Back to sea level - From Ojos to Bahia Inglesa Chile

From Camp Atacama we ride back to Camp Murray. This time I get to travel the river bed on four wheels which is super fun and very different from my wild ride a few days ago on the Husaberg! I never seem to get photos in the really difficult parts as I'm holding on with both hands.  So looking at these photos, it looks a whole lot easier than it really was.. but trust me!  Quite the experience!

I like going really fast in the rubble...  I hope the truck rental company doesn't mind.. ;-)))

Extra fun, especially since we have very little fuel and water left, the truck weighs so much less! I try to keep the wheels just to the side of the old tracks for a little better fresh grip.

I see Camp Murray, nearly there.

Back to our little home, to pack up the remaining gear.  The guys spend the rest of the day changing tires back from knobbies to street tires for the ride back to paved roads.

And the next morning.. we are officially out of here! We take a different route back to Copiapo than the one we rode to get here.  They calculated the amount of fuel needed for the motorcycles well, but not the truck.  Even after scoring some diesel from the road workers the other day, there is nowhere near enough fuel to get back to town.  We decided to head toward the Argentinian border in hopes of finding something or somebody along that route for fuel.

Even though we were not leaving Chile the lady at the border post said there is no fuel here.  But she pointed to a mining post, maybe they could sell us some fuel.  All the boys said, you have to do it alone SJ...  "Why?"  Because you are a girl and you are blonde.  If we have any chance for fuel, it's you.  Urgh!

So I drive into the mining post alone.  Went to the office, spoke in my spanish and the men were amazed, but the control guy kept telling me, they don't sell fuel here.  I understand, but anybody I can get something from?  Any work trucks, anything?  No, no, no...  so much for that blonde thing!  Until the big boss man who must have been listening in, came out of his office.

He asked how much fuel do I have.  I said EMPTY.  He took my keys out of my hands and went into the driver side of the truck, turned it on and saw the gage go nowhere.  EMPTY, he said!  Duh.. maybe blonde, but I wasn't lyin! ;-)

He ordered the guys who were telling me no, to get me some fuel.. Ha!  Nany nany boo boo.... ;-)))

I liked the boss man...

With a few high fives from the world record holders, we are back on the road with plenty of fuel to get me to Copiapo.  Woo hoo!

Not long after, it's the boys turn to refill their bikes from my stash in the truck.

I grabbed the camera a bit late, but this was the first tree, the first bit of green I have seen in nearly two weeks! The little things we take for granted! ;-)

I'm glad we came back a different way.  What a gorgeous road this is! Too bad the sun is too low to enjoy the full colors.

We arrived Copiapo in the dark.  All those meals we have been dreaming about, in my experience from this town, is not going to happen.  But we did pass a pizza place.  And voted to stop. Our first meal...... bread... cheese.. so many things we have been missing we have right here on a sidewalk in Copiapo with heaps of trucks passing by.  But it was good and we ate every bit of two very large pizzas!

The goal was to go past Copiapo about 75 km to the next town, Bahia Inglesa.  Unlike the dreadful boring mining town of Copiapo, Bahia is on the ocean and even a bit touristy.  We liked the idea of being at Camp Murray 4,527m (14,852 ft) just a few hours ago, and return this quick to sleep tonight at sea level.. Yes!  My dreams of being able to breathe again are coming true!

It was most difficult to find a place to stay in Bahia Inglesa, but we did it, and I even got my own little room/closet.  Too happy!

I could definitely breathe better, that was a nice feeling.  However, my heart is still beating super fast.  I was hoping that would stop as soon as we reached sea level as well, but it didn't want to and kept racing away, which was a worry.

The next day was a rest day in an ocean side town that will be full of eating, drinking, being merry, and internet!!!  We NEED internet.....

Armed with computer bags, we go in search of... WIFI...............

Score!  Beers are flowing!  Three Macbooks are on over drive, except for the one person who still uses Windows.. we hope he will eventually see the light.. ;-)))

Lots of messages going out to family, friends, and facebook... everyone addicted to facebook.

More imporantly, where is Kevin? I saw he put a "I knew you could do it" on my facebook world record photo. I was happy to know he could see our progress.  Did he get the Buell fixed? How far away is he?  Aha!  So good to connect with him on skype.  He said, "I knew you could do it again, really proud of you.."  in his Scottish accent.

He did finally get his bike repairs done in Lima Peru, and had just left Cusco and crossed the border to Bolivia at Copacabana.  It's been a long process getting his bike running again and he's still a long way off.  And what a story he had.  He got to the border of Peru and Bolivia where the belt on his bike broke and he had to PUSH it over the border.  Dag gone, he has more bad luck with that bike.. what a bummer.  But he had a spare belt and got it fixed straight away in the dark. Okay then! He suggested I get back on my bike and ride up to meet him, a mere 4000 km north !!?? Not sure yet Kevin.  I explained to him about my heart worrying me, and of course I don't have my own bike yet.  It was just really nice to be connected again.

