The Next Adventure To Chile Begins On Jan. 1, 2013

All updates regarding my trip will be found only at this site.

Can You See Me Now?

A few days ago while on my way south to my Aunt's farm, I stopped at a toll booth and while in the act of paying, my bike was bumped from behind by a careless driver almost knocking me to the ground. Because of that and the number of times I have had to come to a complete stop on the expressway from 75mph to 0mph, and with the real fear of having someone that is not paying attention take me out, I decided to install this high intensity LED stop strobe on the bike. It gets you're attention now when I apply the breaks. See the video here.

A Flight Over Chufquen

Thu. Feb. 2, 2012

The Cessna 172. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.

Jorge

Passing over Jorge's house just after takeoff

At the airstrip on the farm

The main house in the center, and the farm's warehouses and office buildings.

I returned to Santiago for a few days arriving late yesterday, but not before I had the opportunity to take to the air with my cousin Jorge. Jorge is the Administrator of the farm in Chufquen and he came to me the other day and asked if I would like to go flying with him, what a silly question! OFCOURSE!! I never turn down an opportunity like that, so Jorge went to the nearby city of Temuco, where the plane was, and told me that when he passed over the house, to get on my bike and go to the farm’s landing strip by his house a few miles away. When I got there Jorge had just landed, so I parked the bike and after a few picture we were in the plane ready to taxi.

We taxied to the opposite end of the runway, turned around and in a few moments were airborne. I a few seconds we were over Jorge’s house as we continued to climb to an altitude of only 1100 feet. I’m pretty sure we were below the tops of the nearby cell phone towers, but it made for a spectacular flight flying so low and slow. The Cessna 172 bounced around a bit due to the fact that it had been fairly windy all day, but no big deal. We flew at a speed of only 100 knots and the view at that altitude was spectacular. We flew over the town of Traiguen, where my family is from and then wandered over the nearby countryside seeing the sights.

Jorge also has a vintage Piper J3 Cub that he recently bought and he promised me a ride in that next year. That will be a thrill!

Parrillada En Rancagua

Today I'm invited to Vero and Guillermo's house in Rancagua, an hour south of Santiago, for what will undoubtedly be a very enjoyable afternoon around the pool with friends, good food and good wine. I will spend the night there and in the morning I will point the bike south once again and head to my Aunt's farm near Traiguen, an additional six hour ride from Rancagua for what will probably be a couple of weeks in the south of Chile. The Lake Country.
The weather here so far has been exceptional, hot sunny days and cool, clear nights. Groundhog Day!

A Very Enjoyable Week End Motorcycle Trip Through Chile With Friends

 The ocean came right in at the second floor level. Notice the siding ripped from the very top of the building, and the corner of the second floor blown right out!

 With "Jack" the Police dog and his Partner

Testament to the level the water rose in Dichato, Chile during the Tsunami. Notice the damage to the leaves by the salt water. The damage reaches about fifteen feet. This picture was taken from a point approximately ten feet above sea level! Add that to the tree.

Pelluhue, Chile

Mon. Jan, 16

This past weekend was a busy one with a total of 1550km (963mi.) registered on the motorcycle since Friday at 2:00pm. The time we left Santiago. Luis, Vonchi and I headed to Rancagua to meet up with Guillermo and Veronica and continue on to Los Angeles, a six hour ride from Santiago. Just like last year we got nailed by the cops for speeding, but this time it was Luis that was the target. After humiliating himself by begging and pleading, the cops let him go. They didn’t nail me this time! We arrived in Los Angeles around nine at night and rode right to Luis’ brother’s house where we were expected for what turned out to be a very nice cookout poolside. We all had a great time but in the morning my head was still spinning.

Around 10:00am Saturday, we left Los Angeles and rode south west to the small town of

Capitan Pastene where we had reservations at an Italian restaurant called “Don Primo Restorante Italiano”, a small but very popular eatery. After lunch in Capitan Pastene, we rode northwest to the coastal city of Concepcion that was very hard hit by the 2010 earthquake that I managed to miss by only 24 hours. Much of the damage has been repaired but some is still visible in places. Luis and his wife Vonchi stayed overnight with family just outside of town and Guillermo, his wife Vero and I took rooms in a very nice hotel called “Ibis” near the airport. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant next to the hotel called “Solo Carne” (Just Meat)….my kind of place. We were seated in a VIP room all to ourselves. The meal, the wine and the service was five stars!

Next morning, after a late start as usual, we rode to the small fishing village of Dichato. If you followed the news reports of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami of Feb. 27, 2010, you may remember that the majority of Dichato was literally washed out to sea by the Tsunami. I looked at Dichato on Google Earth, and was shocked to see what it looked like before the tsunami and then to actually stand in the very spot that it all occurred and see the magnitude of devastation that took place. At one spot in town, we were standing on a road approximately ten feet above the present sea level, and could see damage to Palm trees at an elevation of an additional ten feet or more. Thousands of homes and buildings were lost along with some loss of life.

