Panamericana 2009/2010

Why ends the tour in Chile

2010-09-22T03:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends and Family,

i stopped the blog in Chile because not having Internet Access for a loooooong time. This winter i will complete my tour down to Ushuaia and Back to Buenos Aires. The motorcycle is back in Germany and had a complete Overhauling. Now it runs like a new one. Ceci lives with me in Germany now and we will marry in a few weeks. And that`s not the end of the news. We will have a Baby next March!
Seems i have to look for a Sidecar! ;-)

This trip changes my life and was the trip of my dreams. I have new wonderfull friends who share this experience of the Adventure South America on a motorbike with me. The Cosmoto`s!

Check this blog in November/ Dezember again!

ingo
cosmoto germany

Chile: Atacama Desert and Antofogasta

2010-02-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Atacama is the driest desert on earth and the last rainfalls where 400 years ago. The result is no green only stones and sand - i have seen enough stones for the rest of my life.... ;-)
The manos are a symbol of the Atacama and really big. In Antofogasta we met our friend Gert from the Netherlands again who lives in Bolivia. Unfortunately he couldn`t ride with us south and have to say Goodbye for a few months....... ;-)

Bolivia to Chile offroad

2010-02-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

This was the hardest motorcycle ride of my life. 600 km offroad on very bad roads and deep sand. And on the top the rears suspension of my bike died. After this i was well shaked...... Fortunately we rented with the group a 4x4 service vehicle which carries our luggage. With all this stuff on the bike it would be impossible to ride this track.
Thank god that the spectacular crashes in our group are get of lightly.
The landscape compensate all this and was only stunning. The laguna colorada which changes the color from blue to red when the bacterias are getting the first sun or the laguna verde are unblievable and unforgettable sites.
After 600 km`s we all kissed the asphalt road in Chile..... ;-)

Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni

2010-02-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

The salar of Uyuni was with Machu Picchu one of the Highlight of the whole tour. The salar is the biggest salt flat of the world. The white of the salt is very strong and
althought we had sun glasses the sun bites in our eyes. The salt hotel was closed, but we visited it from outside. Everything inside like beds, chairs and tables - everything made of salt. Because of the water on the salar i decided to take a 4x4 car for the trip on the salar. The salt is very agressiv to the electrical kontacts on the bike.

Bolivia: Sucre

2010-02-23T06:15:00.001-08:00

In Sucre we met very nice people who rode with us into the woods around of Sucre. Fabrizio gave me his CR450 for a incredible ride on a motocross track and on the dirtroads. After two rounds i was totally exhausted. I never drove a motorcycle with this acceleration. Stunning!!!!!!
Thanks Fabrizio and Maria for the wonderfull time together! I definitely come back to Bolivia!

Bolivia: Potosi

2010-02-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

In Potosi we visited the silver mine and the wonderfull city which was one of the richest citys of the world when the silber boom started. The miners work hasn`t changed until today and is very dagerous. We bought Dynamite (free for buy like a bottle coke.....) and had some nice "bangs".......

Peru: Lago Titicaca

2010-02-09T10:59:00.001-08:00

Peru: Machu Picchu

2010-02-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

Machu Picchu was one of the highlights of this trip. It`s unblelievable what this culture creates on the top of a mountain. This was a breathtaking moment for me.

Peru: Lines of Nazca

2010-02-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Mmmmmmmmh, interesting flight, but the question of the ancient or touristical lines is open.

Peru: Oasis Incahuasi

2010-01-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

After the trip into the mountains with cold temperatures was the climate change to the Oasis Incahuasi really great. The temperatures climb from the freezing point up to 30 degrees..........
The Oasis is a Party place and we enjoyed it to relax in warm temperatures. The ride with a V8 dune bug i will never forget as well the sandboardriding - this time i havn`t brake my leg.......... smile!

Peru: Huaraz

2010-01-06T14:31:00.000-08:00

Huaraz was a trip into the world of mountain climbing and a interesting precolumbian museum. The 5000 Meter Mountains are very imposant and riding in the middle of these giants is breathtaking.
The museum of precolumbian indian culture was very interesting and the mummies were in a very good condition.

