Latin America 2008

"THE WISE MAN TRAVELS TO DISCOVER HIMSELF". James Russell Lowell

Hugo's Family Website

I also have an account on facebook, Hugo Albini.

Lastly, if you would like to email me do it at sauce1837[at]hotmail[dot]com

"THROW YOUR DREAMS INTO SPACE LIKE A KITE, AND YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT WILL BRING BACK, A NEW LIFE, A NEW FRIEND, A NEW LOVE, A NEW COUNTRY". Anais Nin

Departure Date: 25th of January

Objective: To fulfill a dream that started in 1970 and was never accomplished due to other commitments.

Length of time: 3 months

Distance: 18000 kms.

Continent: The Americas

Countries: 14

Fecha De Salida: el 25 de enero

"YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD". Mahatma Ghandi

We left early from Concepcion del Oro en route for Zacatecas we followed this enjoyable route to Guadalajara which is gigantic, the road is curvy and picturesque. We arrived at Tequila a charming town, we lodged at a beautiful spanish style hotel with king bed, Casa Dulce Maria for $350 pesos.
I've now made 1140 miles and loving it, the more i ride Angelina the more she wants me.

"ALL THAT IS GOLD DOES NOT GLITTER, NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST". J. R. R. Tolkien

On the second day, the 30th, my riding partner Daniel tells me that "He doesn't know how things are done in Australia but in the US they name their bikes.

At first I was tempted to name her 'Kim Bassinger" but after checking my Yamaha V star 1300 from every one of her angles i decided to name her 'Angelina', my alias is MODERNDAYCOWBOY.
Daniel's bike, a Kawasaki klr 650, is called ROY and his alias is MODERNDAYDRIFTER.

"IF YOU ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE YOUR PASSPORT PHOTO, YOU AREN'T WELL ENOUGH TO TRAVEL". Sir Vivian Fuchs

The 28th of December i fly out to my home town in Uruguay to spend some time with family before starting my journey. Here I am with one of my grandsons at Sydney Airport

My partner has a beacon or tracking device that updates every ten minutes and you can follow the journey as it unfolds at find me

you click on my account and log-in spot service
username: moderndaydrifter
password: klr650

from there click on the tab: messages; select all; show on map.
you can even play around and look up past dates ALSO

"EVERY EXIT IS AN ENTRY SOMEWHERE ELSE." Tom Stoppard

On the US side i had not one problem, i wasn't even stopped.

At Immigration in Mexico we paid a $US 22.50 visa plus the $US 39 fee (valid for a month) for importing the bike, which you need to also present bill of sell, passport and license.

In half an hour it was all done the bikes and the riders were legal and ready to keep going

"WITHOUT NEW EXPERIENCES, SOMETHING INSIDE OF US SLEEPS. THE SLEEPER MUST AWAKEN". Frank Herbert

While waiting for the date to come when my journey was to start i spent some time with my family in my hometown of Salto, Uruguay. While there the local newspaper "EL PUEBLO" found out about the journey i was about to embark on and chose to publish an interview.

The journey and myself also got some mention on the local radio broadcasts.

Below is the article to upload (in Spanish)

"TRAVEL TEACHES TOLERATION". Benjamin Disraeli

"TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS THAT YOU DIDN'T DO THAN BY THE ONES YOU DID. SO THROW OFF THE BOWLINES. SAIL AWAY FROM THE SAFE HARBOR. CATCH THE TRADE WINDS IN YOUR SAILS. EXPLORE. DREAM. DISCOVER". Mark Twain

"EDUCATION IS THAT WHICH REMAINS WHEN ONE HAS FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING LEARNED IN SCHOOL". Albert Einstein

I left Tecoman the next morning (7:30) and headed towards playa Azul by taking a detour off route 200 and then to ciudad Lazaro Cardenas (not to be confused with lazaro cardenas in Chihuahua, mex.)

"LIKE ALL GREAT TRAVELERS, I HAVE SEEN MORE THAN I REMEMBER, AND REMEMBER MORE THAN I HAVE SEEN". Benjamin Disraeli

"THOUGH WE TRAVEL THE WORLD OVER TO FIND THE BEAUTIFUL, WE MUST CARRY IT WITH US OR WE FIND IT NOT". Ralph Waldo Emerson

"ONE ALWAYS BEGINS TO FORGIVE A PLACE AS SOON AS IT'S LEFT BEHIND".
Charles Dickens

"ONLY WHEN WE PAUSE TO WONDER DO WE GO BEYOND THE LIMITS OF OUR LITTLE LIVES". Rod McKuen

"WE WANDER FOR DISTRACTION, BUT WE TRAVEL FOR FULFILLMENT".
Hilaire Belloc

"NOT I - NOT ANYONE ELSE, CAN TRAVEL THAT ROAD FOR YOU, YOU MUST TRAVEL IT FOR YOURSELF". Walt Whitma

After some fun in Belize let's not loose site of our goal, here i come Guatemala!

