El Chalten I was pissed right off, and things didn’t get any better. I had some vague directions from Nick to go through town to find the last campsite with no name, on the right side near the river. I tried every artery and could not see a campsite with no name so I went to an internet place to check the directions again. It’s difficult to ask for directions for a campsite with no name. Once confirmed, again I went looking for the last campsite with no name. I went to the last one on the right side that had a name and rode into the grounds. Senora approached, ‘Camping. Yes, no, well I’m looking for my friend. With a moto she asked? Yes. No, no one is here with a moto. Oh, okay thanks.’ So I went back to the internet place and luckily Nick had replied back and said the name of the campsite is El Refugio. So I remembered seeing this campsite which fit the description and when I arrived Senora approached again, ‘Camping? Yes but I’m looking for my friend–no one is here with a moto. Is there another place with the name El Refugio? Yes there is a hotel. Go this way and that way and then turn that way and go this way and maybe he is there. Okay thanks’.
So off I went vaguely looking for this hotel that I know Nick is not staying at as he is ‘The Low Budget Rider’. I couldn’t find the place anyway so I just kept riding around hoping to see his bike parked somewhere but I couldn’t find even a clue. Alright, so I went for something to eat and then checked the email again but nothing from Nick. Now I was right grumpy and cold so I decided to go to the info place to see about cheap accomodations. ‘Not possible here’, said the guy. A young woman had entered the building just after me and she heard our quick discussion, and then came to me while I was looking at the map of all accomodations. ‘There are many good hostals here in El Chalten’, and then the man interrupted and I could tell that what he said wasn’t good. She replied back basically saying he was an arse and then she turned back to me, ‘I can tell you some good places to try but we have to go outside. Okay’. Outside she said, ‘I don’t want to talk to that man. Sorry. No problem’. So she gave me the directions and names of some places in English and then she left. I looked at the man looking at me from inside the info building. Oh well, hey look a gas station. May as well fill up cause you never know when they might run out of gas. After filling up the gas dude looked at the bullits glued onto my bike and then pulled out a wee one from his pocket, ‘What this I asked. 22 calibre, it’s for you. Oh thanks’, and off I rode to find accomodation.
The first hostal was full but the young lady gave me several alternatives written on a map. While heading to the most popular a guy waved at me from across the street. I know that face I thought as I turned around to meet him. It was Paul who I had met in Viedma, the English/Australian guy riding the exact same bike as mine, even the same colours. He was on foot at the moment. We talked for quite some time, he sharing his experiences of riding down the Ruta 40 with the deep gravel and the strong winds. He had crashed twice, both times because the wind had suddenly pushed him out of the dirt lanes into the deeper gravel. His ankle is still swollen from weeks ago. He told me he is riding with a German guy with less experience in gravel and they were both considering whether to go back up the Ruta 40 or the long way around, 3 days out of the way at best. Okay ride safe, and we parted ways. I know I’ll run into Paul again some time up the road.
So now what I thought. I don’t really want to stay in a bunk with a bunch of people I haven’t even met before so I thought I would check into one of the campgrounds. After riding into one I got off my bike and looked around for Nick’s bike or tent while checking out good spots for me. Nothing, and that’s when a friendly German guy with a calm disposition came up to me, ‘Are you looking for Nick? Yeah! He’s over here in the next campground. The El Refugio?! Yes. Are you kidding me? We are friends of Nick from Buenos Aries. Oh yeah I’ve heard about you two’. So I rode over to the next campground and followed Toby behind a fence right in front of the office and sure enough there was Nick’s bike and tent. Then Senora again came up to me and I said dryly, ‘Senora, mi amigo con moto aki’, pointing to his bike. She looked at me sheepishly, ‘Oh I’m sorry. There are so many people coming and going, I must be losing my mind’. Four and a half hours later I found him at the spot I had gone to twice before, twenty feet from where I had originally stopped to talk with Senora.
