Originally Posted by *Touring Ted*

I think I can chirp in quite well here.

In 2007/2008 I rode from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia then up to Bogota.

I've backpacked in Bolivia/Arg/Chile/Central America before Covid.

And I have JUST returned from a Motorcycle trip from Las Vegas to Ushuaia. Four months on the road. I'm fresh off the plane.

Has it changed ?? WOW !! YES !! A LOT....

Back in the 00's, the moto travellers were few and far between. We all stayed in touch via email and the Hubb. People rode XT600's, R80GS and Africa Twins.

There were cool Overlander hangouts like Dakar Motos and Norton Rats. It was a great community. You would stop on the road if you saw another moto traveller.

No more...

There are SO MANY more tourists now. Because travel is so easy. And ADV biking is so popular. There are so many more big 1250GS types on tour groups. And thousands of the richer locals travelling on big bikes too. All of South America is more touristic and developed.

People don't stop anymore. It's just like riding in Europe. You nod or wave. There are just too many other riders to stop.

To me, it doesn't really feel like the big adventure anymore. Although the roads and scenery are still breathtaking. The riding is very good. But it felt no more "risky" or rustic than riding through Greece or Croatia etc.

Argentina is modern. Chile is modern. Brasil is modern. Peru is a dump in the North now. Literally. Bolivia is still very poor and dirty. But even worse now. Plastic everywhere. It's awful to see. The rapid development of Latin America has really destroyed it's beauty and wildness. But that's just my opinion as a tourist. I don't have to live there.

Heading South, the RTA40 is mostly paved and there are more people in rental cars and big buses than I ever remember. Same for the Careterra Austral. Nice tarmac for most of it. Easy access for big buses. Far off cool places in the desert are now rest stops for tourists. WIFI everywhere. ATM's everywhere. Fuel everywhere. The borders are all busy, computerised, modern and organised. No more do you get a stamp in a hut on a dirt road.

Sure, you can still dissapear and find peace and quiet if you want to. But not easily.

Again, it's still a great ride. But rugged adventure it isn't anymore.

I was most shocked to revisit Ushuaia. WOW. It's quadrupled in size since 2008.

The cool overlander campgrounds are gone. Just more houses now. Hotels and restaurants everywhere. Endless cruise liners heading in and out to Antartica have really changed it. Again, it's swamped with tour buses and hundreds of big Beemers on tours.

But this is the way of the world now. The last 15 years of social media and the internet have made the world very small and very accessible. Which means these cool places have been swamped by tourists. And swamped with riders on tour more than overland Travellers.

And with people comes money. And with Money comes development.

I'm in no rush to ride there again. Which is sad. I can't see it getting anything but busier, more paved and more touristic.

Where in the world can you still find wilderness and adventure ?? Perhaps the Stans. Parts of Africa. Not really anywhere.

Meh !!

Originally Posted by gatogato

It was interesting to read your post, because I did a similar Latin America in 2007-2008. I just got married in Colombia and am living here for a year until my wife's paperwork clears.

That is too bad to hear about the nature being destroyed and urbanization.

Colombia kind of has a similar feeling. It is still a beautiful country, but there is more and more development in remote areas.

In 2015 my friend and I did a 2 week Laos motorcycle trip in Southern Laos and it was great because of how remote we were from society. One day we didn't see a cow, person, telephone pole, store, gas station the entire day and we almost ran out of gas.

Shortly after 2015 the Chinese came in with their Belt and Road program and since they have built roads and gas stations all over the place, so now Laos no longer has that "wild and uninhabited" feeling anymore.

Originally Posted by *Touring Ted*

Colombia is wonderful. Some of the best mountain roads in the world for sure. But what really dissapointed me this time is the trucks. So many trucks. Endless trucks. Colombia was an experience over-taking. Or sitting behind belching black smog trucks whilst waiting to over-take. Quite dangerous really. Very slow going at times.

My memories of Colombia in 2008 were montain roads that were sweeping and mainly clear. They're like a carpark now. What's happened ??

Originally Posted by markharf

I remember both in 2009: wide open, empty mountain roads, and others completely clogged with soot-belching trucks moving remarkably slowly. The worst truck traffic I can ever remember experiencing was in Colombia somewhere between Bogotá and Ibague. Second worst was a two-lane headed south out of Budapest, with some runners-up in South Asia and Vietnam. YMMV.

Originally Posted by *Touring Ted*

I remember reading your HU posts. We were there at the same time altough our paths never crossed.

Colombia is wonderful. Some of the best mountain roads in the world for sure. But what really dissapointed me this time is the trucks. So many trucks. Endless trucks. Colombia was an experience over-taking. Or sitting behind belching black smog trucks whilst waiting to over-take. Quite dangerous really. Very slow going at times.

My memories of Colombia in 2008 were montain roads that were sweeping and mainly clear. They're like a carpark now. What's happened ??

Originally Posted by tohellnback

T
Ibague - Armenia , The Lina 11 years for 11 km of tunnels and viaducts and it is only for west bound traffic. .