One big musician released an album
Report from a canceled divorse.

And one famous Swedish musician once had to cancel a concert, due to his alcoholism.
He than made the comment "A cancelled concert is also a concert"

So in Covid 19 times, I though of writing a report of a cancelled trip.
If a cancelled trip also is a trip.
At least I learned a lot during prepration.
A lot of the information is not new. But is found here un Horizions Umlimited.

The story goes as far as it went before Covid 19.

This my story, my thoughts and decisions.
I do not claim what is ritght or wrong.
Or that this is "better" than any other choice.

Information is to my best knowledge.
But do your own research.

I will add some parts from time to time.

Maybe the trip will be done for real some time.
So far I travel in my fantasy

Introduction
My plan was to make a real long trip on a motorcycle during the winter of 2020-21. Pre conditions would then be in place. The house sold, I would have quit my work and broke up the family. Well, not really. But....

Residence
I did not want to leave a villa in Sweden empty over the winter. So I had to wait until I had sold the house and moved into an apartment. An apartment in Portugal that I can lock and leave without any problems. So I can go without having to worry about an empty house. The house was sold in 2020. To adapt to external circumstances.

Work
I had previously been laid of in a redundancy process. First, I had a notice period. Then I received a severance pay and then unemployment insurance. It all ended in the end of 2019. And on 1/5 2020 I retired. (Early retirement)

Family
The wife decided in 2016 to invest in a new future. And disappeared. My 2 sons stayed part time in the villa for a while. Until their studies were completed. The last one moved out 2019. So the family had dissolved itself.
This is the story of what happened (and did not happen) with this trip.

Destination
Since I was planning a winter trip, it was clear that the trip would take place in the southern hemisphere. Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia or South America. And for me, South America was really the only option. There were several reasons for this. I've been to Ecuador 3 times a long time ago. And I saw how amazing it was. With everything from beaches, via the Andes to the Amazon. I lived there with my then wife's sister and family. I did quite some travelling by bus around in Ecuador.

Below are 4 samples from Ecuador. From west to east.



Salinas



Guayaquil



Banos



Chimborazo



El Oriente

I met very few tourists. But in the Andes and the Amazon, I met 2 kinds of tourists. The first variety had been a week in the Galapagos, and then stayed a week in Quito. The other varieties were back packers. Who travelled around South America. Their story fascinated me. And somewhere there, the idea was born to travelling around South America at some point.

At that time I knew some Spanish. Now, most of that is forgotten. But it is a little easier for me in the Spanish-speaking part of South America. And I try to learn some Portuguese. Due to that I am moving to Portugal.
Visas and such things are relatively easy for South America compared to many other parts of the world. Basically all countries offer 90 day Visa. And 90 days TIP (Temporary Import Permission) for the motorcycle. And no Carnet de Passages is needed.

South America is big. And offers so many different natures and landscapes.
So for several reasons, the choice fell on South America. But which part and which approximate route still remained to be decided.

Sounds like a great trip - my dream journey is a loop through South America... but I can't see the photos you posted. There's just a grey circle with a minus sign through it for each pic.

NOTE: Never mind - now I can see the photos showing up 8 hours later...

__________________
Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

I can see the pictures using Safari on my iPad. They look good. As far as timing is concerned the stars seemed to have lined up for you to take the trip but then the sky filled with very dark clouds. One word of caution - it may be better to not visit your ex-wife’s sister......

__________________
You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.

Great start Erik! Photos are fine for me on Firefox, Chrome and Edge, logged in or not, on PC.
brclarke, can you see them now?

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com