Showing posts with label Track. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Track. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Bolivia - pet and bike friendly accommodations, tracks and waypoints

Track 2600km

Track and waypoints in GDB and GPX format.

List of bike & pet friendly accommodation (100BOB ≈ 13.5 EUR ≈ 15USD)


Copacabana - Luz Yhobimar

Type: Room (twin, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 70BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking lot one block away (included)
Contact:
GPS: S16.16630° W69.08779°
Comment: hot shower, Wifi, TV, no drinking water



La Paz - Apartamento en La Paz

Type: Room (twin, single occupancy), shared bathroom
Costs: 12USD
Dogs: 6USD
Bike parking: Garage in house (4USD)
Contact: booking.com,
GPS: S16.50648° W68.14240°
Comment: electric shower head, Wifi, TV, drinking water, common kitchen, fridge, terrace with a view, easy to find. silent and big room. kitchen. Garage in-house. cheap. Hosts speaks English. Clean shower/toilet. had to wait for a while before I got hold of the owner but some other house guests helped. Parking costed 4USD, my dog 6USD per night which made the room a bit expensive for Bolivia but maybe not for La Paz. My room door had glass tiles and I could see when the light went on in the corridor.
Slow to unusable internet. On the last night there was no toilet paper (even though toilets were cleaned) and I could not find the owner.

Oruro - Hotel City Virginia

Type: Room (single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 130BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: Garage in house besides hotel (mostly for the night not during day)
Contact: 72313391, Av. 6 de Agosto entre Aroma y Villarroel
GPS: S17.96093° W67.10574°
Comment: hot shower, slow Wifi, TV, drinking water,

Potosi - Casa de huespedes La Vicuna

Type: Room (king size bed, single occupancy), shared bathroom
Costs: 120BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact: Calle Ingavi No. 184, esq Quijarro
GPS: S19.58640° W65.75365°
Comment: hot shower (after I complained that there was no hot shower), Wifi, TV, room was a closet without window, breakfast included

Uyuni - Hotel Inti

Type: Room (queen size bed, single occupancy), shared bathroom
Costs: 85BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage 15Bob
Contact:
GPS: S20.46126° W66.82089°
Comment: hot shower, Wifi, no towel, no toilet paper

Alto - Hospedaje Fatima

Type: Room (single bed in three bed room, single occupancy), shared bathroom
Costs: 30BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact:
GPS: S21.40105° W67.59720°
Comment: very basic, hot shower (10BOB), no Wifi, no towel, no toilet paper

San Christobal - Hotel

Type: Room (twin room, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 140BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact:
GPS: S21.15403° W67.16700°
Comment: hot shower, no Wifi, comfortable, carpet, heating, breakfast included

Kulpina K - Hostal Maluqui

Type: Room (twin room, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 50BOB
Dogs: free (after some clarification)
Bike parking: backyard
Contact:
GPS: S21.25848° W67.22283°
Comment: hot shower, no Wifi, carpet

Pena Barroza - Hostal

Type: Room (twin room, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 100BOB
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact:
GPS: S22.19119° W67.33943°
Comment: hot shower, no Wifi

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Peru - Accommodations, tracks and waypoints

The track
About 3500km, Total Ascent 47161m, Total Descent 44155m

The tracks and waypoints can be found here in gdb and in gpx format.

Accommodations (for one person, 100sol≈27EUR):

San Ignacio - Hotel Zumbilla

Type: Room with single bed
Costs: 20sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in garage besides the hotel
Contact:
GPS: S5.14505° W79.00707°
Comment: hot shower, TV, no Wifi, no shower curtain, not sure about the name

Jaen - Hotel Imperial Palace

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 40sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in garage
Contact: Av. Pakamuros 828, 076-431169, 947895195
GPS: S5.70820° W78.80307°
Comment: hot shower, TV, very slow Wifi, fan, other rooms with more space and/or A/C cost more.

