RatayTeam.com .... We TRAVEL not to escape life, but so LIFE doesn't escape us!

The bike arrived on Sunday (Nov 23) and customs/unpacking went almost perfectly – the clutch fluid all leaked out (bad) and we refilled it with tap water which works just as well. We’ll replace it later with proper fluid. Roadside ingenuity in its simplest form! We headed out on Monday afternoon, got 35 miles out of Santiago, and Paul’s rear tire went flat. We broke out the tools and an hour later we were rolling again. The ride was fantastic – some 30+ switchbacks up over 10,000 feet. We exited Chilean immigration/customs, but could not get Paul’s bike thru Argentine customs due to a paperwork snafu (borrowed bike). 11:30pm we rolled back into Santiago, dead tired. Video from Paul's HD camcorder, attached to his helmet... Erin's first attempt at video footage from our digital camera... Tuesday (Nov 25) we went to dept of justice then dept of ministry to get Paul's paperwork legalized, then to Argentine embassy to get legalized paperwork translated onto Argentina letterhead...

The shipment is delayed and customs is now on strike, so who knows when we'll get on the bike. In the meantime we have some time to try out new looks (notice the Quaker look!). We're also taking in Santiago and Vina del Mar, on the Pacific coast. See the photo album here

Of course, the last few days leading up to our departure were action-packed. Andre, the agent who will be looking after our business was away in Hawaii enjoying a vacation with his family, and we were covering his business. Several of his clients wanted to see properties and we negotiated a great deal closing in 3 weeks - welcome home! Andre returned on Friday. Sunday, the night before our departure 2 of our own clients wanted to write offers --- fortunately our local real estate market is not following the national news! We arrived at the airport around the same time as Paul, who decided back in September to join us for the first couple of weeks of our trip. One day he had said' "you know, I must admit I'm a bit jealous about your trip." To which I answered, "don't be jealous, join us!" Since he didn't have a good excuse, he did! Denver airport was nearly empty so we enjoyed the fastest trip through security, ever! Our first leg was a twilight fligh...

It took most of the day, but with the help of our friends Paul and Jon, we got the bike onto a Honda crate that was donated by a local bike shop. While the crate wasn't made specifically for the KTM, Paul's sawzall and Jon's scientific knowledge made the job seem easy - thanks guys! Although Erin & I have shipped our bikes in the past, this time it was a little different as we were using a metal pallet instead of wood. It added some challenges that required a bit of thought. What's the big challenge? Air cargo is based on the weight or volume (space) the crate takes up, whichever is greater. The crated weight is about 235kg, typically the volume is greater. So, while the bike is about 36" wide and 47" high, the crate is only 30"W x 39"H (and 90" long), or about 300kg by volume. So how did we do it? Well, we were able to get the front down low by removing the front wheel. The back, however, was sticking up a few inches too high. In the past w...