Two Moto Kiwis Arctic To Antarctic May 2012...

thanks andi for the constant update, makes a great holiday reading and getting me envious.

cheers to ellen too.

Thanks Andi & Ellen!
I've been following your trip for 15 months or more, sort of part of my life now, and enjoy it all, particularly your humanising of Central America and Colombia, previously completely populated in my mind by drug runners and thieves thanks to the endless bad press we get.
Stay upright!
John

now, wait just a minute there. aside from that being an incredibly from the heart (read: sappy) post, i enjoyed it. hey, aint that camera broken or something???

and the only other thing to add is, while wells fugwitz are just that, the fraud did occur in guate.

be good mate!

The camera played up the other day....that to cum...I mean come

Yes fraud was in guate, I should have added that, thanks to a great man we are now sorted

Great news!!!

Thank you for your kind words Salvi, for us it is nice to stop every now and then and check in with normality and staying with you guys was a treat for us so it works both ways.

Thanks man, yeap lovin it and enjoying the writing, sometime struggle for stuff to write so you guys don't get board with what we think is exciting.

And yes the ride reports have allowed us to meet many and now we are on facebook this has helped too (although we didn't wonna go on there)

Eating ... hmmmm .... hobby

Ha common them, turn envy into travel .... that is what we did and we are lovin it.

Heya John, thanks for your words and yes if all you took notice of was the news you would not go near the place.

There are some baddies but we have not found them and they are no in the circles we hover in, I am sure if you want trouble you will find it but that is ANYWHERE in the world.

Yeah camera played up but something about 4000 meters and 8 degrees seems to make the camera work ok

Wells fugwitz .. the new extended four letter word

More to come on that later on, gentlemen be careful with your bank and VISA they are NOT as honest and supporting as you may be lead to believe....

With fame we stay....

The famous Don Julio the great, 525 rider extraordinaire, ridden South America and North America on a KTM 525 EXC on the factory block of wood seat ...dude is a legend.

Julio invited us to stay, we gratefully accepted and took the back road through to Ambato, a nice alternate to the main road being not as busy.

The are bonuses like this small gorge



Mum and Dad Ambato .... out for tea with cool hats



It just had to be done



A quick inspection on Maya revealed we had lost our joining link clip so we were extremely lucky it did not come off as a 525 size chain bailing off would be sure to wreck things ... no prob getting a new one sorted, Julio and I ... men at work



While at Ambato we made an attempt to get up to Chimborazo however we arrived in a shroud of cloud and fog rendering our accent useless for the day.

Heading north our next attempt was Quilotoa, on the way we pulled up behind another moto but with twin pipes, heading up the hills he was doing 85 - 90 kmhr so I figured it was not a small bike, we turned off, filled with petrol and headed to Quilotoa, arriving there sorting out our accom he rolls up, I point to our place and he rides over.

A quick spanish chat and I established he is an Ozzie, howdy neighbour, Joe then clocks into the place we are at then off to lunch we go, the afternoon filled in with a hike to the bottom of the crater lake which is 400 meters vertical so hard on the ol knees on the way down and hard on the ol ticker on the way up.

The three lads, Joe, Con? and me



Joes bike and Maya parked in the restaurant



I will add at this point we are at 4000 meters or 4 km or 13124 ft above stress level or 300 meters higher than Mount Cook in New Zealand (the highest point) so the oxygen in thinning quickly, this is now the highest place we have slept and the first night was difficult waking every couple of minutes and me saying breath Andi breath...remember you learnt that when you were young.

So we have no been hiking higher than the highest point in New Zealand

The following day was a hike around the crater with a Frenchie, Ozzie, Kiwi, Chinese and Belgiuminite so we had the world covered, the hike was 4 hours and was a harder than we all anticipated, we all thought it to be a walk in the park but the hill climbs were high.



Us ... but you knew that



On completion of our stay Ozzie Joe was heading to Cotopaxi to climb the monster and we wanted to go to see it so we travelled together.