Senora asked, ‘Do you want camping here? ‘No, I said under my breath to Toby, his wife Louisa and now Nick who had woken from an afternoon siesta, I don’t want to camp with the friend I’ve been looking for all afternoon. No? asked Senora. Yes I do want to camp here. Okay she said cheerily wandering off to lead someone to the bunk house. It took me three hours, one beer and one glass of wine to finally stop shaking my head in disbelief. His bike is parked right in front of the office! Arrrggghhh what a day!
So the four of us went for a beer and then to the mercado to shop for food to cook for dinner and after a cozy meal by the warmth of a fire I retired to my tent to the sound of rain and wind, all night long. In the morning I woke before the others to find the wind very strong, which doesn’t bode well considering the norm is for the mornings to be calm and then some time around noon the winds come again and then subside some time in the night. We aren’t going anywhere today with this wind already. It’s also very cloudy with rain clouds every where and I still haven’t seen the jagged peaks of Fitz Roy yet, which is one of the many reasons tourists come here to El Chalten.
Two other noteworthy accounts are one from Nick, who yesterday met two riders, one from Canada on a KLR and the other I don’t know where from, anyway they had just come down Ruta 40 and the one guy was riding with a broken leg to get to the hospital in El Calafate. The other is Alain who I met two days ago, heard from a local that the wind this year is the strongest it has been in a long time. Great. Alright so today I will do some chores, one of which will be to look at the bike more closely for the other day when I was in the parking lot after having seen the glaciar, I noticed that my left hand guard was loose, then I noticed the tool tube was loose and that I was missing a screw from the rear brake fluid protector. All those things I tightened and replaced in the parking lot but today I will study every thing a little more closely. A day to relax and keep warm.
I’m currently in Perito Moreno, really tired and falling asleep as I write this so I’m afraid it’s going to be brief. Nick and I split for a short time to take different routes and will meet up tomorrow. I have a broken piece of metal that is one of the braces for the panniers that has to be re-welded hopefully and as I said I’m so tired I won’t be able to catch up with the photos tonight. Anyway it’s January 16th today, and here is some of the yesterdays …..
…. The next day we hung around talking about roads and looking at maps and such ….
And of course a game of Lumberjack broke out. Marco and Javier, became addicted as per usual. These two are hitchhiking around South America, starting from the east in Rosario where they live.
Another dice game broke out after dinner, and Senora (Flora) joined in. She was watching us from the corner of her eye and gladly jumped into the frey when invited. She started with this ‘Pa pa’ thing and let me tell you the four of us have taken that phrase a long way. The next morning we said our good-bye’s to Marco, Javier, Flora and others before joing Toby and Loui into the mountains to camp for the night.
But after we rounded a corner we were hit with such wind and cold rain Nick and I decided to stop and turn back to the Camp Refugio. Toby and Loui had the truck and all and well there’s no point in suffering if you don’t have to.
Back at the camp our amigos were happy to see us as were we, including Flora who couldn’t wait to play another game of dice.
The next day we decided we would add a little triubte to the dice game table.
Marco and Javier prepared their sign ….
And we had our last dinner together, laughing all through the night. In fact near the end, a plastic bag circled our table for hours; reaching as far away as twenty feet but always going around in a clockwise circle. It was very strange but I should have seen the clues well before the crazy wind in the night.
Nick carved a little tribute for the four of us and Flora and her camp grounds.
The next day we fought the wind on the pavement which wasn’t so bad ….
… and then who did we find hiding in the ditch from the wind at Los Tregos … our friends Javier and Marco.
After talking while smoking behind the bikes, Nick and I rode two minutes away to the gas station to fuel up and get out of the wind. Later Marco and Javier came walking up in the distance, sideways, to get out from the wind and maybe hustle people at the gas station.
In the end, they weren’t getting any rides and the wind wasn’t getting any better for us so we all decided to camp for the night.
I went looking for some more wood and found this bridge deprived of it’s wooden planks; too late I guess.
