Vacation with the parents

I was told that I had to plan a two week trip for my parents around where I had been over the last three year. It would be their first time in South America, and also the only time I would see them over two years. Previously, they had only known of my adventures from over skype, but now they wanted to get to know a little more about the last three years of my life: How do we do that in two weeks...?

We naturally started in Punta del Este, Uruguay where our family´s friends live. Once we had arrived, we spent a few days getting some beach time, tour around the area, and a Uruguayan Asado (BBQ)!!

Our next destination was Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay where I spent my first year in South America. We squeezed in as much as possible in one day, a tour around Pocitos where I lived, a cruise along the beautiful beach walk and lunch in Old Town. We had a terrific day!

Towards the evening we returned the rent car at the airport where our flight to Santiago, Chile also awaited us!

Santiago was the second big city I lived in just before I set out on my motorbike adventures. It is a beautiful, safe, and easy-to-get-around city. The back side is the exhaust that gets stuck in the valley trapping the smog in the city and actually prevents you from even seeing the Andes right on the boarder of the city (which you notice in the picture).

The city has really nice parks, monuments and museums easily accessible. We spend a few days cruising around the city. My friend Nelson acted our private guide and explained all we wanted to know.

Santiago is very progressive and does remind more of a western Europe city rather than Latin American. In the picture below we see the huge shopping mall, or as some like to call it "The Evil Tower of Sauron".

The next destination was Valparaiso, a city like no other, I was excited to show them this splendour of art, color and ungoverned city expansion. To follow in my footstepts as I first started my motorbike trip, we took the more exciting road up into the mountains...

And with an A-Team performance we were able to navigate the small roads through to the other side!

We spend a few days in Valparaiso, a place unlike anything you will ever see. It is an important harbour, but it is for the unmatched architecture and street art that attracts people as well as painters!



To fully get an appreciation for the unique relation between the city and its flourishing art form, we did a graffiti art tour with Valpo Street Art, which with great knowledge told us all about its history, development, and where it is in the present day. Captivating! (And highly recommended!)

At one point during the day we overhead a few gentlemen talking about a downhill race on mountain bikes through the city. The route they were planning sounded insane! But I guess that goes also goes far as to describe the riders! Watch the videos below!

And: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvKqAGT94s0

The city expansion has grown to cover the nearby hills in the most elaborate and creative manner imaginable. 

 One of the more prolific artists, which style you find in and around all of Valpo, was delegated the privilige to spray-paint these pieces impressively covering the side of a tall resident building! One is to be made from each season!

On the way back after dinner out

Once back in Santiago, we returned to Uruguay where we spent the last few days together; beach, sun, and each others company.

When my parents left, I was eager to spend some time in Montevideo with Caro to see my friends and enjoy the Uruguayan Murgas (part of the Uruguayan carnival) which lasts all through February!

 A few days later were we getting ready for the next phase of our trip on the motorbike. We were heading for the waterfalls of Iguazú. But first a few days on the Uruguayan coast!

Stay tuned!

Interesting Fact

Interesting fact, the distance from Ushuaia, Argentina to Punta del Este, Uruguay, will take you from Stockholm, Sweden to Lisbon, Portugal all across Europe. This is not even close to the total length of Argentina. 

13th Day - Family Reunion

10 Feb 15

3,380 - 3,700 km

Colonia del Sacramento 

You are already aware that the big capital cities make me a little uneasy, and although Montevideo is fairly small and I am quite familiar with it, I was still a bit nervous. 

The road out of Colonia was in fairly good condition, but later the road ran up and down all through the hilly countryside. On the relatively small bike (for two), it became a constant change from acceleration to gearing down to make the following peak. But we kept the spirit up!

We entered Montevideo from the west, parts I was not familiar with, but as soon as we got into the harbour, I was able to navigate by memory. And it is a good feeling that you know what and where you are going, especially with lots of  traffic! We drove through the main square La Plaza de Indepedencia, and out along the river where you find a beautiful view of the river, the city, and its beaches. - It is a very special city, especially to me as Uruguay was the first country I came to, and I spent almost a year here!! 

