Bailing out of Quito we headed firstly to the equator to see the 0000000 on the GPS, we then did a u turn heading out to Papallacta, the road was stunning seeing us climbing to 4100 meters.







Being the Pan Am it is also like a race track, a nice change from lumps and rocks.

See what we had to put up with, mind you it was only about 8 degs too :eek1



Papallacta, thermal pool area and stunning, the hotel we stayed at sits at 3300 meters and has a set with a mountainous backdrop.

This came highly recommended by fello adventurer Hektoglider and he was bang on!:clap

Plug this in and it will get you to the front door, you will NOT regret it.:evil





Staying there two nights we walked and relaxed in the hot pools, 2 days of decadence, on the second day we were going to head into the park but a big digger cut a culvert size trench right across the road so there was no way through.

Once at location there are walks to do in stunning backdrops and in the bush





Take the time out it is a great place to relax :clap

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Here we are back to our old ways of wanting to look around the next corner and the lure of a gravel road winding its way into Gods back yard and disappearing into a vale the fog was too much, as luck would have it the digger had filled the road in so we carried on past the thermal resort and through the first gates, up to the next station 4 km up, the Police were there so we waved and carried on looking very authoritative, they waved back like this guy -> :wave.

It was only a little wet

]



Up to the lake ... pics, Police passed us, we caught up with the Police and followed them into Oyacachi, we continued down to roads end which was 24 km from the main drag.



BIG rains had demolished the road and the river wiped out the lot.



One digger and big bully parked there slowly making the road again but no bueno today :cry



We turned around and went back a few km, 2.6 km outa town are Cabins so we bunked down there the night.

The cabins were being run by an 8 year old girl and a 13 year old boy as mum and dad were away and not back till the following night.

Fire lighter No 1



And her bro



We managed trade breakfast for tea, they run a trout farm so it was trout, rice, chips and salad all prepared by the young fella and his younger sister, talk about top notch.



This was followed up by sitting in front of an open fire watching Motorcycle Diaries ... good times. :clap

The sun rose and we rode back, the construction crew placing pipework in for water for Qutio saw 200 - 300 women and men hand digging and laying pipework at around 4000 meters.



Some pics from the lake at mid point







Getting back to the rangers point the chain was across the road, Ellen hops off and drops the chain, the park ranger comes out not sure what to do, we say buenos (hello) and fit the chain back up and ride off with an authoritative smile and wave as he did back and everybody was happy. :clap

Mr Park ranger was not sure what to do at all with a big orange alien with bright eyes and some people who "seemed" to know what they were doing so we just carried that through and it worked, we were however armed with toffee lollies if needed.:rofl

To say this park is stunning is an understatement, we stood there at the lake just taking the place in, it is one of those secluded quiet places that pulls the heart strings letting you know you really are alive.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Some remarkable country you are travelling through.nice you could have a mini holiday on your holiday,hahahaa
No i will not be giving the house away no matter how frustrating .
Anyhow as always your devoted follower ,haha
Noel

Heya Noeldevotedfollowerno1

Yes bit quiet on the ground if you didn't reply.

Anyway, all good and yes Ecuador has some pretty cool stuff and you get up to some great heights, today we were riding at 4860 meters so 1100 meters above Mt Cook in New Zealand at 3754 meters

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Heading back to reality and down the main drag our ride took us through Beaza and on down to Tena for the night.

We had heard various things about Tena but to be honest it was a stopover only point with Banos in mind for us.

They do however have a cool bridge across to river at the confluence of two rivers .... that was Tena.



The moon through the cables



With Banos in sight we headed down the black top, a coupla small welcomed showers cooled us nicely before heading up to Banos.

Wasn’t long and we were sorted for acomm and taking the place in, it is a little more touristy than normal which is a nice change after mucking around in the sticks.

Plenty to do there and a very nice place to kick back for a few days ... which we managed to do.

While there we ran into the Canadian hooligans Robert and Marrylou again, we met them at Papallacta hot springs so that was cool.

We made a sad attempt to buy wine but NOT on a Sunday there ... lucky the hotel did, four bottles of red later and the rum gone we walked home at just before 1.00am in the pissing rain ... it was awesome.



