24hrs on a Harley – 3 September

Harley Davidson Motorcycles are synonymous with the American Dream. A road trip on a Harley is an experience that I can HIGHLY recommend! This would be my first time on a Harley. Since the Rand-Dollar exchange is not in my favour, I had to settle for the shorter version. 24 hour rental, unlimited miles! If you know me, you will know that I want to get as much out of that as possible :)

Eugene came along which I was very happy about and he suggested a trip along the coast to “Michelle” Pfeiffer national park (its not really called that, but after Eugene started calling it that I can’t remember the correct name). On the way back we could go to a braai at a friend’s place just south of San Jose (where I hired the Harley) and spend the night. Jules joined us for this. Get up early the next morning to take the Harley back.

Ready to hit the road! 96 cu.in = 1573cc! I never knew why the back of the seat had an upwards curve at the back…it so you don’t slip off the back when you accelerate :)

Before we really got going, Eugene took me to his and Conrad’s favourite butcher. A couple a years ago Conrad was looking for real South African Boerewors, but couldn’t find. So this butcher was roped in to make proper Boerewors. Now he can’t keep up with the orders :)

A short while into our trip, we saw a war veteran get-together. This is where I realised the difference between the USA and South African Harley culture. In the USA many war veterans ride Harleys, as well as normal folk from various walks of life (and economic backgrounds). More of a brotherhood. In South Africa it is an exclusive culture for people that can afford the bikes (which is a much smaller group of people, usually consisting of upper middleclass. That’s VERY upper middleclass).

 

   
The way there: Eugene doing some off-roading – The view of the cliffs. Like this most of the way. Exceptional! – Another photo opportunity

 
The way back: In “Michelle” Pfeiffer national park. – What a coastline – The biker duo

After dropping the Harley off, we went for breakfast at Conrad & Jackie’s. Yep, you guessed it….braai – The “Tong Master”.

The “breakfast braai” turned into another braai at Eugene & Jules’. Don’t think I’ve braaied this much in a weekend (keep in mind that we had Potjie the night before). – The Master Chef

Yosemite & Tahoe – 16 August

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As every tourist to a region experiences, locals will give you advice on where to go. The trick is to distinguish between the info you can trust and the info you can’t. Fortunately our friends know us well enough, and have a good idea of what we would like. Yosemite and Lake Tahoe were the main destinations for our road trip we’d do.

We’d spend 3 nights in Yosemite and then 3 nights at lake Tahoe. I hadn’t realised how big things were, since Yosemite didn’t look that big on the map. But I was wrong :) The only things I knew about Yosemite was the large Redwoods and the world class rock climbing (not that I climb, but I have friends that would kill to have been in my shoes).

So we trundled down the main valley and the thing that took me a while to wrap my head around, was that nothing was trimmed or pruned even though everything looked like an attended garden. Ok, not everything, but lots of it. Suddenly I realised why people call Africa “wild.” Even the plants grow “wilder” than here. It was definitely an education in nature.

The rock formations were equally as impressive. Yes, I was one of those guys who sat at the bottom with binoculars trying to spot climbers on Halfdome :) And No, I didn’t see any :(

At a viewing point, to give you some perspective of Halfdome – Late in the valley – A relationship that has been build over years – My mom going Gansta!

A view of Halfdome from the valley. The grass has not been mowed – Halfdome from Mirror lake – Some random rock piles. People trying their best at natural art.

Our 2nd night. We just slept in the car…in between many RV’s – The poster….and the view (El Capitan on the left, Halfdome way in the back).

Another model of the valley – Halfdome through binoculars (see the dot at the ledge? That’s a person) – Can you guess? – Old school photography

 

Mariposa grove is a huge collection of Redwoods. I’ve only seen trees this size in photos. One of them is taller than the length of a Boeing 747 and the statue of Liberty! Nature 1 – Humans 0 :)

Get the feel for the size? – Me at the “Grizzly Giant” – A tunnel was cut into this Redwood when cars first made it on the scene. It was some person’s great idea to do this. Idiot. – Many of the trees have fire damage, but this one’s core was burned out. It still lives!

This was the only successful picture of the “Speeding Kills Bears” board. – At the north-eastern exit of Yosemite. As you cross the crest, nature changes immediately.