The road out of Quilotoa, from this



To this



Arriving at the Cotopaxi national park they said no motos.....not even to the restaurant or hostal....wtf :huh we are not there to tear off into the park and wreck it but no way they would let us in, the discussion getting heated at one point so for us it was back to Ambato and Joe to Quito

Joe trying to reason with Starsky and Hutch from the park ... no bueno!!



Returning to Ambato was a quick spin down the Panam back to Don (sir) Julios ....we arrived at rip hour .... whose dumb idea was that!!!

Getting sorted in Ambato we finally said goodbye to Mum and Dad and our new brother Julio, we now have extended family throughout the world and all colours.

I huge thanks to Juilo and family making us feel welcome and great being involved at the family level ... our casa is your casa, it would be great to see you guys in New Zealand.

When you see this you know you are in for a treat



Ellen thought she would compliment the mountain...



Chimborazo, highest point above the center of the earth, because of the egg shape of earth the top of Chimborazo is jn fact the highest point on earth or the closest point to the sun, we rode up to 4860 meters , New Zealands highest point is Mount Cook which is 3754 meters so we were riding 1106 meters higher than the highest point in New Zealand

Poor ol maya was down to about 20 hp, at the carpark she didnt have enough grunt to get out of the soft volcanic sand and up the carpark very easily so that is where she stayed for her photography session.

Getting closer, we did well timing wise as only 10 minutes after we arrived she disappeared under a vale of fog







We were here



At



Or for you imperialists



Few locals milling around, allamaring really



Accomplishing the highest point on our trip, the highest point we have ever been on land and the highest point we have ever slept at (other than that just anther normal day) before headed for the lowlands going coastal for a change ...at sea level so a 4860 meter variable for the ol bod.

Firstly tho we stopped at the famous zig zag train track however the price had gone up from $6 for 8am-2.30pm trip to $25 for 2 hours .... one thing is gringo prices but that set a new level, $50 bucks was too fat for our budget so we went coastal

This came with navigational difficulties as I was gonna take a shortcut .... yeah



Bridge too small for the bike, river a tad lumpy ... small backtrack required



Spotting a back road we disappeared into the hills then down onto the plains, now we were back into jungle again and shabby towns, our destination for the night Las Americas ....not sure whose idea than was, wouldn't call it a tourist trap .

Contacting the mad Canadians we discovered they were at the seaside town we were looking to go to, that sorted that out so destination Puerto Lopez was set for the next day.

Going down on things....

Well, the ride down to the lowlands was nothing to write home about other than when we were in the mountains and we pretty much had the road to ourselves, it was so peaceful and a time to be admired, once on the flats were we inundated by trucks and buses and clouds of half burnt diesel coupled with hot and sticky ... almost like being back in Cuba!! ... except we were riding this time.

La Troncal ... yeah, had a nice shower, the only fun part was upsetting a guy who wanted to drive through me where I was parked rather than go just behind me and into the gate, yes you could have fitted a bus through there be head didn’t wonna do that.... he got angry and tooted etc so I just smiled and made him more angry, the hotel guy came out and gave him a right royal serve.

Again I am no expert in Spanish but I understood clearly the hotel guy was not happy with the dickhead being very arrogant and told him to go around like a normal person ... which he did .... while I smiled.

That was La Troncal.

Sooooo, next day the gumball rally begin, gezz I hate main roads, we had one guy pull out to pass and he kept coming like we were invisible despite the LEDs in has face and we had to dive off the road to avoid being taken out head on ...wanker. :eek1

Once off the main drag heading down the coast the pace and stress levels dropped thankfully.

Puerto Lopez, Marylou and Rob were staying there so we dropped into their hotel per instructions to find they shifted to a much cheaper place and in town.

Suited us and they left more instructions, riding into town they found us easily ... only one big moto rolling into town with two big smiling faces .... being drunkards on level three they yelled out ...too easy.

