Tent & Sleeping bag
 

For those of you who have traveled Central and South America and expected to stay in hotels only. Was there ever a time you wished you had a tent and sleeping bag along?

I have dragged tent and sleeping bag all the way and I am not sure i would do it again.

There are several sides to it:

1. Economic. You will save money by camping, but hostels are n ot that expensive and I have used them all the time. I would also like to add that you can find hostels/hospedajes/hotels in just about any little town/village. I have found hostels everywhere and generally they are cheap in the countryside.

2. Loneliness. main reason I did not use my tent more. Driving around alone and camping alone, is just too much alone for me. If you are alonely type or in a group then a tent is worth more i think.

3. Safety. Main reason I brought it really. If you get stuck somewhere in the mosquito infested jungle or in a mountain pass, you want to have some shelter. I never had to use it, but I think I would have been really glad I had the tent if I had to.

4. Quality and price. If you want something truely usefull you have to shell out quite a bit of money. I had a decent tent, but my sleeping bag was not good enough to use comfortably in the mountains (gets freekin cold there) and my sleeping mat died in Mexico. So I would say that you should reserve 100-300$ for tent, 200-500$ for sleeping bag and 100-200$ for mat if you want something that you will appreciate to use. You can spend much much much more of course!
An alternative would be to only bring a light weight tent for emergency use.

I had a petrol stove with me and havent used it even once. Coffe is cheap and I am not the type who sits down and makes coffe for myself in the middle of nowhere without anyone to talk too. Maybe you are different.


All in all, you will not know until you try. When you come back you have a better idea of your specific needs.

Really depends who YOU are
 

I go on these trips not just to see places and put kms under me, but to meet people. So unless I was camping at camp grounds or in someones front yard, I would just be isolating myself. "Rest" between kms is not just getting off the bike, it is "being with peolple". Anyway, that is how I see it...

On the last trip my son and I took Around the Block 2007 | we planned it to stay in inexpensive hostals. We would set a plan for a certain destination, but by 3 pm we would check our progress and stay where we were if it was not possitive we would easily make our destination before dark. NEVER drive in the dark except in an emergency, because it WILL BE an emergency if you do! :helpsmilie:

I agree with Peter. In fact if you add up the cost of tent, bag and roll, you have enough $$ to stay in inexpensive places every night for 4 months! :D

Thanks
 

Thanks for the advice.

Len

I agree with the recommendation not to bring tent, sleeping bag etc in Sth Am, and i am the strange type of person that actually likes to ride in the night, in all countries, and off road! But i still always find cheap places to sleep. And if you couldn`t i`m sure you could knock on someone`s door and at worse pay the going rate!
Plus beer is cheap and the people nearly always friendly/fun, so you end up wanting to stop in a town.

I`ve used my tent 3 times, and that was only because i was in a hurry for a certain destination. This way i would ride until around midnight, stop and be sleeping 20 mins later, then up at sunset, which was quicker than finding a hotel in larger cities in that region and also enabled me to stop when i wanted to. Let`s not question my sanity here(!), i`m just adding weight to the recommendation since even without careful planning you don`t need it.

You can alwas take a tarp and some rope and pegs for a tent, works for bike cover to. Do take a silk sleeping bag liner some beds are funky.

Travelling without camping????? I can't imagine....What a loss, in MY mind anyway. ;-) There's nothing like going to sleep and waking up in the middle of nowhere....
Lorraine

Depends where you camp. More often than not it's a struggle to find a private tranqual place to camp.

We've had an evening snack delivered to us in Turkey after which we got invited for breakfast the next morning by the hotel in the area. In Azerbaijan we got surprised by a side cart ice cream salesman doing side wheelies as he left, and in Mongolia people come out of nowhere.

When I set up camp I'm ready for sleep because after a whole day of eventfull experiences I'm completely farked. And who want's to deal with loud neighbours or grotty plumbing than. I still have dinner and breakfast in towns or diners.

