We hadn't seen Stu's brother since he flew down to Cancun right at the start of our trip. We'd also never met his new girlfriend Diana or seen him in his new life in Ottawa. So after spending a lovely time with Janell's family in New York, we felt spoilt to be riding to Greg and Diana for more family time. We had planned to spend a few nights with them and then ride up to see Montreal, Quebec City and some more to the east before making our way west, but Shadow had something else in mind.
Sep 29, 2015•8 min
We were back in the US in a new state for us, Florida. After the eventful departure from Botoga it was nice to enjoy a relaxing flight and collect our babies on the other side, safe and sound. We must admit, the LAN staff at the airport in Bogota were very helpful, we were really messed around with the dogs flights so they waived their pet freight fee ($50 per dog) so the girls got a free ride. Thanks LAN.
Sep 08, 2015•7 min
When will someone bite the bullet and build a road between Panama and Colombia! For now, adventure riders can either fly (by aeroplane) or ship (typically sail boat or ferry) themselves and their motorbikes between North and South America. Of course this depends on the politics of the time and how well Colombia and Panama are getting on. On our way to South America we chose the seven day sailing option from the San Blass Islands off Panama which proved to be an adventure and overall fun experien...
Aug 09, 2015•8 min
After a productive visit in Bogota sorting our shipping quotes and getting Weeti's paperwork in order for flying to the US, we decided to take a 3 week trip back into Venezuela to visit some friends and attend a Moto Event in the state of Falcon. This would be our last chance before leaving South America and who knows when our path would bring us back here.
Jul 31, 2015•12 min
From the mountains of Cuenca we traveled a few hours to Salinas on the coast of Ecuador. The distance wasn't far, 350km, but the journey took most of the day. From Cuenca we climbed up further in to the mountains on a narrow, twisty road through thick cloud cover and very wet, cold conditions. Our visibility was dangerously low, sitting in second gear with hazard lights and high beams on trying to increase our visibility to other drivers as much as possible. The locals power around those mountai...
Jul 01, 2015•8 min
Cuenca is a small city with a lot of history and set between two fast flowing rivers. It has a cool, wet climate being elevated at 2,500m. We stayed in Cuenca for 10 nights, a long time for The Pack Track to stay in one place, and learnt a lot about this bustling city for example in 1999 its historic centre reached UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Jun 22, 2015•6 min
After three long days crossing the Sechura Desert of north western Peru, we finally arrived at the Ecuadorean border late in the afternoon. This would conclude our tour of all the main land Spanish speaking countries within the Americas. Note, I didn't say Latin American countries as we hadn't yet visited Canada, considered by some to be a Latin American country due to its French speaking parts or French Guiana although not a country on its own.
Jun 11, 2015•5 min
Travelling from south to north Peru you realise what a big country it is and how many incredible sites there are to visit and explore. After the pinnacle of Machu Pichu it was hard to imagine anything could be quite as cool but then we pulled in to the town of Nazca, about 450 km South of Lima (the Capital) to see the ancient Nazca lines and a very barren landscape.
Jun 10, 2015•7 min
In case you're not aware, there are many different ways of getting to Machu Picchu, the 15th century built Inca city situated in the Andes mountain range, Peru. We had researched a few options including trains, buses, trails and hikes but our sense of adventure drew us to the Inca trail hikes. The hikes usually take 4 days, the fourth day being the day you arrive at Machu Picchu, take all your photos then get a train back to Cusco in the evening. What you'll often find with these tours is that t...
Jun 04, 2015•8 min
Why do men transform into giant babies when they get sick? All their manliness is consumed by the illness and what is left is the shell of a man with the temperament of a 5 year old boy. Stuart is no exception to the rule. It had been a while since his last bout of sickness but it struck again the day we left Sucre, Bolivia, headed for Cochabamba.
May 21, 2015•9 min
Bolivia is a landlocked country bordered by 5 countries - Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Brazil - with diverse topography and climate from mountains and deserts to rainforest. Up until we reached Potosi we had only experienced a very isolated and desert region at the southern tip of Bolivia. Potosi was our first city stop and a big surprise to us, dispelling all the backward expectations we had for this beautiful country.
May 16, 2015•7 min
We entered Bolivia from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, on the 1st of May 2015. At this entrance to Bolivia there's no town, no shops and not even a sealed road. There is only a small brick hut that services as the migration or border control office. So we spent a few nights in San Pedro, a big tourist town with all the essentials, to stock up on supplies for the road ahead and for Janell, to squeeze in as many hot showers as she could to build up 'cleanliness credit'.
May 08, 2015•8 min
Concepcion is the second largest city in Chile, situated on the coast about five hours south of Santiago. Concepcion gets a blog of its own because the most incredible thing happened on our arrival in this big city and we had so much fun the three nights we stayed.
Mar 26, 2015•6 min
We were back in Argentina and back on sealed roads in Trevelin. Its a pretty town with strong ties to Wales, just like Gaiman directly to the east on the coast of Argentina where we had stayed a few months earlier. We found a nice campsite for the one night we stayed in Trevelin before riding 190km to Lago Puelo where our friends Lucas and Florencia were visiting family.
Mar 23, 2015•9 min
Southern Chile consists of a narrow mainland interspersed with many islands. Therefore it makes sense that there are lots of ferry's connecting islands and mainland in southern Chile. The Pack Track had been on a few of these ferry's but all had been relatively short, lasting a few hours at most. Navimag is a company that contracts ferry routes in southern Chile including a 3 night voyage from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt. To ride this distance, depending on the route you take, can be around 1...
