Asia-Europe 2012

The plan was to get from Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro in two and a half months. We are now in Rio, just two and a half months late 🙂

During these five months we made several plans about what to do after Rio. Plan A was to go to Santos, ship the bike to Africa and continue through Mauritania, Morocco, Gibraltar, Spain, … , Romania. But a few things (people we’ve met, stories they told, pictures we’ve seen) made us believe we should dedicate more time to explore Africa. Since now we have no more time and resources for such an adventure, we decided to postpone it.

So we had to find another pleasant and efficient way to transport us and the motorcycle back. We discovered that flights from Martinique to France are considered domestic and tickets sell cheap. Also, shipping Palomina from nearby Venezuela to USA would be cheaper. And a cruise on Amazon should be something unforgettable as well.

Plan B is to continue to Brasilia, and then to Santarém. From there, we shall be able to catch a boat to Manaus (700km, 3 1/2 days). Disembark there, then ride North towards Caracas through the Amazonian jungle. Good plan, isn’t it?

I wasn’t decided to part ways with my old Nolan helmet that I was using for 4-5 years. We have been through so many things together… good or bad… but considering the scratches on the visor and the deal that one seller offered me, I decided to do it. So I got a brand new Shoei RF-1000. What a waste of money! Noise is the same plus I get more cold wind to my eyes. But the paint is awesome… :-\

Two days ago Laura got to the starting point of the trip. Last day was a killer. 14 continuous hours of work and 2 people managed to finish the bike… shopping, cutting, drilling, welding, soldering, painting, testing and much more… but more details later. Now… too tired but excited as well. Don’t know for sure about Laura, but I (Radu) heard so many people talking about the imminent dangers that I became, at some point, somehow worried. But now I know for sure that I would prefer to die doing this rather than live to the rest of the life thinking of what I missed.

BTW, SPOT could not deliver a replacement unit so we had to get the older model. But that one, at least, works. From now on, progress tracking shold be live here.