(Above) While afraid of making new non-American speaking friends, Livermore did let some VIPs try out his motorcycle by sitting on it, but the VIPs were seldom old men or adventure riding maniacs. Dr. G was more amenable to the youthfully spirited or more aged males, however he made sure there were no keys in the ignition, not trusting a friendly sit to become a quick get away into the unknown distance.
Chile, Sand, Holy
Boots and Their Physical Well Being
Leaving the country of Peru and entering Chile was the
fourth border crossing for Dr. G and Livermore.
The paperwork process on the Peruvian side of the border was quick and
painless, taking less than 20 minutes, as if the officials were happy not to be
dealing with the road weary gringos longer and their limited Spanish speaking
skills, or possibly it was the hot and humid day mixed with no wind and the
ripeness of the Dr. G’s and Livermore’s Aerostich riding jackets, pants, and
boots.
However, on the Chile side the duo learned to be outwardly patient
as they watched the Customs officials require busloads of tourists to exit the
buses with their luggage and send all bags through an X-ray machine. The
thought of unloading Livermore's large and overloaded bags and sending them through
the machine was less disconcerting than the thought of them unloading their
side panniers and explaining why they were carrying so many new and used spare
motorcycle parts, items that could be targeted for high import taxes. One of
the two was heard to mention, in his best Americanized English “Unloading all
our gear is going to be a royal pain in the ass.” A Customs official, unknowingly
overhearing the comment, smiled and said in mixed Spanish and English, “Si,
muy grande pain in the ass.”
Two of the three laughed, and Livermore and Dr. G were sent on
their way having had to only send their top bags through the inspection and not
unload their side panniers and spend hours itemizing the spare parts inside.
The “Welcome” sign
said the pair had successfully passed all entry requirements needed to enter
Chile. A quick look at both sides of the
road and miles of sand in each direction was less welcome. One of the pair had
imagined Chile was covered in green forests and grape vines instead of the
sands of the Atacama Desert where it looked like it had not rained in a 1,000
years. The world’s driest non-polar place on the planet would be their
environment for the next 600 miles.
Driving through Chile’s Atacama Desert was fun for a while,
but after two days, and the often dead straight road, at a gas station stop
Livermore asked, “Is there much more of this on our ride around the world?”
Dr. G replied, “Not much.
About the only place that compares is the Namibia Desert. That one I believe is more scenic and if
we’re lucky when we are there in Namibia, maybe we can find some of the places where they did location
filming for the latest MAD MAX movie.”
Livermore, who said he'd never seen a MAD MAX movie, frowned. However, an avid ski enthusiast, he said with parched lips,
“When will we see some snow?”
Piqued, Dr. G replied, “You want snow? Back at your house in Kansas, err...
Michigan, right now they have plenty of snow, same with my place in
Montana. Snow? The only snow I like is what I see on my TV
if I fall asleep and the channel goes off the air. Do the same in your room and
you can see snow tonight.”
To break up some of
the monotony of driving through the Atacama Desert, Dr. G saw the dust devil
shown in this photograph and tried to time his driving speed to pass through
the swirling dust and sand at the moment it was crossing the road. Livermore,
sticking close to Dr. G, got the benefit of the monotony break as Dr. G sped
through the dust devil seconds before it engulfed Livermore.
The price Livermore
paid for the Atacama Dust Devil Adventure was a clogged air filter. Not having
a spare air filter, Livermore applied his farm boy learning to think outside the
box. He tore out the clogged paper liner
inside the metal frame and then cut a cotton sock in half and used the sock to
cover the air cleaner. Several days
later he reported that his “Livermore Farm Boy Fix” was doing as well a new air
cleaner from Honda.
One of the key elements to traveling unsupported as Livermore
and Frazier had been was to learn to depend on their own creativity for solving
problems, not having the benefit of a local motorcycle repair shop or parts
depot to purchase needed parts or someone else along as a “fixer” or
“guide.” When a headlight on one of
their motorcycles quit working they spent an hour swapping parts from the other
motorcycle and chasing wires before spicing into a live wire to solve the
problem. Their ability to identify a problem and solve it themselves gave the
pair a sense of survival, confidence building and satisfaction not afforded
when traveling in a supported group style. Their problem solving also gave
reasons for toasting their successes on a few occasions.
With no
Spanish speaking skill other than "toilet" and "Americano" and a damaged motorcycle boot cover, Livermore took up
his own needle and thread and was caught here doing some sewing to fix his
problem. He had discovered the problem earlier in the day while exploring the
inside of a church, which lead to the damaged boot being referred to as a Holy
Boot.
Livermore and Frazier had physically prepared for their two
months of almost daily driving motorcycles in South America, often over rough
terrain, with different regimes. Dr. G
chose to prepare by spending more time and miles driving motorcycles over
varied road and trail conditions while Livermore added long walks to his
regular workout sessions. By the time
they reached Chile, 5,000 miles into their trip, each had also established a
pattern to ease their aches and pains at the end of long days.
Dr. G, long a practitioner of self-medication, followed his
personal prescription of mixed liquid chill and pill enhancers and tippled early to bed
at the end of a tough day. Livermore
would dine with in the hotel restaurants, and then make a long walk near or inside the compound giving him an opportunity to
both walk off a heavy dinner as well as explore the nearby local sights.
In Santiago, it was decided to re-shoe their motorcycles
with new rear tires. Livermore's preparation decision in Miami to shoe the motorcycles with cheap tires instead of the harder compound and more expensive type recommended by Dr. G was going to bite the pair in the middle of Nowhere. While the cheap tires had tread left, the pair knew the
tires would not make it to their final destination and the odds of finding replacements
in Patagonia were long and could cost them several days in downtime, as well as
financially cost more than if replacements were purchased in Argentina.
Luckily the pair connected with Mick Hoey (from Denmark) and
Tomas Karstegl (from Chile), principals in a well known and respected
motorcycle tour, rental and repair business, Ride-Chile, www.ride-chile.com. Within minutes they found new tires and ordered them for Frazier and Livermore to collect at their business location.
While there, road news was shared as were tips and tricks about traveling
the world. A big surprise for Dr. G was
when Karstegl showed him a book written by Frazier, titled RIDING THE
WORLD. Karstegl had been given the book
by a representative of Kawasaki USA when he was piloting a Kawasaki KLR650 to the
USA and stopped in Irvine, California at the Kawasaki USA home offices. A greater surprise was discovering the book
had been given to Karstegl several years before by Dr. G’s Editor-in-Chief at Kawasaki's ACCELERATE Magazine where Frazier was the Adventure Editor-at-Large. After Dr. G agreed to autograph the long
out-of-print book, it was agreed by all that the world was truly a small place
when it came to motorcycle travelers.
Mick Hoey (left) and
Tomas Karstegl (right) were photographed here at their Ride-Chile headquarters
joking with Livermore about how many more miles of sand, dust and wind he might
expect as he kept driving south, Livermore expressing how tired he was of the choice of
long straight road and boring desert riding days.
As the pair approached Argentina, Dr. G again offered his
thoughts on food in Argentina, with the addition of Argentine toilets from the two previous adventures
through the country, saying, “Argentina has beef and excellent wine so you
should at least learn to say beef and wine in Spanish.
We’ll also find well stocked stores with toilet paper so you
carrying four bulky rolls of USA Chiffon brand can start consuming....what you're carrying.”