Cutervo - Hotel Megadi

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 30sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in garage
Contact:
GPS: S6.38299° W78.81633°
Comment: hot shower, TV, fast Wifi in hallway,

Cajamarca - Hotel Cuenca

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 35sol (50sol for double)
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in garage
Contact: 076-313002, 976885856, 993482604, El Inca #511, hostalcuenca@hotmail.com
GPS: S7.15861° W78.50937°
Comment: dungeon, hot shower, TV, Wifi,

Huamachuco - Hotel Dubai

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 35sol (50sol for double)
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in garage
Contact: Av. 10 de Julio #222, 991122268, RPM#959653697
GPS: S7.81766° W78.04337°
Comment: dungeon, electric shower head, TV, slow Wifi,

Santiago de Chuco - Hotel Restaurant Yordy

Type: Room with one big bed
Costs: 30sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured but a few blocks away (5sol /night) (S8.14341° W78.17183°),
Contact: Miguel Grau No 1421 - Tomas Ganoza No 706
GPS: S8.14573° W78.17305°
Comment: window, hot shower, TV, no Wifi,

Tauca - Hospedaja Santo Domingo

Type: Room with one big bed
Costs: 20sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: Across the central plaza at the church. It was free and locked during the night.
Contact:
GPS: S8.46980° W78.03833°
Comment: dirty, raw walls, window, electric shower head, TV, no Wifi

Chuquicara - "Rooms"

Type: Room with one big bed
Costs: 20sol (first they wanted 30sol)
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of room
Contact:
GPS: S8.65494° W78.23670°
Comment: dirty, window, cold shower (well it was hot), sandflies, water extremely dirty (from river), no toilet paper and no towel (lady got bitchy and said it is not included in 20sol),

Caraz - Hotel Luchita

Type: Room with a single bed
Costs: 30sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: half a block away in somebody's home
Contact: 043-391569, Jr. Pumacahua 2do. piso
GPS: S9.04520° W77.81049°
Comment: cleanish, decent, windows, hot shower, good Wifi, TV, (felt like luxury hotel compared to the last shithole)

Huaraz - Hostal Quilla Star

Type: Room (martimonial bed, single occupancy)
Costs: 35sol
Dogs: free, but had some trouble to get Peto in.
Bike parking: 3 blocks away and it costs 5sol/night
Contact: Av. Centenario No 571 - Independencia, 043-422320
GPS: S9.51920° W77.52996°
Comment: cleanish, bathroom window, hot shower, slow Wifi, TV. Basically three hotels denied to host pets. This last one only allowed after some discussion. The other hotel which was quickly saying ok was the Real Hotel Huascaran but the prices were 90sol for a single and 120sol for a matrimonial.

Huallanco - Hotel Nancy

Type: Room (martimonial bed, single occupancy)
Costs: 25sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: free in backyard
Contact:
GPS: S9.89923° W76.94227°
Comment: cleanish, window, hot shower, no Wifi, TV.

Huanuco - Hotel Tito's

Type: Room (martimonial bed, single occupancy), shared bathroom
Costs: 35sol
Dogs: free after some discussion and the fact that Peto is a small dog.
Bike parking: free in garage
Contact: Av. Universitaria No 1348, Cayhuayana Alta Huanuco, Huanuco, 515123
GPS: S9.95643° W76.24843°
Comment: window, electric shower head, no Wifi, TV, balcony, they seem to have another hotel in the centro. There are about 10 hostal nearby this one.

La Oroya - Hostal Nuevo Pablo

Type: Room (martimonial bed, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 30sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured garage nearby (5sol)
Contact:
GPS: S11.52048° W75.90153°
Comment: window, hot shower, good Wifi, TV,

Lima - Affirmate Camera

Type: Room (martimonial bed, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 20USD
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage in the house
Contact: booking.com
GPS: S11.94857° W77.08665°
Comment: window, hot shower, Wifi, no reception! (looks like a private house)


