Ushuaia Argentina land's end

They call it Land's End because it is the farthest south you can go anywhere on earth, excluding Antarctica, of course. How about that. I made it. Thanks Pepe.

It´s time for an update! I´m in Ushuaia, Argentina at the moment. Stuck actually. The Chilean ferry operators are on strike so nobody is getting off the island! What better time to update my blog.

Let´s see, how did all this go down anyway? Well, I left Leon, Nicaragua and headed down to San Juan del Sur on the coast, which was beautiful. I then made some calculations and realized that if I wanted to get to Tierra del Fuego during the summertime, I had to lay down some tracks. So I basically went straight through the rest of Central America and then South America in one go. Before leaving Nicaragua, I went for a hike with three other guys up a volcano called Telica for an overnight camping expedition which was a lot of fun, but very cold and wet.

Roger Lars Kevin Pedro



Volcano Telica



Roberto the blind massage therapist

Roberto kept asking for the keys

Lars the Hustler and Roger

Here I thought I was going to get to go ice skating

I followed the Pan American highway all the way down the west side of South America, which took me through places like Cartegena, Medellin, Cali, Quito, Cuenca, Chiclayo, Trujillo, Lima, Nazca, Arequipa, Arica, Antofagasta (I love the sound of that name), Coquimbo, Santiago, Talca, Chillan, Osomo and Puerto Montt. Then I took a ferry from Quellon on the Isla of Chiloe to Puerto Aysen, on the Chilean coast. From there it was picturesque travelling through Patagonia and I did take the time to visit the glacier at Petito Moreno and the park Torres del Paine just south of there. Both were spectacular.

Glacier Petito Moreno

For Louise

For Louise

Park Torres del Paine

Costa Rica was absolutely beautiful. But up in the mountains it did get quite cold at times. There was also a lot of rain and mudslides onto the road which made for some interesting riding.
Panama was relatively flat compared to Costa Rica. It was neat to go from the Pacific to Atlantic oceans in an hour and a half. Portobello is a famous port on the Atlantic side of Panama. Apparently the famous pirate Francis Drake lies at the bottom of the bay in his lead coffin. The place looks just like a scene from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. I spent some time looking at the fortifications and taking in the local sights and sounds. Then found a 60 foot sailboat to take 15 passengers and two motorbikes from Panama to Colombia, with a 4 day stop-over in the San Blas islands. The San Blas islands are amazing and we had a great time visiting with the local Kuna indians and having lobster dinners and singing songs around the fire with an amazing artist by the name of Angelo Spinazzola from Cape Breton. Unfortunately, I flubbed a dive into the water from the sailboat and managed to dislocate my right shoulder. The first mate helped me get it back into place, and the party resumed! I was back swimming in the water the next day, albeit a little more gently. The snorkelling was great fun and we saw a 6 or 7 foot shark! My biggest scare in the water had to be when a remora tried to attach itself to me. I kept flailing about in the water, trying to get it away from me! It sure didn´t help my sore shoulder.

Angelo entertains

Two motorbikes in a boat

Hoist her on board

Unfortunately this one was not available

Pepe on board

Kuna indian home

My retirement island

Crew and passengers of the Wild Card

We made it to Cartegena and it was something to see our motorbikes loaded onto this little dinghy and then brought up onto to the dock with just muscle power. There was always a few men hanging around you could hire to help with the physical work.

Cartegena exceeded expectations by a long shot. Maybe it was the excitement of finally being in South America. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the tightness of the group, having spent a week sailing through a very picturesque and magical part of the Caribbean. We all stayed at the same hostel in the old section of the city, and went out for dinner together with some great salsa dancing later on. There was Joe the crazy Irishman with all the jokes and games to play, Andrew, Roberto, Joel and Sophie from Australia, captain John from New Zealand, Rosie, Janette, Anthony from England, Tanya and Jasmin from Germany, Eric and Denis from Canada, Verity from Wales, Resi from Austria, and Lina from Sweden.

I don´t know how to describe the atmosphere in Cartegena de los Indias. The walled city is impressive, and you can just imagine the history of the place when you see the inn where Simon Bolivar stayed. It is so warm there, and the outdoor cafes in these huge open areas where you can listen to music coming from the dance clubs up the street are magical. There are of course the horse-drawn carriages carrying people around, and the women are incredibly beautiful. It´s fun to just wander around the city, taking in a show put on by incredible dancers in the street, or stopping for a bite in one of the many little cafes.

Flooding in Cartegena

Two Paysas escort me to motorcycle shop in Medellin

Ecuadoran farmers and their manicured farms

These roads were a lot of fun to ride

Found beside the highway in Chile

My motorcycle´s name is Pepe the Mule. I finally started out from Cartegena, headed for Medellin. Two hours out of town, Pepe started to hesitate, and finally quit altogether. I rolled to a stop and pulled over on the side of the road. Now, it occured to me that what I needed right then was a magic marker and a big piece of cardboard on which I could write: I´M HERE FARC! IT DOESN´T GET MUCH EASIER THAN THIS! Because I´m sure you all know that Colombia has this little problem with guerillas who like to kidnap tourists as a way of funding their efforts. But, after cooling down for a bit, Pepe managed to start up again. I got another 25 km before it did again. Where´s that magic marker, I thought. Pepe did his little act another six or seven times before I made it to a little town where there was a mechanic. The next day we fixed Pepe enough to get me to Medellin for a proper admission to a service hospital. Remember the book I mentioned in my first blog called Jupiter´s Travels? It turns out that Carlos the mechanic worked on Ted Simon´s bike way back when he toured through Colombia on his old Triumph. So Carlos took great care of Pepe and outfitted him with a new carburetor. For free. It brought tears to my eyes, the way they treated me in Medellin. I took Carlos out for dinner and we had a great time talking motorcycles, women, and travelling. And I did it in spanish, no less. Things were looking up indeed. Just try and catch me now, Farc. Which brings up another interesting facet of travelling alone on Colombian roads. When they stop you on the road for random checks of your paperwork, how do you know which side these dudes are on?

