after I left the Carretera Austral. I
have no idea where I’d been, I just
followed dirt roads as much as I
could in the middle of national park
whilst heading north. I rode through
deserted places, wild forests and even
on volcanic ash for a few days. The
geography of Chile allows you to go
from the mountain tops to the beau-
tiful coastline within half a day and I
took advantage.
Yes! I had falls and bike issues in
fact, a lot, so many that I stopped
counting the number of falls. It all
started on the first day when I had to
collect my bike from the port of Cay-
enne in French Guyana. The author-
ities asked me for US$1400 in taxes
so I could import the bike. This, of
course, was not planned and there
was no way I would pay it.
I negotiated with different custom
officers, showing my website, de-
scribing my journey so to prove that
I would not being staying. After two
hours and probably pissed with my
presence, they let me go with just
US$4 to pay in exchange for leaving
the territory within 14 days and not to
come back … Deal!
In a small sandy Brazilian village
and within one day of starting the
ride I found a massive hole in one of
my panniers, had a flat tyre 50 metres
TRAVERSE 29
later, had a non-working rear brake
and got stuck in the sand. Ok, so this
was still an easy day.
Still in Brazil, I got lost in a prohib-
ited wind turbine area, amongst sand
dunes and 35 degrees Celsius weather
… I only had 15 kilometres worth of
fuel remaining.
The issues continued, as they often
do and yet they are often rewarded
with the most amazing experiences.
In Chile, I took an annex dirt road of
the Carretera Austral as I wanted to
sleep on the beach.
The beach was empty and too
beautiful not to attempt riding. Of
course, I got stock within a minute.