Review booking.com
+
I stayed there for three nights/days to get some stuff organized in Lima. Pets are for free and private parking where the garage was in the house. The owner was very friendly and helped me fixing a puncture in my tire. The internet was good speed especially in the hallway. I could use the fridge. The room was very hot and later during the first day the owner brought a fan. The room was big and the bed was huge - very comfortable. The place felt more like a private place than a hotel since there was no reception and I got the keys to get in and out by myself which was good. Besides the issue with the water (I noted it was fixed when I left), it was a nice stay. The neighborhood looks average to me, plenty of kids playing in the streets in the evening. There is a Tottu's supermercado a few blocks down the road.
-
The room (the one with the Jacuzzi) was pretty hot. Other rooms do not even have a window towards the outside. On the first day I wanted to test the Jacuzzi but there came no hot water as the hot water seems to come only around 6PM. The next day there came no water at all, after complaining there came only warm/hot water and no cold water. Anyway the flow was so little that the Jacuzzi would have taken hours to fill up (normal fill time is 60min). In the end I could not use the Jacuzzi.

Ica - Hotel Villa Carino

Type: Room (matrimonial bed, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 40sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage in the house
Contact: Av. Los Maestros urb. divino Maestro B-40, Ica, 227495, 956991334, hvillacarino@hotmail.com
GPS: S14.07830° W75.73761°
Comment: window, hot shower, good Wifi, TV,

Nasca - Hospedaje Huerto de mi Amada

Type: Room (single bed), private bathroom
Costs: 30sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage in the backyard
Contact:
GPS: S14.82783° W74.94622°
Comment: electric shower head, Wifi, TV

Puquio - Hostal Los Andes

Type: Room (single bed), private bathroom
Costs: 40sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage in the house
Contact: Jr. 9 de Diciembre 286, Puquio, Ayacucho, 066-452323
GPS: S14.69528° W74.12404°
Comment: window, hot shower, no Wifi, TV,

Abancay - Hotel El Peregrino Apart Hotel

Type: Room (matrimonial bed, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 90sol
Dogs: free, Peto was ok after the receptionist called the manager
Bike parking: secured in backyard
Contact: Andres Avelino Caceres 390, 083-502610
GPS: S13.63418° W72.87558°
Comment: Luxury hotel!, bedroom with separated kitchen/living room, window, hot shower, good Wifi, TV, kitchenette with micro, fridge, breakfast, helpful staff

Ollantaytambo - Hostal Las Portadas

Type: Room (matrimonial bed, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 25sol
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in backyard
Contact: Calle Principal S/N, Cel 984620989, 064-204008
GPS: S13.25906° W72.26200°
Comment: window, hot shower, Wifi (was switched off during night), TV, helpful staff

Cusco - Inkita Boutique Guesthouse

Type: Room (matrimonial bed, single occupancy), shared bathroom
Costs: 13USD
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in backyard
Contact: booking.com (no reception, private house)
GPS: S13.52500° W71.90044°
Comment: beautiful view, outside Cusco, peaceful, secure, hot shower, Wifi, TV, helpful staff


Booking review
+
The place is almost idyllic and 8km away from Cusco center (taxi takes 15min and costs about 12sol) thus ideal for folks like me who loves to walk with the dog. Plenty of green around and its a delight to have a walk in the neighborhood. Dogs are for free even though the owner might not allow your dog inside the room (at least she hesitated to allow my dog into the room or it was a language misunderstanding). Parking on the lawn inside the yard. very nice garden to sit, relax and enjoy the great view over Cusco. The big rooms are absolute fantastic and are really worth the money. The tiny one (which I had in the 2nd night) is about average. Wifi was fast. There was drinking water available in the kitchen. I had a small medical issue and the owner was so kind to find out an English speaking doctor who was on duty on Saturday.
-
The upper security gate was closed in the evening and the taxi had to take the lower one (if you come with your own vehicle or the taxi does not know it you have to walk). I did not get a key to the property door so I had to knock on the main door and wait for the mercy of the owner to open. I had booked a twin room (25m2) but it was still occupied. So I got in the first night a big room (25m2) with private bathroom (which was nice) but in the 2nd night a very small, hot room (12m2) without proper air circulation. I have slept in smaller rooms but this room was far below my expectations compared to what I had booked! Shared toilet was not cleaned, had no toilet paper and there came no water in the shower. On the second evening I tried to get out to have an evening walk but the door was locked and bolted thus I could not get out by myself.

