Mai Perso - Travel adventures
Imagine Cuba
Leave a Comment
Tags: Havana, Trinidad de Cuba
Between trips
Leave a Comment
Each time we get back from our grand adventures, we start planning the next one. It’s sometime hard to put them in prospective especially after adventures to japan, Chile, Argentina or Peru.
But reality is that living in the Bay Area provides for amazing trips to places like the Sierras, Death Valley, the amazingly and challenging route 1 up the coast and many more places. All within half a day drive.
In a few weeks we are leaving for a 10 day trip to Cuba. but for now, with the amazing weather that struck us yesterday, I dressed my 82 year old Mom with riding gear and took her on the Beemer with sidecar, to a trip around the bay. We crossed the Golden Gate bridge and stopped for an Ice cream in Sausalito. It’s the fact that my Mom was having a blast behind me, both from the ride as well as the stunning views, that made me realize that Adventure is never far away. And reality is, that Mai Perso is actually in me, not necessarily on the other side of the world.
I love having my family with me on my travels and adventures. It’s never the same trying to tell the story, vs. sharing it with them. How about you?
More about La Mar Cebichería – Chef Gaston Acurio
Leave a Comment
We had no expectation what so ever, from the two day stop in Lima. We were going to meet Nach and Dario for a quick catch up and compare notes for the upcoming adventure. After spending an incredible night around town, we hoped on a cab the following day and asked him to take us to a good restaurant for lunch. The driver, who happened to have great English and lived in the Bay area for a couple of years, suggested La Mar Cebicheria. A lunch only local restaurant. He mentioned that the chef had places in several other world capitals. A quick Google search brought back Chef Gaston Acurio, and the fact that he recently opened a La Mar restaurant on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, in our own back yard…
The lunch was amazing. The food original and straddled Peruvian tradition with Asian trends. True fusion and very different then the Californian fusion we are used to.
The service was great, ambience sublime and the fish and seafood fresh and tasty.
I loved the use of fresh chili peppers and lime juice without killing the fish taste in the process. the freshness of the mix allowed them to live side-by-side, rather then blend together and just be spicy.
We are looking forward to trying out La Mar in SF. In the meantime, we just have the photos to remind us of the breeze, the smells, the sounds and the flavors of the lunch at La Mar.
La Mar – Lima
Leave a Comment
Lobster on potato puree, La Mar style, one of 4 thousand veritals served in Peru.
Jujuy to Cordoba – Day 7, final riding day
Leave a Comment
Now that Nacho lost all credibility for prediction of riding duration, we were mounting the bikes at 8:30 am for a long but comfortable day of riding to our final destination in Estancia of Nacho’s hunting operations in Cordoba. Nacho got one more chance to redeem himself, and he did so with honor.
We nocked off the first 250km within a couple of hours from our departure from Jujuy. By late lunch, we were through 500km and 2/3rd of the way to our destination. With tasty Empanadas in our tummy and refreshing Grapefruit juice, we took off on our last leg of riding for the adventure. Elevation was almost at sea level, making the total descent since yesterday to over 14,000ft. We were now cruising through the Argentinian Pampas, passing by Salta with temperatures exceeding 107 F or 43 C. Cliff helped translate the two but regardless it was very hot. A stark difference from the near freezing temperature we have experienced up the mountains just two days ago. By mid afternoon we cruised into the Estancia El Pilar, a lush retreat with a welcoming Pampa Adventures team with cold beers, Cheese and meet cuts and a beginning of final celebrations of the trip.
Later that night, on a wonderful dinner with local delicacies, suckling pork roasted in a mud oven, blood sausage and sweetbread, with live Tango music and dance performed by local artists from Cordoba, the team was exchanging war stories and adventures that were taking shape as epic events before the mud even hardened on our beaten 1200GS bike wheels.
Tomorrow early morning we will be heading back to Lima- Peru, for our farewell day. And what a day will it be…
“When I was in Bolivia…” Puno to Potosi – Day 4
Leave a Comment
Day 4 started sideways. We sort of put ourselves in a no win situation before we even mounted the bikes. The writing was on the wall and all we had to do is put on our glasses so that we can read it.
We left the lodge at dark O’ Hundred to give ourselves time to work our way to Potosi, Bolivia. We had an 800 Km. route that started in a rainy ride, border crossing that even though went very smooth, took us an hour and a half. Next we had to cross La Paz in Bolivia, and on to a long ride with no rest places on the way. By the time we stopped for lunch, it was early afternoon and the team was hungry and cold. A great lunch that tasted so good more because of the hunger and energy it provided rather then the true quality, was welcomed. A fresh brewed Coca Mate (tea) gave an extra kick.
We left the restaurant, geared up and started the climb over the pass to our destination in Potosi. The GPS registered 14,700 ft elevation at the height of the pass.
As the day went by, the team was getting tired, rain was getting fierce and once the sun had set down, temperature was dropping. We were tired, wet and ready to get to the hotel, that was still over a 100 miles away, on the other side of the mountain.
We got close to the elements, the mountain, each other and close and personal with the Bolivian asfalt with all it’s under maintained and overly traveled flaws.
Several excruciating hours later, after 16 hours on the bike, the team made it to the hotel in Potosi. We each made a mental note of lessons learned about the Puno to Potosi road, and shared these thoughts over breakfast the day after.
Fortunately, the adventures of the following days made up for it very quickly and wiped out any lingering pains and bruises any of us had. We were back on the saddle late morning on day 5, ready for a blast of a ride…
Travel adventures …
1 Comment
A fellow traveler is getting emotionally read for the Machu Picchu adventure…
Mai Perso - Travel adventures 