We drove through the neighbourhood where I used to live, which brought back tons of memories! We didn´t give it much time, because I wanted to come back with my parents. We continued along the riverside and by memory we navigated out to the highway heading out east (the signs are mostly no where to be found or are always with a different name than it "should" have). Now we were only some 200 km away. 

  

I remember the first time I laid eyes on Punta del Este, the so called "Miami of South America". A long beautiful beach, boarded with high residential buildings all the way to the end of the bay, and with huge cruisers at anchor. We drove down town and made the loop to see the tiny city before finding the exit to where my family friends live. 

I remembered our exit being 22, but I was obviously mistaken because the exit seemed nothing like to what I remembered, and when we arrived at 30 and the end of Punta it was a fact. We drove back and "unofficially" got lost in the neighbourhood where all the streets look alike. "Officially" we were getting to know the area. 

Finally, after asking some gentlemen at a golf course that we ran into, we were put in the right direction. As we stopped at an intersection, i suddenly recognized the road and knew I had to turn left. At this instance, one of the gentlemen pulled up in this car beside me and asked me to follow him, ...

But we drove left instead of straight, and continued the last few blocks to the house of my family friends. We still wondered what the gentleman must have thought! ... :S

But it doesn´t matter, we were finally at the doorstep, and the end of this first epic part of our trip. My dad first noticed us out of his window, and then everyone came down to greet us! It was special to see them again, especially their faces when they actually saw the bike with their own eyes! In my family, Im the black sheep, ..no one drives motorbikes! Much less across a foreign continent!

It was not always easy. We leaned so many things on the way, about ourselves and each other. We overcame obstacles, and most importantly; We made it!!

(Now for a treat with the parents!) 

12th Day - Uruguay

09 Feb 15
3,380 km
Colonia del Sacramento

When we arrived the night before, we had no difficulty in finding a hostel in this small, cultural city. When we left the hostel that night, we noticed that they had closed off the block just outside the hostel, and found out that carnival had arrived to town! After getting something to eat, we returned just as they got started. Something special in Uruguay is "Murgas", which took part after La Carnival, very unique in Uruguay. - I was stoked to be back!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbP1Ux3pVA  (jump to min 09:45)
(Generally the songs humorously talk about the political, social, and economic situation in Uruguay)

Colonia is a special city, with its cobble stone streets, historical architecture, and the lighthouse. Not to mention the Beetle, which perhaps their President Mujica made famous. 

Instead of leaving the first thing in the morning, we decided to take a day off to ourselves and explore this culturally and historically rich city. We cruised around aimlessly, visited a few museums, marvelled at the numerous old cars, churches, and enjoyed a splendid cup of coffee outside a charming café.

 Did I mention that we swapped the bike for this beauty .... nah! Just kidding!

It is a lovely city that no one should miss if ever passing by this area. We truly enjoyed some time together off the bike.

The next day, we only had a days worth of kms before finally touching down in Punta del Este and seeing my parents for the first time in over a year!

11th Day - The worst day so far

08 Feb 15
3,080 - 3,380 km
Close to Azul

We had looked up the schedule for the ferry that was going to take us from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, and we were scheduled for early evening. That way we had plenty of time to drive into the capital city with the margin on our side. To be honest, driving through Buenos Aires was something that had scared me a little already from the start. But there was more to this day!

Unlike the day before, this one started out with a very hot and humid climate. It was not pleasant. But it was the last day before Uruguay (if everything would go as planned), so we dealt with it!

Standard 2nd breakfast at a gas station along the road :)  -->


Photographer and driver (and to the right flying bison spotted);




The animal kingdom! It is just for a moment, but when the animals, birds like "beasts" fly (terrified) when we pass by, its something out of a movie.

But there was also the horrendous traffic!

Ruta3; What should have been a proper highway with rails dividing the lanes, was instead a chaotic race "home" with little regards to others. Seemed like everyone was decisive about overtaking the cars in front of them whenever there was an opportunity. 

More then just a few times was I forced to sidestep to the emergency lane to avoid head on collisions. It kept me on my toes to say the least! 

Seemed like we were indeed getting close to the capital.