Puno - Hostal Inka Tours

Type: Room (matrimonial bed, single occupancy), private bathroom
Costs: 45sol
Dogs: free (after some discussion and I told them that I will stay two nights)
Bike parking: in garage
Contact:
GPS: S15.84469° W70.01783°
Comment: near Lake Titicaca, hot shower, Wifi, TV, no drinking water



Thursday, February 4, 2016

Vilcabamba, via Zumba, La Balsa (Ecuador) to San Ignacio (Peru)

I had really mixed feelings about riding this road. Butterflies were roaring in my stomach. The border crossing was one of the fastest ever!


Details on the border crossing

I crossed the border on Sunday 31.Jan2016 around 16o'clock. Customs and immigration on the Ecuador side took about 10min. Then I went to take copies of passport and bike papers for the Peru side. Besides that I changed a few dollars in one of the shops so I had some cash if needed. Nobody cared about Peto and a few locals sponsored my journey. Thank you very much!

I crossed the bridge, drove under the barrier and parked on the right side. I got the feeling of being in the wrong movie. Chickens with their little ones running all over the place. But no I was at the right place. However there was an electric cut and thus immigration guys did not want to do anything. 

Then I went to customs because that anyway takes longer. So I filled the papers by hand instead of the guy typing everything into the system and then printing the cards. Now it came REALLY handy that I took some copies on the Ecuador side where they had electricity.

Some time later customs were done, still no electricity and then also immigration people could be moved to give me my stamp manually. This process took less than 30minutes which makes this border crossing one of the fastest - no most likely THE fastest - one I ever had. Only 40 minutes in total! Of course I was honest and said "yes" on the customs form about bringing animals into the country. Meaningless as this question was, nobody cared Peto. Good that I did not invest in any vet's certificate ;)

Peru here I come!

My track through Ecuador:
About 1000km


Ecuador track and waypoints as GPX and GDB files.

Ecuador accommodations

Ibarra - Camping at Finca Sommerwind

Type: camping
Costs: 5USD/person
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact: http://www.finca-sommerwind.info/
GPS: N0.38049° W78.08908°
Comment: Clean toilets and hot shower, kitchenette, restaurant, great Wifi, they seem to have also cabins.

Quito - Residence Latitude 0

Type: Room for 6+people (all for me)
Costs: 10USD/person
Dogs: free
Bike parking: free in the one and only garage
Contact: booking.com
GPS: S0.21142° W78.48541°
Comment: Clean, shared warm shower, shared toilet, TV, good Wifi, kitchen

Riobamba - Hotel Royalty

Type: Room with one queen size bed
Costs: 13.50USD/person
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in inner yard
Contact:
GPS: S1.65549° W78.66520°
Comment: Clean, warm shower, TV, good Wifi, free breakfast, opposite of shopping mall

Cuenca - Mallki Hostel

Type: Room with one queen size bed
Costs: 25USD
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured in inner yard
Contact: http://www.mallkihostel.com/ and booking.com
GPS: S2.90413° W79.00713°
Comment: Shower head, common TV, Wifi (from congested and no throughput to superfast), free breakfast, kitchen, first two nights in dorm room (10USD/night).

Vilcabamba - Hosteria Paraiso

Type: Room with multiple beds
Costs: 20USD/room (special price, normally 25USD/room)
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact: +593 (0) 72640266, 072640029, 0988448057, www.hosteriaparaiso.com, hosteriaparaiso@hotmail.com
GPS: S4.25516° W79.22341°
Comment: Clean, hot shower, TV, good Wifi at reception, free breakfast, swimming pool, steam sauna, Finnish sauna at weekends


Sunday, January 17, 2016

Colombia - Tracks, waypoints and accommodations

Tracks and waypoints can be found here as GDB and GPX files.

