Entries by allan

Parking Violation: Salta, Argentina

Travel overland whether by motorcycle or other means inevitably brings about challenges. Some of the fun of this type of travel is surmounting these challenges and solving problems. These things can be as trip-interrupting as a broken leg or as minor as a lost pair of glasses. But here in Salta while unloading my bike […]

Susques to Purmamarca Argentina

Northern Argentina has captured my heart. Perhaps I was ready for a more leisurely travel pace after a seemingly endless stay in Bolivia. Or maybe its blend of culture and modern infrastructure is the much-needed a respite I desired from the more primitive yet endearing nature of that land-locked country. Yet with a hankering to […]

San Pedro de Atacama and onto Argentina.

After the taxing day yesterday, I was eager to make my way to the desert outpost of San Pedro de Atacama. In Calama, I experienced a leisurely morning with the usual cadre of gawkers surrounding my bike as I loaded my things. This led to more conversations and subsequently a later departure. The road was […]

12,000 Feet In The Middle of Nowhere. Standing On The Salar – PodCast #18

With lightning storms blazing the evening sky and the most impressive array of starts they’ve ever seen, WorldRider, Allan Karl and fellow motorcyclist Andy Tiegs, sit on the largest and highest in altitude salt flat in the world on the Bolivian Altiplano and discuss their respective journeys to this magical place by motorcycle. After traveling […]

The Night Train & Thanksgiving Pizza – PodCast #16

With his bike running again, Allan boards the night train for Uyuni, Bolivia. Wandering the streets of this dusty outpost on the fringe of the largest and highest salt flat in the world, he runs into three other motorcyclists — including his past riding partner, Jeremiah. At the famed Minuteman Pizza restaurant in the Totoni […]

Chile: Road Tested and Listening To The Wind.

So stunned by the scenery, I forgot about the wind — and the road. Volcanoes thrust the landscape all around me. The vast white salt desert and oddly shaped mountains painted yet another unworldly panorama. Less than an hour ago I passed through the Chilean border and thus finally broke out of Bolivia. But what […]

Old Friends. And Finally — The Salar de Uyuni.

As the sun sets behind the Andes, silhouetting a perfectly shaped volcano, Andy and I crack open a couple of cans of Pacena—the Bolivian beer from La Paz—and contemplate the scenery. The nearly full and brilliant silver moon casts an impressive amount of light which reflects upon the vast expansiveness of the largest salt flat […]

To Tour By Jeep or Moto: This Is The Question.

The central plaza in Uyuni is a pedestrian walkway spanning two blocks in the center of town. The roads are dirt or cobblestone pavers and tour agencies and restaurants touting pizza and pasta line most of the plaza. One café blasts gringo music of The Doors, Bob Marley and others while withered backpackers down cerveza’s […]