Thanks for visiting our motorcycle travel blog. After an adventurous start to 2024 in South America we are home in the US for a while getting caught up on non-travelling life. Continue reading
End of the Ride
We had the best intentions to cross from Argentina to Chile at Paso Agua Negra but we woke up to this view of the mountains….
Dang.. an online check of the pass conditions verified that the pass was closed. With the help of the hotel front desk we made a call and were informed the pass “might” open the next day or it might be closed for the rest of the season. Well, once again off to plan B. Continue reading
Chile-Argentina-Chile Wow
Luxury hotel? Beautiful beach? After two nights we were anxious to get back on the motorcycles and ride back into the wilderness and high elevations of the northern Atacama desert.
Plan B in Bolivia
Remember in the last post where we had to make a long day’s ride to Uyuni due to the lockdown? Well…. we were up early, packed up and said goodbye to the kids as they were loading a van to ride bicycles on the Bolivian road of death. We rode almost 5 blocks in light traffic when this warning came on my motorcycle….
Into Bolivia
(Note: A draft of this post inadvertently was sent out a few days ago before it was completed so I needed to recall it. Sorry for the inconvenience)
We knew it would be tricky to enter Bolivia. Bolivia requires a visa for travelers from the U.S. We could have possibly obtained one before leaving but time constraints necessitated that we attempt to get one at the border. To complicate things, we decided to cross into Bolivia at a small out of the way border crossing on a Sunday. Hmmm.
Leaving Peru on a High Note
Hypoxemia, when your blood oxygen levels are low, can be dangerous and even deadly. I always thought it was hypoxia, but according to the Cleveland Clinic, Hypoxemia is low oxygen levels in your blood and hypoxia is low oxygen levels in your tissues. Hmm, learned something new. Symptoms to look our for are: Headache, Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, Rapid heart rate, Coughing, Wheezing, Confusion, Bluish color in skin, fingernails and lips. Continue reading
The Sacred Valley and Beyond
Urubamba is a smaller cousin to nearby Cusco and is the jumping off point for people wanting to visit the Sacred Valley region of Peru. Just what we wanted to do. Again, thanks to our friend Ivan in Lima, we found ourselves at the excellent Hotel Amaru Valle. We took a day off for rest, laundry and a private tour of some of the local attractions including the Moray site, and the Salt Mines of Maras. It’s worth clicking on the links to read more about it and see some professional pictures. Ok, here is one Deby took of the Salt Mines, it was pretty cool to see but made me thirsty. Continue reading
Peru – long days, wrong ways
This is a long post with a lot of pictures and adventure but I think it captures the essence of adventure travel in Peru. I hope you enjoy it. Continue reading
Duck Canyon!
Duck Canyon
Pato Canyon Road, or Duck Canyon is one of those roads we’ve tried to explore twice before and were turned around. It has its own listing on dangerousroads.org that you can read all about in great detail HERE. Compared to what type of roads we were on to get there we thought the road was a difficult but not nearly as bad as the rocky ruts we had been riding. Continue reading
Rough roads in the Northern Andes
Now the fun begins…. after the morning stop at the museum with the mummies we continued south on ruta 8B. This was a day of highs and lows but mostly highs as we climbed up and over two mountain ranges. Here is the elevation plot for the day.
The first half of the day was spent climbing towards almost 12,000 feet. The road started paved with beautiful vistas of the green foothills. Continue reading