Almost 3000km


List of pet & bike friendly accommodations:

Cartagena - Hotel Palma Real

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 65000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: inner yard
Contact: booking.com
GPS: N10.39121° W75.52241°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, Wifi, A/C, fridge, restaurant next door and in neighborhood

Sincelejo - Hotel La Ceiba

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 40000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of reception
Contact: GPS: N9.27408° W75.41026°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, no Wifi, A/C (on/off via fuse at reception, no remote control),

Sincelejo - Hotel Liyen

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage yard nearby
Contact: Hotel Liyen, Calle 25 #24-19 Calle Cauca, Sincelejo (Sucre), hoteliyen@hotmail.com, 2760044, 300 258 4885, 300 4981175, GPS: N9.30156° W75.38896°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, Wifi at reception (and rooms near enough), A/C, fan, downtown, opposite to shopping mall

Planeta Rica - Hotel Linda Palma

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides the house
Contact:
GPS: N8.35945° W75.56115°
Comment: Clean, cold shower, TV, Wifi, A/C, country side, green surroundings

Valdivia - Hotel Monterrey

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 25000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of the house
Contact: GPS: N7.16656° W75.43916°
Comment: cold shower, Wifi, restaurant, at the Terpel filling station

Medellin - Pit Stop hostel

Type: Big room with one bed
Costs: 90000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: inner yard
Contact: http://www.pitstophostel.com/
GPS: N6.20755° W75.57373°
Comment: Shared bathroom, clean, hot shower, common TV, fast Wifi, some parks around, common kitchen, pool

El Penon de Guatape - Parking lot

Type: informal camping
Costs: free
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact:
GPS: N6.22187° W75.17881°
Comment: Toilets during day, no shower, Guards are not too eager to let you stay there but then they seem to give in.

Alejandria - Golden Elephant hostel

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 48000pesos low season (60000pesos high season)
Dogs: free
Bike parking: inner yard
Contact: http://www.goldenelephanthostel.com/index.php/en/airbnb,
GPS: N6.38033° W75.14047°
Comment: Shared bathroom, hot shower (low pressure), common TV, Wifi, common kitchen, billiard

Rio Claro Park Camping

Type: Camping
Costs: 25000pesos for two nights per person
Dogs: free (small dogs are ok even though there is a sign no dogs allowed)
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact:
GPS: N5.89484° W74.85849°
Comment: No parking besides tent, toilets, cold shower are besides campground but were far away (10min walk) from our site, there is supposed to be Wifi at the reception, restaurant and attractions are a few minutes by feed further down the road.

El Portal de Salgar - Hotel El Portal de Salgar

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 60000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking in yard nearby
Contact: Calle 16 No5-14, 8399018, 313 6519049, Puerto Salgar,
GPS: N5.46849° W74.65166°
Comment: Private bathroom, cold shower, TV, Wifi, A/C, fan

La Vega - Hotel Los Heroes

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking in garage
Contact:
GPS: N4.99782° W74.33832°
Comment: Private bathroom, hot shower, TV, Wifi, fan, pool, restaurant

San Fransisco - Finca El Cimmaron

Type: House with three bedrooms
Costs: 300000pesos/week
Dogs: free
Bike parking: garage
Contact: 317452666
GPS: N4.98483° W74.28824°
Comment:

Facatativa - Loma Linda

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 45000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: secured parking behind room
Contact:
GPS: N4.82316° W74.37134°
Comment: Private bathroom, hot shower, TV, Wifi, cold nights

Near Bogota - Hotel

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 32000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: at parking lot
Contact:
GPS: N4.52659° W74.34722°
Comment: Private bathroom, there was supposed to be hot shower but we had no water at all, TV, no Wifi, truckstop, internet cafe next door

Girardot - Gran Hotel Luis Fernando

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 80000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact:
GPS: N4.30106° W74.79893°
Comment: Private bathroom, TV, swimming pool, A/C, Wifi was slow and worked only in a few spots, cold shower,

Tatacoa Desert - Camping

Type: camping
Costs: 5000pesos/person
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides tent
Contact:
GPS: N3.23481° W75.16685°
Comment: Toilets and shower, restaurant, no Wifi, they had also rooms either with private or shared bathroom.

