SOUTH AMERICA ON TWO WHEELS: TEMUCO, CHILE TO USHUAIA, CHILE
By Tim Darrin
Editor’s Note: On December 28th, 2017 I received an email from my buddy Tim Darrin who lives in Napa, California. I opened it naively thinking he was going to wish me a late Merry Christmas or an early Happy New Year. Here’s what I got instead:
Hello Everyone,
Here’s a thought about an adventure I’m doing. I am heading down to South America for a motorcycle trip through Patagonia, through many of the parks like Torres del Paine National Parkand ultimately Ushuaia, Chile at the southern tip on a motorcycle!
It is my hope to send some cool pictures and a little bit of a journal via email. I promise, for certain, that there will not be too much content, just enough to keep in touch on this great adventure.
Mucho Gusto.
Tim
Editor’s Note: Tim is a college friend whom I met in Lugano, Switzerland in 1973. We instantly became traveling companions, and shared exciting experiences together in Israel, Italy and Greece. Tim went on to become a top professional hot air balloon pilot and built an adventure travel company in Napa Valley around his ballooning skills. Always the adventurer, Tim then set out to conquer the Pacific Ocean aboard a sailing sloop. Mission accomplished, now it was time to settle down and start a family. He founded Daviana Vineyards, Napa Valley, in the late 1990s and became a vintner of some notoriety. Tim recently sold the vineyard and has recommitted himself to his lifelong passion for motorcycle touring. As a consummate practitioner of the motorcycle arts, Tim brings passion and enthusiasm to his two wheeled adventurer pursuits. Follow along as he makes his way to the southern tip of South America and whatever happens along the way.
Day One- Timothy “Tim” Darrin- Our Intrepid Adventurer
Pre-Trip Meanderings
Here we go, I’m on my way from Temuco to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in South America riding a motorcycle. To give insight, this is only a pre-cursor exploratory ride to what I’m compelled to do in the near future from California to the Southern Tip of the Americas, solo on motorbike… having already accomplished the Northern leg up to Dead Horse, Alaska or Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean in 2012 with son Christopher and two friends.
I am riding on a self-guided tour with a company; Ride Adventures out of Bend, Oregon. There are 5 of us, all less than experienced in riding the big adventures that South America has to offer. None of us know each other, we will all meet for the first time down in Temuco where we will receive our motorcycles, (BMW GS 1200 ADV). We are all in the same boat. We’ll see what the next 18 days has to offer with regards to getting along, the food, the roads and the fun! Super excited about the uncharted route before us. I will do my best to tell the story.
Day One – Santiago, Chile
It was an amazing arrival into Santiago, Chile after 4 hours from San Francisco to Houston and 9 hours on to Santiago. The sun rising, the moon setting, all at same time. Consider the amount of equipment that needs to be minimized to put on motorcycle. For some reason I don’t feel like I succeeded with this task! For example, a case of wine for the trip’s first group dinner. Oh well, eat, drink, and be merry.
The trip has started out with the usual foibles. I dropped my camera on the observation deck of the highest building in Latin America, the Gran Torre Santiago. It landed on the floor and broke. The Canon store was right there and I’m happy to say it was replaced, but at a $$$ amount I was not expecting. The next day I woke up in a panic and looked at a schedule that had been misprinted. Was I supposed to be in Temuco Thursday January 5th or Friday January 6th? Turns out I’m flying down tomorrow to meet the group at 1:30pm in Temuco.
Day One- Santiago, Chile View from the City’s Tallest Building
Day One- Moon Rise on Approach to Santiago Airport
You can imagine the pressure, the anxiety and anticipation when you are about to somehow fit the last of your belongings onto a motorcycle and shove off. What takes priority, why did I bring so much? Can I get by with one pair of socks and two shorts for two weeks? How about all those charger cords we’re all encumbered with? Why has it gotten so complicated? I’m only on a motorcycle for 18 days “ferchris’sakes”. How simple does that sound, well you try it and see how you could narrow down all your “stuff” into two Panniers and a small day pack… Yikees…
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