T7 Alaska to TdF report 2022

[Chris Scott]

Just got this from AMH reader. James C.
It covers pp248-310 in the book but is useful to anyone

I just returned from a trip from Anchorage to Ushuaia. I made good use of the AMH through the planning and trip, so a large "thank you" for all the good advice. 
I thought I'd send a few comments and notes on things you wrote in the book that might - you never know - be useful.
I started on May 20 in Anchorage and rode Alaska-Canada-Mountain West USA-Texas-East Coast Mexico-Yucatan-Belize-Guatemala-Honduras-Nicaragua-Costa Rica-Panama, then air freighted into Bogota and continued Colombia-Ecuador-Peru-Bolivia-Argentina-Chile (several times) to Ushuaia, arriving November 11. I rode a Yamaha Tenere 700. 30,000km or so. Loved every one. Except some in Peru.

Notes: 
1. Central America seems to require far fewer Xeroxes than before. Most borders have machines behind the counter and make their own copies.

2. The only Central American border I even saw a Tramitadore was Nicaragua to Costa Rica. Maybe they were all told to stay away during the pandemic? Most borders had semi-sealed compounds and it felt OK to leave the bike unattended.

3. A lot of countries have introduced pre-registration via a website or an app, that you have to fill out before you go to the border. Mostly it feels like a pain but probably saves time. The Nicaraguan one isn't optimised for phones, which is a pain because you can't see the edges of the form. I ended up spending an hour getting them to change my registration because - unseen - I'd typed my name as "Jjames" with two "j"s.

4. I had no police hassles anywhere through Central America (or South America), not even in Honduras. I only got busted once, and that was a legitimate speeding fine on the PanAm in Panama. (The speed limit drops to 60kmph when the dual carriageway goes through towns and moto-cops lurk around the corners with radar guns.)

5. Hondurans are the worst drivers in Central America. Nicaraguans the best. It's as if they have to pass some kind of test before they start to drive...

6. Stahlratte is no more, as I'm sure you know [actually it’s back: https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...lratte-102750]. All other boat options looked sketchy so I flew the bike into Bogota. Girag weren't interested; I got no response. I used E-Cargo Logistics (https://ecargologistics.com/2021/12/18/motoviajeros/) who were very good and still less than $1,000.

7. Most South America countries have a good network of big national chains of fuel stations. I didn't once resort to "rancid donkey piss"; 90+ octane all over. Or that's what it said on the pumps...

8. There are very few other European or North American riders on the route. I didn't meet one other English. There are a lot of Brazilians, Chileans and Argentineans though and they're all good muchachos, friendly, full of good advice and free with the 'mate' gourd. 

9. I got insurance everywhere. The trickiest was Colombia, which I got downtown in Bogota. Otherwise, always at borders or online (US, Canada, Mexico and one for Chile, Argentina, & Bolivia).

10. Peruvian drivers are still the worst in South America. I would quibble with your description of the Lima highway as "painless". I've never fought in a war, but that felt like one, with people trying to kill me from all directions, and it took three hours.

11. Paper maps seem impossible to find anywhere in Central and South America until you get as far as Chile. Best to take your own.

12. Norton Rats in Cusco looked shut and looked like it hadn't opened in a long time.

13. Parts for bigger bikes seem hard to come by anywhere until Chile, and not easy even then. Bogota (and, I heard, Medellin) maybe. Even in Santiago I was told they'd have to send to Miami for a rear sprocket and it might take three months. 

14. Uyuni to Argentina via La Quiaca is now paved all the way. 

15. Dakar Motors in BA are only shipping now; they don't run a shop or accommodation. They said they want to spend more time riding. Highly recommended. 

16. Argentina has an official currency rate (140 to the dollar when I was there) and a "blue" rate (280 to the dollar). It's actually expensive there now if you don't change at the blue rate. Take US$ cash and change it (just about anywhere) or set up a Western Union account, which lets you collect pesos at the blue rate if the money is sent from an overseas bank. 

17. I thought cocheras were worth a mention in the book. Secure parking throughout South America. 

18. iOverlander can guide you to just about anywhere you want to go. I always made sure there was back-up accommodation around in any town though because a lot of smaller hotels and hostels shut down during the pandemic, 

19. It's still windy in Patagonia.

James C

[selecw]

Excellent info. We leave from Nevada to Rio on Jan 16th, also on T700s!

[mcwhirtj]

I finished this trip last May, and I have to say that this is all dead on advice and opinions mirror my own. Great summary. Only exception I’d make is that the road from Uyuni to La Quiaca is MOSTLY paved. Still some sections under construction that are unpaved, but graded. Was still true a few months ago at least.

And regarding parts; yes, difficult, and do yourself a favor and plan way ahead for tires (I was calling places and securing them a month or more ahead). But the BMW dealership network throughout Central and South America makes it not as difficult if you are ridding that brand. Was reason I chose it for the trip. FWIW.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[chris]

I like point #10

Even 22 years ago, a Peruvian friend described his countrymen as P1ss Poor Driving Wnakers

In subsequent trips I took Peruvian paths less travelled, and things were a lot less stressful

[Mugsey]

The Argentine peso is constantly heading south…..currently 180 (official) vs 352 (“blue”) rate

Current rates can be found at https://bluedollar.net/

[markharf]

Might have been me who described the freeway thru Lima as "painless." I do agree that Peruvian drivers as a general rule are scarier than those in neighboring countries--one of my more vivid memories was entering from Ecuador and noticing that Peruvians on foot, whether children or wizened elderly, do not casually cross roadways--they put their heads down and churn their legs as fast as they can until safely clear on the other side.

But driving thru Lima on the motorway? Piece of cake. I was out the other side before I even knew it, wondering what all the fuss was about. Of course, by that time I was fairly blasé about almost anything, including drivers in, for example, Rome, Athens, and capitals in Southeast Asia and Africa. It's all relative.

Oh, but that Patagonian wind... *That's* not relative.

Mark

[Snakeboy]

#10…..The most undercommunicated fact about riding a motorbike in south-America. Never had I been tried killed with a grin so many times….