South America and back on a 250 Super Sherpa Minimalist Adventure

Hey Eagletalon,

It keeps on going. Here's another one from today.



I can't believe the Sherpa keeps humming down these long lonely highways as I explore the lunar landscape. One cylinder, 50,000 miles. I bow to the Kawasaki goddess. This bike is unstoppable. I have thrown every obstacle in its path (smashed forks from bad unloading procedure in the Darien, smacked and grabbed by the Colombian police and thrown in prison for three weeks, tossed in the ditch last week by a wide swinging Peruvian bus. The list goes on.)

Anyone who poo poos Kawasaki in favour of BMW, KTM, or Suzuki be my guest. I know what my next bike's gonna be.

Saludos,
Juan Kawasaki

PS. well okay, maybe a Yamaha WR250R or Honda CRF250L

Took off from Ariica Chile this morning for more lunar exploring:





Went down one dry river valley for 20 miles or so that had nothing but basalt wall rock laying next to the road. I used to pay 20 bucks a ton for nice wall rock like this. Just back your flatbed up and you have free building materials around here:



It occured to me that I haven’t seen one stone house in the last 1000 miles. I don’t get it. Free sand and stone. You could build a house with maybe 100 bags of cement. I guess mud and bamboo is cheaper.

Shifted down to 1st gear and rode alongside this nice Japanese cyclist. It turns out he was living on the Big Island of Hawaii until last summer installing new computer equipment in the Volcano Observatory, so we had plenty in common. Especially when we switched from Spanish to English:



Mind you, we were 100 miles from nowhere and he was riding into a stiff headwind. His knee was bothering him for the last 2 days. Hmmm. I pulled ahead and took this picture. Gave him 2 liters of water, a bag of cookies and 2 bananas I had left over from yesterday. You should have seen his smile. It was like a 4 year old on Christmas morning. His name started with an O and had an S,K and I in it. Really nice guy.

I was riding down the road thinking about my Dad's war diary that I had read of his low level airforce strafing missions in WWII in the Pacific. He may have cut O's grandfather in two with his 50 caliber on New Caledonia or Guadalcanal. Amazing how times change.

more later…

I just wanted to let you know how painful it is to keep reading this report. Pure torture, you are in SA for the SECOND time, and I am still stuck in Panama! It just isn't fair!

Stopped at the abandoned mining town of Humberstone. It is a ghost town that was abandoned 50 years ago. Everything is perfectly preserved out here in the Atacama desert. Check out the town theater:



and schoolhouse:



City hall:



Restaurant kitchen:



abandoned steam train that used to bring the ore in to the smelter:



I wandered around this place for quite a while and took plenty of pics, but won’t bore you with the rest.

Met these nice guys and gals in the next town out in the desert. They were out for a weekend ride on a cruiser and a Goldwing:



They were from Iquique and told me about a nice winding road that cut over there. So I took it:



and am currently on the Chilean coast at Iquique. Heading out to Calama tomorrow.

more later….

Nice , I like the second one better due to the lack of powerlines . A question for you , on those long empty stretches ,how fast are you running ? If you got your Speedo fixed that is . I just ask out of how hard the sherpa is being turned day after day , on open highway I run mine about 63 on open highway which I avoid but sometimes you just have to take .After this trip , Kansas is going to look claustrophobic .

You are saying that if somebody tried to give you a WR250R you wouldn't take it?
John glad you are having a good time. Do you plan on spending any time at your home in Nebraska this Summer? I am going to make a concerted effort to ride up and see you this year.
That terrain you are at now is flat and dry. I bet they have some horrible wind storms there. Be careful!

Doug

I always thought they faked the moon landing in Quatar. Looking at these pictures though.....

Hi Hawk62cj5,

I don't have a speedo. It registers 0 since it's not hooked up to anything. I run the Sherpa flat out for long periods of time out here in the desert. Probably 65ish.

It still isn't using oil after 50,000 miles give or take. I am the guinea pig doing research and development. I wouldn't worry too much about wringing the sherpa's neck. It seems to be able to take it.

Saludos,
Juan WFO

Hi Doug,

I doubt if I'll be home much this summer. I found a guy to mow the lawn in exchange for building a patio cover on his back deck.

The wind down here reminds me of home. And yes, I'll take your WR since you're feeling generous.

Just kidding.

Saludos,
Tio Juanito

Followed Ruta 1 down the coastline in Northern Chile. Really beautiful day:



The wind was really howling off the Pacific, so when I saw a sign pointing east to a desert oasis named Pica, I headed that way. Missed a turn and ended up at a salt mine out in a huge dry lake bed:



the guard at the shack told me to head back a ways and take the funky road over the mountains. So that’s what I did. Really desolate out here:



I stopped to take a break and listen to the silence. Nothing lives out here. No plants, no animals, no people, no insects. Really peaceful. So much so that I laid down in the shade of the bike and took a nap. Got up after an hour or so and continued on. I had no real idea where I was or if I would find a gas station any time soon. Eventually this road ran into the Pan-Am highway 5 and there was a gas station at the little pueblo of Victoria, thank goodness. You could see the green oasis 20 miles away on the side of the mountain.

Stopped for the night at a nice place called O’higgins Hostal across the street from the Catholic church:



and near the shady town center:



Pica is a quaint little place. There are hot springs around somewhere, so might have to go have a soak.

Hasta Mañana,
Juan Termales

John,is checked(rechecked) the crf250l weighs in at 320 at the curb vs the super sherpa at 282 ,so the crf maybe minmalist but not light in weight.

Hey JD, we are in the same country again. In Santiago then heading south on tuesday morning.


Suerte

Hi René,

Nice to hear from you! You're just down the road. I've been reading your excellent ride report.

Keep up the good work.

Saludos,
Tio Juanito

That photo of your bike in the desert looked a lot like the images from the Mars rover that nasa is posting.

Can't wait for more. Be safe.

I was worried that your bike was caput today because on the super sherpa thread they were asking about a cylinder for a sherpa that was broke down in SA . I think its Hektoglider but havnt had it comfirmed yet , hope he gets it back going on the cheap .

Hi Hawk62cj5,

Yeah, that is Hekto down the way in Puerto Montt. His Sherpa was using oil and he tore it down and found a scored barrel. I think I'll head down and see if I can be of service. It's just down the road. He thinks it happened when the vacuum port on his intake lost a screw blocking it and the motor ran lean or sucked something in. The crank, bottom end and top end are fine, so just a matter of replacing the barrel and rings and some gaskets.

I woke up yesterday with an intestinal bug and have been laying low for the last couple days. I have found when you're alone in a foreign country feeling queasy, it is best to hang out in a comfortable bed, with HBO, fast internet and a hot shower rather than torturing yourself trying to ride.

Saludos,
Juan de la Mala Salud

Hope you get to feeling better. I'm still following along enjoying your photos and insight.
It's was a good decision staying out of Venezuela seems to be in even more turmoil at the moment.

JD
Hope you get to feeling better real soon. Stay hydrated

Thanks. I feel much better this morning, but think I'll stay in this desert oasis one more day before heading south. It's a nice place with friendly people and perfect weather. It's not like torture or anything recuperating in a place like this.

more later.....

Hey John as I was reading along in the last few pages it occured to me that changing money is no big deal in most places but I must have missed it some place way back if you explained how you get yours to start with. I mean, do you just carry credit cards and hit up ATMs when your supply runs low? I'm sure you have a stash of emergency greenbacks but what is S.O.P. on a trip of this magnatude where you are gone for so long and can't carry bags of cash?
Thanks for any insight!
Tim