The Wife takes on Chlamydia. A South American Retrospective

Chris

Registered user
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
188
Reaction score
0
A bit of background: Between mid-1999 and early 2002 I rode around the world, that is UK through the Middle East and trans-Africa followed by New York to the Arctic circle to Tierra del Fuego, including about 9 months in South America. The bike I rode then was a 1989 BMW r100gs that had various names: Janis (too nice a name, allegedly), Helga (German and functional), the Wife (An Ethiopian policeman at a checkpoint upon demanding to know the make of vehicle for his ledger said it stood for “Be My Wife”), Ex-wife (we developed a rider/ridee relationship: She promised not to break down and I promised not to fall off…) and finally Goaty (as in “Old Goat”). The story of that trip is at my website at Round the World TBSdotCom

In mid/late 2015 I was at a bit of a loose end and with less than a week of planning and prep I flew to Brazil, bought a pre abused 2005 Kawasaki KLR650 and set off. The trip was meant to last only 3 months (budgetary constraints), but took 8 (helped by creative accounting)… The guy who sold me the bike had called her/it “Klarissa”. No guesses why. As she/it already looked so cosmetically beaten up, Klamidia seemed a suitable new name. On a Facebook post, a spelling bee corrected the spelling. I wonder how he knew?

So, the thread title is becoming clearer… Many things have changed in the world, in South America, in the “adventure” bike market niche, and of course, with me. I’m more ruggedly handsome, have gone grey, put on a bit of weight and am still bald. In this RR I want to compare the sights, sounds and experiences from the trip on the Wife to Chlamydia’s safari 15 years later. I revisited lots of places, saw many new sights, met old friends and made new ones. I also travelled to/through places like Antarctica and Colombia that I missed last time due to timing and security constraints.

My 2015/16 route was rather haphazard with several places visited more than once. I’ll explain the route in the following posts. I’m going to have to present it chronologically as any other way would do my head in. I want to show images from the Millennium trip and compare what I saw and how I felt then and 15 years on.

Please do ask questions and make comments. Hope you like the pictures and words. Here is a selection from the 15/16 trip.

tdf.jpg~original


End of the road in Argentina. 3rd visit, February 2015



yacht%20on%20DSC_0757.jpg~original


Antarctic yacht



DSC_0199.jpg~original


Mt Fitzroy, Patagonia, Argetina



DSC_0022.jpg~original


Chlamydia and friend, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia



DSC_0115.jpg~original


The ultimate wildcamp? Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia



DSC_0177.jpg~original


Toby Price, 2015 Dakar winner, Stage 6, near Turpiza, Bolivia



DSC_0423.jpg~original


The podium, Rosario, Argentina. I had sneaked into the VIP area



DSC_0099.jpg~original


Flamingos, Lagunas route, the long way. Bolivia to Chile



DSC_0076.jpg~original


The "so called" Death Road into the Yungas, Bolivia. Not so dangerous these days



DSC_0006.jpg~original


Bemused Peruvian lady



DSC_0130.jpg~original


Girl and sister, on a slightly longer detour around a landslide, northern Peru



DSC_0080.jpg~original


Is he taking our picture? Dunno, bald git... Coffee triangle, Colombia



Col.jpg~original


End to end done... Santa Marta, Colombia
 
Great Chris, there is a lot of stuff on your blog. I will enjoy sifting through it all.
 
Sorry,:D I'm probably not the only one to find my brain registers a sexually transmitted disease every time I see your heading.

Just started reading so.....looking great:D
 
Sorry,:D I'm probably not the only one to find my brain registers a sexually transmitted disease every time I see your heading.

Just started reading so.....looking great:D

No my defective mind came to the same conclusion
 
Thanks for your positive replies guys. And apologies to STD references :rolleyes: Hope they don't bring back bad memories...
 
The bikes involved:

575_Indeed.jpg


Wifey, here just crossed onto Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

1989 BMW R100gs with big 43 litre Acerbis tank and what I thought at the time was a good idea: A pizza box on the back


klrAtLaHiguera2.jpg~original

Chlam, here at La Higuera, Ruta del Che, Bolivia

2005 Kawasaki KLR650 bigger plastic tank (IMS?) and the panniers it came with (Pelican), along with a cheap kitbag from the camping shop.