Neiva - Hotel Del Rio

Costs: 50000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in inner yard
Contact: Cle33P No. 4-38, 8740143, 3112180499
GPS: N2.94814° W75.30939°
Comment: Private bathroom, TV, A/C, good Wifi, cold shower


OTHER INFO
Bearings
Rodamientos California
Pablo Cesar Penagas Chavarro
Cra 5 No. 3-12
Neiva
Tel: 8716716, 3152264075
rodamientoscalifornia@hotmail.com


Machine shop
Alvaro Santofimio e Hiljos & Cia
Almacen Taller y reconstructor de motores
Cra3 No.2-25
Neiva
Tel: 8721647, 871 4870
rectisantofimio@hotmail.com

Palestina - Eco

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 60000pesos?
Dogs: free
Bike parking: besides house
Contact: booking.com
GPS: N1.72057° W76.11906°
Comment: Private toilet, shared shower, Wifi did not work, ice cold shower

Sibundoy - Hotel

Type: Room with one bed
Costs: 25000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: in front of the hotel
Contact: N1.20470° W76.92105°
Comment: warm shower, Wifi at reception

Pasto - Hotel Concorde

Type: Room with two beds
Costs: 60000pesos
Dogs: free
Bike parking: paid parking opposite of hotel (moto: 8000pesos/24h, car: 10000pesos/24h)
Contact: N1.21931° W77.27989°
Comment: Clean, warm shower, TV, good Wifi


Vets:
De perros y gatos
7360688,3113689229
Cra36 # 18-79, Pasto, Colombia


Bacanes
Cra 36 # 12-87, 27228222, 3017552625, 31652443323, bacanesmv@gmail.com
www.veterinariabacanes.com.co
Pasto, Colombia



Sunday, October 4, 2015

Crossing the Darien Gap - part I: leaving Panama mainland

Here is part I: leaving Panama mainland

Mode of transport:
Stahlratte (transports people, motorbikes, hacks and for dogs, please check with the captain) www.stahlratte.de
We booked our journey a few months earlier and it started on 17. September 2015 from Carti (San Blas), Panama and ended on 20. September 2015 in Cartagena, Colombia.

Border formalities leaving Panama:
Honestly no idea. We gave our passports, bike papers and Panama temporary import permit to the captain and he took care of all stuff at the Panama side. No additional costs.

Hotel El Porvenir (important for folks with own vehicle):
The hotel would have costed 20USD/person + watertaxi 10USD/person/ride, so a total of 80USD for two persons. No info if there would be additional charges for dogs. We asked whether we can camping and it was ok for 5USD/person (so a total of 50USD for two persons incl. shower and toilet). I am not sure whether this was an exception or whether camping is commonly ok.

SilberWolf waiting to be loaded on board of Stahlratte
All the sudden I had this baby in my arms :D (picture taken by Mike)
Hotel El Porvenir on the island El Porvenir...
and the island even has a landing strip. We got let Peto free because he could not run away neither chase any motos or bicycles or such :)
Camping in the Carribean

Peto's first night in the tent and what a night it was...
Cool dugout canoe
Our tracks in Panama (690km)

That also concludes Central America track (3500km)

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Hellride through Guatemala (26.- 30.5.2015)

Guatemala - an adventure ride for both of us. Lean back and watch how we struggled...

Scary electrical connections on the shower pump.
Guatemala way to compress aluminum cans for recycling... at least there is recycling :)
Coffee plants as far as the eye can reach.

Close up - must be a hard job to pick all those beans!
Cool looking volcano edge (We were inside the volcano).
Skippy at the hotel.
Some of the moto taxi looked really great and fun!
A typical back alley where one can only walk - maybe get there with moto.
The beautiful flower tree at the hotel
At last some signs indicating whether the street is one way or two-way.
An entire stray-dog family.
Somebody tries to educate kids to take care of trash (basura) and to do recycling.



Jungle-kind backyard with all sorts of fruit trees and some coffee here and there :)
Road to the hotel had a steep grade.
Lake Atitlan
Skippy's bike suffered after this really bumpy road - maybe the extension piece was too heavy and caused too much extra vibes?
Another gorgeous roof-dog :)
Our track - 475km
Accommodations to Guatemala can be found here.
Tracks and waypoints can be found here as gbd and here as gpx.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Happy Birthday Skippy & Farewell USA (30.1. - 5.2.15)


We still had two open issues remaining. Skippy needed her shoes and I realized that the battery-time on the GoPro was too small to last for a whole riding day, thus I wanted to have at least one spare. We stayed for a few days in Globe, Arizona to wait for our deliveries and in the meantime had great hikes in the nearby “Round Mountain Park”.

