Road 1 and 101, towards Crater Lake, Oregon

We have a new tent...

After our last camping night of being wet and cold, we decided to buy a new one... No, it does not have heat... And by the way, clothes, shoes, camping equipment, moto equipment, wine (but not groceries) are much cheaper here than in Canada. The tent is water-proofed this time, but it is not perfect yet. It does not have a second lining on top, hence the wind blows through it and it's colder than with the other one. Where are the sunny, hot Californian days ???

Anyway, we finished our stay in San Francisco by riding with our motorcycles on the Golden Gate Bridge...

We are again taking our time, enjoying the scenery of the seaside. We were not expecting a rough and wild coast like this. It's the absolute perfect road for motorcycles, winding just enough and just pretty. We have driven only 150-250 kms a day in the last 3 days. We stop early, set up the tent, go for walks, take pictures and just enjoy ourselves. Already 9 months gone from Montreal!

The first day, after leaving San Francisco, we travelled to Point Reyes. It was so windy... that the lighthouse was closed for pedestrians. I was riding behind Alain and again, I had some chills along my spine as the wind was pushing us in all directions...

It's May 29, 2011 today and our stay here is slightly spoiled by the weather that just does not want to cooperate. During the day, it's windy, cloudy most of the times. We were lucky enough for the last couple of days to find a campground where they had a recreation room, where we could cook and get some heat... At night, we are okay, it's not that cold although we did buy an extra fleece bag to have under our sleeping bags. We hit some heavy rains too in the last few days, to such an extent that one afternoon, we stopped early, and took cover in the tent... We even had supper inside the tent ! A first on our trip !

We have driven through the Redwood National and State Parks along the coast, but again did not spend as much time as we would like because of the weather. The redwood trees are the largest in the world, at least the tallest. It is not as impressive as the Sequoia trees which are very wide, but it is still awesome to see.

... and yes, this is Alain riding through a tree...

Today, it was like the cherry on the sundae : we wanted to go to Crater Lake National Park, but we never made it...

It's cold....

and yes, it is snowing...
Tonight, we are tired, were cold all day and need some heat. We have stopped in a Motel 8. Some deserved rest for us... Tomorrow we are On the Road Again towards...

San Francisco, California (May 17-May 21, 2011)

Alain and I were in San Francisco 25 years ago, in June 1986. We did not remember much about it. We have loved the city, it is magnificient and the view from the Golden Gate Bridge or on the Golden Gate Bridge are jaw dropping... We took the Caltrain and then the Bart to head downtown. It had been a long time we had not taken public transportation, and this was a nice break from driving in a busy city with the motorcycles. It allowed us also to see where we would park with the motorcycle the following day. We started by visiting the Rock, Alcatraz Island.

A few noteworthy facts about Alcatraz :

The last inmates left the island on March 21, 1963 and the prison officially closed a few months later.

On average about 260 inmates filled the jail.

In the 29 years that Alcatraz served as a federal penitentiary, 36 prisoners tried to escape the Rock. All but five were recaptured or otherwise accounted for.

The island is now a National Park and has become and ecological preserve. It has one of the largest western gull colonies on the northern California Coast.

Later on, we spent some time walking on Fisherman's wharf and although it is very touristic, it is very pleasant to be on the shores of the Pacific. Again, the weather is sunny, but chilly. Sea Lions are enjoying the sun on Pier 39 while the tourists take hundreds of pictures.

Chinatown in San Francisco spreads on 20 blocks and we could not help but eating Chinese in a small restaurant : roast duck and vegetables as well as pork chow mein.

While in San Francisco, we also tasted the famous Boudin sourdough bread and the chocolate with ice cream of Ghirardelli... We forgot to take the picture of the ice cream, but it was delicious, warm and melting down on our delicate palates...
We spend a day in the Golden Gate Park walking around, which is 20% larger than Central Park in New York. It is truly a beautiful park where the people of San Francisco jog, run, come here for a week-end BBQ. It's a walking day for us, of air and just happiness !

After four nights in a motel 6, close to San Francisco, it is Time to be On The Road Again...

Back in California, United States

We are On The Road Again... back in the United States. Our last images of Argentina will be people watching a soccer game in the street through the store windows

 and on our way to the airport, people honking at the toll booth, so that they get the attendants to lift us the gates, without paying...

The flight to Los Angeles was uneventful and we end up in the Holiday Inn in Anaheim. Happy to arrive at TheMIGroup and to find our motorcycles. Alain starts them up and they work immediately. Yeah ! After sorting out through our things one more time, sending one box to Montreal, we are ready. What a feel to be on the Road Again... Unfortunately, the weather is not as good as expected. We arrive close to Santa Barbara, camp and because of the weather, we leave the coast. We decide to head out to the Sequoia National Park instead. We are camping again first in a state Park, reasonably cheap but no showers... The sky is overcast and the temperature close to freezing. However, Sequoia National Forest is worth the visit. The trees are gigantic !

