changing directions

hi everyone,

on march 17, 2009 i had an encounter with a delivery truck 10 k's south of patia, Columbia.

on a double 's' curve (blind entry and exits) i came out of a corner to face a single axle delivery truck coming out a corner completely in my lane. we both steered to our respective right sides but the tight distance did not leave enough room to avoid contact.

my bike's front tire hit his drivers-side rear tire (as i was leaned over) and i was thrown up into the edge of the truck bed. the klr and i fell to the right, landing on my solid white shoulder line. i grab electronics off the bike, tore off my helmet, found my glasses and went to look for the driver of the truck. the national police showed up and prevented me from seeking a good use of my boot toe as they shipped me off to a hospital.

some bad x-rays later, several visits by the police where they told me the other driver had been drinking, basic treatment, some pain meds., an overnight stay and a 2 hour bus ride to the nearest airport were next. the entire bus ride was made on the wrong side of the road, so this is how Colombians must drive. that was a bad ride!

the airport doctor did not want me to fly...to much unknown damage...but i promised to see a specislist (with embassy help) once in Bogota, Columbia. the flight was only one hour.

once in Bogota the us embassy said to buy a ticket home and they would deal with any protest if it came up. i was out of there, catching the last flight to Miami for the day.

an overnight in Miami, flight to Chicago at 7:30 am, on to Seattle and then an anchorage landing at 5:30ish where carol had made arraignments for friend paul r. to get me home. i was done in by then.

my left arm took the brunt of the damage; broken 5th metatarsal, humerus head fractured in three pieces, torn muscle (2 of four locations) over shoulder joint, lots of soft tissue damage and swelling.

since then it has been doctors, surgery, and pt starting on friday. i just happened into the best trauma surgeon on the west coast who was up for the challenge and he is pleased with how the repairs have come out. after some pt we will see how the arm rehabs.

i was lucky not be more injured and am glad to be among friends during this healing time. could not have done any of this without carol's assistance.

as the story develops more will be added...but it will be from alaska.

take care and thanks for following,
paul

More visits in Ecuador

This is the last post for a while, but I wanted to send out these photos and this last chapter of my report on the visit with Leonor, her friends, and family.

Leonor got her bike ride...a trip to the port and some dust in her hair.

Leonor and me on the KLR

Then it was onward to the north with an over night in Baños, and on to Quito. In Quito, Tyrone and Sofia, friends of Leonor's, showed me the sights of Old Town churches lined with gold, and the incredible Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of the Man), a museum and cultural center designed by Oswaldo Guayasamin, and which also contains his artworks.

Tyrone and Sophia

Sculpture

Painting

Then a trip north to Otavalo and two nights in Ibarra. Here, Daniel and Family had me over for meals and showed me local sights. Very nice part of Ecuador.

By a volcanic lake

Daniel and family

Hope all are well,

Paul

Galapagos, Part 3

Leaving Puerto Ayora at midnight, the Rumba headed to the northern islands of the archipelago. The deep rumble of the diesel lulled me to sleep. With only five on board, we each got our own cabin..mine topside on the starboard side. In the wee morning hours the anchor chain rattled down and I looked out at Bartolome Island. A raw volcanic land only 1.5 million years old. Very little vegetation on any of these north west islands and a marked lack of abundant wild life. The lack of plant life allowed viewing of the lava flow patterns. The waters are cold enough to support a small fur seal and penguin population.

Seal pup feeding

The boat circled San Salvador Island, with a stop at James Bay, the site of a failed colonization effort in the 1960´s.

We stopped at Rabina Island to see effects of the last Nino weather pattern- the destruction of a flamingo pond by too much water. This allowed the water life to grow large and then die off as they used too much oxygen. The rotting fish killed everything to the point where nothing lives there. The sun heated the red sand beach to a point where you would burn your feet through flip flops!! And one gal forgot her flops on board. She stayed in the wet sand and was ok.

