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27 Feb 2013
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Perth, Scotland
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After Puno we moved North along the high Andean roads to Cusco, a tourist trap and hell for me , I'm a motoryclist not a tourist, touts everywhere trying to sell trips / hostels / food/ anything in fact! A trip to the famous Norton Rats tavern was dissapointing, being a Norton owner in the UK I expected some banter but none! A trip to Machu Picchu was worthwhile but once again tourist hell, I thought Aguas Calienties was particularly rip off city. The ruins though are spectacular and well worth a visit. Desperate to eascape the cold we headed back to Nasca and had some welding done on the pannier frames and on the route North had a look at the lines.
Back in the desert now we headed to Paracas for a stay (Nice seaside town) then to Trujillo, in retrospect we should have stayed in Huanchano a few Km's away, much nicer and less manic driving. Now in Chicalayo having a day off, nice city worth visiting.
The road from Puno to Cusco, could be Scotland!
Nun calling her pals to have a  in the Norton Rats Tavern
Machu Picchu, worth a look !
Stunning scenery
Road to Nasca means the sides of the tyres get some wear!
Nasca lines, this one is "hands"
Desert, desert everywhere!!
As always more words and pics on the blog
www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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6 Mar 2013
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Nice one Gino. Cuenca is a fantastic place to take a break. 
Pat
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7 Mar 2013
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It sure was Pat, great time there! 
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14 Mar 2013
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Equador was fantastic, great roads, nice people and awesome scenery, even had the privelidge of watching a Volcano get angry!! Now in Cali Columbia but unfortunately need to fly home for a family emergency for a week or so, meanwhile,
Awesome display of nature!
Crap roads!
Awesome scenery
Mad Jumpers!!!
The Equator, another milestone
Surrounded by inquisitive and friendly Colombians
As always more pictures and stories on www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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28 Mar 2013
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Now back in Cali , Colombia having returned from our week back in Scotland (Bloody freezing) Great to be back in the heat of South America and we took the opportunity to bring fresh tyres and spares back from the UK.
Ready to roll again.
A short vid of our time in Equador All Roads lead to the Moon Episode 6 - YouTube
And as always full story and pics on our Blog
www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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10 Apr 2013
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We headed from Cali to the nice town of Salento, wonderful place, nice people and my recomendation is to stay at te plantation House Hostel, go for the coffee tour its worth it. Afte a few days we made our way to Bogota and organised the bike shipping with Girag (by plane) $750 US each and $30US to pay at the Panama side so not too bad really. Super efficient Girag staff make it easy, the police however........
Sad to have left Colombia, fantastic country and very friendly, warm, open people. After extricating the bikes from Girag Panama (no more than 2 hours) and a day off we headed to just outside Santiago and met up with Sara & Dan www.worldwideride.ca for a day of drinking and general story swapping. Heading to Costa Rica in the next couple of days, full story as always on www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
Plantation House Salento, recommended!
Bikes in the Girag warehouse Bogota
Waiting 4 hours for the Police to check the bikes....Boring although Gianni keeps smiling
Panama City, big AND busy!!!
 T
This ship paid $100,000 US to get through the canal, good work if you ca get it!!
It's not all hard work!!
Team photo before going our separate ways
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Unwelcome visitor
More pics and the full story on our Blog www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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11 Apr 2013
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17 Apr 2013
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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We headed up through Costa Rica , stopped over in some cool places and were amazed at the wildlife, flora and fauna that abounds there. Worth spending time in this country and to cool down get to Lake Arenal, the road around the Lake is amazing! The border crossing to Nicaragua was done in just under 2 hours so not too bad although we did pay a fixer $10, you could do it without but to be honest in the near 40 degree heat I just couldn't be arsed playing the where to go next game. This crossing is the first we had to pay taxes and all in all this came to $32 Dollars which includes $12 for compulsory insurance $3 fumigation (the bike not me!) $12 immigration $1 for travel tax sticker and finally $5 Tourist tax.
I know some people whinge about paying these taxes but those are the rules so just smile and pay, likewise the fixer, if it saves me an hour standing doing an impersonation of a waterfall in the heat then ten bucks is worth it, everybody has to make a living somehow!
Bikes at rest by the shores of Lake Arenal with the Volcano in the background
One of the reasons I'm happy not to camp just now!
And another
And another!!!
No kidding!!! Somebody's feeding them, they're massive!!
It doesn't have to be hard! I'd recommend this place, Cascada Verde Hostel in Uvita Costa Rica
More pics and full story on the blog www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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18 Apr 2013
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Great to see you're still on the move - but now I'm feeling a bit guilty that I still haven't loaded up all the border information! 
The next two are probably the trickiest - and I do agree with you about the heat - pretty relentless and a good reason to try and get to the borders as early as possible.
Have fun and keep blogging.
Pat
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25 Apr 2013
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Hi Pat, yes one more crossing to do now Friday to Mexico the no more for a month!!!
The stuff you did put up was very helpful so thanks for that, what I noticed is that even stories from a few weeks ago are out of date now as the border staff play musical chairs with their offices!
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20 May 2013
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Hi all, sorry been a bit lazy as we passed through mexico, the Blog is up to date on www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
We did find the time to make a little video of Central America
All roads lead to the Moon Episode 8 - YouTube
Hope you enjoy!
BTW the Bajercito to cash tvip's in Tijuana is no longer there, its moved to near the Otay crossing a few miles away (past the aiport)
I had a farce trying to find the place , the GPS coords are N32 32.746 W116 56.426
They didn't tell anyone and the signs for the old place are still there, Otay's a easier crossing anyway!
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8 Jun 2013
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Apologies for the lack of updates, we left Mexico at Tijuana after riding up the Baja and we are now just into Colorado having gone a round about route to get here. Some pics of the journey to date
Thw Baja was great riding, here in the boulder field
A quick stop in Hollywood LA for a pic of the sign
Then San Fran, the Golden gate bridge, some bike problems here with Fi's bike rectified by BMW Livermore
Death Valley, damned Hot
S 
Saw our first bear!
More Bears & Sharks here, Las Vegas!!
The Grand canyon....certainly is
Getting our kicks on ......
And then Monument valley
Full story and more pics on the Blog www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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25 Jun 2013
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Been in the USA for a few weeks now and currently on a 2 week break in a hire car as we have a visit from Fiona's parents. Must admit I'd rather be on the bike!!
It has though allowed us to get Part 9 of our video sorted out which is about our ride through Mexico
All roads lead to the Moon Episode 9 - YouTube
And I also got to go to Bonneville Salt flats which was cool
Colorado roads, awesome
Never made the Salar de Uyni but Bonneville has more motorcycling lore!
Full story on www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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13 Jul 2013
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After Bonneville we visited grand Teton Park, the ever impressive yellowstone and Rocky mountain park, great motorcycling roads but the traffic I'm afraid goes too slow for me to maintain concentration. A brieff spell back in Denver (and a Norton meeting) and we have wobbled up via Sturgis in South Dakota (quieter roads and fantastic scenery) Now back in Wyoming we have a week at the Norton meeting in Buffalo to catch up with old friends before the push up into Canada. We are now at the 18500 mile point and looking forward to the rest up to Alaska and beyond.
Jackson Hole
Grand Tetons
Yellowstone
Old Faithful
Saratoga, a good place to stop for a night
Rocky Mountain National Park
Nature in charge at Estes Park
Colorado Norton meeting
Back in Estes Park for July 4th
Fiona using the BMW's carryng capacity!!
Mount Rushmore
As always full narrative and more pictures on our blog
www.ginoontour.blogspot.com
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
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helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers!
break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Show your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Motorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
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