Sounds like you two will end up back on 4 Wheels. No worries. We've seen this many times before here on HUBB. Bikes are not for all.

"Fairly decent roads? Mark, you have A LOT of research to do. The really only fairly decent road is the Pan Am highway. Once you go off it ... it gets interesting. Brazil and parts of Argentina have decent roads in places, but the Andean countries, less so.

So lets get this straight ... you want to cheap out on bikes ... and will then park them an get on a bus when you encounter a dirt road? As in post above, dirt roads are EVERYWHERE throughout S. America.

Trading manual labor for a bike? Do you have any idea what a "laborer" is paid? It's more realistic to trade high tech skills or specific trade talents (man, they really need Plumbers and Electricians down there!!!)

Buying a bike sort of ties you to it. Know this. Leaving it is not always smart or practical. I was confronted with this in Mexico with my Honda 50 step through, in Guatemala with my Jawa 350 and again in Peru' with a friends Vespa I had promised to deliver to Cusco. (I eventually did it).

Be VERY sure and confident with whom you leave your bike ... or you will never see it again. A "free bee" may not always be the best choice. My Jawa was stolen in Guatemala, we paid Policia to get it back. We were lucky.
S. America is not Oz.

Pretty confident on the 2 wheels idea hence the reason posting here. Not sure why you automatically assume it's not possible and that I'll be on 4 wheels.

The Simpson desert and birdsville track are for 4wd but we managed it. More about the perseverance and determination of a person than the capabilities of the machine. Isn't that the motto of this site: ride what you have?

Also, the original plan does not involve riding in SA so don't need to worry abiut road conditions there?

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Just re read what you have said Mollydog. It really seems you think we are riding in SA which is not correct. Riding from Vancouver to panama. CA only.

Thanks!

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My bad, somehow thought S. America was included. I lived in Guatemala and El Salvador over a 4 year period so got a chance to explore a bit back then. I did not see much of Panama but did get out to Caribbean sides of Guat, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nica.

Tourism wise I liked Honduras (off shore islands) but it's built up a lot since I was there. Nica less so, a good thing, IMO.

Caribe side have very few roads, worst mud you'll ever see and lots of mosquitos and gegenes. (nociums) But ... best bird sanctuaries in the world, fantastic jungles, great diving (which is what I did) and so much more.

But CA is not OZ. People and towns everywhere. You have to deal with them.
How's your Spanish? They are very different from Australians.

But so beautiful. Pick right time of year, you may enjoy it.
The cities are mostly a mess. Poorly managed traffic and development, pollution, density. Super dense. But get out the cities and life changes.

That's all good! Eira has been visiting Mexico since she was young and last year spent a number of months travelling through CA and painting murals.


We are both studying Spanish now, as eira could already speak a little she is becoming quite proficient.

Just wondering how hard it really is to sell the bike/s in Panama. And if it is really as hard as some say would it be better to do the trip on one bike to cut down on this hassle

Thanks,
Mark

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