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Ecuador - Peru - Bolivia

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October 9th, 2005
After 15 months in Colombia, and opening up my own backpacker hostel, it's time to do a little exploration to the south through the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. My Colombian visa was also about to expire, and my temporary motorcycle importation certificate had expired 10 months previously. I had to leave the country to renew both, so this is really a business trip. Time to hit the road!

ColombiaPopayanCalleKLR.KTM.jpg
This is Popayan, southern Colombia, on our way to Ecuador. I´m traveling with Avi from Israel.

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Las Lajas Cathedral, Ipiales, Colombia. On the border with Ecuador. (Click picture for larger view.)

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Colombia border with Ecuador. Ipiales, Colombia - Tulcan, Ecuador

You might notice my ride's new paint job that I had done in Medellin before leaving on the second half of my trip: Colombia to Argentina.
 
The original color of the bike was military green. I decided that might not be such a great color traveling through some of the politically volotile and U.S.A.-hostile countries that exist in Latin America. So, along with some other bike trip-preparadness-modifications in San Diego before crossing the border into Mexico, I also painted the Monkey Moto black. Unfortunately, the black began to get scratched off with time, leaving me with a potch-marked black and military green design. In other words, camoflauge, exactly what I was trying to get away from, and just in time for Colombia.
 
Oh well, living in Colombia for one and a half years - and riding all over the country - nothing ever came of it. However, my baby deserved a new look for a new continent, so that's what she got.

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We stayed in Tulcan for the night., and had some help unloading our gear.

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Ecuador is full of volcanoes. This is outside of Baņos. (Click picture for a larger view.)

EcuadorBanosLadoVolcanKLR.jpg
Trying to get to the crater of an active volcano: maybe not a good idea.

Peru

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Welcme to Peru.

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In Churuya Canyon, on the way from Ecuador to Chachapoyas, Peru.

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Trying to find the ruins of Kuelap, this turned out to be the wrong road.

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I met up with the Globe Busters tour group on the way from Huaraz to Lima.

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A common sight in Peru. I had a streak of bad luck, and literally hit three dogs in three days.

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Globe Busters setting up the camera for some trip footage.

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Enjoying the view of Machu Picchu with my new friends.

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Llamas in the Peruvian Altiplano on the way from Cusco to Lago Titicaca, then on to Bolivia.

Bolivia:

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Welcome To Bolivia

October 30th 2005
After visiting my favorite ruins yet - Machu Picchu (espectacular!) - Steve Sohrakoff (2001KLR 650) and I met up in Copacabana, Bolivia a few days ago. Yesterday we mountain biked the most dangerous road in the world - El Camino de La Muerte, La Paz to Corioco - and survived! Now we're off to Santa Cruz de la Sierra for some lowland moto maintenance, and then south-west to the famous Salar de Uyuni, a huge salt flat that we'll be able to ride across.

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Steve loading the ''ferry'' to cross the shortest part of Lago Titicaca, Bolivia.

BoliviaSanPabloGasSteveDosAmigas.jpg
Steve filling up with some gas of questionable quality, just to make sure he could make it to La Paz

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Fun with llamas! On the way from Sucre to Uyuni and the Salar de Uyuni.

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On the Salar de Uyuni, south-western Bolivia.

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We met up with some other bikers on the Salar de Uyuni.

To the south of the Salar de Uyuni, we reached 5,000 meters traversing some of the most difficult terrain I have ever seen - about 300 miles of horrible wash boards accompanied by loose sand and rocks of all sizes, ensuring one to loose control and crash at times. I fortunately only went down once - almost crashing dozens of times - but everyone I have talked to who has ever crossed this terrain has fallen between one and 30 times. All you can do is to just get up and keep going. Sounds like fun, right?

BoliviaSanJuanLilSquirt.jpg
Getting some practical advise about the route south, in San Juan.

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The famous Arbol de Piedra (Rock Tree) between the Lagunas Colorado and Verde.

As Ricardo Rocco told me in Quito, 'There are two ways to visit the region to the south of the Salar de Uyuni, the smart way and the stupid way. The smart way is in a Landcruiser with a tour group, the stupid way is to do it on your motorcycle.' Well, I fortunately made it through alive, and put a little hair on my chest in the process...and a few welts on my rearside, crooks in my back, dents on my bike frame, rattled my insides, etc. Would I go back? Probably not on a motorcycle, that's just stupid.

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Laguna Verde.

From Laguna Verde we dropped down into San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, one of the driest places on earth, receiving less than a millimeter of rain each year. From there, we went east back up into the Andes to the border between northern Chile and northern Argentina, at about 5,000 meters, then finally dropped down into Argentina, the destination I have been waiting for for more than four years.

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Llama amigo.

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We were leaving Bolivia going into Chile, but the picture was too good to pass up.

Click here to cruise on to Chile and Argentina