Entry to Chile: Valparaiso & Santiago

We finally made it to Chile and got reunited with our adventure hungry Yamaha motorbike. It arrived in Valparaiso by container freight from Hamburg. The smooth handling of the shipping is thanks to Olaf Kleinknecht from InTime courier in Germany. I can not more but highly recommend this guy. Super smooth and really helpful. If you ever need to ship your bike to South America talk to him! We delivered the bike to the warehouse near Hamburg and then picked it up in Valparaiso. Alternatively Olaf offered as well to pick up the bike from anywhere in Europe but we decided to start our adventure already when we picked up the bike in the UK. The entire custom procedure in Chile took about 3 hours and that was including the siesta of the custom officer - which was about 2 hours.  Once we had the bike back I decided that a new back tyre is a good idea - the old one had maybe another 2000 km on the rubber and I wasn't sure how much chances we got to buy a new tyre once we are in the remote south. So I contacted Tomas from Ride Chile in Santiago. He sorted us out with a new tyre (50/50 off road/on road). Ride Chile is renting out BMW's and is organising trips but are also helping out people who come on their own bikes. Tomas is super friendly and helpful and a biker by heart himself. If you have limited time and still want to ride a bike in Chile you should check them out. We packed and repacked and shifted our gear around the bike but after a few days we found the right way to store all our luggage on the bike. It is not easy finding space for 2 people on a bike plus camping gear and camera equipment and still have a bike that handle's ok on gravel roads. Sometime later I will publish a gear list of what we are taking along on this trip. Please keep on reading below...

the first days with the bike ...

So as I mentioned above the bike arrived in Valparaiso, a harbour town about 100km west of Santiago. We both loved Valparaiso with it's colourful artworks, steep roads and last but not least all the friendly and helpful people we met. The entire town is covered in graffiti and it feels like you are walking through a huge open air art gallery. No wonder that the UNESCO has declared it as a world heritage site. Now the people who know me also know that I lived in Iceland and Valparaiso reminded me very much of the down town area of Reykjavik. Most of the houses are clad with corrugated iron and painted in all kinds of colours. Unfortunately Valparaiso witnessed some devastating catastrophe's in the past. Just in the last few days a wildfire ruined over 400 homes. Luckily nobody got killed. In 2014 a wildfire destroyed 2.800 homes and killed 16 people. On August 16th 1906 a earthquake devastated the town and over 3.000 people died. Until then Valparaiso was the economic centre of Chile which was last but not least because of the harbour. Today Valparaiso is still the main base of the Chilean navy and  a busy port for goods shipped to and from Chile. Please read more below about Santiago...

Valparaiso

Santiago is the capitol of Chile. We stayed in the centre of the city which is super safe. We walked around at night (after seeing the new Star Wars movie) and never felt unsafe for a minute. The climate is pleasant with temperatures during the day of about 28 degrees. The evenings are somehow a bit more chill and a fleece or a jacket is not a bad idea. The town is full of street performers and museums. It is a cultural thriving metropole set at the edge of the Andes. Santiago is also the place where our motorbike adventure starts - stay tuned for the next update. Also if you like this blog don't forget to sign up for the newsletter at he bottom of the page. 

Santiago

Iguazu waterfalls

Here is the last blog for 2016 and with this I would like to wish all of you a great 2017 - lets make it a good one. This story is a bit older as well. Just before we left Brazil we visited the waterfalls of Iguazu. The waterfalls are between Brazil and Argentina. The Brazilian side is great to get a good over view but to get up, close and personal you have to visit the Argentinian side. We did this with Nestor - a tour guide recommended by our guesthouse. I would highly recommend this. Not only does it make the transportation way easier but he also keeps the groups to a maximum of 5 people which makes it more flexible and you don't have to fight for your place to see the falls (which you have to when going with a tourbus with 50+ passengers). He takes pretty much care of everything including the entrance fees and getting you over the border and back into Brazil. Message me if you want his contact details. 

