45 Days remaining before the start of the PANAMERICANA

January 10, 2013.

Here I am in my house in Victoria BC trying to organize a few things before my departure to Panama set for the end of the month of February. Matteo still does not know whether his work will allow him to go. It took us a bit more than a month to travel from Mongolia to Japan this summer so his holidays for the year are pretty much over. A good option for him would be to send his motorcycle to Panama and start the South American continent this summer. I would be driving from Victoria Canada to Panama, leave my bike there for a few month and then meet him again in Panama this summer to cross into Colombia together and head south to Argentina. In any case we are determined to accomplish this journey together and I am sure we will find a way to do so.

Today I went to a local store to get a brand new tent because my old one broke in Japan. I chose the Fly Creek UL3 from Big Agnes. I had the smaller version in Mongolia and I loved it mostly because of its weight.

I also got myself a universal stove that will work with any fuel. Most of the camping stoves work with canister fuel but I really wanted one that would work with normal unleaded fuel that you would put on your motorcycle.  I have learned the hard way that weight is everything in adventure traveling therefore the less I bring the better it is.

The other things I will take with me will be a camera,camcorder, sleeping bag and a bunch of spare parts for the bike. I will make a more detail post in the future with all the things we bring with us.  As for the motorcycle itself I can say she is ready to go. I have just received from Wolfman luggage the new tank and saddle bags that I have mounted on my motorcycle and they look great. Across Asia I travelled with solid panniers. Solid panniers in my opinion work very well, but because i tend to drop my bike quite often, the risk is to have your foot stack between the panniers and most of the time rocky terrain. Matteo in Japan had a similar accident. It could have easily caused the end of the trip for him.