"MY FAVOURITE THING IS TO GO WHERE I'VE NEVER BEEN". Diane Arbus

"YOU GOT TO BE CAREFUL IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT NOT GET THERE". Yogi Berra

"HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS TO DO NOTHING, AND THEN REST AFTERWARDS".
Spanish Proverb

"...TRAVEL IS MORE THAN THE SEEING OF SIGHTS; IT IS A CHANGE THAT GOES ON, DEEP AND PERMANENT, IN THE IDEAS OF LIVING". Miriam Beard

"TO AWAKEN ALONE IN A STRANGE TOWN IS ONE OF THE PLEASANTEST SENSATIONS IN THE WORLD". Freya Stark

FACT: Antigua Guatemala was once known as Santiago de Caballeros de Guatemal, founded in 1543 by Spaniards. At its peak it lasted 200 years as the capital of all of Central America. In 1773 several earthquakes destroyed the city and the capital was relocated to todays Guatemala city. Because it was abandoned not much repair took place and so the city maintained its original characteristics.

"TRAVEL MAKES ONE MODEST, YOU SEE WHAT A TINY PLACE YOU OCCUPY IN THE WORLD". Gustave Flaubert

FACT: Guatemala, is culturally the richest country in Central America. Half the population is Mayan and most continue to practice their beliefs and dialects which are over 20 kinds.
TIKAL, is the biggest excavation of its kind in America and it continues to be a mystery as to why it had been abandoned over 1000 years ago and rapidly disappeared into the jungle.

"WE LIVE IN A WONDERFUL WORLD THAT IS FULL OF BEAUTY, CHARM AND ADVENTURE. THERE IS NO END TO THE ADVENTURES WE CAN HAVE IF ONLY WE SEEK THEM WITH OUR EYES OPEN" Jawaharlal Nehru

"THE REAL VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CONSISTS NOT IN SEEING NEW LANDSCAPES, BUT IN HAVING NEW EYES". Marcel Prous

"TAKE ONLY MEMORIES, LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS". Chief Seattle

Some more photos in Antigua
Angelina and I at the shop where the flags were put on her.
Me at the Arc of Santa Catarina, in Antigua with volcano in background

"DROP THE QUESTION WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING, AND COUNT AS PROFIT EVERY DAY THAT FATE ALLOWS YOU". Horace

"OUR NATURE LIES IN MOVEMENT; COMPLETE CALM IS DEATH". Pascal

"TRAVEL MAKES A WISE MAN BETTER, AND A FOOL WORSE".
Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) British

"ONE MAIN FACTOR IN THE UPWARD TREND OF ANIMAL LIFE HAS BEEN THE POWER OF WANDERING". Alfred North Whitehead

"AMERICANS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN EAGER FOR TRAVEL, THAT BEING HOW THEY GOT TO THE NEW WORLD IN THE FIRST PLACE, (EXCEPT WHEN THEY GOT THERE THEY WEREN'T AMERICANS)". Otto Friedrich

"A GUEST NEVER FORGETS THE HOST WHO HAD TREATED HIM KINDLY". Homer

View Larger MapWe departed at 7, I gave the Nikon to shorty who took the photos of me crossing the bridge. The canal is very nice, ships and more ships at the bay, awaiting passage thru.

"TRAVELING IS LIKE GAMBLING: IT IS ALWAYS CONNECTED WITH WINNING AND LOSING, AND GENERALLY WHERE IT IS LEAST EXPECTED WE RECEIVE MORE OR LESS THAN WHAT WE HOPED FOR". Johann Wolfgang Von

"OBSTACLES CANNOT CRUSH ME. EVERY OBSTACLE YIELDS TO STERN RESOLVE. HE WHO IS FIXED TO A STAR DOES NOT CHANGE HIS MIND". Leonardo da Vinci

"THE USE OF TRAVELING IS TO REGULATE IMAGINATION BY REALITY, AND INSTEAD OF THINKING HOW THINGS MAY BE, TO SEE THEM AS THEY ARE". Samuel Johnson

"THE EARTH BELONGS TO ANYONE WHO STOPS FOR A MOMENT, GAZES AND GOES ON HIS WAY". Colette

We are now in Medellin or Metrallin as some call it (metralladora in spanish=machine gun), we arrived at night and the city lights made for an awesome view. The city is also known as the city of eternal spring. A coffee is 650 pesos to use the toilet it's 850 pesos.
I already purchased the bus tickets for Bogota, $50000 pesos, departing at 22 hours and the trip will take 9 hours.

