Hey Fernando,

The laminated map on the wall is fun too! People come over and look at our plans and sometimes give useful tips. Sometimes we'll be watching TV or reading a book and come across something interesting: zoom! Off to the map to jot it down!

We took Lonely Planet's Europe book along with us to find accommodation (85% camping for 13 months) as well as to point out interesting places to visit. The only downside is that the books are written for back packers who arrive by bus/train so directions can be a bit sparse to get to your desired location. Bus #94 isn't much help Makes for some fun though. We couldn't find the campground in Zaragosa, Spain and ended up asking a traffic, motorcycle cop. We couldn't quite understand each other so he ended up leading us to it! Turns out the campground was closed for the season so he led us into the heart of the city at rush hour to a hotel, zooming through amber traffic lights with him motioning cars to stop! =8-O

We did use a GPS but an old one. It doesn't have any map capability at all. You have to input waypoints manually or through a computer. I would plot any complex journeys (such as to the campground in the middle of Paris) on the laptop (using Touratech software and maps) the night before. Then download the routes into the GPS. I'm planning on buying a new GPS with built in maps to make that a bit easier next time!

The laptop was great. We used it to program the GPS, store and edit photographs and keep our website up-to-date. We thought we would edit digital video too but that turned out to be too much like work. I carried the laptop in my right side pannier in a neoprene case with the tent jammed in beside it. No troubles. In fact the laptop still works perfectly 3.5 years and 60,000km later.

Have fun planning and then riding!

------------------
Ekke Kok
Redwood Meadows, AB
'89 R100GS

__________________
Ekke Kok

'84 R100RT 141,000 km (Dad's!)
'89 R100GS 250,000 km (and ready for another continent)
'07 R1200GS Adventure 100,000 km (just finished Circumnavigating Asia)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

www.ekke-audrey.ca