But is was very very cold! Brrrrrrrrr

Peru: Cajamarca

2010-01-03T16:34:00.001-08:00

And more Offroand in the heart of Peru....

Peru: Jaen, Chachapoyas, Kuelap

2010-01-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

After the dirt road ride we arrived the province Chachapoyas in which the old culture of the Chachapoya lived. We visited the old fortaleza of this culture in Kuelap. Dirt road again without any security at the sides of the road. One driving fealure brings you 500 Meters deeper......

600 km Offroad between Ecuador and Peru

2010-01-01T13:38:00.001-08:00

This was one of my hardest motorcycle rides in my life. Wo rode one week only offroad with sand, river crossings, and in mud. We kissed the tar road after this experience........ Smile.

Cuenca Ecuador

2010-01-01T13:27:00.001-08:00

Cuenca is a absolut must for travellers in Ecuador. This city is one of the nicest colonial citys i saw on my trip.

Baños del Inca

2009-12-03T15:38:00.001-08:00

At the moment we are in Baños del Inca which has thermal wells. The town is surrounded from beautiful mountains. It is planned to leave Banos on saturday to Cuenca which should be the nicest city of Ecuador..... We will see!

Lago Verde Quilotoa

2009-12-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

The Laguna Quilotoa was a unplanned stop into the Andes in 4000 Meters. Our "Lonely Planet Guide" says this is a absulut must for the trip through latin America - and the trip up to this height was worth it. Wonderfull landscape and ineresting people who arrange their lives into the rought nature.

My motorcycle has still around 25 PS from 50 PS because of the low Oxygene in this height. But not only the motorcycle - i had these problems to when we walked around the crater. Everything is a little slower.

Quito

2009-12-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Quito was very nice with a historic old town. We stood there for one day and explored the city.

Equator

2009-12-03T14:48:00.001-08:00

Wow, this was a kick to set my foot the first time into the southern hemisphere. The GPS switches from North to South with "0" in the first row.

Otavalo

2009-12-03T14:41:00.001-08:00

Otavalo is a town which lives from the famous market. I bought a lot of stuff there and the price for the package to germany was fomous too..........

We met nice indigen people who told us about their live. These people talk in Quetchua which was very interesting for me.

Ipiales

2009-12-03T14:39:00.001-08:00

In Ipiales we where surrounded from people who were interested in our bikes. We were the attraction of the day......
In the evening we drove to a famous church of the virgin de Las Lajas which was built in a canyon. Someone saw the virgin Maria there........ It seems someone was very drunken.....

Popayan

2009-12-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

Popayan is the white city with very old buildings from the spanish who saddled there. The roads to the city through the mountains where very beautiful and we had a lot to see.

Salentro

2009-11-25T05:02:00.001-08:00

Because of the carburator problems we left Medellin at 1 pm so we couldnt reach Salentro before the sunset. Our rule number one - never ride in the dark - forces us to stay in Pereira. Today we ride to the nice old town in the mountains.

Salento was really nice and a place to stay longer. But the timer runs........

Ride to Medellin

2009-11-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Medellin was the nicest of the modern citys on our trip. In the part of the city where our Kiwi Hostel was located there was a lot of green and we felt like to be in a rainforest. The ride to the city went through a very nice mountain area with heights of around 3000 Meters (around 9000 feet) and it was cold.....;-)
Unfortunatelly i couldnt visit the city which is famous for sculptures because of problems with the carburator of my bike. In the height i had no power over 4000 rpm which causes to a change of the jets into the carburator. This bike was never sold in Central and South America (exept Brasil) and it was not easy to adjust the mixture screws of the carb. I spent nearly three days in a repair shop..... Thanks the wonderfull team of Suzuki Superservicios in Medellin for the help. The bike runs after the difficult adjusts like a new one.
At the weekend we drove with the team of Suzuki Superservicios and the BMW Shop Routa Cuarenta into the mountains to a monolith in the middle of a very nice lake area.