On our tour we were joined by a couple from Ecuador and Silvestri - a Spanish guy who stayed in Brazil just over 6 months. He was a really fun guy and a very dedicated model. He joined us on a speedboat ride that takes you straight underneath the falls - and experience that you shouldn't miss. Don't expect to stay dry though. The operator supplies you with dry bags for your electronics, phones or whatever you carry that shouldn't get wet, believe me it is absolutely necessary. We got wet to the bones but the experience was fantastic. Just to feel the power of the water is a one in a lifetime experience. The waterfalls are hard to describe. It is not the highest falls 9just up to 80meters) in the world but certainly the one with most water. The falls are falling over a few cascades and the most impressive area is the devils throat at the top of the falls. Certainly worth a visit!

In our next update we are telling you about Chile and the first days on the bike - so stay tuned or sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of this page :)

good times on the Argentinian side with Silvestri

pretty impressive!

Paraty - Brazil

Due to bad internet this update comes a bit late. We are working hard on keeping the blog in time but we are struggeling a bit simce there are so many things happening all the time on this trip. Anyway – A couple of weeks ago we visited Paraty – a small town between Rio de Janero and Sao Paulo. It was founded in 1597 as a Portugese colonie in a region that was populated by the Guaianas Indians. In 1696 gold was discovered in the mountains behind Paraty and it became a important harbour to transport the gold from here to Rio. The gold rush ended when the mine ran out of gold in the late 18th century and with that Paraty declined as well. Today Paraty is a town living mostly of tourism. The 17th century charm is still pretty much in tact and the old town is filled with good restaurants and cozy cafe’s. Walking around town is an adventure by itself since the copple stone walkways demand a certain amount of concentration of where to place your feet. In the evenings the streets are filled with musicians and other street performers. It is small but very lively with a flourishing art scene.

From Party we left for Sao Paulo, where we just spend one night before we got on the 17hour bus ride to the Iguazu waterfalls – the biggest waterfalls in the world.

Stay tuned – more soon J

some impressions from Paraty

Ilha Grande in Brazil - paradise on earth

We spend about a week on Ilha Grande or the "Big Island". Wondering around the many hiking tracks on the island, visiting the pristine clean beaches, or taking a boat ride the word "paradise" and the name "Robinson Crusoe" come to mind. It is peaceful for the most of it - which is last not least due to the lack of cars on the island. Life seems to take place on the slow lane and is very lay back. Compare to Rio or Sao Paulo it is super safe and far from being "touristy". If you go to Brazil - put Ilha Grande on your list! 

We stayed at a small Guesthouse called "Pousada Cruzoe". It is run by an Argentinian couple who decided to make it a vegan place. Now Siri and I are not vegetarians and certainly not vegan's but the food we got was outstanding and the service and friendliness was second to none. We came as guests and left as friends. After 3 days we went to the other side of the island and stayed in the "main" town which is a little bit busier. On our list was to go diving in Brazil and we found a small dive centre which took us to 2 dive spots around the island. The water is clean but not as warm as Thailand so the 5mm wetsuit was a very welcome piece of gear. I saw my first sea-turtle and loads of other fish I can not remember the names (colourful, tropical and some rather funny looking creatures).

It didn't took us long to get into the island rhythm of life and we got used to our siesta's and the one and one "Caipirinha" (Brazilian version of Mojito) in the middle of the day. After a relaxing week on the island we headed to Paraty - an old pirate town with a vibrant art scene. More about that in the next blog update - as usual - stay tuned.

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Ilha Grande impressions....

some shots of the dive - taken on an Olympus underwater camera

Rio de Janiero - our entry to South America

We just spend a week on Ilha Grande with hardly any internet but now we are back on the mainland and so we are back to some proper Internet and I can finally post about our time in Rio.

Arriving in South America was easy as visiting an old friend. Border controls in Brazil are one of the fastest and friendliest I have ever seen. We settled in to our cozy hostel in Botafogo which turned out to be the perfect location to explore Rio. First of all we needed to check out the Copacabana of course. An evening walk along 4km long beach left us amazed about how clean it is.  Santa Teresa was on the schedule for the next day. It is most famous for the "Escadaria Selaron" stairs. They are the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón who claimed it as "my tribute to the Brazilian people".  On the weekends it is very crowded and so we decided to go back for a proper photo shoot in the week which worked out just fine. Otherwise Santa Teresa is one of the poorer area's of Rio and walking around with the Nikon didn't always felt super safe - especially when the locals tell you to hide the camera and don't go into certain areas. In the end it was all good though and Santa Teresa is in my memories the most interesting place we saw in Rio. 