In the night I had such vivid, crazy, connected dreams and in such a deep sleep I was completely surprised when I heard Nick’s voice say, ‘Markus there is no wind, we better get going. Yep’. And we packed quickly while the Chicos were still sleeping and hit the road. Everyone we had talked to said that from Tres Lagos north on the Ruta 40 was the worst for 50km’s and they were right; deep gravel but at the moment no wind so off we went.
An hour in we came across two German bikers so we stopped to say hello. And then another bike road up, Chris and Sylvia, the Swiss from the Viedma meeting.
We were so happy to see each other and both parties had been wondering if we would run into each other again.
Then Chris and Sylvia made us a coffee and bread with Nutella, while we talked some more to eventually saying our good-bye’s.
And here in Gobenador Gregores, the next fueling station, well they were out of gas, so we waited and waited and waited. In the end we waited from 1:15pm to 7:30pm, until just before the truck arrived. The gas dude gave us some gas that they always keep in the tanks for emergency, for the police etc. . The thing is he gave it to us just as the truck was pulling in. It’s too bad he didn’t give us the 40 some litres earlier.
I’m now officially a Mate drinker, with my cup that my friends in Tilcara gave me.
We stayed the night in a municipal campground and had an early night to get up before the wind again.
Here we met Mike the German as he called himself. He’s done this route many times.
We stopped for some gas in the next fueling station, Bajo Caracoles, and luckily they had some as we had heard the day before that they had had none. And then Nick and I split up to take different routes. He wanted to do a road Toby and Loui had done and I wanted to get to Perito Moreno cause I was tired and needed some oil and wanted some asphalt that was to come eventually.
Just after this bit for about 5km’s I hit a road with fresh gravel laid, no tracks and the winds were increasing. I just sorta slid around with my front wheel going this way and that but at least straight and where I was directing it. Finally I hit the ashpalt, and then big winds so down I went into the spooning position to take the beating all the way into Perito Moreno where I am now, and in the morning to finish this and look for a welder to fix a broken bracket on my panniers, and some other things before riding a short distance to Los Antiguos to hook up with Nick and maybe Javier and Marco if they were able to hitch a lift. I’m getting tired of the wind I must admit, and in fact someone told me the other day that they had heard someone say this when asked the question ‘What is your favourite part of Patagonia? Leaving they we heard to have said. I can’t blame them, for only the wind part that is.
Job done for $10 dollars.
At Los Antiguos we met Dario from Buenas Aries, an English teacher in both the public and private sectors. He’s hitching and busing around and his students think he is really cool because he listens to them and he does things the other teachers don’t do.
I stopped here frantically trying to get a bee that was stuck between my neck and shirt, it got me twice.
We stopped in ———— for the night and these young ones asked a few straight forward questions; ‘Where are you from? Where are you going? How fast does the bike go and how much does it cost? Pesos or dollars? (gets the young ones everytime) No say. Okay, well not much’.
We rented a cabin as there was no camping and we had no Chilean pesos either but we found a mercado that would provide us with accomodation, food and all with my emergency Amercian dollars. We were in such haste to leave the border of Chile/Argentina when we road through Chile Chico we neglected to grab some cash from the bank.
The Cabin dog who lives across the street.
We met this crew, guy girl from Canada and the Swiss guy, riding south from I don’t know where exactly.
I don’t know why, but in the last few days I’ve been burning a lot of oil. I thought maybe because of the wind and such but today without much wind I burned a litre. Could it be the rings? I don’t know really, but a litre for what I would call a relaxed engine ride, apart from the ripio and the hills and such but …… hmmmm …. any guesses?
Leaving Coihaique, after another costly night in a motel for $35 dollars each including breakfast, we rode back on the Ruta 7, and the Carretera Austral.
This was freshly grated and the truck in front of me was squirrling all over the road, me too, and Nick he ripped on by ….
But the rain was cold, so we hung out here for a while to warm up and laugh while we complained.
Here we had lunch and to take some time to dry off a little beside a wood stove.
