Heya Grif and Lisa

Great to hear from you guys, yeah two years into a year and a half trip ...not bad eh

Shameful the rubbish etc in Peru and yes it has to come from above, you can life poor but you don't have to turn it into a shithole in the process.

Seems like yesterday we were doing Ellens forks in your garage and enjoying good times with you guys, we will be back one day too!!

Wifi been real skinny but all good now, new reports up again

Love to you both

Andi n Ellen

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

Leaving Finca Rita, John and Annettes place we headed across the pampa, a pretty long and boring straight section but the quickest way to get up to La Falda to meet up with Dan and Sara before heading off to the MotoGP.

Clobbering a big day some 530 km we made it across the flat lands and to the base of where the mountains start, we bunked down in Villa Dolores for the night tired and weary.

With little mileage to make the next day it was a 10 am outa bed start ... little later than planned but no worries.

Soon the boring road stopped and the Argentinean mounts soon opened up welcoming us in offering grand views and cool rock formations with the pass winding its way up and over down into the next valley which houses Cordoba.

Arriving in La Falda mid afternoon we got to Walter and Dagmars with Dans GPS coords which easily got us right to the gate, onya mate!!.:clap

Dagmar welcomed us in, Dan and Sara were out so we sat and had a nice coffee and snacks on the lawn in the sun ....nice.

We were staying there helping with some work around the place, although we were not supposed to be doing anything that afternoon I could not help myself when she said there were leaking pipes by our bedroom.

I set too and cleaned the concrete out from around the pipes exposing the offending three sections, two pack epoxy mix took care of the sealing up of these after some good cleaning etc.



They (Dagmar and Walter) had had a few plumbing issues and some drainage issues so we attempted to get these solved.

Unfortunately the drainage issue was more than we could fix with the gear we had so a plumber will have to sort that out, at least we did the troubleshooting to find out roughly where the blockage lays.

With a fine afternoon we knocked off early at 2.00 pm and Ellen and I took a ride around the block towards Cordoba then heading north back up and over a dirt road.

Was a great ride but a grader had freshly graded the road making for difficult riding then a peat bog hole, Dan and Sara had been through the road prior and it appears a few large trucks had been through there and ripped it to shreds, only one skinny section that was still very slippery for us to get through, this still proved very interesting.



Maya sporting some peat bog...smelly little toad she was after that



Tarmac .. .argh easy going ... ominous cloud that threatened to wash the smelly moto never came through



Our hard work was rewarded with an asado (bar b q roast) that was outstanding, good food, good company, good wine, good times.

Yes some dodgy faces you guys recognize, the two Canadians hiding from the feds ... non other than Dan and Sara from World Wide Ride :clap



My 5 liter bottle of refreshments ... the Asian contingent trying to steal it.



N o i c e



The motley crew ready to eat :clap



Dagmar also wanted some lights changed over, one included a set of four which needed accurately setting out to look right and drilling into a concrete ceiling so no mistakes, thankfully again with time on our side we quietly and accurately marked out, drilled, screwed and fixed in place the four lights much to the pleasure of Dagmar.



The old kitchen fan and ceiling light also got sent sideways being replaced by a groovy LED set which gives the room quite a new feel.

This is the awful view from their home we were made to put up with



So Andinelectricianplumberdrailayerbuilder succeeded again with his trusty Asian sidekick, almost felt like Tim The Toolman Taylor without the accidents.:rofl

Having stayed an extra day because Dans back was still playing up we finally set of with the excitement of MotoGP in our sight.:evil

Shoulda been two day trip but somehow all four of us managed to miscalculate the camping start date, seem as everyone got it wrong no one was at fault ... the perfect corporate model.

On our way there were literally dozens of Police stops, just before one an overtaking dickhead cut me off and nearly hit Sara so I went around him much to the disgust of the Police.

We were all pulled over, the car driver nearly sneaking through until I yelled at the Police to stop him, Ellen standing in front of the car and explaining what he had done, thankfully they pulled him over.

Sara then explained that he had cut me off and nearly ran her off the road, we were then let go and they dealt with him.:clap

Although we were firm we also kept our cool with Sara leading the sensible charge, I wanted to smack the driver but that wouldn’t have helped much I don’t think. I took up close pictures of him and the car which made him very uncomfortable .... cool. :wink:

Arriving in San and meeting Clive we established then our camping blunder as Trevor Angel was already there waiting for us, we had his entry ticket so we set off and B-lined it to Rio Del Hondo arriving just on dusk to mayhem.

That next ...:evil

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

The first ever GP I have not had to fly too, the first ever GP I have taken my bike too, the first ever GP in Termas De Rio Hondo WOH HOH.