It's all relevant when you talk about experiences. Apples and........

So what you're really saying it that you don't like 'rough' (or 'wild') camping in general which kind of disqualifies you in answering the question. No offence though, don't mean anything by it.

I don't see how having crap plumbing is better than no plumbing though. Even camping ammenities are worse than nothing at all. The world is your toilet means you don't have to stand in the stink.
Setting up a camp takes less than finding the parking at a hotel, sign in and unload the bike if you organise yourself. Dome tents are great for that because it doesn't need pegs. Throw the mat and sleeping bag in it, and dig into the beer you bought when you had dinner over a fire. Magic.

Still, I'm with MollyDog...
 

I've done lots of camping in my life, even recently. I'm talking about out in the Amazon with a machete, some salt and a mosquito net. Nothing else! :thumbup1: That's not for bragging rights, it's to say that I ENJOY "roughing" it. But when I am traveling by motorcycle, I am going not just to see the natural wonders (I NEVER go to see cities), but to really meet people, something that usually doesn't happen during the driving day(unless you break down). I don't feel I've known a country until I've developed real relationships with people there and that takes hours at least.

NO, I'm not talking THOSE kind of relationships! :offtopic: I am VERY happily married.

For example: Don't take everything you need as far as spare parts or even tools. Let someone else rescue you :helpsmilie:with their knowledge, tools, or pickup truck (take tie-down straps). We beat up on Charley and Ewan, but probably their best moment in "Long Way Round" was when they let those Mongolian "shade-tree mechanics" solve their bike problem. Now THAT'S memorable! :D

MollyDog, you're right, I'm not fluent in Spanish, though I lived in a Costa Rican fishing village for 13 months, where I was the only English speaker. Neither am I fluent in Arabic, though I lived in Egypt for seven years working as a journalist, or Kiswahili, when I lived in Kenya for five years. Basically, I'm crap at languages. However, because I'm pretty much immersed in whatever culture I live or travel, BECAUSE I'm working while travelling, (I've spent two weeks living with Bedouin in caves, and six weeks traveling across the Libyan Desert with camel herders etc etc etc) camping in isolated places is a godsend for me. I need my space, and time to regroup from being around people.
Hope this clears that up.
Lorraine

camping
 

Coming at this from another angle- the cheapskate approach- I say do not buy an expensive tent and sleeping bag. Any $30 department store tent with fiberglass poles and a modest sleeping bag will suffice for emergency summer weather camping. I haul a tent and sleeping bag along for the odd occasion when I find a nice free camping place or in the US seek refuge from overpriced hotels or commercial campgrounds. I have camped out all over Europe and Australia , but only occasionally in thirty years of trips in Mexico and Central America.Last trip to Honduras did not use the tent even once, but it was nice to know I had it in case.So what good would it do me knowing I had $600 of camping gear on the bike and not using it? Money better spent on cheap hotels.And even expensive gear wears out eventually needing $$$ replacements
Also, when folks say camping they usually mean they also cook their own food. This means they will have to haul food, feul, cooking gear, cleaners etc. Waaaaaay tooo much junk to haul on a bike.
If you are willing to camp out and fight the bugs then the occasinal hotel which you might find distasteful to your genteel constitution should be easy to take if you classify it as indoor camping.

YES!!

Why do we think that we are not going to be able to get things we need when traveling, therefore he haul EVERYTHING (including the kitchen sink) from our home "just in case". The rest of the world doesn't live like that, or even think that way! We must be quite a sight!!! :helpsmilie:

SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY !!!!!!:eek3:

So you're saying not to take one, but to buy one locally when you think you'll need it? Why have the hassle to find a tent that is more than likely to be crap. At least in Asia and Eurasia it's that case. I thought I would go with the poncho instead of a tent, but a few windy nights and slugs in your sleeping bag will cure you of that. Oh, and a face like a teenager from the mozzies. Nice.