And as every year: Skippy had birthday and this year she got some tasty vegan truffles and plenty of delicious fruits. She loved all of it.
A happy fruitarian girl.
Skippy and Wolfi in Henna-style partner look ;)
New shoes :)
Round Mountain Park in Globe, AZ.
Beautiful sunset
Boulder Canyon
We made it to the summit :D (4201 ft)
Moonrise
Stunning sunset from Round Mountain in Globe, AZ.
We had one last one-night stay in Sierra Vista and the next day we took off to Douglas and the Mexican border.
Apple-smoked vegan sausage (Field-Roast) and vegan maple donut (Wholefoods) - tasty vegan food and very unhealthy too ;)
Skippy's new hairstyle.
Serious mining in Bisbee.
Globe, AZ - Mexican border (360km)

Another travelogue by Skippy:





USA and Canada in hindsight

We were 277 days in USA and Canada and rode about 25300 km starting from New York City all the way to the west coast and down to the Mexican border. Out of the 277 days we spent about 5 weeks in Canada. The USA is huge! Comparing this kind of mileage to Europe, one could easily ride from the Ural mountains to Paris and from Gibraltar to Nordkapp, Norway.

We have been fascinated by the nature. We experienced the forests of the east, the great plains in the center, the mountains on the west and the deserts of the south-west. 

The hospitality, friendliness of people and their willingness to help us was overwhelming. We got spontaneously invited by people which we just met 5 minutes ago to stay at their place instead of going to a motel. When Skippy had her accident, the owner of the nearby house instantly came to help and then even gave us their car so I could drive Skippy to the hospital. In New York, we spent about one week in downtown Manhattan in the Adventure Loft. When we stayed in Colorado, we were almost three weeks at another motorbiker's home. In Portland, Oregon we even got a deluxe apartment just for us for almost two weeks. In Phoenix we were for few weeks at other bikers' homes and in all the places we could come and go as we please (got our own key) and it was even free of charge! Where in Europe would one experience that?

A HUGE THANK YOU
to all who accommodated us and helped us in one way or the other! We will remember you!

Maybe some of the pioneer spirit is left in the culture. Talking about that. We followed the roads of the Oregon and California trails and swallowed the same dust as those thousands of settlers before when they headed out west. I watched a few documentaries and got my "picture of the wild wild west" significantly demystified. The history of the US is pretty short. 200 years seemed to be a long time.

USA and Canada are pretty much free of litter. Whether we made a stop at the highway or had our walk with the dogs in the motel neighborhood, we were able to enjoy the nature without the horrible sights and smells we experienced in West-Africa.

No matter how remote we were and I would say that the most remote was in the deserts with 100 miles (160km) to the next place of civilization. Surely the distances in the west are longer compared to the east USA, especially compared to Central Europe. The north west reminded me a lot of northern Finland where it is also usual to drive a lot for grocery shopping. Nevertheless, for us (and especially after Africa) there was all the comfort always nearby.

One finds the major chains e.g. Whole Foods, Walmart, Napa, Motel 6, The Home Depot throughout the entire US. In every bigger city there are several motorcycle shops and repair places. Shopping is easy and shopping is welcome ;)

The fuel was cheap. At first we paid a bit over 4 USD/gallon (0.87 Eur/l) and in the end only 1.80 USD/gallon (0.47 EUR/l). We felt that organic produce was more expensive compared to Europe even though the produce came from the US or nearby Mexico. The accommodation was often more expensive compared to Europe but offered at the same time more luxury (e.g. the only place we had a shared bathroom and shower was in the Grand Tetons). The worst pet-friendly hotel charged 60 USD per night for the room and 40 USD per pet per night, of course we did not go there! The cheapest motel was 40 USD cash and dogs were for free.