Well, I rode into Cali, Colombia, looked around, and then rode out. I was a man on a mission. I calculated that if I wanted to get to Ushuaia, Argentina during their summer, then I had to move. It took me 16 days of straight riding to get from Medellin, Colombia to Santiago, Chile. Which is where I stayed for Christmas. It was really fun spending Christmas in 35 degree weather, with the sun shining brightly, and everybody in shorts and sandals.

Ecuador. Very mountainous, and it is very organized and clean. The people are nice, too. I got an invite to visit a lady's farm on the coast. I might have embarassed myself when I stared at the big menu on the wall of a restaurant that showed pictures of the dishes on the menu. There was one of a platter that had a big rat on it. Now I like to think I'm pretty adventurous, but I couldn't bring myself to order it. Turns out to be something called cuy. Looks like a rat to me. The only other eventful thing I remember about Ecuador was how one night I pulled into a little town around dusk and found out there was no accomodation. The smart Roger would have pitched his tent, but the other one decided to press on to the next town in the dark. It was cold, dark, and in the mountains when I hit a rock I hadn't seen, it scared the daylights out of me. Now I really try to stick to my no riding in the dark rule.

Peru. Oh dear. What a letdown this country was. First of all, it's dirty and it stinks. They've got lots of sand, though. All of the other coutries I've been through make sure you have what you need when you leave the border, in terms of paperwork and insurance. Not so with Peru. They don't say anything about insurance, so I figure I don't need any here, like you don't need any in Chile. So the police stop me and inform me otherwise, telling me the fine is $250. I happen to have the money on me and I proceed to pay him. I notice he doesn't give me a receipt, he just pockets the money. Hmmm. He tells me to go to Trujillo and buy some insurance. There they tell me that it will cost $300 for a week's worth of insurance. So I ride to Lima to see if I can't get a better deal than that. Nope, that's how much it costs. As luck would have it, I strike up a conversation with a lawyer in a restaurant in Lima. He is great and very helpful. He informs me that the police are all corrupt, and says I'm better off to just offer them a small bribe of $10 or $15 and they will let me go on my way. While I'm not crazy about this idea, I don't feel like spending money uselessly. So off I go. Now the police wait for you at the exit of the toll booths which are usually every 60 to 100 km. So I quickly develop this strategy where I wait for a transport to be pulling out, and then I hide beside it so the police can't pull me over. At other times when there were no trucks, I just wave to the cops who are trying to pull me over, check my mirrors, fiddle with my helmet, and then gun it. They're so lazy, nobody bothered to chase me. I call it Dodge the Cops.


Chile. Very civilzed, very law abiding, very European, very rich country. I'm advised not to bribe the police here, it could land you in jail. Old habits die hard though. I'm gonna have a tough time of it I figure. Compared to the chaos of driving the streets of Lima, Santiago is a breeze. I decide to send a few things back to Canada to lighten the load on Pepe. I'm quite amused at how long it takes at the post office to complete the paperwork for the stuff I want to ship. Every, and I mean every item has to be accounted for, and these minute, detailed forms completed. The people follow the rules here, baby, no doubt about it. The Atacama desert in the north is beautiful, but very dry.  I almost run out of gas. I scare myself when I hit a huge sand drift on the highway. They've got front-loaders out to try to keep the sand off the highway. It's a never-ending battle.

Chile is a very long country and has very varied terrain and climate, from desert in the north, to an amazing agricultural area in the middle, and then incredble mountains, lakes and snow in the Patagonia area of the south. I spent New Year's in Puerto Montt, and the fireworks were quite good. The people are friendly once you get talking to them, though I find them a bit more formal and less outgoing than Colombians and Central Americans.

On ferry ride to Puerto Aisen we picked up some kayakers on a 10 day trip

Gorgeous little outports

Beautiful Patagonia

Ben from Australia on a KLR in Chile Chico

Had to camp here as Ruta 40 became so muddy I could not move

Patagonian deer were everywhere

At the end of the road, 3079 km from Buenos Aires is the Tierra del Fuego national park. I arrived just when a group from Globebusters was arriving. About 20 of them had paid $120,000 each to be guided around the world on their motorcycles. I managed to invite myself to the party and had some champagne to celebrate! Then I met two very beautiful couples from Brazil who invited me to join them for their picnic at the end of the worls. It was delightful. They also gave me an invitation to visit them on my way through Brazil. It was so unbelievably quiet during the picnic, with no birds or animals to disturb us. It was almost eerie, it was so quiet and peaceful.

Brazilian friends

Well, I've spent my week in Ushuaia, seen the sights, and when the ferry strike lifts, I'll be on my way north to Buenos Aires and their 35 degree weather. Yay!