Before we got too close to the capital, I decided to stop at a gas station for a coffee and something to eat. Although I didn´t feel the hunger, it was just what I needed to calm down from my tense mood. Without realizing it, I had become stressed and irritated.  We talked a bit to get it out of the system.

We joined what became a 10 lane highway leading into the city of Buenos Aires. I was glad to have Caro with me, as keep track of the traffic and reading all the signs simultaneously got overwhelming at times. We did fine, and got to the heart of the city where even I felt familiar with where we had to go.

But it just happened to be no exit as we passed over the harbour where I knew we were supposed to be, instead we headed toward the more industrial part of the harbour and parts of the city I was not eager to explore, nor get lost in. Buenos Aires was not the city I wanted to get lost in tin he wrong neighbourhood! We took an exit and eventually stopped at a gas station, thank God!

With new directions, we were able to get back on the highway and with genuine gut-feelings were able to get off at the right moment. With much relief we drove along the road by the harbour, and just moments later arrived to where we had to embark the ferry. We had made it!

To be honest, it took me a few minutes to collect myself. Not only driving through BsAs, but to have crossed Patagonia in the manner we did. You never give yourself time to think about the magnitude when you are actually doing it. I was relieved!

Funny moment: At the immigration, the guy was lecturing me about my numerous boarder-hoppings registered in my passport and told me it was not allowed. He continued to call me a "fake tourist" and urged me to get a proper visa. I reasoned for myself, if they had already allowed me to exit and reenter the country, the problem lied within the administration. In lack of response Caro came to our aid and I was moments later allowed to yet again leave the country.

But this time for a long!

We were finally heading towards Uruguay. A country that lies very close to my heart and whom I have much affection towards. Uruguayan "mate" which I had longed for very long! We settled in the seats of the ferry as in the end of Jurassic Park when they fly away in the helicopter. We made it!!

10th Day - A beautiful day

07 Feb 2015
2,630 - 3,080 km
Rio Colorado

This day was going to take us into the heart the province of Buenos Aires. Our first goal of the day was Bahía Blanca, an important coastal city, and from there cruise on the 51 up to where it reunites with Ruta 3. The day was gorgeous, but the fun was yet to come!

Although this may look worse than it actually is (especially early on the day), every once in awhile it is necessary!

"Don´t worry baby! ... I´m an expert!!"

 Fortunately nothing too bad this time! Just adjusting the chain! 

On the 51, we finally found something that we truly enjoyed so far on this trip! The 51 proved to be drastically different from the Ruta3. It was a thrilling excitement to drive through the open countryside on this snakelike road! Even though the curved road constantly required my attention, it was not hard to fully enjoy the beautiful fields of cows and crops, the stand of trees, and the significant lack of vehicles.



 It was like driving through the countryside of which likes you reed in books or see in movies! - Beautiful!

But, ... something waited for us at the distance!

Although we could not tell whether we were driving right toward it (as the road kept turning), but somehow it was getting closer and closer, and growing bigger and bigger by the moment. There was no doubt, a big chunk of rainy clouds hanging heavily above the gorgeous countryside,
perhaps with lightning. 

                                                                                                              "Thank God the road finally turns!" :S

We drove on the border of it for quite awhile, and at one point we thought it was inevitable, but we pushed on! We kept driving  awaiting the rainfall at any moment. Fortunately we were able to make it to a gas station just in time ... for a coffee, while we watched the rainfall from inside!! - It was amazing driving right next to it, observing it. You feel tiny!

After awhile we kept going. As the rain had just recently past, the air was filled with moisture, like the fields and the road with rays of water. It came to a point where I just had to stop and put my yellow pants on (rain gear) because water was beginning to drip down my boots.







The scenery was gorgeous! It was just one of those moments you can´t fully describe, but neither will you will never forget them. That feel, touch and sound will always vibrate in your memory.

 We were heading for the city Azul, but when it started to get dark, we decided to stop at on of the hotels we spotted beside the road not far from Azul. We were tired after yet another very extensive day on the road. But it had been one of the best days!

This is what I imagined when I wanted to set out to ride the bike, ride freely on countryside way outside the cities, with only you, the road and the experience! Not all of the days are like this, actually quite few, but they are still the ones that stand out!