And later the Ruta 7 turned into this single lane road up a mountain and into the rain. We were heading for Puhuyapi, not spelt correctly, no map with me at the moment, but we were stopped by a bulldozer. Actually I stopped him to ask if we were on the correct road and he said yes but there is a problem ahead, and it’s not possible for you and your motos to cross the water. It’s this high he said pointing to one of his gigantic tires. Oh. Dondes? Returno Puerto Cisnes. So off we went, the extra 45 kilometers on the mountain again, plus another 40 kilometers of gravel, pavement, construction…. all in the rain and in the evening.
By the time we got to Puerto Cisnes, actually I got their first because I was so pissed off and soaked to the bone, me and the bike turned into hockey players fighting for the right to hoist the cup, and I rode like I had before my crash in Bolivia, full of confidence and good skill. Not long after Nick appeared and I set off to find us some accomodation ….
And I found a cabana/cabin, for $30 dollars each, with full bedrooms, wood stove, kitchen etc. ….. and it was just what we needed at this point in the night.
It took two full days to dry our stuff, so Nick and I did our things, walked around and enjoyed being dry and warm …..
Nick’s goggles were so scratched he decided it was not possible to wear them anymore, so low budget rider dug up some swimming goggles, and here he is preparing to show me the new look ….
Loco ….
So after two nights in Puerto Cisnes, we headed back up the mountain and national park, where we were heading before the rain came. We were rewarded with a boom operator’s dream, ‘heavy cloud but no rain’; and therefore no shadows.
We stopped for the night in Villa Santa Lucia, a small town with a near empty army base. It took us quite some time to find a key to a cabana because the owners were away on vacation, but with some help from some people we found someone who had the key, and someone to pay for one night. After unpacking we were in search of food and wine so we went to a mercado and this is what transpired …. ‘Hey Nick, I don’t see any wine. Senora, do you have any wine? No. Cerveza? No, it’s not possible to sell any alcohol here in Villa Santa Lucia. What, we said while looking at each other. Not possible? Well, maybe … if you walk for twenty minutes this way and that you will find Alfonso who will sell you some wine. Okay thanks. See you later for the food. What time do you close? One hour. Okay no problem. So we walked to where we thought she described in Espanole, and found a big German Shepherd chained to a dog house and visibly and audioably upset(is this such a word?), barking madly basically and pulling at his chain. A little old woman answered the door and said that Alfonso was away, far away and she didn’t have any wine. So we returned to the mercado and the woman asked if we had had luck. No Senora, no suerte. Okay, try to go to this place. And after her description of where to go we were confused, I suppose because it was so simple … and anyway some young girls who were buying some candy led us to the casa and there we found some beer. We made dinner, pizza and fries, and watched Star Wars, not the original but one of the sequels, until both of us couldn’t keep an eye open and retired for the night. In the morning, I filled up with oil again, and we hit the road.
Every time we stopped I checked my oil and filled it up again …. not good.
Here we met this German guy and his new Peruvian girlfriend. The bike was so loaded it was comical. Anyway, he and she were relaxed and therefore no problems would occur I thought to myself, even though he didn’t have any Chilean Pesos.
We stopped here in Esquel for the night, no more cabanas, too much money. Nick went to bed early and I stayed up with these young guys who then left me to my thoughts before hitting the disco until seven in the morning. I know this because I heard them laughing and talking before they went to sleep, and me too again because of the Fernet Branca and smokes the night before.
The next day we packed up, I filled up the oil, bought two more litres and we rode to El Bolson. Twice I stopped to put oil in and never once stopped for gas.
Within 124km’s, I used one and a half litres of oil. Not good. Ken Duval, my aussie friends, Ken and Carol, well he told me a while back that the K&N air filter was not good for the dirt. So a while back not having any moto parts anywhere, in El Chalten actually, I took one of my synthetic socks and cut it up to put over the air filter before hitting the Ruta 40 and the Ruta 7. It worked but the problem was still there. So basically, the fine dirt has drifted into the engine and my rings are worn is what I was thinking everytime I put more oil into the bike.