Then finding an outdoor shop in France without being able to speak French was a massive pain. We weren't near a major city for starters. Found one eventually. That one blew into a river in Turkey, don't ask..... We were trying to dry it out. In Turkey we couldn't find anything decent to withstand Mongolian winds, so had one shipped to Georgia. It was awesome.... It got nicked in Russia by the crate maker though (we think).... Again, don't ask.....
On a previous trip I bought one locally. Nothing with an inner tent, so imagine a rainy night in that. Oh, I lie, there was a Northface tent. Guess what the cost was....

They are small mate (some of them). Bring one. If you enjoy camping you'll love it. Best of both worlds.

Of course we can buy whatever we truly need locally—that's what local people do, right? But when I've actually done this I've found it difficult to find quality gear of the sort I like once I leave North America or Europe. Sure, all I "need" is a couple of blankets and a pair of flip flops on my feet,....but in fact if I'm sleeping rough I like a dry, wind-stable tent and an actual sleeping bag. These are hard to find most of the places I travel.

Even when proper kit is available for purchase, there's some question as to whether I really want to spend my travel time searching ineffectually for camping gear in, say, Bamako or Blantyre when I've already got whatever I'm looking for sitting on the shelf at home. As long as I can treat the search as entertainment (you know: slowing the pace, establishing connections, interacting with the locals on their terms, etc. etc. etc.) it's fine, but more often I've really got better places to be than, say, Bamako or Blantyre.

I admit that there is a balance between owning my kit and being owned by it, and that I never seem to hit the perfect balance point. I carry a lot more than some folks, less than others. I'm jealous of those I see on lightly-loaded 250's, but I don't really want to join them. In fact, I'm jealous of those who travel by catered, airconditioned Land Rover too, but that's not how I really want to spend my money.

Having said all that, I rarely use a tent in the developing world, but I often carry one (and have had occasion to be very thankful for this). My smallest weighs less than three pounds/1.5 kilos. I've almost always got some sort of lightweight sleeping gear (pad, bag, liner sheet), and these come into play relatively often. For the most part I've stopped carrying cooking gear, but I favor goretex and a water filter.

Mileage varies.

Mark

Trekking is one of the best reasons to visit S Am. If you don´t, you are really missing out. OTH, tents and bag can be rented at any of the popular trekking destinations or you can join an organized trek.

That said, if you are planning on going up high in the Andes even w/o camping. I would bring a lightweight down summer bag. Many of the hostels up high can be freezing at night and even if they give you an extra blanket you can still be in for a cold and miserable night. Add an inexpensive space blanket (2 x 4 inches) and you could survive a night stuck w/o shelter on the Altiplano.

A compact tarp is also nice, if only for a ground sheet when making repairs in a dirty or sandy area.

As for meeting people, I have found that locals will often stop and visit you when camped. Yet may be more distant when you are in a hostel in a small town.

your own space
 

right, we have only used our tent about a dozen times in a total of about ten weeks in bolivia and peru. but the times we have, it has been like taking our adventure back and has been brilliant. lots of fun getting out there or sussing out where to camp even in more populated places.

you can't sleep in a hostel, be lulled to sleep by the sound of a mountain stream or waves lapping at the beach, then be woken by the sun.

in town, you are more likely to crash out under the pong of stale cigarettes, be lulled into insomnia by running toilets and woken by sirens or garbos.

oh, and there's nothing like a good bog in the bush, IMO. no doin that in town. take your tent. so what if you carry it for a month without using it?

cheers,
andy.

I give up !!
 

I give up !! I guess it is "each to his/her own". Each rider goes RTW for their own purposes, sometimes that includes other people, sometimes not. For me, people are the most important. Truely, they are the only thing that is going to "outlast" this world of ours, so doesn't that make them essential to our "journey of life" :thumbup1:

OK mollydog, you've redeemed yourself. I'll even let you buy me a drink whenever I return to the Bay Area. ;-)

And yes, it's my 'job', but that's why I chose this life/work, cause it's my life's work!