Thursday Night

Arriving in town it was plain to see they were not well organised for the onslaught, bikers everywhere and traffic jammed for km.

Like all the other rides we took to the walking lane over the bridge which was only just wide enough for Dan to sneak through with a coupla anxious moments thrown in.



Parking up to collect our tickets there was a cool lineup of bike but the most photographed was Maya, Loulou and Nar (Ours, Saras and Dans bike)

People liked the dirty, scrubby, stickered and obviously travelled bikes, lots of people having their photos taken with us .... really neat the respect you get from these fello petrolheads.:clap

This was also our meeting point with Trevor, we found him ok.

Finally organised it became apparent road rules were a non event with the Police allowing bikes a free run of footpaths, shoulders (on either side) and space to cut in.

Arriving at camp was the next dilemma with little to no organisation, turns out our camp we had paid for was not even marked out, no power or lighting as promised ...total mayhem so we were getting used to this.

Happy to have our tickets tho



We found a flattish spot with a tree so everyone set up, Ellen found some empanadas so that was tea.

The place was alive with people putting up tents, music playing and generally gearing up for the 3 day event.

Friday, Setup and Practice

Hearing the Moto 3 boys out (250 4 stroke) pulled the hackles of your hair up stirring that wee heart pounding moment you get from the roar.

Making our way over our stand was the OPPOSITE side to where we were camping, a good 2 km plus walk, I was going to head over to the pits and catch up with Jorge, Marc & Valentino and give them some pointers but they seemed to be doing ok.





Happy chappy



Now, I have not been to a GP for 5- 6 years ish, I had forgotten how fast these boys actually went and the first time the big boys came around the corner and onto our straight the noise, smell and blindingly fast speed see my heart racing, my hands sweating and I got a sandfly in both my eyes which made them water.



That OMG, WTF, WOW, GEZZ, CRIKKY, WHOA moment had came with no disappointment and I found myself yelling like all the mad Argentinians.

Valentino Rossi is undoubtedly “The Man” to Argentinians, every time he went past the crowd went mental with electrifying screams of support.

Marc Marquez, well what can a man say other than that man can ride, he is the new Valentino without dispute, I still love watching Jorge Lorenzo as he is simply butter smooth and I would love to see him on Marc Marquez’s Honda.

We are all great riders with our talent that we have which is staying alive and enjoying it, these guys do this at warp factor 2 riding the knife edge.

Saturday, more set up and practice

Lap times coming down 10 seconds over the practice laps as they find their own line and their own settings, interesting the Moto2 (600 4 cyl 4 stroke) boys shutoff was pretty much the EXACT same point every lap showing the likeness of each bike, the only differing factor was he who had the biggest bollies on the brakes.

Sunday, race day .... the crowd x 3 of Friday and Saturday.

With good weather on the go and the boys putting up some very fast times it was sizing up to be a great race.

Front row was Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa ...... hmm interesting into the first bend.

Although Lorenzo lead most of the race it was although Marquez was just on a Sunday ride then just passed effortlessly and smoothly. I wasn’t too long and Pedrosa could smell a podium with the Honda having an obvious advantage on this circuit, Lorenzo and Rossi unable to fend off the Hondas.

Marquez 1st, Pedrosa 2nd and Lorenzo 3rd, Rossi 4th was the order of the day so the famous four up top.

During the practice sessions we were treated to some aircraft activity including three jets and a stunt plane performing outstanding Ariel stunts.



Not many chica calientes (hot girls) running around ... at least at our cheap seats.



The Whole Event

During the weeks leading up to the event we had organised to meet several other travellers to camp and catch up.

This was excellent and there was 1 or 20 bottles of red laid down their life producing good times and lots stories and inter-manufacture haggling.



And the perfect product holder



We also met Steve on a XC800 sporting the English flag so like true mates we dressed his bike in Argentinian flags which was taken in good spirits, Mike was also there on his 1200 Explorer.



Again, good people, good booze, good food, good place, good times.

The line up



The end, away we set in our different directions to resume travelling.

Dan, Sara, Ellen and I headed to Antofagasta for more desert treats.

Some general shots









My hairy arm was there



The race start



Big boys at it



Finished

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

Even more jealous than normal ,looks like a wonderful time had.Really hope to take in a moto gp some time.take care YDF Noel

Heya Noel

It was awful and you don't miss a thing ... is that better?

Least you have Phiollip Island, that is one cool circuit, been there five times now for WSBK and MotoGP, love Melbourne and the coolas shops you guys have

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

Dan and Sara were heading desert and we had an opportunity to come along so we took it, also my reasoning is Dan had been suffering bad back pain so in case he needed help then I would have him covered.:clap

Setting off from GP we were well behaved with no one wanting to drag a knee, first stop being fuel with a typical 1 hour wait, one attendant servicing six pumps, just ridiculous. :huh

Our intended destination was Belen however with minor holdups at the petrol station and the road deteriorating it cost us valuable time.

