South America april - may 2008 travel partner wanted

[demito]

I am planning a trip to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru april - may 2008. Unfortunately my travel partner had to withdraw from the trip due to personal reasons. That means I am looking for a travel partner preferably with a big GS or comparable bikel. I have a well equipped 1150GSA that is fully prepared for the trip.

The focus will be on off road riding, enjoying the scenery and absorbing the culture along the road. If you want an impression on how I like to travel, visit my homepage on www.i-spog.com and look at my Morocco trip of last year.

I ship my bike from Belgium to Santiago de Chile and back. Departure last week of march. Duration 6-7 weeks.

I have done quite some planning already and the following is on the menu (this is only the rough cut direction I want to follow, nothing is nor will be fix!):

-Argentina.
from Santiago de Chile to Mendoza over the Paso de Los Libertadores along the Aconcagua to Northern Argentina over de Paso de Socompa back into Chile
-Around San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
-Salar, Bolivia
-Altiplano, Bolivia
-Che Guevarra route, Sucre, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Bolivia
-El camino de la muerte. De Yungas North of La Paz, Bolivia.
-Lake Titicaca, Arequipa and the PanAmerican Highway (Peru)
-Cuzco and Machu Picchu (Peru)
-Valle de los Volcanos (Peru)
-Atacama desert, Chile. The better off road work...


I have a no nonsense attitude and an open mind. I am pretty easy and tolerant. Nevertheless I refuse to take people that:
-refuse to ride before they have polished out that scratch in their tank
-neurotically start to look for a laundry shop whenever they spot a stain on their gear
-refuse to ride before they have had their favourite cereals (honey pops, smacks, krispies, whatever)
-want to go home after their first off
-refuse to ride before they have checked every little detail on the bike, leaving others waiting for 45 minutes
-refuse to ride when it's too cold, too hot, too rainy, too dry
-have no sense of humor and take everything way too serious
-...

Lack of experience is less of a problem as I think that you can always learn stuff on the trip (e.g. riding soft sand,...)

I hope the non limitative list indicates more or less what kind of travel partner I am after

If you're interested in this kind of trip, let me know asap. Departure date is nearing...


Cheers

Demito
__________________

 

[The Bede]

... Best of luck with your plans and your trip

... After April the transandean crossings will become increasingly diffcult as the winter sets in, Paso Socompa especially (Paso de Jama between Salta and San Pedro is the alternate you need a min 300kms of fuel on board)

... HorizonsUnlimited dot com may provide likely candidates for 'section' partners.

 

[Celtic Adventurer]

Good Luck finding yer man (or woman) ... just out of the Salar myself, ******* awesome riding! you will have a blast!

 

[Uhtred43]

great sounding trip

Demito,

great sound trip and wish i could go with you. i only have three weeks spare at this time (21/3 - 20/4). what did you have planned for the first half and would you be interesetd in a part-timer?

Also, would you mind letting me know which company you are using to ship/freight your bike and rough costs.

thanks

Rob

PS loved your report on Morocco - virtually did the exact same route last year

 

[Bluebull2007]

Hey,

Well may be could get together and do part of the trip together? It may mean a slight re-jigging of itineraies etc, but Im planning to do somethimg similar in April (if there is enough time to get bikes!!!).

I posted this in the intro section but thoughtyou should have a look at it.

Im settling down here in Perú and now that that is done, we´re gonna buy two new bikes a 650GS for the mrs and a dakar for me. Only problem is..theres no BMW motorrad in Peru, so: We have to

A) Buy bikes in Europe remotely and ship em over here or
B) Buy bikes in Chile or Argentina and ride them back.

We prefer dirt roads, but hey crossing South America is mostly dirt and what we have in mind so that should be cool. Another possible advantage is we will pay less duty on 2nd hand bikes when we come into Perú.

Any advice as to how to go about this would be greatly appreciated. Oh ja, I meant to add, I have a set of aftermarket panniers, crash bars etc. from my bike in Ghana (we sold the bike). We will prolly purchase panniers and stuff for the other bike and ship them out here too, and add them on before the trip.

Once we are back in Lima, the plan is to do long weekend trip and holiday on bikes to surrounding countryside and countries. Should be able to build up some great reports.

Let me know what you think or pm me your contact details I could email you or phone you to discuss further.

Cheers
Neil

 

[demito]

Hey,

Well may be could get together and do part of the trip together? It may mean a slight re-jigging of itineraies etc, but Im planning to do somethimg similar in April (if there is enough time to get bikes!!!).

I posted this in the intro section but thoughtyou should have a look at it.



Let me know what you think or pm me your contact details I could email you or phone you to discuss further.

Cheers
Neil

Hi Neil,

sorry for the late answer. Have been busy sorting everything out and forgot about this post. I can't send PM's to non subscribed users but I am interested in what you will do. I am arriving in Santiago de Chile march 24th and will work my way up along the eastern side of the Andes mountains (Argentina), then back into Chile for a little play in the Atacama desert and then further up north to Bolivia, then Peru. No really fixed schedule apart from my return ticket may 8th.
Did you manage to get bikes yet? Remember importing bikes takes time! 30 days shipping + import + licence plates etc...

My email address is in my contact details (download vcard).

Ciao

T

 

[Flashman]

I like your website, very flash & very impressive.
Good luck with your trip to South America. I'm very envious, especially after reading the book and watching the "Motorcycle Diaries" film about the young Che Guevara and his motorcycle adventures in that area. I shall look forward to reading your blog. Out of interest, how much does it cost to ship your bike to Santiago de Chile and back?

 

[demito]

Out of interest, how much does it cost to ship your bike to Santiago de Chile and back?

+- 1400 EUR
Customs, paperwork, fumigation included
T

 

[edmac]

Hi Demito,
i had been looking for a partner for a similar trip.
at the moment i am waiting for my car and house to sell and planning to leave start of april also, my plan had been to start in BA and head northish with the ultimate goal of meeting my GF in Vancouver in or around December.
Definately be worth while us having a chat, drop me a mail on [email protected] or tel + 353 86 8194110
all the best
ed