Around the World in 800 Days

[backwoods bobby]

hey lalo, this is the first time I have commented on your blog. and I will have to say I am fascinated with your adventure and hope you continue with the ride report and be safe. I have a question ,when you bought your bmw did you consider the Yamaha super tenere and if you did what maid you go with the bmw. I am stuck between the super tenere and the new ktm 1190R adventure, what is your thoughts. I feel the bmw is to heavy and I cant get past the look of the boxer engine all though I feel it is very reliable. thanks a bunch and stay safe.

[flyingdutchman177]

[QUOTE=Johnnydarock;20988058]

Originally Posted by flyingdutchman177

I stopped at this little Indian Village about an hour north of Quito. There was a cool hostel in town but no one there to answer the door, so I left. Crossing the old train track rails was tricky in the wet. I almost dumped the bike there.



Not sure how you found this place but I stayed there with my wife 20 years ago. You missed a great place. Food is terrific. Rooms are really comfortable and they have local live music almost every night. Oh well.

Yeah, it looked nice.
I saw in Lonely Planet.
It was just a couple of miles north of Otavalo
Nice little Indian Village
I would have waited longer but it was getting dark, I was ready for a beer and it appeared there was no secure parking for The Flying Dutchman.
Maybe I will stop by on the way back

[flyingdutchman177]

Originally Posted by backwoods bobby

hey lalo, this is the first time I have commented on your blog. and I will have to say I am fascinated with your adventure and hope you continue with the ride report and be safe. I have a question ,when you bought your bmw did you consider the Yamaha super tenere and if you did what maid you go with the bmw. I am stuck between the super tenere and the new ktm 1190R adventure, what is your thoughts. I feel the bmw is to heavy and I cant get past the look of the boxer engine all though I feel it is very reliable. thanks a bunch and stay safe.

I considered all 3 plus the Triumph Tiger 1200 or 800.
The three things that The BMW has that the others don't are
1) tubeless rims - I guess I could have added them to the others
2) Big gas tank. The BMW is 8.7 gallons. The others aren't even close.
At the time, the other bikes were new and the aftermarket had not made a big tank for the others.
3) Shaft drive. The KTM has a chain.
Plus the BMW is proven after 30 years of development.

I rode my friends KTM 990. is was great. It was more my style.
But the BMW is more comfy for 90% of the riding I do. So why buy a bike for just that 10%
And I agree with you. I don't like how the cyliders stick out in the wind. The KTM has an awesome engine. The Triumph too. I don't like paralel twins. Just my preference.
So even though I am not a BMW guy, there is still no better bike for what I am doing.
If the transmission didn't clunk like a 60 year old bike and it weighed less, then it would be better
The best bike would be a combo of them all.
KTM motor and weight
BMW engineering
Yahama reliability.
And the character of the Tiger
Sign me up for that bike
Who is listening?
make that bike Honda!!!!!

[The_bike_virgin]

Originally Posted by flyingdutchman177

Because I arrived after dark, I never got to see my view of the lake from my room that night. But this is what I saw when I woke up in

What an awesome view to wake up to, beautiful!
Wyv

[The_bike_virgin]

[QUOTE=flyingdutchman177;20870348]Just outside of San Gil is a nice waterfall called Juan Curi. I lost Alex in the heavy traffic in town. He is not able to split thru traffic as easy as I can since his bike is as wide as a car. But we met up later at this waterfall.



Looking like Vanna White



The water was chily



[/QUOTE

Awesome location and great photography.

[flyingdutchman177]

Did I mention that I hate riding in to the big cities?
Tons of traffic
Crazy drivers
Not really sure where am I and where to go
More expensive
Blah, blah blah

I was planning to bypass Quito. I don't have good maps loaded in to my GPS. I took a wrong turn that took me in to Quito at rush hour. It sucked!
I was not planning to stay the night there but it was already dark.
It took some searching but I food a hotel in the heart of the city that had room in the entrance to the lobby for my motorcycle. And for dinner, I went to a restaurant called Vista Hermosa. And let me tell you, the view was amazing! The restaurant sat on top of the roof of a 5 story building overlooking the entire city. I could see all the church towers, monuments built on top of all the mountains surrounding the city and all the lights of the city below and above me. The food was good too......lamb and rice for $12. The hotel is nice too.......$25 a night!
Hey, not all big cities are bad, I just hate driving in to them

[TortugaRolling]

Originally Posted by flyingdutchman177

They are
Corrupt
You can't trust them
They will take you money
Those are the things you usually here
Especially from non travelers
Let me give you a different prospective

Yesterday I was trying to find a specific hostel in downtown Cali Colombia.
It is a town of about 3 million people.
The streets and signs didn't make sense
They are always lots of police in these towns.
Sometimes on every corner
So I stopped and asked for directions
To my surprised, he jumped on his motorcycle, let his post and said to follow him.
So there I was, getting my own, personal police escort thru the city of Cali to my destination.
Every time you here a story about the police taking money from someone, 99% of the time it's because they did something wrong. Maybe they were going too fast or whatever
And if they take a bribe then consider yourself lucky.
Its just the way the system works down here sometimes.
And you get off cheaper that way in the end anyway.
The whole time I have been traveling, I have not been asked for a bribe.
But I am heading in to Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia soon. So my feelings may change.
And if they do, I will give you the full report (hopefully with pictures).
Is everyone still with me?

Following daily... VERY impressive!! Sorry you won't be doing Baja in April but really glad you are doing this adventure... be safe..

[flyingdutchman177]

Originally Posted by TortugaRolling

Following daily... VERY impressive!! Sorry you won't be doing Baja in April but really glad you are doing this adventure... be safe..

Wish I was riding Baja with you and Josh too
I hope you get Pepe

[flyingdutchman177]

So far I am really liking Ecuador. It rains a lot here up in mountains though. I am here in the rainy season. But it had to be this way. I traveled thru Mexico and Central America in the dry season. And once I get to Peru, it should be mostly dry as well.

Near Otalavo, I did this cool 5 hour hike around a volcanic crater with a lake in the middle of it. It stayed dry the whole time I hiked, but it started to rain on the way back to town

[flyingdutchman177]

[flyingdutchman177]

The trail sometimes went thru the forest so thick it formed a tunnel

[flyingdutchman177]

The views from the rim of the crater were spectacular

[flyingdutchman177]

Out of sight
Out of mind
I am always a bit concerned about leaving The Flying Dutchman while I go for a hike. But I have everything locked up and cover the bike. Also, there was a guard at the entrance that watched for me.
And the best part about this park was it was FREE. Take that - Costa Rica and your $10 for each park!

[flyingdutchman177]

Ok, one more picture.
There was a neat little pair of islands in the middle of the lake

[flyingdutchman177]

After the hike, I went to a nice little waterfall near Otavalo. It rained on me the whole way. But I had my Gore-tex liners zipped in so I stayed dry