We headed to our last over night stop and landing, North Seymour Island. An early morning hike around a path brought us to scores of birds- mostly blue footed boobies and frigate birds. The boobies and frigates were in several phases of courtship and chick rearing. The frigate bird males displayed their noted pouches as females flew overhead and the boobies did dances and beak rubs with potential mates. Fascinating entertainment.

Frigate Bird pouch display

After this show we headed to Baltra port and our futures with an airport and returns to all of our trips. The Galapagos Islands are worth the time and money to experience. I would go again!

Here are some more photos, a look back at the Galapagos and some of the sights.

Iguanas:

A crab on the beach:

Sea Turtle tracks:

A blowhole:

View of two beaches from the highest point in the islands:

Hope all are well,

Paul

Further Galapagos Adventures

Stopping and landing at Floreana Island, we visited one of the few remaining examples of historical human inhabitants. The site was used by whalers for many years to resupply, get water, repair boats, and leave mail for other boats to pick up and deliver when heading to home ports. The mail tradition continues today as visitors leave notes and take some for delivery near their homes. The drop box is a well weathered cask. I am delivering a post card to someone in Minneapolis. The look on their face will be interesting at delivery time!

The ten of us at the "Post Office"

This site was later used as a Norwegian fishing colony. It lasted two years and little remains but for some concrete.

After the shore trip we had a true ¨wet´landing! That was a deep water snorkel opportunity (out of the dory) at Devil´s Crown, a series of pointed rocks projecting up from the sea bottom. We started off seeing huge rays ( 6 feet) in schools of 3 and 6, and sharks (8 feet) along the bottom. The rock sections were very steep and held various sea life up and down its flanks. Loads of star fish, yellow tailed grouper, trumpet fish (many I could not ID with the help of a book back on board) and a school of bright blue needle fish.

Several of us humans were able to float in the middle of the school as the waves washed us back and forth. Very neat sensation!

This is where Alex had a sea lion bark at him while under water and then tap his mask with a brown nose. The lions swam and played with several people. As ungainly as sea lions are on land, they rocket around while underwater. They are fast and can fold themselves in half doing turns.

From that highlight we headed for Puerto Ayora, a six hour cruise across calm water that held sea lions and porpoise.

Sea Lion on dive deck

The highlights of the port were shipmates from a sail boat, Painted Skies, and a visit to The Darwin Center, a land tortoise refuge.

Two mates, Katherine and Lael are sailing a 41 foot single masted boat from Virginia to Australia. They are on an incredible journey through the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, the Golps, with the next land fall a 29 day sail away as they work themselves to the mid-Pacific islands. Best of luck to them!!

The Painted Skies

The giant land tortoises speak for them selves, though they do not say much. They can live to 200 years of age, and weigh in the 400 pound range! Incredible!!


Land Tortoise

The Darwin Center is the home of Lonesome George...the tortoise who has no species mate surviving. The center also raises island specific tortoise species to help repopulate the islands. Humans, using the tortoise for food, decimated the populations prior to conservation efforts. There are now 10% of the estimated original population remaining.

While in port 7 folks left the boat at the end of a ´short trip´, one left because of extreme sea sickness and three joined the remaining two for three more nights at the ´north´islands.

Hope all are well

Paul

To the Galapagos

Map of Galapagos (with sea turtle)

A trip to the Galapagos Islands was in the back of my mind moving north, so with some help from Leonor and a friend of hers, I put together the plan.

I secured the last standby seat on the first of five daily flights. 600 miles into the Pacific, the 737 landed at Baltra, the primary airport of Glop. Two hours later I met the rest of the visitors aboard the Rumba. An international group- Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and USA. We all got along well and enjoyed four nights/five days visiting eight islands.

Rumba

There were ten visitors, one guide and five crew on the 50 foot boat. And the food was good!

Boat travel varied between nights or days depending on the goal, or the landing the guide wanted to accomplish. The longest travel time was six hours (Rumba could do seven knots) the shortest thirty minutes.

Carlos, ship's cook

The landings were wet or dry, and with some rough seas, the dry some times were damp. Most landings were on beaches and amongst sea lions. The guide would explain the particular island's geology, flora and fauna.