Here in this hippie town, El Bolson, the stars have come together. Firstly, one of the dudes who works here at the campsite, ‘El Bolson’, total everything here; a brewery, restaurant, bar, shop, showers, free self serve laundry, wood, coal, washrooms, trampoline for the kids, park, swimming pool, everything …. anyway this dude, Damian, came over to talk and I told him I had a problem with my bike and he agreed with the prognosis and then told me of his friend who is a moto mechanic, and the brother of the friend a moto parts guy here in El Bolson. So he drew a map for me and the next day I went to see him, but not before hanging out with Nick and some Argentinian bicyclists in the night ….
I went to see Juan the following morning/afternoon, the mechanic and he said it was no problem for him but he didn’t know if his brother had the rings and gaskets and such. Also the other problem was that he was about to go on vacation with his family in five days so if we had to wait for parts to be shipped from Buenos Aries he might not have the time. Anyway he said to return in the late afternoon when his brother’s shop would be open and we could see what parts he had. So I returned back to the camping site and asked the Senore if it was possible to weld another broken bracket on my other pannier, exact same problem as the left side. Yeah no problem he said. And he welded my brackets by using two ends of a booster cable, touching them together to create the heat to melt the metal rods from a battery. Loco. Hopefully it will hold. Anyway he did it for nothing, Gracias Senor.
Again I returned to the moto shop, found out that the guy did have the parts for his brother Juan to do the work next door in his casa, a miracle really out here and for my bike specifically. And then I rode back to the campsite to unload the bike completely of my things, and then returned to Juan’s casa and left my woman for him to make love to for the next two days and nights. I then walked into town to draw some money from the bike for the costs of reapairing the bike (just in case the bank ran out of money like the gasoline), and after sitting down to eat some ice cream and watch all the different people and dogs, I started walking back to the campsite, about 45 minutes walking. And while doing so, I noticed a guy in front of me and I immediately thought, he walks like my hitchhiking friend Javier. But I didn’t believe myself, but I kept watching and following behind hoping to see another view of him instead of the back of his head. I even once called his name to no response. In the end he turned away from the direction I was walking so I continued on my way, and then stopped thinking, no, I have to see if this is him or not. So I walked back to the ice cream shop this dude was in and I casually looked at the menu board and then leaned over to see if it was him or not. And then this dude looked back at me thinking, ‘Who is this person looking at me like this?’, and then a huge smile broke on his face, and then mine too. It was Javier! So we walked back to my camp and had a couple of beers while waiting for Nick to return, and well, the four muskateers are together again. Well actually not now, they are camping in a cheaper place in the mountains and I am here catching up with this story. But tomorrow we will get together and enjoy our past time again; playing dice and laughing all night long. Also tomorrow I need to walk back to Juan the mechanic, with some oil and to see if there are any other problems either of us are unaware of. Hopefully all is good. So far so good anyway. But the lesson learned is, don’t use a K&N filter for the dirt, and always believe in your hunches.
The oil consumption does not sound good. Appears to be a common flaw with KLR’s. Hope the mechanic is up to it. Javier at D M does a lot of work on KLR’s and we have been present on occasion when rebuilds have been done. Spoke to a guy we met in Brazil via email and he has just bought a complete engine from the USA and shipped it to Panama. Also some issues with the swing arm. Needed a 16 lb sledge hammer to get it apart and now needs new bearings etc.
Had another crash while heading to B A on the last day of the Dakar. Rear blow out this time. Beware again… Bought a new tube in Brazil in August and fitted it with new tyres in San Rafael two days before and it completely blew out revealing cracks on the inside of the tube. Javier said the brand was a shit one but how were we to know. It was all they had.Body damage this time was not so bad but bike damage was a little worse. Waiting for some bits from the UK now and changing tubes to some better stuff from the USA.
Keep smiling… we are despite the issues…..Maybe we will see you in a little while as we have no idea how long we will be in D M waiting for the parts and getting the work done.
Hugs…
Carol & Ken
In the morning I did a full cleaning of my clothes, including my work sweater that I haven’t washed in maybe 3 years. Then I walked into town ….