Someone just sent me a copy of Rosetta Stone, so I'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I stumble around and seem to do better at understanding people (sometimes), than others who are fluent.

Now I'm waaaay off thread.

I'm camping on Rio Desequedero, outside of Oruru, Bolivia. Watched the new moon set over the water, and listened to the flamingo's, Ibis and zillions of other bird flap around, while the sky, was amazing. Can't do that sleeping in hotels in my budget...

Lorraine

Exactly. People often give me the shits. They're around you all the time like you just escaped the zoo, so it's nice to have moments in the day where you get something to yourself. There are plenty of good moments with people, mostly everytime you stop somewhere for whatever reason. You're found quick enough. I've been backpacking and hitchhiking for years, so I like the oppurtunity that having you own transport gives you for escaping all that. I don't travel on a motorbike to meet people. Could go to the pub for that, or would go backpacking for that. Adventure riding overseas to me is all about escaping the overpopulated overdeveloped landscape/ prison the west has created and going back to simplicity. I love the feeling of having all you need with you, and as long as you have fuel, water and food (and money) you can do whatever you want and wherever you want. Away from all the timetables, check out times and retrictions, etc. That's whay I bring camping gear and use it rather than going to hotels. We're even thinking of just asking hotels for a shower rather than use the room. I was heavily inspired by Mundo Enduro which is the reason I started looking for that. But I never managed to realise that without having my own transport because of bulk size constraints (and I looked at all the outdoor gear I could find), hence my move into bike travel at the greater financial cost.

But I agree totally, each their own. I do feel that on this forum there is a bit of an undertone that travel SHOULD be all about people. It comes up a lot. I reckon that going backpacking/ hitchhiking is much more suitable for that than adventure riding overseas so the LP forum would be a better place.

Thanks and Quote
 

I want to thank you all for helping me decide this issue. When I read the posts here and elsewhere on the Hubb it reminds me of a famous actor and a great quote. Perhaps this quote will enhance your travels. Just replace the word voyage with motorcycle trek.

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… cruising, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these men can’t afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?”

- Sterling Hayden

Len

Yes !!
 

COULDN'T AGREE MORE !!

Trouble is convincing the wife that we should "Throw all securuity to the wind..." But then, the last one is almost out of the house... And I met this wife of mine in the Amazon, so I just have to revive her adventurous spirit....:rolleyes2:

This saying is going on my wall to SLAP me out of my perceived stability as often as possible.

Thanx,

"
oh, and there's nothing like a good bog in the bush, IMO. no doin that in town. take your tent. so what if you carry it for a month without using it?

cheers,
andy.[/QUOTE]"

So it was you who visited that wild campsite north of Genoa before I got there ? I enjoy a great sunset as much as anybody, and am always happy to hear the burst of bird song and insect chirpings which come to a crescendo at sunset.But if I or you can reach such areas with a bike then it is a certainty that others have been there before. That little lump under your tent on the " pristene, untouched" beach or jungle floor may well be the cat -hole with contents from a preceding tourist.Be careful where you set the tent!
Sunsets /rises are nice but oh so transitory, even though they do go on 24/7 . No argument with camping out to catch one, but one can also view them from some good vantage point and then return to a hotel room for the remaining 10 hours of tropical darkness, and not give a hoot about the other hotel guests.

Inspirational quote from a fascinating man. Hayden's autobiography 'Wanderer' is well worth a read, and 'The Asphalt Jungle' is almost perfect film noir (and showcases what's arguably Marilyn's finest performance). And this is a perfect HUBB thread - meandering easily from tent-pegged prosaic practicality to 'life is elsewhere' poetry...

Suerte, Dan

Yup, now you got the hang of it. Everyone is different due to having had different experiences and thought processes. Go your own way. Just pick over peoples opinions as possibilities to consider. This applies to everything from 'which bike' to what brand of coffee.