Both bikes did about 30.000 km = 20.000 miles in South America with me at the helm. Wifey also took a banana barge down the Amazon from Peru to the Atlantic. After abandoning Chlam to the clutches of a nasty man-hating psycho hostal chica in Ushuaia for 10 days, I joined a cruise ship across the Drake Passage to Antarctica and back. Chlam survived, as did I.

The 2015/16 trip started in October 2015 in Sao Paulo in Brasil.

Just a note, all the Millennium/Wife pictures will only be 500 pixels along their longest edge, and possibly a bit pixelated. They were taken with a good camera and on slide film, but in the scanning process (which took me forever all those years ago) they ended up like this. In those days I didn't understand such things as well as I do now and digital technology in the last 15 years has made huge strides too.

Other recent RRs of mine include

2012 Stans and Mongolia: http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...-brighty-in-central-asia-and-mongolia.828973/

2013 Far East Siberia: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/mongolia-to-magadan-any-which-the-hard-way.961578/
 
Sorry,:D I'm probably not the only one to find my brain registers a sexually transmitted disease every time I see your heading.

Just started reading so.....looking great:D

I thought it was a town in Wales :blast

Great pics, though! :thumb2
 
2015/16 Map overview, Brasil overview

routeOverview.jpg~original


Overview map of gps tracklogs

Route:

1. Green(Start Sao Paulo)
2. Red
3. Purple
4. Yellow (following 2016 Dakar race)
5. No tracklogs. Forgot? Lost? The most boring ride down Ruta 3 from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. Shame I haven't the "proof" of my longest ever ride day. One day I did 900 km/ 600 miles. A record for me. Some of you iron-butters riding a GS might do that before breakfast, but try it at 50mph only riding between sun up and sun down with 50mph winds, mainly hitting the bike between 12 noon and 3 o'clock (not time of day, but between head on and from the right quarter of the bike. All day). Also a horrid road surface and articulated trucks to overtake/ overtaking me or coming the other way. On a 650 thumper with a loud pipe. The significance of the pipe loudness will be mentioned in another post. It's pretty funny/sad depending on your outlook.
6. Light blue
7. Dark blue
8. Dark purple (End Santa Marta and Bogota)

I did enter and leave Bolivia multiple times… A veritable spaghetti of tracks left there.


1Brasilroute.jpg~original


I didn’t explore Brasil as much as I could have on this trip. The furthest north I got was Rio de Janeiro, which in terms of Brasil is not very far at all. In many places, major floods were causing a lot of destruction. I don’t like riding in the rain and the distances are huge.



A couple of taster Brasil pictures…


06brazil34.jpg~original


Redeemed? Maybe not, but definitely a clean bike



05brazil19.jpg~original


Trinidad breakfast beach view from tent



06brazil26.jpg~original


Paraty Cathedral
 
In and around Campos do Jordao, SP State, Brasil


offRdDSC_0023.jpg~original


Set off from the mega city of Sao Paulo for a bit a spin in the area around Campos do Jordao. A super pretty part of the world and a huge and pleasant contrast. SP city has its charms, but riding through it on a motorcycle wasn't one of them!


geraldo1DSC_0177.jpg


Man and child on cow


ruralRetaurant.jpg~original


A Brazilian friend gave me the name and vague location of a rural restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I found it! Not signposted or anything. Very popular and great food!


badenBadenBreweryDSC_0189.jpg~original


When not with Geraldo fettling the bike it was important to sample the delights of this place settled by the Swiss who brought their traditions with them


geraldo1DSC_0177.jpg~original




Chlam was in good hands in Geraldo Lima’s workshop in Campos do Jordao. He’s the race mechanic for top Brazilian Dakar works rider and multiple finisher Jean Azevedo, including when the chequered flag was still in Dakar, Senegal

Geraldo is a top bloke! He also allowed me to stay FOC in his guest annex, which considering my budgetary constraints was very welcome. Brasil ain't a cheap travel destination!



geraldo2DSC_0179.jpg~original


One of Jean’s race bikes in Geraldo’s workshop

In the 2016 race Jean walked away from this crash: Lucky lucky man!....


