USA | Tuesday, 28 Jul 2015 | Views [132]
Our 2 weeks travelling together in Chile were a blast from second 1.
I decided to stay in Matthew's Trip mode so I had us in a rental car right away for a 1,000 mile return trip to the lovely lake town of Villarica, in the North part of Chile's Patagonia.... Read more >
USA | Tuesday, 28 Jul 2015 | Views [154]
I woke pre-Chillian dawn, at a very sedate 8am, and walked in the dark and rain to the nearest Santiago Metro station 10 minutes from my last solo hostel. A short, easy, Metro ride then bus ride to the Santiago Airport and my solo travels were over too! ... Read more >
USA | Friday, 10 Jul 2015 | Views [227] | Comments [4]
Before I started this trip I had an 'old' small flip phone, that had a basic camera, text thru the time consuming 1abc buttons, a tiny 1 inch square screen and no Web connection - that I used anyhow. Actually the phone was pretty much unused. I sent ... Read more >
USA | Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 | Views [191]
HVAC - Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning
Once solely the preserve of your 'tin box' (as we motorcylists call 4 wheel transport), I have discovered how to circumvent the physics, mechanics and expense of installing a workable system on a motorcycle ... Read more >
USA | Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 | Views [189]
One of the things I have come to relish most is the gulf between my imaginings and the reality of the towns I stay in.
Take Valparaiso for instance, the town where I am chilling having dropped XavieR off at a Customs Yard here a few days ago, and ... Read more >
USA | Tuesday, 7 Jul 2015 | Views [195] | Comments [1]
1 Billion smiles
100,000 curves (not inc. Colombia .... ha ha!)
11,500 miles travelled (inc. Panama City to Bogota flight)
11,111 miles ridden
2,000 kicks of the kick start
1,000 miles of unpaved roads
500 hours in the saddle ... Read more >
USA | Tuesday, 7 Jul 2015 | Views [196] | Comments [1]
The soppy git that I am, I felt tears well up as I patted the crated up Xavier on his bars and thanked him for looking after me so well, and wished him bon voyage.
I rearranged the 6 inch Yoshi plush (given to me by Kellan and Amaris for this very ... Read more >
USA | Monday, 6 Jul 2015 | Views [169]
My last proper day of riding took me the 75 miles from Chile's capital, Santiago, to its Pacific-side mate Valparaiso, where I was shipping Xavier back to San Diego from.
For the last 11,000 odd miles, despite all the long days Xavier had had no mechanical ... Read more >
USA | Wednesday, 1 Jul 2015 | Views [186] | Comments [1]
I am so happy with my choice of motorbike, as I took a rather unorthodox path when deciding on basically a medium sized dirt bike to do what most 'bikers' do on larger, or way larger more road oreientated machines such as the Kawasaki KLR 650, or BMW ... Read more >
USA | Saturday, 27 Jun 2015 | Views [173]
I have been trying really hard to keep track of all my stuff. On the whole I have done pretty well for 11 countries, and 60 different hostels so far.
This is what slipped thru-
1. Sunglasses (broke - Mexico)
2. DIY Camera ... Read more >
USA | Wednesday, 24 Jun 2015 | Views [149]
I was never any good at chatting up girls; could rarely think of a stunning one-line to hook their interest in a loud pub or heaving club.
It is not a skill which age has honed, I can tell you.
65 days in, and trying to initiate a conversation ... Read more >
USA | Friday, 19 Jun 2015 | Views [164]
Well I guess this confirms it. Men do get the menopause.
At least I seem to, at the early age of 46.
One moment I am literally boiling in my own juices, the next I am cold, shivering even.
One moment my skin is dry and the next wet.
... Read more >
USA | Wednesday, 17 Jun 2015 | Views [162]
I have settled into a routine of booking hostels or hotels ahead if I am arriving on a weekend, or I have a long ride that day and need to know I have a bed for the night. Otherwise I will do an online search of hostels/hotels in my target town, and ... Read more >
USA | Saturday, 13 Jun 2015 | Views [179] | Comments [1]
Hi, my name is Matthew and I am a Latin American Driver. ...
It has been 3 hours since I have driven like a Latin American
As I cannot seem to find any support groups down here, I have decided to start my own Chapter of Latin American Drivers ... Read more >
USA | Thursday, 11 Jun 2015 | Views [187]
About 3 weeks into my trip I was on my last day in Costa Rica, and had decided to find a hostel that Lonely Planet highly recommended, in a small town called Golfito, on the Pacific coast about 40 miles west of the Panama border.
Until only a few ... Read more >
USA | Wednesday, 10 Jun 2015 | Views [155] | Comments [1]
So there I was, riding down a jungle road outside of Chachopoyas in North Peru at about 8.30 am. It's cold but sunny, and the road is right on the bank of a brown, swollen river, which is raging on.
I am thinking about the long day of small mountain ... Read more >
USA | Wednesday, 10 Jun 2015 | Views [159]
First, aged 25 - Standing 100 metres above a canyon in New Zealand, willing myself to throw myself off and trust the attached bungie line.
Second, aged 27 - Stepping out of the open door of a small Cessna propeller plane and onto a 6 inch square plate ... Read more >
USA | Sunday, 31 May 2015 | Views [211] | Comments [1]
My gps has decided that I am finally man enough to find my way around a Latin American country without its help. The country? Equador, my 9th.
Up until now, my navigating has been via a Garmin GPS, a paper map, an amazing off-line App called ... Read more >
USA | Saturday, 30 May 2015 | Photo Gallery
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USA | Friday, 29 May 2015 | Views [221]
The roads in Colombia are a motorcyclists heaven, with every type you could possibly imagine from fast sweeping mountain roads, to tight serpentine unpaved roads picking their way through drop dead gorgeous scenery.
Yesterday I decided to find a fun ... Read more >
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