Some Galapagos flora

Every landing had sea lions. They were so trusting Dominic (Swiss) laid down between several females and pups. Where in the world can you do that? You really do need to stay away from the dominant males. Either shore or water contacts can be dangerous, and no animal could be touched. We did not have any problems.

Dominic and the sea lions

Most beach landings involved snorkeling opportunities. We swam with sharks, sea lions, rays, and a multitude of tropical fish.

A dory trip, the first day, took us into Black Turtle cove-a mangrove bay that held dozens of sea turtles, sharks, fish and spotted rays. My photos do not show underwater objects well so images are limited. The water is clear enough to see 6 feet deep.

Sea turtle

Next stop was an opuntia cactus forest. Very old, and held countless land iguanas. Each island has different sized iguanas and some colony of sea birds. The most famous is the blue footed booby. Males have large pupils, females have small pupils.

Cactus forest

Iguana

Male and female Blue Footed Boobies

During the entire trip I saw and picked up two pieces of beach garbage. That indicates the educational program, run by The Ecuadoran Park service (and some stiff rules), have been successful in reaching the 200,000 annual visitors. How nice to walk on clean beaches!

More another time.

Hope all are well,

Paul

Part 2, At Leonor's home in Ecuador

Crabs at the market

One incredible meal started with a shopping trip to the local market for crabs!! What a place!

Then the crabs were killed, cleaned and boiled with spices. This is served with salsa, beer and boiled plantains. A great meal!! About 12 of us ate 50 crabs.......




Paul doing the crab slaughter


The crab boil


Table is set, time for the feast!

At Leonor's home in Ecuador, Part 1

Leonor and nephew Juan at Park Historical, Guayaquil



Bird in the park


The housekeeper's daughter, Diena



Market fruits and vegetables


Chickens at the market, they are drawn at purchase


The fish seller

Arriving at sister Leonor´s was fantastic! She and her Ecuadoran family have enveloped me into their lives and assisted me with needs and interests. We have shared many meals together, including one I cooked when the family cook could not get in because of rains. The shrimp fettuccine that was so well received several marriage proposals were made.

We have eaten many plantains fixed boiled, fried and as a paste for cheese and meat wraps, cooked with sugar and spices...all very good.

Report from Machu Picchu

First, here is a better photo of the steam vents from last post!


Me, Ricardo, and his Ninga


Friends who shared my chips


Machu Picchu


Stair stonework, Machu Picchu



Stonework detail, Machu Picchu


Machu Picchu flowers


Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is incredible! Overwhelming experience of sensations...there is a feel there that is hard to put into words. Maybe it is the history, maybe the mountains nested around it, or the lushness of the vegetation or the flowers...maybe all of it. Many people say one must go because it is MP. I say you should not miss it! Sure there are tourists but the site is large enough that numbers are not a distraction...at least to me. Go early and stay late. Besides, you are with people who make the effort to be there...a great energy. There were four generations of inhabitants who worked on this place. Some people spent their entire life working on one stone!

With the e'network I had the name of a hostel in Ollantaytambo to park the bike, hop on a train to Aguas Callentes, overnight there and grab a 5:30 am bus to MP, spend the day with a hike to Wayna Picchu peak (only 400/day), return to AC , then Oll. and a night there. Met Tim at MP...a fellow KLR rider headed south. We stayed at the same hostel in Oll, shared info and then I headed out to Nasca, Peru.

The ride from Cusco to Nasca is a ride no biker should miss. Sure it is slow...but that is because of the five passes to climb up and down. One is about 15000, three are at 12000 and there is one at 11000. There are about 400 miles to cover but it takes 1 1/2 days minimum. Took me longer because of the sleet, rain, snow and fog that hangs around those high places. A good section of the road is under repair and in poor condition too. But very much worth the effort.

For a few nights I will be in Lima, Peru while a bike shop does some work on the bike. A great guy, Ricardo Rivera-Schreiber Huller, was a fantastic help in recommending a shop and hostel for me to use. Cannot thank him enough as finding shops is difficult enough to do in a small town much less a city of six million.