… and hung out in the plaza, watched the various people, the dogs, and the goings on. These five dogs that I don’t have a picture of, well, they had the plaza rights to themselves. They worked in a pack, barking away other dogs unless they were with people then they could enter the park, (human rights (they have the food)). Then this Dreads guy showed up and the dogs went crazy. He pet each of them in order of their position and ranking, the one’s waiting howling to be pet next. After he was finished with them all, the dude played music with some other guys and the dogs continued to dominate the park. And I supppose the younger of the dogs, least ranked was the bravest; chasing cars, leaving the park to bark at some other dogs, total wolf like; the other dogs supporting when necessary. Fascinating. Then I walked to Juan the mechanics home to see how the work was going ….
Juan was like most mechanics, calm, tranquile, listening to music, with parts of my bike everywhere. We didn’t talk much as there was nothing to say which is good. After buying some oil for Juan and my bike, I walked back to the campground to find Javier and Marco’s cousin Mariav and her friend Danielle. So we played some dice.
And later some other campers that we had only said hello to for the last couple of days came over to talk. They were from Buenos Aries and spoke very good English, he a contractor Sebastian and she a lawyer Marianne.
And later still Marco and his other girlfriends came to share dinner, drink and time.
Today I’m off to see if the bike is fixed and ready to ride. I need to get going, seemingly trapped here in Patagonia. It’s funny, Flora, the senora back in El Chalten, well she was eating some wild berries and so she showed me how to eat them and I did. Later, Toby’s wife Loui said that other people have said that when you eat those berries they say you never leave Patagonia. I was never sure what that meant, one that you die from poison and therefore never leave, or two you love them so much you never leave. Either way I’m beginning to understand the strength of this folklore.
So just after saying I was going to walk to Juan’s, I was having a coffee and saw a bike like mine entering the campsite and then realized it was in fact my bike. Yes! Juan had a comfortable grin on his face as he road in. The only other person to ride my bike but me. He really did have his way for two nights. I was joking with the others last night that I gave my woman as a whore to a perfect stranger and lamenting that he would be touching her in places I haven’t even been. Oh well, she’s back, and better than before. So I paid Juan for the job, parts, and oil, all in … 1000pesos/296canadian … which for here is a fair price I think, and for Canada more than fair as they would take at least 1000 I’m sure. Here is Juan and his daughters.
Back at the campsite, four new bikes from Argentina arrived in the night.
After I got my woman back, I washed her and gave her a little love, cleaned the panniers inside and out and reorganized all my stuff. Very rewarding as I am starting as I had 7 months ago. I have to take it easy on the bike for the next 500k or so to break in the new rings but so far so good. She sounds mellow now, not as erratic but it’s a subtle difference I hear and Nick agrees. Here is some bathroom graffiti con Espanole.
Oh! Some other news if I hadn’t already mentioned before. Jan Gerber, the flying Dutchman on the 1943 Harley Davidson, and my friend from Costa Rica to Peru, well he is getting back on the road again. He had been ditched by other riders in Bolivia in the middle of nowhere, left to ride the crazy roads alone, then got to Santiago, Chile eventually. Stored his bike somewhere, and flew back to Medellin, Columbia for Christmas, and to see the woman he had fallen in love with while we were there. I’ve met Diana a few times, out in the night, during the day and a Sunday ride through the outskirts of Medellin. She is a sweet, pretty woman, and I think there is a picture of her back in the Columbia section. Anyway, he is resuming his trip in another fashion, possible over to Buenos Aries and up through Brasil to return to Diana in Columbia. I don’t know for sure exactly, but this is what I understand. Regardless of what time says, it looks like we will be meeting somewhere between where he and I are some time next week. It’s going to be great to see Jan again, catch up with the road news and to ride together again. I will delay my urgency to ride hard for now, for we will only be so far apart and it seems a waste not to make an attempt to have a reunion between friends. Today is January 27th, 2010. Ciao.