Mar 13, 2015•8 min
Punta Arenas is one of the largest cities in Patagonia. It was historically established as a strategic military stronghold over the surrounding waters. The port grew in size and eventually a free zone was established; this can mean a few things, but to us it meant tax free shopping. We needed to service the motorbikes and hoped we could get the parts and materials we needed in the free zone at a reasonable price.
Feb 28, 2015•7 min
After the dramas of finding accommodation in Ushuaia, we were finally free to relax. It's pretty exciting being at the 'end of the world' and it marks a certain achievement or milestone on the journey. However, we weren't without drama. We'd lost one of our sleeping bags in Venezuela (it fell off the bike when it wasn't put away properly) and until now we had been getting by with just the one sleeping bag because the climate had been warm to hot. Now we were camping at the end of the world among...
Feb 20, 2015•5 min
We departed Puerto Deseado on a near perfect day, very much by design, light winds as predicted by Wind Guru , a cool temperature for riding and no rain clouds. Our plan would be to make it to Rio Gallegos but we weren't in any great rush. Passing through the province of Santa Cruz we decided to pull in to a town called Puerto San Julian and see what we could find in the way of accommodation.
Feb 02, 2015•13 min
Puerto Deseado is a little coastal town located 125km off the main highway south, Ruta 3, on the east coast of Argentina. It has a latitude of 47 South so gets quite cold and of coarse windy like most of Argentina. The town itself is situated on the north bank of the Ria Deseado at the mouth of the river. The rivers name is interesting in Spanish in that its called a "Ria" and not a "Rio", in other words, it is a female river. To be completely accurate its not even a river but a tidal estuary ta...
Jan 29, 2015•6 min
After our 3 nights camping in Gaiman, we were up early and ready for a big ride to Comodoro Rivadavia. We had a contact in Comodoro, through our friend Pablo from Buenos Aires, and had advised them that we would be arriving that day. We decided to take a short cut from Gaiman to Ruta 3, the national highway down the east coast of Argentina. This shortcut was about 60km long and probably saved us the same distance again. Unfortunately the road was slow going, it had been a long time since wehad b...
Jan 26, 2015•8 min
Nearly 150 years ago a ship load of immigrants from Wales landed in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Their intention was to set up a welsh community with no English influence. In fact they ended up establishing a number of these communities but today, the most notable is a place called Gaiman where there is still a strong Welsh culture and the Welsh language is commonly spoken. Stuarts boss in Australia, Dave, was of proud Welsh decent. So when Stu talked about his upcoming world-wide adventure, Dave m...
Jan 21, 2015•5 min
Even travellers need inspiration and motivation from time to time. It can come in a range of forms from a chat with a stranger, to marvelling at nature, to grand designs. Travelling as two (or two and half with our little friend) we often draw on each other for strength during frustrating situations and when we feel weary from simply long days of riding. The Pack Track had been on the road for nearly 11 months by this stage and found inspiration in the form of a young couple living in Puerto Mad...
Jan 18, 2015•7 min
Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is home to the tango and it's no wonder when you walk the streets of this romantic city. The Pack Track arrived in Buenos Aires on the 30th of December 2014. What an amazing year 2014 had been and what a fantastic place to say goodbye to the old and bring in the new year.
Jan 11, 2015•6 min
Entering Argentina meant returning to a country with a black market exchange rate significantly different to the government official rate. We had learned a lot from our experience with parallel rates in Venezuela so there were no feelings of apprehension this time and we did our research online to find out what we should be getting.
Jan 10, 2015•9 min
Paraguay is one of the smaller countries in South America. The capital of Paraguay is Asuncion which is located near the western border of the country. It is a small region but is home to the vast majority of Paraguays population. To the Northwest of Asuncion is a different story however, this region is known as Chaco and is a hot, arid land. In contrast, the eastern portion of Paraguay is full of agricultural lands.
Dec 27, 2014•6 min
Brazil is a beautiful country with a passionate motorcycle community under the banner of AME-BR. The members of the clubs that make up this community are all extremely friendly and welcoming, regardless of how well you speak Portuguese. We had intended to travel quickly through Brazil on our way south due to the high prices of absolutely everything. But the lovely people in the motoclubs not only made it more affordable with their generosity but made us want to spend more time with them so it to...
Dec 17, 2014•16 min
What can you expect from a boat trip in this part of the world? This wasn't our first and was likely not our last. Our experience on the MV Kimbia in Guyana was still fresh in our mind, and if the 5 nights spent in the Brazilian Amazon river system on riverboat Dois Irmaos-I between Manaus and Port Velho was going to be anything like the Kimbia then we were in for 5 days of hell.
Nov 30, 2014•13 min
Stuart sat in the back of a taxi travelling four hours across the country, having now spent a total of three months in Venezuela. His hope was that this little adventure would allow The Pack Track to continue their journey exploring more of South America.
Oct 15, 2014•12 min
This is Negrita, or more affectionately known as Weeti...
Oct 09, 2014•4 min
Nothing clears the mind like physical activity and spending time with nature. What better for The Pack Track to recover from the recent loss of Skyla than a 6 day 5 night trek in the Gran Sabana, destination Mount Roraima.
Sep 25, 2014•7 min