We did a fair share of camping, whereas camping in the US mostly refers to having a huge RV or RV-trailer with you. Tent camping appeared to be not that common. The most amazing fact was that most government owned campgrounds do NOT offer shower facilities. E.g. in a State Park, one pays 15 USD for the camping and 10 USD vehicle entry fee for each vehicle - a total of 35 USD, no showers, no Wifi and dogs were (almost always) for free. Compare that to a motel? The privately owned campgrounds had all the facilities, Wifi and so on. We also spent some nights at city-owned campgrounds which were free of charge. Of course there we had to be inventive with the showers or get lucky.

One of the most fuzzy things we came along were the immigration regulations. We have our 10-year multiple-entry visa and normally one gets a permission to stay 6 months at the time in the US. What about if you want to stay longer e.g. 8 months? Now it got really fuzzy and in my attempt to clarify this matter I must have found many patriots or woke up the patriotic feelings in those Americans which replied to my questions. In any case, the replies were less than helpful and caused me some headache.

In the end we used our own judgement and when we entered the USA for the third time (that was the critical one as our permission to stay in the US had expired) we had a solid story to tell why we want to enter the US again, all went fine and in we were.

Another side note here was I felt a huge difference comparing leaving the country and entering it. Leaving the US - nobody cares and when we crossed towards Canada there was no US immigration officer stamping you out of the country. When we entered the US for the first time at the airport, it was a normal procedure for me. When we entered the US for the second time when coming from Canada, I felt being treated like a criminal (I guess the guy was utterly jealous that we ride around the world).

Traveling with dogs has been fairly easy. Vegan dog food was available across the country and easy to find. There are vet clinics in almost every town. The shocking part has been that the prices for veterinary care are sky high compared to Finland. We spent several thousands of dollars on vet-care, maybe three to four times more than in Finland! We also had our saddest moment in the US when Hertta died on the 21st of November 2014. We still miss her a lot!

Maybe living in Finland had spoiled us. There is a legal concept called "freedom to roam" (also valid in Nordic and Baltic countries) which is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land. When we rode through the US, had our stops and hikes, we had moments where we felt a little bit like in a prison. There were plenty of “posted”, “no trespassing”, “keep out” and so on often in combination with barb-wire fences.

State Parks were one alternative, but typically for a far too high price for a lunch brake or even camping. City Parks and National Forests were often the most convenient places to stop and camp. We had the annual pass for the National Parks which allowed us free entrance and we used that a lot as most of the great and stunning sceneries were in a National Park. The downside was that dogs were typically not allowed on hiking trails and thus the walking was limited to the parking lot area.

As already said earlier the USA is huge and we saw plenty of empty land. We noted that in most of the regions, the house trash goes to a landfill and not through a recycle system. In best cases we saw a separation of plastic bottles and the rest, or plastic/paper/glass and the rest. It really hurt my environmental soul to throw normal (AA, AAA) batteries as well as watch batteries (button cell) into trash since I was not able to find a recycling possibility besides my attempts in several shops. If one only thinks about money in short-term it might be that the recycling is more expensive compared to the throw-away and landfill mentality. However considering the long term effect of the poison in the ground which might come to people's drinking water then the story will be a very different one.

With the time and money constrains we had to make some tough decisions on what NOT to visit and experience. Sometimes the weather helped us and when it started snowing and freezing in the north-west, it was easy to go south. We detoured a few times to avoid road closures due to snow and flooding. Sometimes we flipped a coin on which way to go and sometimes we went there where we found a cheap motel.

SilberWolf entered the US pretty much naked and left with plenty of stickers on and Skippy's V-Strom also faced a few changes in the outfit.
Naked SilberWolf. Picture taken at Tim's backyard - a few days after we left New York.

Taken at Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona - after which I could add the Route 66 - sticker also :D
Pussy Ride (with only a few stickers) converted to ...
... to Fruitarian Power with a few new stickers and no more fairings.
Overall, we had a fantastic time, did some fun riding, met great people, experienced a different culture, enjoyed nature, learned a lot and spread the word of veganism and healthy life style :)

Our track (each color indicates a new riding day - light blue are solo trips by either me or Skippy)





Zoom in on the east ...
... and on the west.
You can find the track including all waypoints in this gdb file.

~ Farewell USA~