After leaving Dichato we continued north to the town of Pelluhue were we stopped for lunch at another very popular local restaurant. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but I will get it and update this. The food was excellent and if you enjoy seafood, this is a must stop. The panorama above shows the view from the restaurant overlooking the popular bathing beach. After a wonderful meal, and with the day now early evening, we left and headed back to Santiago approximately four hours away. An extremely long ride when you are already dead tired. I arrived back home at 1:00am and had never been so glad to get off the bike and get some rest. Soon we’ll do it all again! (more pictures here )

Kinda Slow Days

New home for the bike

Wed. Jan, 11

The last few days have been spent basically running errands. My passport and my Chilean I.D. card both expire this year so I needed to renew them. The motorcycle now has all its documents up to date and the equivalent of E-Z Pass, which I have for the bike, turns out to have no problems at all. I had some doubts the other day because when I passed under the scanned above the expressway, the screen above the road displayed the word “Baja”. That word can have a variety of meanings like “Get down, Exit, Get off” and I took it to mean that I should get off of the restricted access road due to an issue with the “TAG” (E-Z Pass). Well, it turns out that the word has yet another meaning, “Lower”. It turns out that during certain periods of the day the toll you pay changes. I happened to be using the road during the “Non Peak Hours” hence the word “Baja” or “Lower Toll”, so no problemo after all. Oh, and best of all, I had my old iPhone 3G Jailbroken and I am now able to use it here in Chile. Also, as you can see in the pictures above, we have better accommodations for the motorcycle. My friend Mauricio Vergara who sold me the BMW motorcycle new  here in Santiago, now runs a business called "MotoTechnik". He is the one that sells these motorcycle enclosures that are so convenient to house the bike. When I leave this year, there won't be any wrapping the bike in plastic and having to tie it all up. Just simply put a cover over the bike and close the enclosure. DONE!

The Latest

Ignacio working on my bike

Fri. Jan, 6

I left Santiago around 7:30 this morning with destination Rancagua as I was to meet at Guillermo’s office to get the motorcycle inspected at 9:00am. This inspection couldn’t have been farther from the one in Santiago last year. Last year’s inspection took no less than three hours, most of it waiting in line. I hate waiting in lines! This time the inspection people came to me, picked up the bike, inspected it and returned it to the office while Veronica, (Guillermo’s wife) and I headed to the farmer’s market to shop for fresh veggies. When we returned to the office, the bike was waiting for me all inspected. That’s much better! Now all I have left to do is get the “Permiso de Circulacion”, the equivalent to a registration.

On Thursday I also took the bike to Ignacio Muños whom I met last year. Ignacio has a motorcycle repair shop and he specializes in BMW motorcycle repair. I noticed last year that the engine oil level sight glass on the side of the engine was weeping oil. Probably because of all the time that the bike spends stored. Well, in a bit over an hour it was replace with a part I brought from the U.S.

On Sunday I’m taking the bike to a Copec gas station that I frequent to get the bike washed. It’s pretty dusty from the long storage, then I think I’ll throw a little wax on it.

Summer Is Here

Luis and Miriam riding back to Santiago

Thu. Jan, 5

The flight from Toronto to New York JFK, and from JFK to Santiago went off without a hitch. Both flights arrived ahead of schedule. From New York to Santiago, I flew on LAN Chile Airlines. The thing I like about LAN Chile is that the service onboard is top notch.  The food is good, you get to eat with real live metal utensils and the wine is at no extra charge. Where do you get that on US Airlines?

I’ve been in Santiago now for two days, and have been fairly busy. Yesterday I tried to get the motorcycle registered, but I was told that it had to be inspected before I could register it, so tomorrow I am taking the bike to Rancagua, a city an hour south of Santiago, where my friend Guillermo lives. Guillermo, if you remember rescued me from the Atacama Desert two years ago. Well, he knows someone at the inspection station who will inspect the bike for me and I won’t have to wait three hours to get it done like it takes in Santiago. I would rather ride the hour to Rancagua than spend three hours in line just to inspect a motorcycle! Other than that, not much going on.

Guillermo did tell me that we have a three day (week end) trip planed for a week from tomorrow. The trip will include Guillermo and his wife Veronica (Vero), Luis and his wife Miriam (Vonchi), no idea how they get that out of Miriam, and yours truly. On Friday the 13th we will leave Santiago and head south on the Pan-American Highway to the town of Los Angeles approximately six hours south of Santiago. Luis’ brother lives there and is planning a cookout Chilean style for the group.

The following day, we will head south to the towns of Victoria, Traiguen and Lumaco. One of my Aunts has a ranch near Traiguen and my Father and my three Aunts were born in Traiguen. I know the town well. Continuing on, we will ride to an Italian restaurant called Don Primo where we will stop for lunch.

After lunch we will ride toward the Pacific Ocean and work our way north to the city of Concepcion, a city that was hard hit by the 2010 earthquake here in Chile. We spend the night there.

Sunday we ride north along the Ocean to the towns of Dichato, Quirihue, Cauquenes and Pelluhue. The town of Dichato was all but wiped off the map by the Tsunami that followed the earthquake in 2010. Lunch in Pullehue at the restaurant “Blanca Reyes”

After lunch we will ride east to the town of Talca and turn north back to Santiago.

Should be a good ride. 

Off To Find Summer

Off to Toronto bright and early tomorrow morning to start the long trip to Chile for two months.

From Toronto I fly to New York's JFK then direct to Santiago. 93 degrees and mostly sunny in Santiago on Tuesday. Unusually warm there. Watch this space for full updates. (Pictures will be uploaded to my SmugMug site. Just click on "My Photo Gallery" here to the right, under the clock, and go to the "Chile 2012" gallery once you are there)