In Springville, we stop for fueling up the motorcycles. The temperature is really cold again and the day has been long and tiring and while looking at the map, wondering where we are going to camp that night, we hear : " Where are you heading to ? " . Half an hour later, Kate opened her door to us and two nights later, we were still enjoying her beautiful place, still talking about motorcycles (Harley for Kate, of course). Thank you Kate for your kindness, your eagerness to share all the good roads of the US, but above all your hospitality.

We visit in the end the Sequoia National Park and King's Canyon. We are so happy to be on The Road Again with our motorcycles. The roads are spectacular, winding just enough, not too much...

Yosemite is spectacular and we stay there for a couple of days. It's the good time of the year as many waterfalls are mighty, due to the snowmelting. Unfortunately,  a couple of roads are still closed.

We give up staying there another night, because the first day was fairly chilly, but most of all wet (we got water in the tent), and the second day, just plain out cold, freezing in the tent at night. We are too old for this...

Change of plan, we are on The Road Again...

On our way back to Buenos Aires, Argentina (April 26/May2, 2011)

In the end, we have had enough of one day to see Iguazu Falls, and we leave to San Ignacio Mini, a Jesuit mission that has been almost completely restored. At its peak, the Mission had a Guarani population of nearly 4000.



We visit another Mission the following day, Santa Ana. The purpose of this site is to maintain the site as it is and not restore it.

We have also visited a Yerba mate plantation. The plantation Las Marias actually grows mate and tea. The plantation is spread on 32000 ha and employs 2000 people. 70% of the production is exported to ... Syria. They export in about 40 countries in the world. The visit was really instructive and entertaining. Our guide, Belem, was witty, enthusiastic and she obviously enjoyed working there. As she said, she has been working there all her life, her parents have also been employees of this plantation. The company has built homes, a school, soccer fields for their employees.

In Mercedes, there are two main attractions :

The sanctuary of Gauchito Gil. Many shrines on the road in Argentina with the red flags and offerings pay homage to Antonio Gil, a Robin Hook-like figure, whose shrine and burial place in Mercedes attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims every year. Gauchito Gil deserted the army and he started stealing cattle from rich land owners and sharing it with poor villagers, who in turn gave them sherter and protection. Gil was hung by the feet and beheaded. Legends has it that moments before his death, Gil informed his executioner that the executioner's son was gravely ill. he told the soldier that if he were buried, the man's son would recover. On finding that his son was indeed seriously ill, the soldier returned to the site and buried Gil's body. His son recovered quickly, word spread and a legend was born.

The second attraction nearby Mercedes is the Reserva Provincial Esteros del Ibera. We reach it by a dirt road, (125 km) luckily it is not raining, otherwise we would not make it with our car... This reserve is home to an abundance of bird and animal life (howling monkeys, caimans, carpinchos who bark like dogs, birds, deers...). Luckily enough, we did not see any anacondas.

We are now back in Buenos Aires and will be flying back to Los Angeles today, May 3rd. We feel sad to leave South America. This has been a wonderful experience and we have enjoyed the people tremendously both in Chile and Argentina. Argentina is a huge country. We go from very hot and humid in the North with the jungle to cold in the South and vast plains. Car or plane to go from one part of the country to the other ? For us, the car has been the best way to discover the multiple aspects of this country. Driving the Ruta 40 along the Andes is an experience in itself. Ruta 3 is paved, but gave us a sense of the size of the country. 300 kms alone, seeing only nandus and guanacos. Our ''coup de coeur'' still remains the Andes, natural frontier between Chile and Argentina. Salta area has  been really great, first of all, because of the weather, bright blue sky with a very dry air. You also feel that you are in another country, almost in Bolivia. Missiones is also worth seeing, with his guarani indians. The houses are often on pilotis, very small. However, the people are very friendly and eager to share their way of lives. We will never forget these 2 guarani kids in Puerto Iguazu, who barefeet were going through the trash, to find something to eat. Unforgettable is the ''fin del mundo'', Ushuaia. The boats are going to Antartica and dreamers look at them with envy... In the end, Buenos Aires does not leave you insensible : Eva Perron, Tango, streets for pedestrians, coffees... It's been a great 16,500 kms or so loop !

But time flies by... We have been On the Road already for over 8 months and we want to enjoy again our motorcycles in North America.

Soon we will be On the Road Again...