"HALF THE FUN OF THE TRAVEL IS THE ESTHETIC OF LOSTNESS".
Ray Bradbury

"THERE IS NO HAPPINESS FOR THE PERSON WHO DOES NOT TRAVEL. FOR INDRA IS THE FRIEND OF THE TRAVELER, THEREFORE WANDER!" Brähmann

"THE SEA IS DANGEROUS AND ITS STORMS TERRIBLE, BUT THESE OBSTACLES HAVE NEVER BEEN SUFFICIENT REASON TO REMAIN ASHORE... UNLIKE THE MEDIOCRE, INTREPID SPIRITS SEEK VICTORY OVER THOSE THINGS THAT SEEM IMPOSSIBLE... IT IS WITH AN IRON WILL THAT THEY EMBARK ON THE MOST DARING OF ALL ENDEAVORS... TO MEET THE SHADOWY FUTURE WITHOUT FEAR AND CONQUER THE UNKNOWN". Ferdinand Magellan

"IT WAS KIND OF SOLEMN, DRIFTING DOWN THE BIG, STILL RIVER, LAYING ON OUR BACKS, LOOKING UP AT STARS, AND WE DIDN'T EVEN FEEL LIKE TALKING ALOUD". Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

When the going gets tough, the oldies take a bus

"I TRAVEL LIGHT; AS LIGHT, THAT IS, AS MAN CAN TRAVEL WHO WILL STILL CARRY HIS BODY AROUND BECAUSE OF SENTIMENTAL VALUE"." Christopher Fry

"ALL THE PATHOS AND IRONY OF LEAVING ONE'S YOUTH BEHIND IS THUS IMPLICIT IN EVERY JOYOUS MOMENT OF TRAVEL: ONE KNOWS THAT THE FIRST JOY CAN NEVER BE RECOVERED, AND THE WISE TRAVELER LEARNS NOT TO REPEAT SUCCESSES BUT TRIES NEW PLACES ALL THE TIME". Paul Fussell

"TRAVELERS NEVER THINK THEY ARE THE FOREIGNERS". Mason Cooley

"OWN ONLY WHAT YOU CAN CARRY WITH YOU; KNOW LANGUAGE, KNOW COUNTRIES, KNOW PEOPLE. LET YOUR MEMORY BE YOUR TRAVEL BAG". Alexander Solzhenitsyn

"I AM SO CONVINCED OF THE ADVANTAGES OF LOOKING AT MANKIND INSTEAD OF READING ABOUT THEM, AND OF THE BITTER EFFECTS OF STAYING AT HOME WITH ALL THE NARROW PREJUDICES OF AN ISLANDER, THAT I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A LAW AMONGST US TO SET OUR YOUNG MEN ABROAD FOR A TERM AMONG THE FEW ALLIES OUR WARS HAVE LEFT US". Lord Byron

"PARADISE IS WHERE I AM". Voltaire

I have just been made aware that this hotel and the last, which have a place to eat and petrol station are frequently used by truckies, the ladies from the old profession stand outside the joint. I was only told because i asked the manager who kept knocking on the doors last night.

"TO TRAVEL IS TO DISCOVER THAT EVERYONE IS WRONG ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES". Aldous Huxley

"WHILE WE ARE POSTPONING, LIFE SPEEDS BY." Seneca (3BC - 65AD)

Almost every truck had branches with thorns tied to the backdoor, so I had to ask its significance. Apparently, it is to stop people from climbing the truck to steal.

"... THEN THE WORLD'S MINE OYSTER".
William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor

Dear friends and followers I have finished my journey.

View Larger Map

Queridos amigos y seguidores, he terminado el viaje.

"WE TRAVEL JUST TO TRAVEL". Ernesto Che Guevara

"A PASSPORT, AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW, IS A DOCUMENT THAT ONE SHOWS TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WHENEVER ONE REACHES A BORDER BETWEEN COUNTRIES, SO THE OFFICIALS CAN LEARN WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU WERE BORN, AND HOW YOU LOOK WHEN PHOTOGRAPHED UNFLATTERINGLY".
Lemony Snicket

“NO ONE REALISES HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS TO TRAVEL UNTIL HE COMES HOME AND RESTS HIS HEAD ON HIS OLD, FAMILIAR PILLOW". Lin Yutang

"IF YOU COME TO A FORK IN THE ROAD, TAKE IT". Yogi Berra

"AND THAT'S THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT FAMILY TRAVEL: IT PROVIDES YOU WITH EXPERIENCES THAT WILL REMAIN LOCKED FOREVER IN THE SCAR TISSUE OF YOUR MIND". Dave Barry

We had breakfast and exchanged pleasantries, went to put petrol together and to purchase a a container to load 10 lts more of petrol, shook hands and then Shorty gave me a hug, i got a bit emotional...if i had chosen i would not have had such luck in obtaining such great companion. Shorty is a gentleman, we helped each other out through 6 countries and i hope to see him again in the future.

"EMBRACE THE DETOURS". Kevin Charbonneau

"I TRAVEL NOT TO GO ANYWHERE, BUT TO GO. I TRAVEL FOR TRAVEL'S SAKE. THE GREAT AFFAIR IS TO MOVE". Robert Louis Stevenson

"STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE POTHOLES IN THE ROAD AND CELEBRATE THE JOURNEY!" Fitzhugh Mllan

Saturday 8th of March

"THE ROAD TO A FRIEND'S HOUSE IS NEVER LONG". Danish Proverb

“HE WHO DOES NOT TRAVEL DOES NOT KNOW THE VALUE OF MEN".
Moorish proverb

"DO NOT GO WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD, GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL". Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A MAN TRAVELS THE WORLD OVER IN SEARCH OF WHAT HE NEEDS, AND RETURNS HOME TO FIND IT". George Moore