As we left the plains the weather caved in slowly but surely, as we rose in altitude the rain raised in attitude, stopping for wet gears on was a great move.:clap

Sara and Dan leading the charge



Up the zig zag the cloud and fog came in to play as well making for an interesting ride, some patches proving harder for Sara with her lowered F658 bottoming out in the larger ruts and wheel potholes made by trucks but to her cred she battled on through with the occasional stop for a break.



Just to add to the interest it narrowed and with a surprising amount of trucks on the road making for interesting passing maneuvers, at this point the truck thumped quietly along Sara’s pannier as he passed, no damage other than to Sara’s undies I think.



Reaching the top we cruised the plateau on the drier side and were welcomed by the warm sun, stopping at one point we sat on the edge of the rain shadow looking down on a zig zag that would make Peruvians jealous.







It was later in the day now so we stopped shy of our target for the night as we still had 85 km of sand infested shingle road so to call it quits before dark was a good move.

The following day we made it to Belen on an easy ride, it was easy enough seeing the sandpits in the daylight, stopping here the night we took in the museum etc and relaxing.



Belen to Antofagasta, a great trip with some tar, some creek crossings and the usual sandpits on the road, we also had a treat of a new road being prepared (apparently it has been being prepared for 4 years) :huh

Over the top at 4000 meters the temperature dropped to 0 degs, Dans snow warning light came on, I decided to put on warm gloves so I pulled off the road and sunk .... so much for covering Dan :rofl



Further along the new road we rode (or tried to) around the humps in the middle of the road ...this was a little soft too .... China is not far from where we dug :rofl



Look mum no Dan



Sara also stopped for photos :evil ... her photo that is



Righting the stricken ship and a wee push she was off .. go girl!!!



The little humps were then utilized ...didn't stop us.:clap





Somehow I have managed to collect myself a head cold that made me feel second hand to say the least, the saw throat thing chimed in the last night of GP, we tried to drown it with wine to to no avail.

Turns out that Sara also got it as did Ellen so we were a pack of sickies. :cry

Stop for a coupla days and Antofagasta to recoup :clap

Parked up safe and sound in Antofagasta :clap



The interesting route we took, thanks to Walter for the great info and Dan for helping rescue Maya outa the sandpit

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

OOOhhh I don't know what to envy more, the MotoGP or all that lovely terrain you were riding afterwards!! Loving following your trip!

__________________
Submariner
Life Member DAV
BMW MOA member
BMW Riders of Oklahoma

Whole of Korean bikers ,, and their women are watching ,, Ellen ,,
Tell her every one in Korea thinks she is fantastic!
I am sure soon ,, whole of China bikers will get to know her as well. First femme du Chine on a world tour on a motorcycle!

Heya TM1-SS

Man all I can say is we are very lucky to be able to do both and be able to share it with you guys, certainly been good times for sure.

Cheers Andi

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

Heya Seoljoe

WOW, thank you so much for your reply, posts like this warm the heart through and through

One day we will come to Korea and it would be outstanding to meet you and fellow riders.

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

Dan and Sara were on a tighter frame than us so only stayed two nights but we made the most of the day heading out with Walter on a tour to the white rocks.

First up sand dunes, mum natures playground inviting the kidults to climb up and run down like silly little kids .... what a feeling hooning down.:clap

This along the way, stunning backdrops :clap



A small lot of plants in a small oasis in a huge expanse



Climbing up



A short break at the top to survey our magic surroundings





The full crew



The view along the ridge



Running down the slope then coming to a stop your feet get buried, the sand underneath is extremely cold.:eek1



Onward to the the white pumice rock and lunch stop, amazing what volcanic activity has displaced over the thousands of years and this place has more volcanos than BMWs parked at Starbucks (sorry Dan).



Lazibones stretching out



Cool rock formations carved out by mum natures high winds and sandblasting machine





Finishing lunch and heading back El Penon was the stopover for a coffee and cake with a relaxing sit in the sun.

Time to head home we went via some hieroglyphics carved into rock estimated to be upwards of 10000 years old.



By this time the sun was going down and it was time to head for home and get sorted, great day out with a good combo or walking, galking and talking.

A small lake with cool clouds



Last of the sun leaving us sending temperatures downwards



The following days we took it easy as I was feeling less than ideal and Ellen started going downhill too, in the evening it was dropping to -10 or so so snuggle up tight under the sheets was the number 1 option, no snuggly buggly tho.:cry

During our stay we were invited to an asado (Bar b q), in true form they said turn up at 10 pm and food will be ready, 10.05 we turned up .....ok we will have a wine or three while we wait.