While here I will look up Chris, whom I met in a Cusco biker bar (Norton's). He and his wife, Deb, lived in Alaska for several years.

Hope all are well

Paul

Many Miles Later

Road hazards on Ruta 40

Ten days have slipped past since last posting! Time flies by in these long sun filled days. Leaving Bariloche to continue on Ruta 40 with a mix of asphalt and gravel with small villages and an unending spectacle of color within a landscape....never ceases to awe me....the visuals and that people live here....where the closest store is 100 miles of gravel away.

A short night in Malargue, Arg. and a push north again through a fruit and vegetable growing area south of Mendoza, changing to wine grapes just south of and west of Mendoza. Through the spectacular desert Mendoza River Valley, crossing into Chile and then onto Valparaiso, a large seaside city in Chile known for its ascenders.

Just a short stop there before heading north on Chile 5. A mix of seaside and inland riding, all great roads. Another short night in Chanara (because Caldera was in the middle of a fest and there were no rooms) before heading for and staying in San Pedro de Atacama.




Dust on 40

The little town of San Pedro is known for its access points to the Atacama Desert. I did the 4 AM tour to steam vents at 12000 feet. Incredible place with -4 cel. temp. We were served a hot breakfast after sunup, a thermal pool swim and then a tour through an old cacti area. Great tour! Arrived in town early enough to jump on the bike to see the flamingos in Laguna Chaxa-in the middle of the salta.




Atacama Desert



Geysers Del Tatio
Flamingos at Laguna Chaxa

Had a chance to speak with a Santiago man, whose daughter is working for a relief agency in San Padro, about the devastating effect that tourisim is having on the town's population. Being forced out of rented buildings as they are sold to rich incomers. Drugs, and changing youth behavior is stressing the town. Sad to see the popularity of a natural wonder affect the locals so much. There is a LARGE military presence there-drugs coming over the border from Bolivia. They are on the frontier.

The road to and from San Pedro is peppered with abandoned and operational mines. Lithium is being mined off the lake bed and out of the hills. This makes the air dusty, and a lot of trucks are moving over the roads. Near Chuquicamata is the largest copper mine in the world...open pit. West of Chuquicamata the desert opens up with one view with 15 miles of road bed in front of the tire!

Then desert riding continued for days. Because it is new I am interested in viewing, but the results of sleeping drivers are evident with road side shrines.

South of Arica I just had to stop for a photo op with ´The Hand´.



The Hand

Jumped into Peru the next morning to a split in the road...lets see, NW along the coast or NE to the mountains? Not being a beach guy I headed inland to some incredible twisties, climbing to a pass at 16,000 feet. There was 1/2 inch of hail on the road and it was COLD: Ya...the KLR was a bit off on performance at elevation, but did keep on to a drop of 2000 feet and an incredible valley of adobe buildings and thatched roofs. Lamas in the fields being tended by native dressed women and children. The rain continued.

At Desaguadero I fueled from a plastic barrel by the road side..seems to be the only way to get gas there. Then along the shore line of Lago Titicaca. Spectacular area worthy of an extended vist..but not in the rain.

There are many police in Peru. All of them nice so far. At one police stop/check the police dog found the KLR very offensive and thought a chomp on the leg of the rider was in order. He was alone in that opinion and was promply disciplined by the officer, with an apology to me. From Juli (where I was the only gringo in town and the bike was of immense interest) I headed for Cusco, Peru, along a narrow road on each side of which were colorfully dressed women tending flocks of sheep, lamas, horses, donkeys, and cattle. What a sight, but nerve racking in the rain, fogging visor and glasses and all the mini buses flying along.

Cusco is a nice old town. A good place to put new tires on but not to find a fan switch. This is a Honda town not Kawasaki. I have a temp. ground wired so the fan will cool the engine..an alligator clip to a screw on the dash.

The plan is to visit Machu Piccu in two days time, then push on towards Leonor's. A stop in Lima (a place I wanted to avoid) will be required to find a fan switch and change it out.

Hope all are well.

Paul