South America: Until our Luck or Money Runs Out

Well, here's some closing images from BA.

This is one of the big plazas in town, I already forget the name:


And here's what you've all been waiting for, Evita's grave at the graveyard in the Recoleta neighborhood:


Not the best picture, you really can't get more than a few feet away from the thing, it's so crowded in there.



Some more images from the cemetary:

Thanks guys;

If or when you publish this, please let me know. I want an original autographed edition.

Well as usual Charles and I don't see eye to eye on this one, or didn't feel eye to eye?

There were very few times when the ride was downright miserable. I most certainly felt the way Charles described on a number of occasions but it was always (or at least most of the time) tempered with an appreciation for what I was doing. Never ending border crossings, corrupt cops, mechanical failures and all of those other things he mentioned are part of the experience, they along with all of the good things Latin America have to offer are what makes the trip worth taking if you ask me. If it wasn't for all that it would have been another all together too comfortable jaunt around the states. Not to say that those trips don't have their time and place, I've taken them and enjoyed them, but it wasn't what I was looking for when I was planning this trip. I knew those obstacles would be there, and that a significant amount of the time we spent down there wouldn't be the most enjoyable, and I think that realization helped me through a lot of the tougher times (not that Charles thought it was going to be a cake walk... we went into this with similar expectations).

It certainly is nice to have a car at my disposal, and live in a city with stores like Target and Best Buy... not to mention American style grocery stores, but at the same time there were aspects of the Latin American marketplace that I thought were vastly superior to the States. For instance down there anything that breaks can be repaired and cheaply. Torn leather glove? Need some welding done? Need to modify your tank bag so it works better with your tank? All of those services and more were typically a short walk from where we were staying, and were almost universally cheap. I'm kicking myself for not getting my cell phone's display fixed while I was down here, because I am almost certain that if/when I take it in here, I will be told that I should just buy a new one. There was a time in the United States (before my time) that all of these things would have been true of almost any American city, but sadly that is no longer the case.

I also really enjoyed the food markets. Fresh produce, and the best fruit you will ever eat was always within walking distance, and again it was almost universally cheap. On top of this the food you eat in restaurants is REAL food, its not this overly manufactured high fructose corn syrup, chock full of preservatives bullshit. I'm fairly certain that the quality of the food, not just the quantity had a lot to do with my weight loss as well.

Anyways I guess the point I'm trying to make is that for me, every annoyance there was always something exciting or amazing to offset it. The annoyances were a sort of tax to experience some of the most amazing things I've ever seen and done. For all the time I spent lonely, wishing I was home there was a day spent summiting high Andean passes or climbing volcanos. The pros significantly outweighed the cons.

Charles' post does remind me of something I've been meaning to say for quite a while. A warning of sorts, or perhaps a disclaimer for people planning a similar trip in the future. Ride reports (even ours and I know we tried to tell it like it was as much as possible) are can paint a very deceptive picture of what long term travel like this is really like. There are days where you will spend your entire ride questioning what the hell you were thinking getting yourself into something like this. There are days you will hate, places you will hate and people you will hate. You will be bored, and often. I'm not saying this to try to dissaude anyone from taking such a trip, but more to make sure that people go into something like this with realistic expectations. It makes the lows a lot easier to manage, and really helps when that voice in the back of your head starts telling you to turn around and head back to safety and certainty.

Yeah he posted that after my post a while back.

Here is what I wrote:

<TABLE class=tborder id=post8675642 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_8675642>I have never taken a trip as far in distance or time that you two have.

But I have often used the thought "Its been an awesome trip / ride, lets get home safe and we can tear it up another day".

Sometimes we use this philosophy when we are doing Track Days or Snowmobile Trips that are far from home.

Either way you guys will figure things out. It seems to me you guys have
the whole Trans America Travel thing Dialed in.

Rip it up down there and enjoy the rest of the trip.

Drinking that Cold Beer from my brewmeister for you guys right now.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________
Sven

03 GSXR1000
03 KTM MXC 450
01 KTM LC4 640
<!-- / sig -->
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I did'nt post to try and encourage you guys to go home early, more just to
let you know I can understand the feelings you have when its time to go
home. Im still not sure what stage Im in either but I know Im not a quiter.
When I raced the Baja 1000 in 2004 on an XR650, I crashed 70 miles into my 250 mile section and seperated my left shoulder. I rode the other 180 miles to finish my section and handed off the bike so we could finish the race.

For most of us, at some point, there comes a time that the trip ends, and
life as usual starts again. Then we begin to plan and dream for the next adventure, however large or small it may be.

You guys had a hell of a run and this has been one of the best ride reports
I have ever read.

Later Sven

Here are a few more smilies from my 6 year old Son Ryan.

Dear Seguin bros.
I do appreciate your diverging opinions about this trip. It does reflect the reality that different people will experience any activity with a different perspective.