12512521_479843982199739_1245053550701606525_n.jpg
 
Rio de Janeiro 2000 and 2015

2000:

751_Ipanema_Beach_Rio_Brasil.jpg


And

749_Copacabana_Beach_Rio_Brasil.jpg


In 2000 it was a little less overcast on Copacabana beach

750_Rio_at_night_Brasil.jpg


And the nights were clear

More words from my website: Chapter 26 The Big Trip


2015:

rdjJCDSC_0189.jpg~original


In October 2015 it was a tad more cloudy. At least it wasn’t raining like south of here



rdjManFromIpanemaDSC_0175.jpg~original


Statue to Antônio Carlos Jobim, the composer of The Girl from Ipanema



rdjBeachArtDSC_0169.jpg~original


Beach art



rdjBeachVolleyballDSC_0130.jpg~original


Beach volleyball



rdjFootvoleDSC_0124.jpg~original


Beach footvole. These guys are good!



rdjQueenOfTheBeachDSC_0167.jpg~original


Queen of Copacabana! No further comment required.
 
Following Highway 101, south of Rio de Janeiro

SPmotorshow1.jpg~original


While in Sao Paulo I took the opportunity to visit the bike show. I love Kawasakis



SPtyresDSC_0010.jpg~original


Theirs is bigger than mine. But I’ve been told size doesn’t matter. The one in the middle is a stretched Hayabusa



marceloDSC_0009.jpg~original


Marcelo is a great motorcycle traveller. As is his wife Beth. And great hosts at their luxurious house… Check out their website at Dream World Quest



RuralSP2DSC_0006.jpg~original


Rural Sao Paulo state is rather green



RuralSP1DSC_0001.jpg~original


One horsepower vs about 40



101trinidadbeachDSC_0092.jpg~original


It did rain a lot, here at Trinidad, but what’s wrong with sitting under a beach umbrella, reading a book and sipping caipiroskas con maracuja?



101trinidadgraffitiDSC_0136.jpg~original


Graffiti at Trinidad



101coastViewDSC_0054b.jpg~original


Sometimes it didn’t rain, but the next downpour was never far away



101islabela2DSC_0049.jpg~original


Anyone for a yot?



101islabela1DSC_0047.jpg~original


Sun peeks through clouds at Ilhabela



101selfMutilationDSC_0043.jpg~original


Hipster chica or self mutilation?



A picture I took of a surfer in 2001 in Salvador de Bahia:

733_Surfer_Salvador_de_Bahia.jpg


BoyFromBrazil.jpg~original


Now: Men, lock up your womens. Beach Surf God in the area! (Including truckers’ tan…), Ubatuba
 
Meeting old friends in Curitiba

The twisty mountain road from Sao Paulo to Curitiba provided more experiences of riding in the rain. Not so good, especially because I left late and rode into the dark. I however had a destination and old friends to look forward to meeting again. Martin and his wife from Switzerland still live in Curitiba. I met them on my last trip through the Americas in 2000/2001. It was super fun to catch up!

The word "retrospective" does appear in the thread title and so far there haven't been too many pictures or feelings from the Millennium trip. A lot of this is because several 2001 pictures were ruined in a Chilean photo development lab.

BUT

Here's a chance to check if anyone is into audience participation on this forum. The 2 following pictures include me: One is taken in Istanbul in 1999 prior to my trans-Africa trip (that led to the Americas leg of my RTW) and the other is from Curitiba in 2015.

Clearly I'm now less skinny and more ruggedly handsome... Are there any other similarities and differences between these 2 pictures?

beemerIstanbul.jpg~original



beemerCuritiba.jpg~original






A couple of other 2015 Curitiba memories...

hitlerPlaneDSC_0027.jpg~original


Martin really is into his flying and owns several aeroplanes. This one is being restored. It comes from Germany via Argentina. It is said to have belonged to a certain Mr Adolf H's personal pilot and is 1930s/40s vintage. The plane is a 2 seater and apparently small enough to take off in a (wide) city street.


ddrPlaneDSC_0025.jpg~original


Another German connection aircraft from the former DDR = East Germany


uralAndMartinDSC_0024.jpg~original


Martin on his Ural outfit, the factory for which was originally in Berlin before being dismantled and shipped east.