While walking back we were the only ones on the street until four local lads piled out of a doorway and started dancing and hooharring in the street in the heavy rain before dropping the only clothing they were wearing (gruds) and doing a noody dash up the street ... it was so funny.:rofl

We took the time to take in Banos, including the hike around the back of town and a well deserved and good coffee overlooking town.



Banos being in the valley allows you to climb to great heights on both sides of the valley, unfortunately the volcano did not play with us and was a little camera shy, can't win em all.

Given this was our tourist week we did several things locally,

The cable car over the river to a waterfall



Sat with some amigos .. they were a bit quiet and standoffish :huh



Given banos kinda means bathroom and it is a long drop to to town ... well :evil



Took Marylou and Robert for a small ride on Maya



Rode the old road



Ellen took a photo of a waterfall filling up a church ... should be full by now :rofl



Had lunch beside a river :clap



Next up .. to man who has ridden who has ridden the Americas on a KTM 525 EXC ....

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

G'day guy's ,laughed at the bano's,thought isn't that toilet?.
I'm sure plenty of people look at your stuff ,but enjoy without comment.
So is it humid?Just been out riding ,decided to go find roads to nowhere,you know the ones you drive past that disappear into a dead end eventually ,A bit hot but good to get out amongst it.Anyhow until next time ,Y.D.F signing off.
Regards Noel

Yeah a Bano is a toilet ... but Banos mean bath but yes a bloody Kiwi taking advantage of language

Humid, no not too bad to be honest, bit sticky at the coast and 35 - 40 degs, we are in rainy season so there is more cloud around which is a blessing for sure.

We love the "wonder where that goes approach" and pretty much that is what we do ... it always works out .. sometime not cool others beyond coolness

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

....loose units.. :eek1


Things I Have Learnt

Macro makes things look bigger

Medellin, Colombia has something in their water :eek1

If it is not raining it is fine :evil

Colombia rocks :clap

Birthdays abroad are fun cos you have no idea who is coming to your party. :freaky

Little bikes are bloody good for scouting around in the backyard of a country. :deal

Colombians are like Kiwis :wink:

Maya is a seriously cool piece of kit and gives me wood when I start her :rofl

If you are in unsure territory act like you own it. :norton

Helpful people don’t work at border crossings. :huh

Having been on the road now for 18 months we have had a chance to use gear and find out what does or does not work.

We have had a great run from some products while others have fallen by the wayside disappointingly fast considering the money we have outlaid on them buying “quality” stuff.

It does leave a question whether you buy one expensive unit to “hopefully” last or buy a cheap arse unit knowing it will crap out but for half the price you can get a new one again.

For me I have always preferred the quality item “first cost be your last”, now I am not so sure and particularly when you are away from the point of purchase warranty is a word you don’t hear very often.

My Klim riding gear is still fantastic and despite being down a few times etc is standing up incredibly well which I am thankful for.

The ARAIs, nothing more to say other than mint but my fluro has notably turned yello in the Central American/South American sun, no worries just two toned now!!. :rofl

My boots and Ellens boots are standing up to it, Ellen replacement pants after her crash are crap but she is making do with them, in hindsight we should have repaired her first gear pants which were superior.

Our Jesses, there is NOTHING better for two up long distance adventure touring for ease of storage, lock-ability, capacity etc, now if we need to leave the bike we simply unclip our Wolfman tank bag and take it with us, everything else is locked and sorted, huge thanks to Al Jesse and the crew you guys rock.

...but don't take our word for it check them out for yourself Welcome to Jesse Luggage Systems

Noting else outlandish this time round, life has been great despite one or two speed bumps, Central America and now South America are fantastic despite all the nasty reports you hear, we wish we had spent more time in Honduras after finding out retrospectively that over half the Police force had been sacked for corruption crap now they are trying to clean their act up because of the loss of tourists and travellers, we fall directly into that basket .

Everywhere we have been, bad areas and good areas there are normal people living normal lives doing their daily thing and for the majority, 99.9% of their interest in us is genuine curiosity, not hostility.