Just after 11 pm it came out and it was all on, at midnight there was more food with deserts and ice-cream, they then offered coffees etc, Ellen and I were dog tired so opted out preferring to hit the sheets.

Another tour out saw us seeing more hieroglyphs of ancient man again these being placed at 8000 - 10000 years old, incredible history here.

Next on the list, Volcan Galan which turned into a serious sandpit ride, we made it to the Laguna Grande with no problem but we were at 4600 meters and wrestling Maya through the unforgiving sandpits was a mission seeing me give in to the crest of the volcano.


That's as far as we went




On good advice from Carlos on his 350 Yammy Quad it only got worse and steeper even with him struggling so we made the right choice given I had managed to score another head cold from a generous Argie so was feeling a bit second hand.

Here is Carlos and his wife on their Quad at Laguna Grande



Lunch was had before heading back to Antofagasta.

Next mission. Antofalla.

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

Ok, now that you are done reading the Antotitles I will try and explain my way out of it.

Leaving Antofagasta was a perfect windless day, the road starting out ruff and corrugated and slowly improving to just really bad.:rofl

As progress was made we made big elevation and the beauty went up, per elevational changes the temperature plummeted, the saving grace was the warming from the sun which can only be described as bliss.



Cresting the top at a little over 4000 the road was a total sandtrap demanding 150% attention from the nut holding the handbars on, a number of times testing the scotts damper which saved our bacon.

Here is one sand trap, I hit a hidden Murphy rock, Ellen almost caught the moment, this was saved but my undies weren’t.



On to brighter things the first glimpse we got of Salar Antofalla was a breath taking one, the second view at the lookout was heart stopping.....an OMG moment ... no way no even close ... more like a **** me moment!!



Ellen and I stood there gobsmacked and quiet (that doesn’t happen often) as we surveyed the gift from the scenic gods, words and photos don't come close to the view you get.:eek1:eek1



This is what a happy person looks like :clap



With more colours than a rainbow, longer than any other salar in the world and more to come we could not believe our eyes. ...like this guy --> :eek1:eek1

Salar Antofalla is the longest salar in the world and is simply stunning, this part of northern Argentina is fantastic, you just need good fuel range, good amount of time, good set of spare fillings for your teeth and take in the good views handed to you courteous of Argentina.

Time to carry on and explore, looking north up the salar.



Heading across the salar to the town of Antofalla was more corrugated sandpits one which saw a tank slapper and boggy sandpit consuming Maya to the axles ... .wasn’t expecting that!!! ... ok, lunch I was shagged from wrestling sandpits and view that nearly wore my eyes out.

The sandpit/road we had come across



Arriving at Antofalla was so cool, one hostel basic but good, a hot shower well earned was had before packing it in and dreaming of tarseal.

Antofalla from the view point

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

You know at times like these you guys are the brightest thing in my week.Such magnificent beauty ,anyone of those shots could make the calender .Hope you are soon over the lurgy .Until next time YDF Noel

Heya Noel

Mate that is a very nice statement and truly heartwarming for us.

We are currently in Uyuni Bolivia now and tonight we met some of your countrymen and had a bloody good chat, they are on a 4 month hoon and loving it, was great talkin with the neighbours in english.

Lurgy gone thankfully ... ready for the next one

So knowing your enjoyed the above, hopefully you will like the following

YDP

Andi

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

What do these have in common? ... well not a lot other than it was Ellen's 26th birthday for the 20th time and we were in Antofalla. :clap

Birthday side trip for the day was in order so sans house and contents we took off south along side the salar toward Paraje Vega La Botijuela where Simon lives who is a friend of Walter who runs Alma Gaucho tours.

The track up to the oasis





Simon wasn’t there when we arrived so we had the whole place to ourselves ...even better although it would have been great to have met him.



Was a little muddy/greasy but we made it easy enough



Hot pool, yes a small thermal just big enough for a coupla people ... no room for clothing so we piled in enjoying an epic bath tub view.



This is what birthday happiness looks like clap



Check out the amazing array of colours in this place, unreal!!!



Crossing part of the salar of the way back, lumpy in places



Frozen, expanded salt and earth ... Jaime this shot is on the moon :rofl...we never found the rover tho :evil



In stark contrast and just 100 meters from that moon surface appears this, like the helmet says ...must look :eek1:eek1



Mind boggling colours ...what a treat and a half





Part of the boring road back



There are two ponds only about 80 meters apart, one is slightly red



The other slightly blue



I could see myself riding there again :evil



Back to home base at Antofalla for a big feed of Llama steak and chips (fries).

What a great day out on a stunning planet clap

Happy birthday to you Ellen, this gift was the location chosen at Ellen's request.

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