Do you have any idea what it’s like to quit your job, pack a suitcase, fly to Chile, buy a motorcycle there, and cruise around the South American continent for three months? Well, we didn’t either!

Latin America – adventure guaranteed

The moment we completed our first major motorcycle trip, we decided on our next whim.

While Pavel always dreamed of riding into the sunrise and cruising through the vast and wide steppes of Mother Russia, he hit a brick wall with his fellow fighter. Mejzloš – vaccinated with an endless series of “We love Russia!” compilations – firmly rejected this destination.

His eye, craving hot-blooded adventure, therefore rested on the opposite side of the planet, and the South American continent was chosen.

In the following months, a series of intense preparations took place, consisting of Spanish lessons, intoxication with a dozen vaccines, purchasing expedition equipment, and Salsa video courses.

Meanwhile, we managed to acquire a third member of the expedition – the taciturn Michal. Mejzloš’s brooding schoolmate was a more than desirable addition to the team. A wild devotee of good drinks and at the same time the only manually skilled one, key qualities that literally predestined him for traveling in our company.

All that was left was to pack our bags and choose the starting destination: Chile, the Switzerland of South America. A country that respects European values, where we don’t need visas, and with the cheapest promotional flight. With great courage and big eyes, we also chose a daring goal – the southernmost part of the southern hemisphere, the city of Ushuaia.

When a Czech buys a Chinese motorcycle in Chile

Upon arrival in the capital, we immediately tackle our first task: to get to the Mecca of all motorcyclists, the place of magical motorealism Casa Matte. During the day, we get to know other guests who come and go. But almost everyone here slowly cancels our feeling of an exceptional journey. One motorcyclist is riding from Alaska to the southern tip, another around the world. And there’s even a 70-year-old Japanese retiree, Tamaki Wakata. It’s time to admit that despite everything, we are complete gringos.

However, the first disillusionment can’t take away our appetite for our adventure, so we head to Calle Lira. A street that is the center of everything motorcycle-related. What we see, however, exceeded even our boldest fantasies. Calle Lira is roughly a two-kilometer street where every meter, every step is a shop with motorcycles, accessories, or spare parts. A real Red Light district for motorcyclists.

The royal displacement here is a 125cc with a traditional air-cooled engine from Honda, proven over the years, but in Chinese production and quality. Any production other than Chinese is not only scarce but also disproportionately more expensive. But we aim higher, and eventually choose MOTAR 250 – a Chinese copy of Honda XTR 125, just with a slightly bigger engine.

Bureaucratic mañana: tomorrow, later, or never

Latin America is a land of relaxed morals and everyone here follows the philosophy of Mañana, Mañana – that is, everything that can be postponed until tomorrow, possible or impossible, is postponed AT LEAST until the day after tomorrow. However, in combination with a perverse fondness for the cult of bureaucracy, this turns every official matter into a Kafkaesque hell on earth.

And only thanks to our enthusiasm and excitement do we become proud owners of our Chinese beauties after a week of paperwork and running around offices.

After initial difficulties, when something different broke on each motorcycle during the test ride, we finally set off southward.

Finally, wheels down!

The first major and at the same time last stop before the wilderness is Pucón. A town over which a volcano majestically towers and is surrounded by lakes that compete with each other in beauty. For us, it’s the only chance to improve or repair our Chinese motorcycles. Whatever breaks or doesn’t work from now on can only be solved in Argentina.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of friendly moto-refuges here in the form of motocamp Pucon, where we get everything we need. A local welder creates carriers for our moto-bags, we buy the last spare cables, oil, tools, and set off to discover the wild beauty of Patagonia!

Chilean Patagonia, wilderness, mountains, and fences

And suddenly, here’s Puerto Montt, the beginning of the famous and popular route – “Carretera Austral” and the gateway to Chilean Patagonia. We leave behind this rather uninteresting town, where it rains 3/4 of the year, quite quickly, and before you can say “Hola!” dust and gravel are already flying from our wheels.

We knew that a series of ferries awaited us in the first kilometers, so we’re not caught off guard, but what surprises us is the truly breathtaking beauty of nature and wilderness.

Just as adventurers long ago slowly hacked their way through the jungle, we slowly progress on the gravel of Carretera Austral. At least that’s how we feel, because our off-road experiences combined with Chinese motorcycles give us exactly this feeling.

That’s why every day we try to find a charming place in the wilderness where we can spend the night and finally fully absorb that true feeling of freedom. However, this turns out to be an unexpected problem here. Due to ubiquitous fences and impenetrable terrain, it’s almost impossible to turn anywhere off the road. To the displeasure of all travelers, we thus end most evenings in a campsite.

The further south we go, the colder it gets, it rains, and the days get shorter. We laugh at this paradox and suffer because unlike the adventure riders on BMWs passing by, we don’t have heated handlebar grips. We end the day at the huge “Lago General Carrera”. A lake that is approximately 4 times larger than Prague. and countless times more beautiful. If you can’t imagine it, it’s approximately like 261 million Skoda Fabias.

Catedral de Mármol: a magnet for tourists

The local tourist magnet is “Catedral de Mármol”, marble cave complexes in the middle of the lake. Regardless of the weather, we’re all happy for a change of transport as we climb into the boat and are excitedly ready to see immense beauties.

But when we approach the rock in the middle of the water, disappointment sets in. Partly because in the photos the caves look much bigger and more majestic, but mainly – no play of light and shadows is happening because it’s getting darker and darker every minute and clouds are chasing each other over the lake like from a catastrophic film.

The boat ride itself ultimately becomes a far greater experience than the marble glory. The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and with it the waves, which make huge bangs with mighty impacts that shake the whole boat.

Villa O’Higgins: Journey to prehistory

Majestic mountains with white caps on top rise nobly before us, and at the same time, we plunge into increasingly dense vegetation. Everywhere around us looks like somewhere in the middle of the jungle, plus it starts raining again, so it’s like Vietnam.

Frozen and tired, we arrive at Puerto Yungay, the last of a series of four ferries that everyone must take if they want to travel the entire Carretera Austral, that is, from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins. It’s starting to get cold, foggy, and the journey to the other shore resembles more of a journey to prehistory.

Despite this, we heroically drive the last hundred kilometers and suddenly stand at the sign “Fin de Carretera Austral” where we pose with great joy for a group photo, further it only goes on foot or by boat.

In less than 12 days, we’ve traveled a 1200-kilometer route leading through perhaps the most beautiful piece of nature we’ve ever seen. This also ends the first stage of our journey and it’s time to say goodbye to the wild beauty that is becoming more and more of a tourist attraction every year and a road that was in the past an off-road challenge full of dust where almost every river had to be forded.

Caleta Tortel, a hideout for retirement

So we return to the nearest crossing into Argentina. The journey is as enchanting as before, but not as adventurous anymore, as one has the feeling that they’re no longer discovering forgotten pieces of the world, as Hanzelka and Zikmund or Eduard Ingriš once did.

That’s why we spice up our route with a visit to the fishing village of Caleta Tortel.

We immediately change its name to Caleta Bordel, not because it’s such a mess, but quite the opposite. The beautiful small village is built on stilts that hold the houses above the water of the bay.

The only thing that’s lying around everywhere is slow and thick fog, which gives the village a unique atmosphere. Pavlík is so captivated by this place that he adds Caleta Tortel to the list of places where he’ll move for retirement.

Escape to Argentina

The article will be completed soon.