Dear family and friends, welcome to our blog. I’ll confess straight up – I’m not a blogger (nor am I into facebook) and this is new for me. However, a blog seemed to be the most practical way to keep in touch.
This is not a blog for all the world to see, so it's hidden from search engines, but feel free to pass on the web address to any of your friends that are interested. If you feel inclined at any time to drop us a few lines to say “Hi”, you can do so via email murraye@tpg.com.au and we'd very much enjoy hearing from you! (it can be a long lonely road out there at times...)
Special thanks to daughter Betzi, for turning my plain-text, no-photo boring blog page into something more visually appealing (using a photo from a previous trip to Argentina).
Why are we travelling around South America on a motorcycle?
For some years now I have dreamt of riding a motorcycle down the Pan-Americana (highway), which traverses the Americas from Alaska to the bottom tip of Argentina. But because of our love of Latin culture and South America, this idea evolved into a trip through 12 of the 13 countries in South America (we miss out Paraguay) by circumnavigating the continent.
South America is an amazing travel destination, but perhaps the main reason for us going there is that we have a natural connection – it’s Carmen and Betzi's birthplace (Venezuela) and home for much of their lives. Twenty-something years ago I spent a couple of years living and working in Venezuela (cane toad ecology) and met Carmen. We (Carmen, myself and daughter Betzi) have since travelled regularly back to Venezuela to visit the large gregarious family (my ‘in-laws’). Over that time I’ve learnt to speak passable Spanish, but much to Carmen’s frustration when it comes to Latin dancing I’m still as terrible as when we first met.
But what intrigues people most about this trip is, why do it on a motorcycle? I’ll mention here that this is never asked by other motorcycle riders – the mere mention of this trip is enough to elicit an envious expletive and a dreamy, distant gaze. But to others it hardly seems sensible. Isn't this just making an already long and difficult trip - a much longer, more difficult and riskier trip, with a numb bum thrown in? Well, yes to all of that. But travelling by motorcycle can also be incredibly rewarding, fun, and it immerses you in the county and its culture in a way that travel by car or bus can never do.
Responding to this question (why go by motorcycle) numerous times has made me think about exactly what it is that is special about travelling this way. It's something I find difficult to convey to anyone who has not done it (except perhaps for those who have toured by bicycle, given the similarities). But here goes.... for me it is a combination of things:
It's partly about actually riding the bike – it's undeniably fun. The way a motorcycle balances on two wheels, the way it leans into a corner, the nimbleness and the power. Those childhood feelings of a thrilling billy-cart ride or the joy of riding your push-bike after you've taken off the training wheels, are re-awakened when riding a motorcycle. And there is something immensely satisfying about using the experience and skills gained over the years to ride competently and safely. For me, there is nothing like a long ride to feel alive and melt away the stress of everyday life.
It's partly about the sense of freedom and adventure, that comes from not being contained within the metal and glass bubble of a car - feeling the breeze in your face and the sun on your back. As someone aptly wrote, “in a car or bus you look out at the scenery, on a motorcycle you're part of the scenery”. You certainly feel more connected to the environment around you - subtle changes in air temperature, fleeting smells (flowers, rain on dust, or less pleasantly, roadkills), buffeting cross-winds, the way different surfaces feel under the tyres, and whatever the weather is doing, you experience it (for better or worse – though wearing adequate protective gear means that even riding in the rain is not unpleasant). This constant stimulation of your senses keeps you attuned to what's happening around you, inviting you to live in the moment.
And it's partly the social aspect (which Carmen particularly likes). Yep, motorcycling is remarkably social. In Australia, out on the open road you'll usually get a wave or nod from passing riders (there's a kind of unspoken fraternity amongst motorcyclists). When you stop, people frequently come up and chat (this almost never happens when I'm travelling in a car). The conversation usually starts something like “Nice day for it [or not], where're you headed?”. The service station attendant hasn't said a word to anyone in the queue, but sees me in my jacket and strikes up a conversation, after which I walk outside to find Carmen standing next to the bike chatting with a stranger, which could be a young guy with the latest pocket-rocket, another person touring on a bike, an old-timer reminiscing about the bikes he's had, or just someone who's curious. That scenario is a frequent occurrence for us. Overseas, particularly where touring on motorcycles is uncommon (such as most of South America), people just cannot contain their curiosity and invariably come up and chat. We've had people insist that we park our bike overnight in their garage / backyard / hotel foyer / living room. Riding a motorcycle is one of the best cultural ice-breakers around!
When you ride a motorcycle you learn to be tolerant of getting hot, cold, wet, having “helmet hair” and when you smile there are probably bugs in your teeth. But on a fine day, cruising on your bike with the long road ahead winding though a beautifully scenic landscape, it's enough to make you grin from ear to ear, and to have that “good to be alive” feeling.