We have been in only a couple of instances where we have felt maybe slightly uncomfortable but nothing more, our closest shave we were sent back by the Militars at Policarpa for our own safety, heeding those warnings and doing everything else per normal the most danger in a normal day is mossie bites....cos they itch. :eek1

Thus far we have been ripped off three times, all USA based,

1: Ipad 2, 3 weeks old in the university of Fairbanks library :cry
2: Alfred Lamarrie, fello trusted ADVer (translates to wanker) Re Maya from Portland Maine :baldy:baldy
3: Wells Fargo USA bank, holding $930 of our money on a fraudulent transaction made in a different country to which we were in. :huh :huh

Not throwing a slant on the USA but pointing out the bad shit that has happened has not been Central America or South America thus far, this may not be the norm but this is what has happened to us.

The Colombia Some Up

Still unfairly tarnished by its history Colombia is as safe as houses, the people are warm and inviting and to be fair the nicest people we have met across the board, as you guys know we have met incredible people (and I say this outside of the ADV circles so normal humans) so we don’t say it lightly.

I found it a little unusual at first thinking “WTF do you want” but all they want is to know, how many cylinders, how fast does it go and how big is the engine, they ask where from /where to so we show them our Horizons Unlimited world map (picture worth 1000 words)((2000 in Spanish)) and this is met with amusement and amazement along with respect, give them the time to chat and share with them and you give them a face full of smiles to walk away with.....that IS a cool feeling of being on the ground with the locale. :clap

The funniest event for me was Puerto Berrio having the crowd fill and block the street and the police thinking there was a pub scrap or riot on, Ellen thought the same cos she could not see me in the tide of people, simply interested and amazed curious Colombians, obviously not something they see everyday, no animosity whatsoever. :clap

Not much more to add other than WOW, R2R were great to deal with, Salvi and Paola from Bogota are fantastic people and are very proud of their country and rightfully so, they single handedly made a huge impact on our trip and for the good.

Mike at Motolomnia also helped us out, Raul and Jorge in Cali took night riding to a new degree :rofl which was cool.

There is a certain vigilantly hooliganism in Colombia I find very attractive, a little unruliness that you can do daily and get away with ... just little things that our law men in New Zealand don’t see the funny side of.

For the most it is just a little more freedom without getting busted for simple things and this is very refreshing.

Would I recommend Colombia, no cos I want it for myself ..... the real answer is get off the Stahlratte, buy 3 months insurance and get ya 90 day VISA and start loving Colombia, there are certain places you know you will be back too, Guatemala for Julios good cooking is one, El Salvador to Marios for good cooking is another, Colombia for big boobies (I mean nice people and landscapes) in Medellin is another. :evil

The Heart Speaks

Not very crunchie this time.

Since riding two up our personal space has shrunk which actually needs extra care and patience each day as you can’t just sail off and do your own thing ... to a point anyway.

I would have to say that NOT looking in my mirrors worrying about Ellen has made life easier for my mind, now I just have to watch for crazy South Americans whose first road rule is there are none, first in first served.

Having crammed two onto one and house and contents proved hard for me as I am not a big dude so our decision to send camping gear home was tossed around a lot, pros and cons considered.

We sent camping gear home and took 9kg off the bike and off the top of the bike which made a hell of difference allowing us easier access to more difficult places with less concern, I am still mindful we are on a tall bike with a bit of weight, I have not been over a weigh bridge but I reckon two up, fully gassed up with luggage we would have to be 400kg ..... much to the detriment of the dog than ran under the bike and didn’t get back up.:eek1

Maya plus or minus is sorted with only normal wear and tear items and a few fails of items that crap out over time, mileage and torture, she has become my favourite bike of all time over 40 motos in 34 years of owning motos.:clap

So although some interests have changed slightly I am still the same old Andi, I don’t think I will be taking up extreme crochet knitting or anything really exciting like that, in fact my passion for motos, Maya being No 40 (but No1) over 34 years of riding is only stronger and I feel the inspiration to build a street tracker when home ... always gotta have something to tinker with.



Ellen .. same same

Still the support pillar and sushi maker extraordinaire, although there have been ups and downs, swear words etc life continues to be good for both of us.