So we had our full day of alcohol, food and internet.  The next morning we ride back to La Serena, Chile to the KTM shop where my bike has been waiting for me.  The mechanics there were giving it a once over while I was away to see if anything needs to be fixed or replaced other than the chain.  The guys suggested this because I have over 95,000 km on it and they insist there has to be something that needs attention.  I am looking forward to having my bike back.  I've enjoyed the truck, a nice change, but following these guys without my own motorcycle makes me jealous.

Leaving the desert along the Chilean coast and the return of even more greenery the farther south we go.

We arrived the shop and learn that the only attention me ol' bike needed was a piston.  Little bits and pieces here and there but mainly the piston.  Lukas, Barton and Walter were amazed, they said that is really good with 95,000 km!

We started the bike up in the showroom, and it was great to be reunited, but it didn't sound normal to me.  All the guys, the mechanics and the manager standing around, I said again.  "Are you sure everything is okay, it sounds so different!"  They all convinced me that I have been running on an old engine so long I forget what it used to sound like.  Okay then...

At the time, we thought we'd just load my bike up on the truck and I would finish driving the truck back to Santiago.

However, the shop manager was needing to drive his own big shop truck down to Santiago and offered to carry the Husabergs for them.  Walter and Lukas took up the offer.

Barton and I opted to ride our motorcycles to Santiago.. why not?  I was looking forward to riding again.

Once they were gone and I finished putting my panniers back on, repacking my own gear etc.  I started up the bike again.  "Barton, my bike does not sound right."  Again SJ, you haven't heard it for a while and with a new piston, it's bound to sound different until it breaks in. "Okay then.."  Who am I to argue.  These guys are all mechanics, I am not.

We got about 2 stop lights away.  I don't want to sound like a tape recorder, but "Barton, are you really sure, it sounds horrible if you ask me?"

Two more kilometers into La Serena and at a stop light, the side of my bike blew out and oil went spewing straight out near my right leg.  For F____ Sake!  I turned the bike off as soon as I could and pushed it up on the curb to get out of everyones way.  Gee whiz, what the heck was that!?

The case around the oil filter blew off and took the METAL with it!

OK, do you believe me now that the bike doesn't sound right?? ;-/ Barton went and got the shop guys to come and pick up my bike. They tried to weld the piece but it's an aluminum alloy and won't hold.  I saw another bashed up KTM 690 in the shop that is used as a rental and I asked the manager to call the owner of that bike to see if I can buy his casing and have a brand new one sent to him.  He agreed, thank goodness!  So, they quickly did the change, put oil back in the bike so Barton and I can make it to Santiago.  For such a big drama, pretty good to be back on the road so quick and it was a Sherri Jo idea.. even more surprising!

I started the bike and I hate to say it, but it still sounds like sh___.  Other than tell the mechanics to take the entire thing apart into pieces while they convince me I am crazy, there is nothing I can do about it.  So we go.

To be continued....

La Serena to Copiapo Chile with the Husaberg Adventure Team

The Husaberg Adventure Team not only have a super size job ahead of them, but a super size truckload of gear has been shipped in from various countries.  They have been planning this project for a long time, with a goal to ride a motorcycle to the highest altitude for a world record.  It's not like they intend to ride the motorcycle up a mountain and be back for dinner that night.  We have to spend several days at different levels of elevation just to acclimatize before they can even think about attempting the record.

We are headed for Ojos del Salado.  I will probably drive you crazy calling it a mountain, but it is actually a volcano.  It's called a stratovolcano and it's the HIGHEST volcano in the world, located in the Andes near the Argentina/Chile border.  There is no smoke, lava, or anything warm about it.  It felt more like being on a mountain and sometimes I call it that because calling it a volcano gives the wrong image of spurting red lava and ash in my head.  Here is a link to read more about it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojos_del_Salado

In the meantime, the boys are putting their bikes together after having them shipped from Europe and United States.  They acquired many sponsors for the job, so opening boxes is like Christmas for them too!

They spent a good part of two days preparing the bikes.  My concern is what to feed them for three weeks using only our camp stoves at a high and very cold elevation.

So Walter, Lukas and I hit the big supermarket here in La Serena.  What an experience that was!  Shopping with boys is just entertaining in itself, but with this project at hand, we have to be very prepared with meals as well as amounts. I don't want to run out of food, but as you can see, there is limited space in what we can carry.  We are going to be VERY far from civilization.  I can't come back down the mountain on my own to get any extra ingredients for anything!