 

On our way to Tahoe, we saw a board for the historic town of Bodie. An example of one of those typical towns you would see in the old westerns. At one point it was one of the richest areas, in gold ore. It was, however, very well preserved. The town had died a quick death with people fleeing the crippling economy and literally leaving their breakfast on the table before they left. Detour taken…

 
Some history on Bodie – The main street.

 
The “Gas station” – Inside the general dealer

After a walk around, this slogan became very appropriate :)

 

Shannon, a friend of Jules who I’d met in Pleasanton, was in Tahoe with her family for the weekend. Quite lucky for us as we hadn’t kept tabs on the public holidays and this was smack bang in the middle of a long weekend. Eish. Fortunately Shannon and her family were kind enough to give us a place to stay, and it ended up being a great weekend with some locals :) We even went out with them on their boat for the day, where I showed them how to hang onto a tube. I got flipped over and, I’m not sure how, managed to turn upright again without letting go (must be my super-human strength :) ).

Shannon is an early riser and suggested we see sunrise. I’m not really a morning person, but this place was beautiful so I couldn’t resist. This the the view from a jetty close to their house – You can see that I’m still waking up :)

  
Lake Tahoe is bordered by two states, California and Nevada. Had to do a quick hop into Nevada…because we can :)

 
Kids “planking” on the beach - “Fanny bridge” so named because of the trout that you can see in the water below…but you have to bend over the railing to see them :)

Huacachina – 23 June

Bus ride from hell! I hate the bus drivers in Peru. There is a national limit on the busses of 100kph, but the roads are so twisty you can never get up to those speeds. The drivers try very hard though, which means that you get flung around the seat all the way! Getting rest is not an option as long as the road is twisty.

Since this wasn’t the off-season, accommodation was easy to get. We got a room in a “hostel” which looks like an old hotel. By this time I was guessing that Huacachina used to be a holiday resort for the rich. Now it has become a backpacker hang out. Most of the buildings around the oasis have old architectural features. The only thing I don’t like about the place is the mosquitoes. The oasis is stagnant water, so also no swimming (for me at least). At least the peace and quite that I was looking for, I got.

After one day we knew most of the ins-and-outs of Huacachina. Since this area is known for Pisco, we did a Bodega (general term for a place where wine or Pisco is produced) tour. The wine in this area is not very good, in my opinion. The climate is hot, affecting the taste. The Pisco on the other hand is supposed to be the best in Peru. The Pisco Bodega we went to produced a Pisco that won various national competitions. As good as It might be, I can’t palate the stuff neat. It is just too strong for me. And in case you are thinking “Ruan is just a lightweight”, its similar strength to Witblitz.
These Bodegas were on the other side of Ica. Huacachina is a 5min drive from the bus station. I did not enjoy the look or feel of Ica. We went to a museum another day in Ica. Here I got to see the Nazca lines! Well only a scale model. Rather this than risk my life in a poor-safety-record-very-expensive light aircraft.

After Bolivia, Sallie was not liking the crowds of Cusco. Since I had been mentioning Huacachina, she left Gary to hike Salkantay and she came to join us.

Every afternoon you hear Huacachina come alive to the sound of V8 motors staring up, revving and then climbing out the surrounding dunes. There are tours that take you sand boarding and then you have sundowners. All thrown together by a wild dune buggy ride.
The sand boarding was a bit disappointing, except for the last of 3 dunes which was steep and long. A great ride!

My highlight of Huacachina was the food! The food in Cusco was ok, but no real vegetables. You always get potatoes and possibly corn. I wanted some tomatoes, broccoli, anything else than dry potatoes. We ate like kings every meal. I’m sure I picked up some weight in the couple of days we were there.

Huacachina from a surrounding dune – Tuck-tucks are everywhere. Very cool – The still they used to produce Pisco

Dune buggy time! – Looking over the dunes at Ica – Our “hostel” with a club in the back!

 
One of the famous “Nazca lines.” (ok the scale model) – So you think a “Joyeria” is place to get joy (like you get cafe in a cafeteria) like a brothel? At least that’s what I thought :) Its a jewellery store.