Overall

Nothing much more to add other than 18 months in our trip has gotten better, one or two speed bumps like the fire in our garage at home and the shite that went down with Maya, probably coulda done without broken ribs too.

A huge thanks to all who have had input to our travels, everyone makes a donation of time and energy which adds up to good times and great experiences, great experiences don’t always have to be great at the time but on reflection you get to see the light of day and how things unfold.

As we have said before, when shit happens so does good, it is a funny thing but it always works out sometime despite being between a rock and three hard places.

There are of coarse always a few pissoffs, barking dogs, dogs that simply go for motos and the biggy, the ****EN car alarms, the wanker who made them needs to be tormented for 24 hours solid of the ding dong ding dong shit before being shot in public....then I will feel better :rofl

It is incredible the needless noise pollution that comes from these and it is unreal the amount that just sit there and go on and on.

The noise from and including Mexico south is unreal, small shops with BIG speakers all trying to outdo each other, also in residential areas they do they same ... who has the biggest speakers, add to that the car cruising down the street with loud speakers advertising shit, some days you feel mentally hammered just from the noise....no wonder we love mountain passes etc to get away from that. :clap

I must also thank our resident favourite Ozzie (oxymoron) Geoff, seasoned traveller and good bastid, thanks for your bits of travel advice, instant IT fixes etc and just general support from prior day 1, we will come to OZ to personally thank you, might even bring some Kiwi reds from home if you continue to be a good boy.

No more words from me, we love having you guys along, feel free to chime in, give us shit, tell us how to improve or simply share your shenanigans with us as it makes us feel like we are not talking to thin air and it gives us a cool insight to what you guys are up to while we are tormenting South America.

This ride report isn’t just about us but all who are involved ... yes that is you!!! :clap

Thanks and love to all of our extended families across the Americas :clap and the dodgy travellers we have crossed paths with along the way.

Andi & Ellen

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Thanks for sharing, it is a wonderfull story to follow. Keep the updates going

great writing, like always! and again I recognize myself in your descriptions.
Are you not asked very often: cuanto vale esa moto? If this is the first question I do not really respond, This kinda pisses me off. Last time I even explained why. Not sure if he understood.
At the hotsprings in Papallacta (the one where no other tourist goes), after a nice chat with a whole family, the woman said something about gringo. So I asked her why she says this after having tried to explain to her where Germany (or at least Europe) is (yes, many people do not have an idea and barely know which continent they are on)...her response: plata (money). So I try it again, that I am neither american nor does this fact have anything to do with wealth.
I wonder how you feel about that!? I mean, of course we are RICH in comparison to many others who are struggeling every day but of course we have worked hard, saved money, taken sacrifices...sometimes hard to handle I think.

Keep the good spirit up and hopefully we finally meet each other in some weeks and stop chasing each other : )

Thanks man, it is thoroughly enjoyable for us for sure ... even the not so good things are only little in the scheme of things ... updates .. for sure

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Yes lots ask the question, I just play down the value now.

We get (well I do with my blonde/silvering hair) the gringo thing and even some snide sorta treatment, when we say Nueva Zelandia the whole conversation lifts, some have it bad against the yanks although most don't know where New Zealand is anyway .. .so we add Australia ...there reply is argh Austria ...so we just smile

They view us as seriously wealthy, they don't see us as working class people who worked their arses off and sold a bunch of shit to get there .. never mind all part of the deal.

And yes meeting, finally ...where do you wonna have Christmas in Peru?

Some nice mountainous village with good fud and lotsa grog would suit fine ... ouwh and some petrol.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

With fame we stay.... :clap

The famous Don Julio the great, 525 rider extraordinaire, ridden South America and North America on a KTM 525 EXC on the factory block of wood seat ...dude is a legend.

Julio invited us to stay, we gratefully accepted and took the back road through to Ambato, a nice alternate to the main road being not as busy.

The are bonuses like this small gorge



Mum and Dad Ambato .... out for tea with cool hats



It just had to be done



A quick inspection on Maya revealed we had lost our joining link clip so we were extremely lucky it did not come off as a 525 size chain bailing off would be sure to wreck things ... no prob getting a new one sorted, Julio and I ... men at work :evil



While at Ambato we made an attempt to get up to Chimborazo however we arrived in a shroud of cloud and fog rendering our accent useless for the day.