I haven't done this trip yet, but I may be able to, from my arm chair perspective, say that I will hate border crossings and corrupt cops like you have disliked it Charlie, and Trevor as well. I will feel helpless at mechanical failures at the moment they happen but will recover when trouble shooting starts. I will like the mountains but will really enjoy the "llanura" of Patagonia (I've been there although not on a motorcycle and I know I like it best). And most certainly I will be bent on going to the very end, to reach the geographic goal, but, whatever the outcome, I will at the moment, and certainly at some point after, rejoice and say "it was worth it and then some". Because although I'm target fixated, I do pay attention to the details along the way and I know the adventure really starts when the plan fails. And this kind of journey is a journey of Plans B, C... I just hope do be ready to start my journey in a couple of years.

I think I won't take it as lightly and happily and optimistically like Flyingavanti did or Nina is doing. But I expect to be more positive than negative.

Then again, check back with me two years from now... Right now I would be happy just to have the energy and time to start such a trip. In two years from now it may be me complaining about something or another.

Best of luck to you too, Seguin bros., thanks so much for your photography, stories, insights, perspectives.

Lion

You lucky bastard, Joe. I think I've put on 20lbs with the vegetarian option of chips and beer for lunch and dinner. (Okay, okay, I didn't have to have the beer but I'm a good English girl!) We just made it to Ushuai and finally have internet again and I'm catching up with your thread. Enjoy the comforts of home - hopefully you'll change your minds about wanting to do it again. We have our whole lives :) Really hope the SF thing works out. Yours Nina

Terrific report all around Joe and Charles. The earnest and honest introspection at the end is perhaps the best part of all. Congratulations on the safe completion of an important journey.

Thanks for both the ride and the insight...


Lee...

I've grown a bulbous pair of breasts from reading your RR for so many long hours!! Now' I've got to do my own trip in order to shed these volumptious terrors.

Thanks!

I really appreciate that you share your thoughts after the trip and the honesty you put into it.

About the bikes, back at home, do you just call the state agency to say "btw, we sold the bikes in some other country, so cancel the registrations" ?

I've spent the last 6 hours sitting at a kitchen table at a resort in Branson, MO reading this ride report. The crystal clear diamond hard ice covering everything from the recent storm has finally begun to melt. I'm a podium speaker for a national developer and am stuck here during the off-season. I too am most recently from Minnesota. This has been a great read. I can't wait to get my 'wing out of the garage in St. Paul and ride.

I admire your ambition to do such a trip. At 19 yo I spent a few years in the Caribbean working on cruise ships and look back on that period of my life as one that helped shape my personality and sense of adventure. I couldn't replicate that same experience again if I tried. ...and I don't need to. Now as a father and provider I find I get much of the same satisfaction in trying to make my daily routine and occupation as exciting as possible as I did at that time of my life exploring the unknown. I'm certain in another decade or two I'll look at this differently as well.

Your report is just another reminder for me that I need to ride more with my father while he's still up to it. Your posts remind me that unlike Branson, MO, there are places in this world where people under the age of 65 do exist. That maybe people have hobbies other than going to Bass Pro Shops. And best yet perhaps, there are people on this earth that don't wear camo clothing to restaurants. I saw them in your pictures. The longer I spend in Branson the better the corrupt cops, John's bangin' Ho's, roadside tire repair and nasty moldy ass hotel rooms sound. Help me. Best Wishes to you both.

Oh yea... Can you put an ADV sticker on a Goldwing?

You most certainly can. Check out this ride report. Its a classic.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328587&highlight=oldwing

Great post guys! I appreciate your candor about the trip and your experiences. I do understand that "us readers" only see the charm in your posts, and don't get to experience all the bone jarring reality and boredom in-between. But also we don't get all thoses experiences, the conversations, the people that are forever locked in your memory not deemed significant enough to capture here in your posts. And there is the fact the journey has forever changed your outlook on life and frankly the bad experiences had as much to do with that as the good ones.

There does come a time to end that journey, really to change directions. This happens many times in eveyones life. And the only one who knows when that right time to change direction is you. A happy person is one that can cherish the mistakes, the boredom and the adversity in lifes journey as much as the pleasureable experiences. Good luck with your next journey.

TDF in 2013

Just go a few miles southeast to Rockaway Beach (when the ice melts). You'll feel better.

Glad to hear you both made it home safely. I am going to miss your ride reports and the great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Is it true you guys rode about 20,000 miles?

Check out Emilio Scotto and his Longest Ride. Ten years and 500,00 miles on his Goldwing, through most continents and unbelievable terrain.

Here's another one.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=310834

Thanks for the links Keetmanaa & Klay. Nice odometer. Damn. I'll read those reports next. Maybe that'll keep my mind busy until this place thaws out. I just want to GO!

H.D.T. went to Concord to find some peace and conduct his business and affairs with the fewest possible hindrances. Ben Franklin went to Philadelphia to become a great printer and sever the ties that bound him. The Seguin Bros. went and rode the length of a continent to find a place in space and time to mark as their own. I'm in Branson, MO. What the hell? This sucks dude.

I will look forward to doing a RR of my own someday. Thanks for the entertainment advrider.com and rock on Brothers.

I think about 19,500 is closer to the true number. But basically, yeah.