Carrying a tent and sleeping bag on your travels is no different than buying medical insurance before you leave. You most likely won't need it, but you sure are happy to have it when that time comes! I had a stuck float-bowl in the mountains of Ecuador and ran out of gas far from civilization. It was a very cold, wet night and i can't imagine what might of happened to me if i was wasn't prepared. If you plan on leaving the highway, be prepared to take responsability for your actions!
Personally, i really enjoy camping, alone or with a companoin. I pack a small kitchen with everything i need, a small gasoline stove, a small coffee maker, an expensive Bibler tent, which has been worth every penny BTW, and a very good -6C down sleeping bag which packs to nearly nothing and a Thermarest sleeping pad. My gear is all the best i could find and all well worth it! The tent has kept me dry in the most severe downpours and has never failed me. The thermarest has only been patched once in four years, and the sleeping bag is always warm, cosy and extremely light and compact. My kitchen provides me with everything i need to cook a gourmet meal in a bag the size of my overnight bag. I use the MSR teflon pots and pan set, and my Primus stove fits nicely inside. All this gear takes up about 2/3 of one pannier. I can't imagine travelling without all my gear, for the little bit of extra weight, my panniers would be half empty without it!

In contrast to this self flagellating and pompous piece above, Ted Simon, in "Dreaming of Jupiter" writes that...

"people who do gamble [with life] can't really be very lucky. All that frenzy of "fun" and throwing caution to the winds, to my eyes, is a thin disguise for a kind of despair, for lives out of control, for people desperate to change their lives."

I think you've deliberately missed the point of both quotes, Walking One. And I've definitely missed yours - I haven't got a clue what you're trying to say here - or why.

With all the light and small camping and cooking gear I cant see not taking some.

As far as getting to know people and being with them its up to you not what you take or dont. Some of loneliest people I have seen have been in cities.

Riding to unstable areas on a bike solo seems like a gamble to most people.

How did this thread which was filled with inspiration and good sound advice get to"In contrast to this self flagellating and pompous piece above". In reference to the Sterling Hayden quote.

Some people have to piss on everything.

Len

That's fair enough, but I think Kentfallen thought the same of your posts to him, Writing One, about post-colonial views on the competence of African people. Even if you were right.

The first piece is initially attractive, and makes a very powerful, concise and articulate case for abandoning everything and just going. The more stretched the better. However, I think there is a note of love of hardship, reminiscent of Opus Dei, which I find self flagellating. His utter certainty that this is the way, I find pompous.

The second piece seems to suggest the opposite.

So I'm guilty as charged of quoting two views, and for daring to criticise the first in a reasoned way. It seems that no one can discuss the case for the first, but simply descend into frothing rage because someone has another view.

I haven't read his book, so it's impossible to know if he's being sympathetic or a little harsh towards his fellow human beings. Either way, to understand this statement suggests at least a brief personal experience of the feelings he describes. Me? Hope to cross Russia in a £60 car. I have no idea why.

Sad thread.:(

Teflon
You will have great time in Russia in your car, which wont break the bank.Best wishes ....have fun.

You're spot on when you wont comment as you havent read the book. That's what reasonable people do, keeping it real.

Good roads

Good for you!!
 

Caminando,

Good response to Teflon. We all need to speak only of what we REALLY KNOW, and as you say: "Keep it real". Weeks back there was a thread about being kidnapped while on a ride in the wilds of SA. The responses were piled so high and deep from people (dare I say: "IDIOTS") who were brimming with suggestions, yet had never even spoken with someone who had been through that. I tried over and over to bring the discussion to a REAL kidnap situation and called out for anyone with REAL experience to speak...

Amazing !! They just kept on with their endless advice to others from the bottom of their lack of experience!!! :eek3:

I thought this was a thread on taking a tent or not. Bloody hell the Hubb has a lot of ego's on it (as I found out with the few post I've added). It's really starting to get off putting. It's worse than a backpackers sometimes where you have to listen to all this crap about who is the real hardcore traveller.