1-25-07 Puerto Natales

We had to kill time today before boarding the ferry. We had heard all sorts of different information regarding when to board and when to board the motorcycle, so we thought it best to be in town today to make sure everything went smooth. Probably five hours passed at a coffee shop with wifi while we caught up on the blog, emailed friends and family, and had some very intense IM sessions.

Our bike was all loaded up outside and attracting a lot of attention. We instill admiration and envy in everyone around here with our big motorcycle, and the freedom it provides us to explore the continent. Two people that noticed the bike were not the average looky lews. Em and Hame, two Scottish world travelers had introduced themselves to us as the couple that had been traveling off and on with our friends Adam and Valerie. We soon learned that Valerie was in a very serious motorcycle accident. Luckily she is OK. Banged up and bruised, but ok. The story goes she was keeping pace with adam, 45-50mph on a gravel road and just lost control, tumbling head over feet twice before sliding to a halt unconscious. This is Valerie’s second crash and it has left her markedly shaken. We are so glad she is OK!

Later in the day, Valerie herself pulled up just as surprised to see us as we were to see her. Her and her bike were on the road again after a few days off, but both were looking badly beaten. She had a black eye, some road rash, and her helmet was damaged to the point we could be sure it saved her life. We both gave her a big hug, told her to take it easy for Christ’s sake, and then ran off to catch our ferry as the best info we had was we had to board by 6pm.

At the dock we were told we could not board before 9pm. Argh. We had to rush off from our friends only to be told come back in 3 hours. However, as soon as we pulled back into downtown, there they were! They were on a mission to get the bike back in order but weren’t having much luck. Amazingly a few days before the owner of the coffee shop Amie loved was mouthing off about how Puerto Natales has the best mechanic in Argentina… We called his bluff, and later found out it to be true as in a couple of hours Val had her fairing fixed, a new fan installed, and whatever else repaired she needed.

We had the best sandwich in Chile at a placed called Masay. It was a “Churrasco Completo” and was piled high with steak, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Feeling full, we boarded the boat at 9pm as instructed. I’ll have 3 days of entries to describe the boat, and I will begin tomorrow.

An old man that crashed a motorcycle in his youth thought it prudent to give us these

Adam threatens Valerie with more violence if she dumps her bike again

All aboard the cargo elevator

The view from the top deck

A room without a view