Articulo en jornal "La Moto" en Februari
1994. Páginas 86-95
Escrito en Sucre, Bolivia 12/98 de fotocopias
malas.
(Disculpa algos pequeñas errores
:) Arto Rasimus.
An Alta Vista translation of an article
by Emillio Scotto
The Greater Trip of History
For seven years aparecio by our writing, the one of
Motociclismo, an Argentinean with a Gold Wing that said to be giving the
return to the world.
Since then, the reality of its incomparable trip has
filled hundreds of pages in our magazines, and has caused the admiration of
million people. The passage covered by Emilio Scotto in these nine years is
the greater one of the history of the humanity. Nobody visited so many places
nor crossed so many kilometers by different countries. Now, in the ninth
anniversary of his game of Buenos Aires,
Emilio Scotto's Motorcycle Trip, Fact, Fiction,
or Exaggeration?
This is a summary of Emilio Scotto's ten year motorcycle trip obtained
from all the information I could find.
Unfortunately there is a lack of specific information on Emilio
Scotto's trip in the public arena, other than the media releases,
to give us a good picture of his trip.
It is believed that almost all of the obtained information was
originally provided by Emilio Scotto to the media.
Over the last couple of years I have approached Emilio Scotto a
number of times regarding obtaining a list of the countries he visited,
but despite promises and follow up emails no information has yet been
forthcoming.
One of the main anomalies that I would like clarified is on the last
section of his trip from Canada to Argentina in 1994/5 highlighted in
red on the map below.
From February to June 1994 there were three articles written on Emilio
Scotto, "La Moto Feb 94"
, Manhattan Proclamation
, Niagara Falls Review
, (see summary below), which appear consistent in their factuality
of number of countries visited to that date and to the number of kilometres
covered. From June 1994 till April 1995, a period of ten months, Emilio
Scotto is then said to have ridden 155,000 km's (the equivalent distance
of almost four circumnavigation's of the world) from 580,000 km to 735,000
km, to finish his trip. From his map, (route highlighted in red), and calculating
using a road mapping program the trip would only have constituted 32,000 km's,
plus allowances for side trips not fully indicated on his map, but less if
what appears to be a flight on his map from Canada to Los Angeles is taken
into account. The average road traveller would complete less than 50% more
than the straight line road distance on any casual sightseeing world trip.
Allowing for this it leaves a likely discrepancy of about 107,000 km's off
his total, just for this section? (735,000 - 580,000 = 155,000 distance travelled)
(155,000 - 32,000 by road - 50% of 32,000 for side trips = 107,000
short).
The Niagara Falls Review
, on the 9th June 1994 stated "Scotto plans to cover another 170,000 km
on his 10 year motorcycle epic for a total of 750,000 km's". As his finishing
total was 735,000 km's, (Guiness World
Record
) this means he claims to have travelled 155,000 km's on this last section
highlighted on the map. This distance is corroborated by the article in
La Moto Magazine of Feb 1994
which states "visited 172 countries, in five continents through 565,000
km", or a distance 15,000 km short of the Niagara Falls Review
article a few months later.
During the same last 10 months of his trip the literature indicates
he visited 40 new countries (raising the total from 174 to 214, or even
232 in some literature), (see summary below). There are only 20 Sovereign
countries (recognized by the United Nations), not previously visited by
Emilio along this final route, as indicated by his map, Belize, Cuba, Bahamas,
Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda,
St Lucia, St Vincent, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica,
Suriname, Guyana, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. (A Paraguay visit is
not indicated on the map). The remaining 20 Territories would almost certainly
have been islands in the Caribbean and the Galapagos. Just to visit the 20
Sovereign countries would have required 13 flights or shipping's of Emilio
and his motorcycle, as they are islands, and most being tiny with only small
distances being able to be ridden on each island. Add to this an extra
20 shipping's to the 20 other Territory Islands to make up the 214 countries
and territories claimes in total. To cover 155,000 km's in ten months, (300
days), required 516 km's ridden on the motorcycle for each and every day,
even whilst shipping, repairs, doing logistics, clearing customs, crossing
borders, and riding on tiny islands. Quite an amazing feat?
There are other less obvious apparent discrepancies between the map
and the list of countries visited as outlined in some of the articles referenced
here.
I would be pleased if further information could be made available
to repudiate my concerns or to correct any mistakes in this article. Please email me if you have any further information.
Thank you
Peter Forwood
Last ten month trip in red
Dates
Events
Information Source
Km's Covered
Route Taken, Countries, [repeats], (other places)
1980 Purchased
new 1100 Goldwing Honda
Red Riders Mag 2003
for $16,000 US when 25 yr old
Durban Daily News
1984 Travelled
before trip began
Honda Red Riders Mag 2003
48,300 km's
1985
Planning
"La Moto Feb 94"
Planned to visit 172 countries and 770,000 km's (observed an
increase in countries between 1985 and 1994 to 215 countries)
17 Jan 1985 Start of trip in Argentina
"La Moto Feb 94"
55,000
km's Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela
Speedometer
returned to zero
"La Moto Feb 94"
0 km's Colombia, Panama, Costa
Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
Engine repair
"La Moto Feb 94"
66,000
km's U.S.A., Canada.