Cartagena

2009-11-24T18:03:00.000-08:00

This City is the most beautiful City of South America says the Travel Guide Lonely Planet and indeed it is a charming restored colonialstil city. The walk into the streets moves you into another time. The people of Cartagena are very nice and friendly. Specially after the war against the FARC the people are very open and helpfull to visitors.

Boatride with the Stahlratte to Cartagena

2009-11-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

We left Panama at the 11.th of November at 06:00 a.m. to catch to boat which leaves from Carti to Cartagena. For this we had to drive on a mud track through the rainforest and a wide river to a indian village. The indians load our bikes on a small wooden boat. I thought this thing would sink with these two heavy bikes....... From this boad the bikes were loaded to the Stahlratte. We drove to a nice Island in the middle of nowhere to spent a relaxt day in the wonderfull water and on the island. In Cartagena we had to unload the bikes by hand.

Die Toten Hosen in Panama

2009-11-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

We were on a concert of the Toten Hosen from Düsseldorf who played the first time in Panama City. They are on a tour through several central and south american countries. This was a great Event before we left Panama City three hours later. The night was very very short to catch the boat to Colombia.

Panama

2009-11-10T06:27:00.002-08:00

Nicaragua Colonial City Leon

2009-11-10T06:20:00.001-08:00

El Salvador & Honduras

2009-11-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

Guatemala City and Antigua

2009-11-01T06:09:00.000-08:00

Since Saturday we are in Guatemala in the house of Friends. Yesterday evening we went to the Harlem Globetrotters who played the show in the Guatemala Dome. Very american, colored and loud but nice to see. After this we was in the Zona and drank some with our friends Stefan and Carola. Pics coming soon.

I am in Costa Rica since today and tomorrow we ride to Panama. We have no fast internet connection to upload the pictures. I try got send pictures from Panama.

Ride to Guatemala - Accident in El Progreso

2009-10-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

We leaved the finca Ixobel very early to reach Guatemala City. On the way we ate in the street a very good meal. The food is homemade, cheap and very good. A few kilometers later our friend Jeff (with the black honda) had an accident in a curve. He was to fast and flew out of the curve. Police and the ambulance was in a short time there. He broke his left shoulder and he has to stay for many weeks in the City El Progreso. We arranged everything for him to have a nice staying here. He will ride south in a view weeks.

Cascada Finca Paraiso and Rio Dulce

2009-10-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

On the way to Guatemala City we visited a waterfall in the area of Rio Dulce. In the riverbehind the waterfall we saw some women who wash the closes by hand. The waterfall has a temperature of 70 degrees celsius. The pool under it was had around 30 degrees - perfect for a relaxed bath.

Finca Ixobel

2009-10-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

The finca Ixobel is a old farmhouse and actual a hotel and hostel. The finkca is in the middle of a wonderfull forest. We hiked through the forest and swam in a natural water pond. Very nice place to relax and to dream.

Flores

2009-10-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

At the moment we are in Flores Guatemala. The border crossing was without any problems. In flores i had my 40. Birthday.... long time ago.....;-)

Belize

2009-10-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hello Belize! This was a very nice english speaking country with nice but very poor people. We had a huge problem with corrupt police who tried to get money from us because of insurance we dont have. A reporter who came along at this moment helped us - his best friend was Director of the Belize police. At the end of a long story three police man where arrested because of corruption. We were with pictures and full names in the radio (picture when we gave a interview), and the newspaper of Belize..... At the end it was a stressfull time but a experience. In Belize the batterie of my suzuki gave up. The first big Problem.

Tulum

2009-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

In Tulum we had two relaxing days on the beach. We had a Cabana 100 meters from the beach. In the city we met a nice guy from Cancun who travels with a 20 year old BMW R80 GS.

Maya Temple of Chichen Itza

2009-10-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

Chichen Itza was the capital of the maya culture.