It wasn't as easy as I hoped it to be.  All three boys have different ideas of what a meal should be.  Lukas is going to kill me but I have to tell you about his own request.  He is a very healthy guy and lives mostly on protein.  It was important for him to have a minimum of 3 tins of tuna per day.  So we got an entire case of tuna tins just for him!  After they were counted, he reminded us if we need any tuna, we have to figure out the extra for ourselves...ha!

But mostly we opted for lots and lots of pasta (Barton's request that they live mostly on Carbs for energy, not tuna) and unfortunately the pasta sauce in a packet rather than the real thing.  There was no option to carry fresh tomatoes up the hill.  We couldn't take eggs, as we knew they would all break from the rough mountain track (not even a road) to our camp.  How many bottles of white gas should we get to cook 2 warm meals per day plus? 

One bottle of shampoo that will double as body soap as well as dish washing detergent (Walter's pick).  We took lots of salami so they can have meat, but it wouldn't need to be cooked.  Heaps of granola type bars, chocolate, nuts, the list goes on and on as you can see in the photos of the receipt Lukas is holding above.. ;-)

Back to the KTM shop in La Serena to pack up all their gear as well as the groceries to start making our move to the north.  This photo above is of me in my new job with the support vehicle.  There is not a tiny bit of space left. Back cab is full from the floor to the ceiling (so no watching out the rear view mirror).  Even the passenger seat is full.  (Keep in mind that we have not added the gallons of fuel and water needed for 3 weeks to the truck, YET!!!)

The bikes are nearly ready for the road.  They look good together, so we get them to pose for a photo..

They are using their own old street tires from home to save wear on their new sponosored Golden Tires which they will change over once we get to camp.  The tires will be specially carried separately with me in the truck cab.  Which is fine and I have to say these are the best looking tires I have ever seen..  I don't get turned on much by motorcycle pieces and parts, but the blue.. and the gold.. they are down right pretty! ;-))

Come on boys, it's late in the afternoon and we still have 365 km to Copiapo, Chile.

Time to RIDE....

And they're off!

We didn't get too far.  Walter wanted one last photo at SEA LEVEL.  They do look good together..

You can see by the shadows from the west that is quite late in the day to start off, but we do have limited time.  So below are a few last photos before the sun went down.

It was dark for most of the ride.  Their fuel tanks are small, only 8 litres.  I carry the fuel in the truck for them in a couple red jugs to fill up when needed.  There is not much of anything between La Serena and Copiapo.  The odd shack with lots of trucks parked outside means there must be somewhat decent food inside for dinner.  I pull over and ask if anybody is hungry.. YEAH!!  Kind of a stupid question really.

Since I've already had a night in Copiapo, I had learned exactly where all the hotels are, and the prices.  I went straight to the one I had stayed previously.  Booked out.  Miners again.  The next one and the next one and the next one.  All booked out, even if we did want to pay a high price. Of course we all have our camping gear, but it's really buried in different places for all of us.  We are not prepared or organized for camping, so I knew one last resort.  The love hotel on the edge of town.  Lord have mercy....

It worked!  They had 2 rooms, and the bikes are parked behind the 'security' screen for protection!  The price is right.. But dag gone it, they don't have internet!  Of all things!!

What happens in a love hotel stays in a love hotel.. I have some great stories I could tell, but I'll be kind.  I will show you one of the lovely rooms before checking out.

We unloaded every bit of gear from the truck.  This morning's plan is to get all the fuel and water needed for the next 3 weeks.  And of course it needs to be on the bottom in the truck and the bags of gear on top.  So off to the shops to get anything and everything we need one last time..

First the water, then the fuel.  I hope we've calculated this right.  At the end of the day, we can melt snow for extra water (that is if there is snow up there.. global warming you know..).  But the fuel needs to get us all (Including me in a diesel truck) about 300+ km away from Copiapo up the mountain tracks.  Fuel needed for them to achieve their riding goals for the world record, and enough fuel to get us all the way back to town once finished.

Right.. back to the Love Hotel.. to put all the remaining gear back on the truck.  The fully loaded truck doesn't look so bad, does it?  Don't mind the rear end nearly touching the ground, we're tough and we can do this.. ;-)

After a fair amount of time coercing the love hotel staff, I managed to get them to let me use the internet quickly.  One last message to Kevin to let him know I will be out of range of any communication of any for for 2-3 weeks. He is still enjoying surfing lessons in Lima and waiting on his parts to arrive from the United States.  He gave me lots of encouragement and look forward to see each other when I'm back to civilization.

And we're off.  Leaving Copiapo and any bit of civilization behind.  Those three little specs on the road ahead of me are three brave men on a mission (and on very light and fast Husaberg 570's).  I am doing all I can to half way keep up in a super duper heavy support truck.  It struggles in first, second and third gear, but once I'm into 4th and 5th I'm cruisin! Walter checks on me and the truck often as the weight truly is a concern.  But so far so good!

This is really exciting.  I'm so happy to be part of this massive adventure.