Billy Ward Soars with Condors on a Triumph Tiger

I left Liverpool, England, with no real idea of what South America was actually like—but it was certainly on my bucket list. Arriving into Santiago, the taxi journey from the airport to Los Condes was an eye opener. I was surprised at how European the city felt, how modern it was. But the snow capped Andean peaks, tall and imposing over the city, reminded me I was somewhere quite different, quite special.

This was day one of a three-month adventure around South America. The plan was to meet up with “Hugo” my new Mexican amigo at Triumph Motorcycle’s Headquarters in Los Condes, and pick up two brand new Triumph Tiger adventure motorcycles. Each equipped with side panniers for luggage, chunky tires and Garmin GPS’s, the bikes looked classy, rugged and ready for anything.

Triumph Motorcycles is the iconic British brand who’ve consistently managed to associate themselves with all that is “uber cool”. From Marlon Brando and James Dean to Steve McQueen and lately David Beckham, the list of Triumph riders from the world of celebrity chic, is endless. To add my name to this list was a privilege. I pictured Che Guevara penning his Motorcycle Diaries—maybe this was my chance to be cool?

Meanwhile, back in the real world…Hugo and I had arranged to head west to the coast and then north to the seaside town of Taltal. From here we’d visit Iquique, San Pedro de Atacama and then cross into Argentina, to Purmamarca. Again, we’d ride north, this time to the border town of Villazon, crossing into Bolivia to experience the notable tourist destinations of Uyuni, Potosi and of course the highest city in the world, La Paz. From Bolivia we’d enter into Peru for Lake Titicaca and the Floating Reed Islands of Los Uros, the mysterious Nazca Lines and a home straight finale up to Lima along the beautiful Pacific coast line. Now here’s the rub—I was to do this initial recce for a month, before meeting two groups of riders who’d fly in from all corners of the world, and then do it all again for two more months! Yes—I would be leading the two groups, together with the tour company I’d be working with, Compass Expeditions, a renowned leader in world motorcycle adventures and specialist in South American travel. So with my notebook and camera at the ready—the 15,000 kilometre adventure began.