Hotel in Chichen Itza

2009-10-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

In Chichen Itza we found a empty hotel where we could park the motorcycles in the lobby. We slept there for a low price and had a pool and the showers for us. We met our new travel companion Jeff there - he was searching for a place to stay over night. He is a very nice guy who fits to our group. In the last picture you see a egg store. I haven`t seen this before. A shop only for eggs. All white in the same size........ ;-)

Raindrive from Xititla to Yucatan

2009-10-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

Now i have a fast Internet connection and i upload some pics. Here we wair our reflecting rainclothes for the next two days..... Terrible! The last pictures are from the gulf of mexico near Merida. The first pictures in the sun.

Surrealistic Villa of Edward James

2009-10-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

The villa of Edwards James was a amazing place to relax and to reset the brain. We sat at special points and watched relaxed to the surreal buildings. This is a must on a mexico trip. Thanks Oscar for the tip!

Hippie Hotel Xititla

2009-10-17T19:49:00.001-07:00

While we searched a economic hotel in Xititla we found a group of hippies who offered there tipis for tourists...... A tipe with electrical light and very good beds ... a new experience for me /us. We loved it there and stood for two days. They were nice people from switzerland. A good chance to speak german after a long time........

Ride to Xititla

2009-10-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

On the trip to Xititla we found this wonderfull Church of a Missionary station. This Church is a world heritage site. The landscape was wonderfull. We drove the best roads ever with incredible impressions. We thought the Baja California was the top but this trips topped the Baja. We ate tacos from a nice family. The people offer food in a very good quality along the roads. Much better than in restaurants. My stomag feels good with it...... ;-)

Guadelajara

2009-10-17T19:15:00.001-07:00

In Guadelajara we met a friend of us who leave Mexico for a Around the world trip in a few months. He showed us the wonderfull city with the church which has a lot of real Gold Applications.... Mexico the country of Maya Gold presents it`s richness in the catholic churches....... and the poor people beg for money in the streets.......

Tequila

2009-10-17T19:05:00.001-07:00

A very interesting place on the road was Tequila. We visited the distilleries and we smelled everywhere in the city the fermented Agave which is the basis for Tequila. We met again very nice people.

The KM of my motorcycle reached 40000. By Tequila we had driven 4000 km from Los Angeles in 2 weeks....

Magdalena (close to Tequila)

2009-10-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Magdalena for a lunch and i start talking to Jose who was very interested in our motorcycles. At the evening we had a nice party together in a typical mexican discotec. We tryed Tequila in several mixtures...... and we have a lot of new friends.

Puerto Vallarta

2009-10-12T20:02:00.001-07:00

After the ride through a Tropical Rainforest with wonderfull roads and impressions we arrived the flat of two very nice woman (Petra) Hope to see her again in the future. In the evening we spent a few hours at the malecon. The Cuban Bar "La bodeguita del Medio" was because of Salsa Livemusic my favorite.
This city is wonderfull and i wasn`t there the last time in my live.

San Blas

2009-10-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

We camped in San Blas in a area of strong huminity. After having around 50 Moskito stitches we was very early in our tents. No more fotos - because we needed both hands to kill the Moskitos. They liked our Anti - Moskito Spray very much........

Ciudad Hidalgo

2009-10-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

We found a very nice restaurant with fresh seafood and low prices. The food cames direkt from the fishers behind the restaurant.

Ferry from La Paz (Baja California) to Mazatlan

2009-10-11T00:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday we got on the ferry. After fixing the bikes in the 60 Degree hot cargo level we went to hour sleeping seets for the 18 hour boat trip to mazatlan.

Baja California Southern

2009-10-11T00:41:00.000-07:00

We found the begger anywhere in a street. We gave him a few cents.

Tropical Cancer (Wendekreis des Krebses)

Baja California Orphanage San Lucas

2009-10-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

For sure we had candys with us.....

Baja California Middle

2009-10-11T00:06:00.001-07:00

Mmmmm Tacos......

Volcan Tres Virgenes

Baja California Nothern

2009-10-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

The Baja California has one of the nicest roads and tracks i ever drove before. They were some curves too.... Great to ride.

