American Family overlanding through South America

roboter

Observer
TO GO WHERE THE AVERAGE OVERLANDER NEVER GOES


The time we spend looking for secured parking in an urban area is waisted time that could be spent taking in the back country scenery of this amazing continent, and so the desert and sand has always been good to us offering protected bush camping, as few people and vehicles can enter such areas. We reached Ica, Peru late in the evening laced with world-famous sand dunes. So out came 35psi on each tire and away we went deeper than we have ever gone before. The tracks you see are from the buggy tours offered by various local companies.

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We are now circa 3000ft above sea level in the most purest sand dunes I have ever seen. And might I add the most dangerous sand dunes I have ever seen, as the dunes all have gradual slopes on one side and on the other side of the dune has a 500ft drop straight down, so caution must be taken at each hill. So far this spot has hit our number one bush camping spot of all time. As the local sand buggy guides took tourist around the dunes, people would drive by in awe as we sat at our camp sipping wine while Lotta played in the sand and we soon turned out to become the main attraction in the dunes. When we made our way down into the village people were running to us asking questions about our travels and tour. It was very fun!

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roboter

Observer
Okay, but heed warning. I went up with a Dodge Ram 2500.... I'm not so sure a Toyota would make it up. :sombrero:
 

roboter

Observer
The Old World

We are taking a break from South America and heading back to Europe for a bit. Andrea is a crime fighting detective in Germany and so she needs to work at least 3 months per year to maintain her position as an *** kicking woman cop in tight leather pants. And since we are all there I will go back to being a prostitute for the Machinebau/Automation industry to add a little more cold cash to put in the bank so we can keep the "bums with money" title.

The first thing I will do when I land in Europe is order a coffee and sip it like it's from the fountain of youth. I miss my coffee breaks. I also cannot wait to separate my trash when I get to Europe! It is painful to put aluminum and plastic, and bio-waste into one container like they do here in South America.

To keep our car here in South America for a long period of time requires us to beeline across S.A. from Chile to Uruguay because they allow tourist to keep vehicles in the country longer than 90 days. 365 days to be exact. So we won't feel so pressured to hurry back if more time in Europe is needed and since we will be in Northern Europe in the summer, I don't think we will be hurrying back to S.A.

Thats all for now. I haven't posted on here for a while. Be sure to see our earlier posts on our website.
 

roboter

Observer
Sorry for being off the grid for so long, but we’ve been creating some exciting things here in Germanyland. Firstly, Our beautiful daughter turned 3 last week and it seems just only yesterday I was cradling her in my arms with a bottle. Her German is outstanding, but sadly she lost her Spanish. However, her English is up to par for a three-year old and the teachers at her school in Germany thinks it’s absolutely endearing when she answers with a “Yes” sometimes.

Andrea has returned to work full-time as a detective with an office in the roof of 120 year old police station and she is very excited to get back to and cleaning Bremen’s streets. Most importantly she has her gun back, which I really enjoy having in the house. She still won’t let me carry it though…. so the orange plastic one will have to do.

Now I’ve been in the automation and robotics industry for nearly 15 years and I have finally come to the end of the ROBOT chapter in my life. It has given me a beautiful life and the chance to travel to exotic locales like Birmingham Alabama and Mexico City for example……….. but it has also set the stage for my new career. Designing, building, and selling custom-made cargo utility bicycles throughout Europe and beyond. (Details to follow in the coming weeks)

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Early production marketing units start in 4 weeks and before that I will have 18 hour days ahead of me. I have done a lot of research and business parallel to my current job so I will hit the ground running when I start. Most importantly though, it allows me to be home with my family and help raise Lotta while Andrea works full-time.

Our truck is still parked in Uruguay and I will be down there shortly to pick it up and arrange for it to be shipped to Germany. Once there, we will have a lot of material to write about as we trek across Western Europe sharing the wonderful things of that great continent.

Thanks for reading!
The Garrett’s
 

cyclist

Observer
Sorry we didn't get to meet up, as we are still pretty far south. The cargo bike looks awesome, and is an interesting configuration I have not seen on any of the commerial cargo bikes available in the states. As a fellow engineer, and bike nerd I look forward to learning more. If you have suggestions on good places to mtb in Chile, Peru or further north I would love to hear about that as well.
 

haven

Expedition Leader
While uncommon in USA, this style of two wheel bike with cargo area between the handlebars and front wheel is fairly common in the low countries, northern Germany, Denmark and Scandinavia. The generic term is "Long John" bike, after the Danish company that made them 70 years ago. Google "long john bike" for information and photos.
 

herm

Adventurer
I am starting to gather information for our own south American adventure. did you find the pop up camper hindered your ability to stealth camp? or did people not really notice? we currently are deciding on a vehicle and camper configuration.
 

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