Obviously when you are in Rio you have to visit the sugar loaf mountain and the Christ statue. The views from above are certainly worth the trip but bring an extra layer. It does get breezy up there. Over all the people we met in Rio were all super friendly and the city is vibrant and lively (even without the carnival season). The street musicians playing at the beaches are one of the best I have seen and it seems the streets turn into music and art venues during the evenings. 

For the last day in Rio we went back to Santa Teresa and checked out a restaurant recommendation from a friend. Walking up the steep cobble stone roads and passing some rather dodgy neighbourhoods we arrived at the "Aprazivel" restaurant. If it wouldn't be for the amazing food - the view alone would do it! 

We spend all in all a week in Rio and I am sure there would be more to explore and see - but we  wanted more nature and so we were off to Ilha Grande.... more about that in the next update :)

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Copacabana and the stairs at Santa Teresa

the sugarloaf mountain and the top of the Christ statue

Cross Fit in Bangkok

As it goes with traveling - you don't always have the time to edit and work the images in the right order. However I finally finished the last photo shoot from Bangkok and would like to share some of it with you here on my blog. On my travels and exploration around Bangkok I noticed a roof top cross fit gym just off the Asok BTS station and thought that it would be a great location to shoot there. I contacted the owner and just before we left for South America we managed to shoot 2 days on the roof top. 

People who know me also know that I am more of the outdoor sports person and just see the inside of a gym when nothing else is at hand. I have to admit though that this kind of work out really got me inspired to go to the gym. Last not least because of Dan who runs this place. His enthusiasm and knowledge about fitness and nutrition is endless and they (the personal trainers) do push you to your limits. The results speak for themselves. If you live in Bangkok and the good Thai food is start to show on your waist line - try them - it's worth it. Their website: www.fitcorpasia.com 

Bristol to Hamburg - the coldest ride ever

The first stage of our motorbike trip is done! Picking up the Tenere in Bristol and bringing it to  Hamburg to get it shipped to Chile. This was 1.500 km of the coldest ride I have ever done with temperatures dropping to -2 degrees today - bbbrrrrrrr. Otherwise it was a great experience and a good opportunity to get well aquatinted with the bike. 

First stop was London where we met up with some dear friends and getting the right bike gear for Siri. Then taking the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk to finally arrive at 3am in Brugge. Even with the proper clothes it was simply too cold and we decided that Siri is taking the train instead of freezing on the bike. The day after was the longest ride - Brugge to Osnabrueck. We spend the night at my Mum's - picking up some more gear (Tank bag and tools) before heading of to Bremen to shop for the missing outdoor gear. 

Now we are all geared up, we have the Carnet de Passage (Thank you Sukie!) and the bike is ready to get shipped off to South America. We will stop on the Canary Islands for a photoshoot and then 4 days in Paris before we head off to Rio. 

Stay tuned - more to come :)

On the Ferry to the mainland

Brugge and Osnabrueck

Tsukiji Market - Tokyo - Japan

This blog entry is a bit older already but I would like to share this with you. On our last trip to Japan we took the chance to visit the Tsukiji fish market and the Tuna auction.

Japan consumes about ¼ of the worlds tuna. At the Tsukiji market the vendors are betting for the best and higest quality Tuna. Needless to say this is not farmed fish but cought in the open and the price for one Tuna can get easily up to US$ 10.000,-

The Great Kantō earthquake on September 1, 1923, devastated much of central Tokyo, including the Nihonbashi fish market. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the market was relocated to the Tsukiji district where it is still today. There are talks to move the Tsukiji market to the outskirts of Tokyo so this was one of the last chances to see the tuna auction at its original place.

This is not a traditional tourist attraction but a working market that usually starts at 3am. Therefor just a limited number of spectators are allowed to view the auction. A total of 120 visitors in 2 groups are allowed in per day. We had to start queing up at 2:30am to see about 20 minutes of the auction at 6am. It was certainly worth it...

vendors checking out the tuna before the auction