Wow, an entire post without any ladies visible, except possibly a wife or 2? Also no STD references
 
Foz do Iguassu and Paraguay

snappedChainDSC_0045.jpg~original


Here’s a first. The ride from Curitiba to Foz do Iguassu didn’t involve rain. But it included a snapped chain. I had a spare link but couldn’t get the effin link retainer on with the tools I had. There was a work platoon cutting the grass verges where I had rolled to a stop. Despite my 3 words of Portuguese and the guys speaking no English, but having an ax to use as a hammer, they knew exactly what I was trying to achieve and I was on my way pretty quickly. One fella was definitely a biker. The chain guard was rather mangled, but clearly had done its job.

fozHospitalityAndEinstein.jpg~original


Joelton owns a super hostel in Foz that welcomes bikers too: La Manga Rosa. Many asados, super craft beer and caipiroskas made the time fly. Here’s Einstein the dog helping me replace the chain guard



walterMoritzJoelton.jpg~original


Walter, Joelton and Moritz. I rode with Moritz through Mongolia in 2012. He film the infamous “How not to cross a river” video. It was great to catch up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6maYFQEnokk



Moritz’s website is at 1World2Go | father and son travel the world on motorcycle

The 2cv belongs to Walter. It’s not just any 2cv. It’s a 2 plus 2. A motor in the front driving the front wheels and another in the back driving the rear wheels!! He’s based in Coronel Oviedo in Paraguay and runs tours. S�damerika Abenteuerreisen und Backpacker Hostel in Paraguay (Bolivien, Brasilien, Argentinien und Chile)



foz1DSC_0059.jpg~original


Impressive from any angle



foz2DSC_0049.jpg~original


And from any distance



iguanaDSC_0061.jpg~original


An iguana at Iguassu. See what I did there!



CdeRubberChange.jpg~original


Don’t let anyone tell you that Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, just over the border from Foz, is the source of cheap tyres or tubes for bikes. All you can really get is cheap Chinese made plastic tat. Eventually managed to get a couple of tyres, but the supply of tubes was close to zero, that I had to reuse my old patched tubes again. Replaced front wheel bearings too.



leavingWaltersCoviedoPar.jpg~original


I dropped in on Walter. Little did I realise how long, hot, boring and straight the roads between Coronel Oviedo and Salta in NW Argentina would be.



homerParaguayDSC_0078.jpg~original


This pub, somewhere in flat, hot Paraguay caught my eye ;-) The heat was compounded with my heated grips turning themselves on and the only way to turn them off was to cut the power feed with with a borrowed pair of scissors from a tyre puncture repairer man on the side of the road. He told me he had once fixed a German BMW traveller's puncture...

My impression of Paraguay was of friendly people who don’t see many European or North American visitors and where every public building has a guard sporting a pump action shotgun at the door.
 
The 2nd leg: Through Paraguay, across northern Argentina to Salta and fun on Ruta 40 northbound to Bolivia


2NWargBol1stVisitRoute.jpg~original


The red line maps my progress through Paraguay, across northern Argentina to Salta, then a fun ride along the Ruta 40 northbound to Uyuni in Bolivia. I didn’t ride the NW part of Argentina on my last trip in ‘00/01.



nthArgStraightRdDSC_0084.jpg~original


Didn’t take many pictures along the highway from the river border with Paraguay via Formosa. It was a long, hot and straight transit stretch. Many many hours. Luckily some petrol stations had free wifi and (expensive) icecream.

I remember camping at a gas station near a big junction on my first night in Argentina. The local kids turned up in their cars or on scooters at about mighnight and one chap proceeded to play his car radio (tasteless) music really loudy. I wandered across to politely ask him to turn it down. He complied. Just as I was crawling back into my tent, the volume went up again… :mad:

Said music playing youth (and his sidekicks) of the town of Ingeniero Juarez on highway 81 now have a much better appreciation of estuary English and a greater understanding of the English for different parts the human anatomy and what can be achieved with a tyre lever. They left and I got some sleep. :augie



ruta40jujuy2.jpg~original


A preview of happier times to come on the famous Ruta Cuarenta.
 


Back
Top Bottom