Viva Mexiko

2009-10-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

After a few days i have now Internet Connection for my laptop.........

We passed the border to Mexiko at the 3rd of October. After a lot paperworks at the border we visited a orphanage in Tijuana where we had candys for the kids. This was organized from our companion Sebastian who supports a orphanage organisition.

Motorcycle Trip with Sebastians Friends

2009-10-02T18:42:00.001-07:00

Mailibu Beach Boulevard

2009-10-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

Our neighbour today. A black widow.....

Hollywood

2009-10-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hollywood

Sunset Boulevard

2009-10-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

From Beverly Hills we drove down the Sunset Boulevard to Hollywood

Beverly Hills

2009-10-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Street in Beverly hills and me in front of the famous Beverly Hills Hotel.

First ride

2009-09-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

You can see my smiling! ;-) It doesn`t stop for the two hours from the airport to the home of my travel companion.

Today we plan to visit Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

Decrating at LA Airport

2009-09-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

The crate has arrived without any damages in LA. The paperwork procedure was awfull.

The assembling of the bike puzzle takes around 2 hours.

Ready for Transportation to the airport

2009-09-19T09:26:00.001-07:00

Today we finished the crate and the preparation of the bike. My father rented a forklift to lift the crate into the trailer. He did this like someone who never did anything else...... ;-) Next Friday the 25th we will transport the bike to Dusseldorf Airport. One week!!!! ;-) I become more flustered from day to day....... ;-)

The crate

2009-09-05T02:17:00.000-07:00

My father has build the crate frame for the transportation at the 25. of September. We tryed the size and the fixing of the bike onto the wooden bottom of the crate these days. I have to disassemble the front wheel to lower the front of the bike. Now we are looking for a stand to fix the front axle in a low position. One week before the bike leaves we will close the crate with thin wooden plate. After this, the crate will be transported by trailer to the airport Dusseldorf.

At the moment i am preparing my paperworks with the last handwritten notices in the maps of the countries i travel through. At the moment i am waiting for the last insurance contracts for the motorbike in the US and mexico.

Panamerican - My bike

2009-07-12T01:46:00.001-07:00

My bike for the trip is a DR 800 Suzuki single cylinder dirt bike. This type of bike was very successfull on several rallys all over the world - specially on the Paris - Dakar. The whole construction is very durable and easy to handle.
I bought this motorcycle in 2005 with 12.000 km on the speedometer. The bike was built in 1998 and like new. For the trip i added racks for Aluminum - Boxes and roll bars around the gas tank (not mounted on the pic below). On the pic i use the bike in spain fully loaded on a dirt track. Two month ago i had a off road training with a versed offroad instructor to learn driving on muddy or sandy tracks. This was very helpful to know how your bike reacts on slippery onderground. For the trip i bought some spare parts and tools to solve little defects. The heavyest parts are the tools which are located in a new tool box in front of the engine rock guard. It`s a ugly tube (not mounted on the pics) - but it does his job perfect.....

Update:
I installed a new stronger spring in the rear suspenstion. The old one has lost it hardness over the years. For the Panamericana i had changed the front springs half a year ago too.

My Tour on the Panamericana

2009-07-12T01:28:00.000-07:00

As a child of about 8 years i found a travelling book of my parents in their living room cabinet. The title was "Dream roads of the world". There was one article about the Panamerica with incredible pictures of the landscape along the road. Dark wet forests in Central America and wonderfull mountains in Argentina and Chile. Pics of Bears in Canada in front of a lake.... Since this time these pictures are fixed in my brain i planned to travel along this road any time in my life. It takes around 35 years to change over my plans. After having an own child and a family - i have now time to realise this personal dream.
Because of the long distance and the given timeframe of 4,5 months in the company i work for the tour is splitted in two sections. Only with the split i have enough time to see as much as possible from the countrys and the people. This first section starts in September 2009 and ends in February 2010 from LA to Tierra del Fuego. The second section will be planned in a few years together with my girlfriend.