South America Plans for 2023/2024
Research, Research, Research
So, many of you who have followed me for years will know that I have travelled around South America already, so why go back? Well, of course, this huge continent cannot be visited in just two months so there were plenty of things I hadn't seen during my last trip - but plenty that I managed to cram into such a short journey! And boy, was it an adventure!
The idea to return to South America came when I met Dennis and he told me his plans for doing the Pan American Highway, which runs from Alaska to Argentina, and from there, the seed was planted. Over the past few years, we thought about shipping our vans (expensive and just too logistical for me), buying a vehicle abroad (again, expensive and tricky to do the paperwork if you are not a resident) or renting a vehicle (again, crazy costly to rent anything when travelling abroad - so none of these seemed to be valid options for us.
Initially, we decided to pick a country in South America where we could easily buy and register a vehicle. However, after much research - ALOT of research, we realised that there were few countries apart from Colombia and Chile that made it easy for foreigners to buy and register a vehicle. During the research process, we also noticed that second-hand cars are not affordable like in Europe, and it seemed like old cars were run into the ground, not maintained and then sold for ridiculous prices, which made this a no-go for us. Thanks to Facebook groups and YouTube videos, we found out many details about purchasing a vehicle and routes to take once we did.
We knew one thing: if we were to buy a vehicle, it needed to be cheap, trustworthy, easy to maintain and easy to sell at the end of the trip - So what were the options, and where did that leave us?
The idea to return to South America came when I met Dennis and he told me his plans for doing the Pan American Highway, which runs from Alaska to Argentina, and from there, the seed was planted. Over the past few years, we thought about shipping our vans (expensive and just too logistical for me), buying a vehicle abroad (again, expensive and tricky to do the paperwork if you are not a resident) or renting a vehicle (again, crazy costly to rent anything when travelling abroad - so none of these seemed to be valid options for us.
Initially, we decided to pick a country in South America where we could easily buy and register a vehicle. However, after much research - ALOT of research, we realised that there were few countries apart from Colombia and Chile that made it easy for foreigners to buy and register a vehicle. During the research process, we also noticed that second-hand cars are not affordable like in Europe, and it seemed like old cars were run into the ground, not maintained and then sold for ridiculous prices, which made this a no-go for us. Thanks to Facebook groups and YouTube videos, we found out many details about purchasing a vehicle and routes to take once we did.
We knew one thing: if we were to buy a vehicle, it needed to be cheap, trustworthy, easy to maintain and easy to sell at the end of the trip - So what were the options, and where did that leave us?
Our vehicle - The Chilean Honda Falcon
Yes, by the photo you might have realised that we decided to buy a motorbike instead of a car... But why? Firstly, this meant we could get a relatively cheap vehicle that is easy to maintain locally (important to think about), cheap for fuel, insurance and storage etc. On top of this, it meant that we could go off the beaten path, take on gravel and dirt roads and not have to follow the highways all the time - that's no fun!
As you can imagine, we had a good idea, but things didn't go to plan. We decided to buy the bike in Colombia since it was much cheaper than Chile, didn't require any agency help and could have afforded a brand new bike compared to a second-hand one in Chile. So, we booked our cheap return flights from Malaga to Bogota and started planning the first left of the South America journey - except for one minor detail...
We awoke one morning to the news that there were protests in Peru and not only were many roads blocked off, but almost all notable attractions were closed, which meant that it made no sense for us to start the trip in Colombia. Therefore, we had no choice but to change our plans to begin in Chile. This meant booking another flight from Bogota to Santiago, getting help from an agency there to purchase the bike and hoping that this would take a manageable amount of time away from or 8-week trip.
Now you're probably wondering about Gimli? Gimli came along for the ride, but only in picture form, stuck to the front of our visor. He was due to stay with a lady and her dogs at a lovely homestay in the Malaga Mountains. There was no way we could bring him to South America for a motorbike trip, not to mention the stress of a flight for just 8 weeks, as well as the street dog situation in that region of the world - it was much safer leaving him behind.
So, that was that; we arranged storage for our motorhomes in Malaga, organised Gimli's mountain holiday and by mid-February we were already in South America. Our plan was to fly into Colombia, make our way to Santiago, Chile where we would purchase a motorbike and then spend the rest of the time exploring Patagonia - a region I have ALWAYS wanted to go. We planned to finish the trip and store the motorbike somewhere until we returned for the second half, whenever that may be.
So, for those of you that follow my Instagram, you will already know how the trip went, with plenty of ups and downs along the way, but for those new to this... Here is the story of the first leg of our South America journey - starting with Colombia.
Enjoy!
As you can imagine, we had a good idea, but things didn't go to plan. We decided to buy the bike in Colombia since it was much cheaper than Chile, didn't require any agency help and could have afforded a brand new bike compared to a second-hand one in Chile. So, we booked our cheap return flights from Malaga to Bogota and started planning the first left of the South America journey - except for one minor detail...
We awoke one morning to the news that there were protests in Peru and not only were many roads blocked off, but almost all notable attractions were closed, which meant that it made no sense for us to start the trip in Colombia. Therefore, we had no choice but to change our plans to begin in Chile. This meant booking another flight from Bogota to Santiago, getting help from an agency there to purchase the bike and hoping that this would take a manageable amount of time away from or 8-week trip.
Now you're probably wondering about Gimli? Gimli came along for the ride, but only in picture form, stuck to the front of our visor. He was due to stay with a lady and her dogs at a lovely homestay in the Malaga Mountains. There was no way we could bring him to South America for a motorbike trip, not to mention the stress of a flight for just 8 weeks, as well as the street dog situation in that region of the world - it was much safer leaving him behind.
So, that was that; we arranged storage for our motorhomes in Malaga, organised Gimli's mountain holiday and by mid-February we were already in South America. Our plan was to fly into Colombia, make our way to Santiago, Chile where we would purchase a motorbike and then spend the rest of the time exploring Patagonia - a region I have ALWAYS wanted to go. We planned to finish the trip and store the motorbike somewhere until we returned for the second half, whenever that may be.
So, for those of you that follow my Instagram, you will already know how the trip went, with plenty of ups and downs along the way, but for those new to this... Here is the story of the first leg of our South America journey - starting with Colombia.
Enjoy!
