We drove down rocky roads past endless stretches
of farmland, across which farmers herded their
animals. Most farmers still used horses and dogs to
keep their flocks together just as they had done for
hundreds of years. However, I did notice a few
modern tractors in use as well.
It reminded me of road trips in a caravan to camping
grounds across Holland, exploring forests and small
historical towns while cycling on a mountain bike.
As difficult as it was to travel on the motorbikes, the
4x4 had a tougher job. It took a lot of hard work to
navigate a vehicle like that through these maze of
Soon, the rocky roads changed to pure mud and
roads. The 4x4 got stuck twice, and we needed to
driving became difficult. It was time to put on our
use wooden poles to lever the vehicle out. Later, the
poker face. I had never driven on this type of terrain vehicle got stuck so badly that we had to attach the
before, but this is exactly why I wanted to embark
steel cable of the truck recovery winch to a nearby
on this crusade. The terrain changed rapidly as we
try to safely pull the vehicle out.
climbed mountain hills and descended into valleys.
The roads were rutted with deep tracks left by 4x4
We passed through several checkpoints scattered
vehicles that had carved it into a maze of ditches. It across the small villages. The communities we
took some skilled driving to get through this.
passed through were very friendly, and we stopped
a few times to buy beverages and snacks. I always
Somehow, we managed to maneuver through the
love to help the locals in these remote areas. I’ve
rugged terrain without getting stuck in the mud or
been off the beaten track many and always try to
sliding off the tracks. Often, we had to use our legs
connect with the local residents in places like this.
and feet to keep our balance. Of course, the local
riders here didn’t need to do that- they had already The daily life here for locals was simple, but
remarked “What brakes?” as an offhand joke.
difficult. For the cowboys it consists mostly of
working the land, moving their herds around, and
In some places, as we navigated with the
chatting with their neighbors. Going into larger
motorbikes the water rose almost up to our knees.
towns is a luxury reserved for the weekends.
Driving in puddles of mud brought back memories.