Guest of the week: Roberto Toro, motorbike adventurer

Roberto Toro's interest in travelling started with a train ride in Europe, and it wasn't long before he took the Trans-Siberian Railway to Mongolia for an eight-month backpacking trip. Now he can't get enough of travelling and adventure. He recently returned from a long and exciting motorbike trip through South America with a friend.

We asked Roberto about travelling by motorcycle, his favourite places in South America, and the challenges and mishaps they faced along the way. You can also check out Roberto's blog Flyvardagen.nu.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What do you do when you are not travelling?

I love doing lots of different things. Alternatively, I hate monotony and struggle with enormous restlessness and a stubborn and unreasonable fear of the mundane. Drinking tea, climbing, running, photography and socialising with my loved ones are some of the things that keep me reasonably calm and happy. Most of my day is spent working, however, as a teacher in primary school with Sports and Health and as an IT educator.

What sparked your interest in travel and adventure?

I like to experience things. The quest for experiences has taken me all over the world. It has led to everything from skydiving to being a test subject for medical studies. Travelling cannot be separated from my interest in photography. One fuels the other.

I started travelling and doing what I felt like doing as soon as I started earning my own money. Doing everything myself has always been so obvious and it has influenced my way of travelling. When I realised that anything is possible as long as I want it, and how much you can experience while travelling, it wasn't long before I was on the Trans-Siberian Railway heading to Mongolia for an eight-month long backpacking trip.

The planning consisted of getting tickets for the train and the necessary visas. A total of two weeks were planned. I remember opening the guidebook for the first time when I landed in Moscow. The same when I landed in Bangkok a couple of weeks later. Since that trip, the idea of not travelling, or being "done" with travelling has felt alien.

You have recently travelled by motorcycle through South America. Tell us about the journey!

Our itinerary was fairly straightforward. Ship the bikes to Santiago, Chile. Drive south. Turn around when it feels good. Drive north and see where we end up. We got quite far south in Patagonia before turning around and then we went through Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. From there we sailed over the Darien Gap with the bikes and then drove through most of Central America to Mexico.

What are the positive and negative aspects of travelling by motorcycle? How did you live and what do you need to consider?

The freedom of having your own vehicle cannot be underestimated. A big advantage of a motorbike is that it arouses the curiosity of those who see it. People dare to come up and talk. You are very well received. It is very obvious what you are doing, which leads to many fun encounters.

A big advantage for me is that it is very easy to stop a motorbike anywhere and take pictures. It's also very, very fun to ride. What you lose is comfort (read a lot of pain in the bum) and space for stuff. At least 60 per cent of my pack usually consists of electronics anyway ...

One advantage is that you can't drive such long distances on a motorbike. It takes much more effort both mentally and physically than driving a car. This leads to short stages. We deliberately chose "small" motorcycles to keep ourselves off motorways and major roads.

There is a lot to think about when travelling by motorcycle or your own vehicle. But there are answers to everything online. Often contradictory answers too. You find out as much as you can, but then you have to stop and just go and deal with whatever comes up along the way. You can't prepare for everything. The hardest part is probably moving from thought to action. Once you've done that, you realise that everything works out along the way.

Our accommodation was very varied. A lot of camping in South America and then more hostels, hotels and hostels in Central America. There is a very good free app called iOverlander that was quite invaluable on this trip. Everything from accommodation with secure parking to how to best cross borders is in this app and it is based on everyone who uses it adding information themselves.

Can you tell us about a mishap or something that didn't turn out the way you planned?

The whole trip went incredibly well. No accidents or really bad events. A few minor faults that were easily fixed on the bikes. Some difficult border crossings, but that was mostly due to the heat and confusing routines. One puncture, but then we were in a city and 100 metres from a tyre repair shop...

Since we had not planned the trip so carefully beforehand, we avoided the problem of it not being what we expected. It will just be as it is. The length of the trip was also flexible, we had one year and intended to be out for a maximum of 11 months. In the end it was nine months and we shipped the bikes home from Cancun in Mexico.

The biggest mishap actually came here at home. We never felt threatened or unsafe while travelling. No one even tried to kidnap or rob us. Then you come home and what happens... my motorbike is stolen from my garage! Tragicomic so it splashes about it, laughing and crying at the same time 🙂.

Can you tell us about a particularly good experience during the trip?

Riding a bike for nine months 🙂 Driving across the Andes in Peru, the Cordillera Blanca, was magical. The Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia. Driving 5000 metres above sea level in the desert. Sailing through the San Blas Islands. Snorkelling with about 10 whale sharks and a giant stingray. And so much more.

What are your plans for the near future? Do you have any new travel plans?

Have just bought an apartment. Working half time and doing a bit of everything at the same time right now. Trying to spend as much time as I can with the people I love. If there is one thing that travelling clarifies for me is what is important in my everyday life when I am at home. It's all about spending time with my family and friends. Everything else is secondary.

Next trip? What I know is that I will definitely be travelling again. Then it's not really clear when, where and how. Something I am very keen on is a long road trip in the USA, Canada and Alaska with some type of jeep/van. The national parks there seem absolutely magical.

Then there are endless other destinations I am interested in. Travelling by car/jeep/van attracts a lot. Mostly because it will be easy with the accommodation, you have windscreen wipers and it opens up to be able to have lots of fun toys with you 🙂 .

The closest thing is probably diving in glacial lakes in Europe. Switzerland. I'm training right now to be able to dive with a dry suit. In the spring, the ice melts and floods areas which allows you to dive among trees, paths, benches and bridges! One of my brothers is planning to sail around the world in 3 years starting next autumn, so if nothing else, I might be able to join him there....

Finally, a question we ask everyone we interview: What is your dream destination?

It's a difficult question to answer, I think. When I hear someone talk about a dream destination or a dream trip, it almost sounds like something almost unattainable. So my answer is probably Mars.

Elon Musk (founder of Tesla, Solar City, SpaceX) is working hard on this so I hope to buy a seat on his spaceship. Here on Earth? A long journey with my closest friends. Something that unfortunately is almost as unattainable as a trip to Mars...

Thank you Roberto Toro for sharing your experiences and thoughts!

Top photo: Roberto Toro (right) with travel companion Christian Konrad, 4000 metres above sea level in the Andes, on their way to a green lagoon (and currently blissfully unaware of the terrible altitude sickness that hit them later that day).