We found some reasonably priced accommodation and Maya was parked out the back with the chooks and turkeys, we covered Maya in case they decided she was a good vantage point to shit from. :huh

Hanging with the dodgy Canadian we walked, relaxed, talked shit, drunk grog and ate ... as ya do.

Also took in the national park at the sulpher pools and gettin caked in mud ... awesome, this girl took a picture with us, ellen a got a picture of her with mud on her face .



Me, Ellen, Marrylou and Rob ... luvin it.



The sulfur pool, neat spot.



Down at the beach ... kids having fun



Hitting the road south we headed out to La Libertard then back out and on our way to Playas.

Talking a side road created some amusement and was much nicer that 4 lane race track fighting for space with buses and trucks, down near to sea edge was a bit airy as there were 40ft shipping containers all painted yellow saying private property keep out (in Spanish) and we wondered what was so precious out in a desert area...one wonders??.



Lots of dry creek crossings



Lots of these containers ... :huh



Arriving at Playas we clocked into our hotel which was one street off the beach and only $10 for the two of us including parking, wifi, own shower and all...cool, Playas is a very locals place thus I was pretty much the only whiteyfoo there.

After having cerviche in Puerto Lopez and being in a seaside town we decided to have it here too .... well we were at the end of the day and no one else was there and the lady was overly keen ....should have known at that point.

First off she delivered a very half portion ... I said come on the picture shows this and you are trying to give us this so she took it back and two minutes later it was per the picture ,... and I suspect by the way my guts felt later it was complete with the days floor scrapings, later that night all hell broke loose, I could have shat through the eye of a needle from 5 meters away.

That left me feeling very second hand the next day not to mention dehydrated and frail, we are now religiously sticking to our rule, no one in the place we are NOT going there, a place packed full of locals is a sure bet to a great feed for a good price and the risk of getting the shits from higher turnover places is greatly reduced.

Being off shade didn’t stop the hardened travellers tho .... nah .... onwards and upwards..... destination Machala for the night.

So feeling like crap but still able to ride we set to first through Guayaquil, Ecuadors biggest city, if I hadn’t bummed our turn up we would have been through faster than a dutchman chasing a dollar bill in the wind ....but I thought a city tour was in order ...yeah.

No dramas down the road other than boredom from a straight road and a dodgy guts, we did however manage to find a neat shortcut out to the sea, we shoulda stayed at the little village as it was quite nice but we punched on to Machala as we needed wifi and to be honest a touch of air con or a good fan and a nice bed was in order for yee ol sick one.

See the bottle made from bottles advertising no biffing rubbish



Very basic wee fishing village



My wish was fulfilled and was well earned, surprising what a few home comforts when you need em can make a huge difference ... actually just not trying to sleep on the toilet makes the biggest difference.

Machala itself surprised us with its size and it is a modern town



Interesting when the tide came in during the afternoon the storm water sumps were flowing back onto the street creating a flood on the streets.

A lite snack of fries and a bottle of 7 up to settle the mid then bed for the oldies.

The road from Machala to Cuenca bought a whole new feel to the place as we had gone from jungle to mountains to beaches to desert in two days and had ridden down from 4860 meters to see level.

The mountain desert road





A solitary plastic bag racing us down the road ... we won



Destination Cuenca, we were on course to meet with Luis, Janette and family, amigos of Julio in Ambato.

On arriving there was an audience and welcoming comity, a rider Alfonzo (Pocho) from Colombia, a couple Garston and Luciana from Argentina and Luis and family.

We were welcomed in and given lunch and shown to our room, very nice indeed.

Yeah, blame it on the motorcycle... its got nothing to do with your riding skills. I'm sure I could've wheelied out of that carpark.

I see your signature has been Colombianized...err...enhanced forever

Cool photo Ellen, this is my second favourite to the radio active glowing lamas

Damn thought I was gonna get away with that ... you will understand when you get to my age

From what Paolla says you could do it with your hands tied behind your back too

Yeah .. signifying our love and fun times in Colombia.

It was either that or a girlfriend from Medellin so Una Chimba will do