Heading north our next attempt was Quilotoa, on the way we pulled up behind another moto but with twin pipes, heading up the hills he was doing 85 - 90 kmhr so I figured it was not a small bike, we turned off, filled with petrol and headed to Quilotoa, arriving there sorting out our accom he rolls up, I point to our place and he rides over.

A quick spanish chat and I established he is an Ozzie, howdy neighbour, Joe then clocks into the place we are at then off to lunch we go, the afternoon filled in with a hike to the bottom of the crater lake which is 400 meters vertical so hard on the ol knees on the way down and hard on the ol ticker on the way up.

The three lads, Joe, Con? and me



Joes bike and Maya parked in the restaurant



I will add at this point we are at 4000 meters or 4 km or 13124 ft above stress level or 300 meters higher than Mount Cook in New Zealand (the highest point) so the oxygen in thinning quickly, this is now the highest place we have slept and the first night was difficult waking every couple of minutes and me saying breath Andi breath...remember you learnt that when you were young.

So we have no been hiking higher than the highest point in New Zealand :clap

The following day was a hike around the crater with a Frenchie, Ozzie, Kiwi, Chinese and Belgiuminite so we had the world covered, the hike was 4 hours and was a harder than we all anticipated, we all thought it to be a walk in the park but the hill climbs were high.



Us ... but you knew that :rofl



On completion of our stay Ozzie Joe was heading to Cotopaxi to climb the monster and we wanted to go to see it so we travelled together.

The road out of Quilotoa, from this



To this



Arriving at the Cotopaxi national park they said no motos.....not even to the restaurant or hostal....wtf :huh we are not there to tear off into the park and wreck it but no way they would let us in, the discussion getting heated at one point so for us it was back to Ambato and Joe to Quito

Joe trying to reason with Starsky and Hutch from the park ... no bueno!!:cry



Returning to Ambato was a quick spin down the Panam back to Don (sir) Julios ....we arrived at rip hour .... whose dumb idea was that!!!:lol3

Getting sorted in Ambato we finally said goodbye to Mum and Dad and our new brother Julio, we now have extended family throughout the world and all colours.

I huge thanks to Juilo and family making us feel welcome and great being involved at the family level ... our casa is your casa, it would be great to see you guys in New Zealand.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

When you see this you know you are in for a treat



Ellen thought she would compliment the mountain...



Chimborazo, highest point above the center of the earth, because of the egg shape of earth the top of Chimborazo is jn fact the highest point on earth or the closest point to the sun, we rode up to 4860 meters , New Zealands highest point is Mount Cook which is 3754 meters so we were riding 1106 meters higher than the highest point in New Zealand :clap

Poor ol maya was down to about 20 hp, at the carpark she didnt have enough grunt to get out of the soft volcanic sand and up the carpark very easily so that is where she stayed for her photography session.

Getting closer, we did well timing wise as only 10 minutes after we arrived she disappeared under a vale of fog







We were here



At



Or for you imperialists



Few locals milling around, allamaring really :wink:



Accomplishing the highest point on our trip, the highest point we have ever been on land and the highest point we have ever slept at (other than that just anther normal day:rofl) before headed for the lowlands going coastal for a change ...at sea level so a 4860 meter variable for the ol bod.

Firstly tho we stopped at the famous zig zag train track however the price had gone up from $6 for 8am-2.30pm trip to $25 for 2 hours .... one thing is gringo prices but that set a new level, $50 bucks was too fat for our budget so we went coastal

This came with navigational difficulties as I was gonna take a shortcut .... yeah



Bridge too small for the bike, river a tad lumpy ... small backtrack required



Spotting a back road we disappeared into the hills then down onto the plains, now we were back into jungle again and shabby towns, our destination for the night Las Americas ....not sure whose idea than was, wouldn't call it a tourist trap :rofl.

Contacting the mad Canadians we discovered they were at the seaside town we were looking to go to, that sorted that out so destination Puerto Lopez was set for the next day.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Some of the best photo's you've taken,what a remarkable place.Until next time
Y.D.F Noel