Changes

16.02. – 22.02.
We / I spent one week in Santiago. Santiago is a huge metropolis with about 6 1/2 million people.
There is not much time for sightseeing. I was more than once at the BMW dealer and another mechanic go get my bike repaired. But I don’t want to bore you with that. Only that, it is almost unbelievable, when you see what BMW charges for a plastic replacement part.

My first way in Santiago leads to Marco and Silvia. They are friends of Günther, whom I met in Valdivia.
They have lived in Austria for about 6 years more than 20 years ago. There they met Günther. Silvia and Marco are two very nice people. I was immediately welcomed warmly, I got food and they drove me around a bit in the area.
Marco helped me in advance with the organization of the radiator.

Andi and I spend the last days with “socialising”, in other words, having a nice time with the other people in the hostel.

On Thursday, 20.02. Andi left me .. without saying a word .. in the middle of the night. Just joking.. :-)
Andi has to be at home in mid-March to take care of a few important things.
It would not have made much sense to drive further north. Valparaiso is the best place in this area to send a motorcycle home. The next option would be Lima. But Lima is too far away.
Andi has a one week stopover in Jamaica, before returning to Austria.

It was a good time. We could not make it to Colombia as planned, but it was fun, adventurous, tiring, relaxing and much more. We had no problems to get along with each other ..  at least not from my point of view. I think I have gained at least two kilos during these two months we have traveled together. Probably even more. You eat and drink more when you are together with other people.

Taylor and Mike had their bikes fixed too and moved on after three days in Santiago. If everything goes well, I will see Taylor in about four months in Seattle again.

The day before my departure, I went to another mechanic. My bike was getting a new chain set and also a new side cover. Incredibly, Carlos had even an original side cover from my BMW Dakar. But 450 USD is too much money for a piece of plastic. He has another one in a different color from an older model for around 200 USD.

When I watch him installing the part I started to think about my journey. I am traveling for more than 7 months now. Half time. I want to be back at end of September.

Especially on my bike you can see the trip.
I took a picture of it cleaned and shiny before I left. Almost no scratches .. and now .. it has totally changed, looks different, a scratch here, a scratch there, a different skin on the left side, the boxes are damaged .. the signs of wear are big. But I like it .. it gets character.
I’m not the person who is clinged emotionally on material things. But the bike has become a part of me, I do not want to sell it. It will probably be cheaper to buy a new one than repairing it, when I am back home. But it’s the thing that sticks permanently under my ass and takes me to all the adventures, the experiences and to the people.

Did I change too? Externally for sure, I am getting older too. But did I also change inside? I can – yet – not tell. The character of persons is formed at a young age. The older you get the more your are strengthened in your opinions and values. I’ll probably can tell, when I’m back home.

23.04. – 24.04.
I have spent my last Chilean Pesos and therefore go back to Argentina. Due to the inflation, Argentina is cheaper again to live. I get 11 pesos for 1 USD at the gray market. When I first came here, about two months ago, it was 8 pesos.
Now, here I sit in Mendoza, waiting that the rain stops and that I can continue my plan heading north.

Thank you for reading, Jürgen.

a few photos from Santiago and to Argentina Album