Dec 1986
"La Moto Feb 94"
West Germany, Switzerland, Italy, San Marino, Vatican,
Monaco, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, [Spain],
[France], Great Britain, Ireland, (Scotland), [France],
Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, [West Germany],
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, East Germany,
[West Germany], [Switzerland], Liechtenstein, [Italy],
Austria,
Hungary, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece,
[Italy]
Apr 1988 Start of African section
"La Moto Feb 94"
Tunisia, Libya, [Tunisia], Algeria, Niger, Burkina
Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea
Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Ivory
Coast, (Desire)
Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Guinea Equatorial,
Gabon, Congo Zaire, Namibia, South Africa,
7 Jan 1989 South Africa Visit
Durban Daily News
155,000 km
69 Countries already visited out of a total 174 planned
Book written? Behind the Horizon, for release late
1989.
"La Moto Feb 94"
Lesoto, Swaziland, Mozambique, [South Africa], Botswana,
(Transkei), (Ciskei), (Boputhswana), Zimbabwe, Zambia,
Malawi, Tanzania, Madagascar, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya
Kenya Visit
Kenya Times
200,000
km 84 Countries already visited, Kenya
is the 42nd country
visited in Africa
"La Moto Feb 94"
Somalia,
(The United Gowein), Emirates Arabes, Qatar, Bahrein,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, North Yemen, South Yemen, Djibouti,
Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, (Sinai), Jordan, Syria, Iraq,
[Jordan],
Lebanon, Israel, [Egypt], [Libya], [Tunicia], [Italy].
Apr 1990
"La
Moto Feb 94"
[Spain],
[France], [Monaco], [Italy].
New Engine
"La Moto Feb
94"
387,500 km
[Spain], [France], [Monaco], [Italy], Malta, [Italy], [Greece]
Honda Red Rider Mag 2003
458,850 km?
[Turkey], Cyprus, [Turkey], Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal,
(Tibet), [Nepal], [India], (Sikim), Bangladesh, [India],
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, [Malaysia],
[Singapore], Brunei, [Singapore], Srilanka, Maldives,
[Singapore], Indonesia, Australia, Papúa, (New Guinea),
[Australia], New Zealand, (New Caledonia), Vanuatu,
Solomon Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Fiji, Tuvalu, [Fiji], (Layer) ,
(American Samoa), West Samoa, [Fiji], (Cook Islands),
(Tahiti).
Jul 1992
"La Moto Feb 94"
515,000 km's? [U.S.A.],
(North Pacific) (Perhaps it was 415,000 km's)
1992
Hawaii
"Little Amy"
468,510 km 142 Countries visited,
(Hawaii), Marshal Islands and
westward, stated he had 72 countries (214 total) and
225,000 km, yet to travel, about 700,000 km total)
26 Jan 1993 Philippines
Business World
Philippines, Vietnam
2 Mar 1993 China
South China
Morning Post
480,000 km 152 Countries
visited (7 continents, yet not having visited
?Antarctica) with 63 to visit of the worlds 215 total and
224,000 km to go or 704,000 in total
70,000
photos taken (or 24 photos a day)
(India in 1991)
Jun 1993
"La Moto Feb 94"
Japan, China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan.
Nov 1993
"La Moto Feb 94"
Finland, plans to visit 40 more countries and 170,000 km's
Feb 1994
"La Moto Feb 94"
565,000 km's
172 Countries already visited, shook the hand of 560,000
people
(170 people each and every day for nine years, 11 an
hour
for each hour awake).
27 May 1994 New York
Manhattan Proclamation
174 Countries
already visited with a plan to visit 232
Planning
to visit Canada, USA, Caribbean and Latin
America
9 Jun 1994 Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls Review
580,000 km's
174 Countries already visited
Angola, Oman and Bhutan not visited on trip
Sierra Leone visited
17 Feb 1995 Buenos Aires
La Nacional
Planing to arrive 1/4/95 having visited 215 countries and
750,000
km and 100,000 Photos (or 26 photos a day)
2 Apr 1995 Finished in Argentina
Bernd Tesch
732,800
klm's 232 Countries
Guinness World Records
735,000 klm's 214 Countries
and Territories
Emilio
Scotto Biography
214 countries and 28
Territories
Further reading in Spanish
Moto Mundo
Recent articles
Honda
Red Rider Mag 2003
780,850 km's 232 Countries, Islands,
Colonies, Atollsand non
independent
countries, 99% of world land
mass,
9 nations missed incl North Korea, 90,000 photos or
24
each and every day, 55 Countries in Africa visited in two
years