And then it was over - Back in the USA

CN - Monday, February 12

The trip back home from Punta Arenas was a long one that started last Monday with with a 3.5 hour flight to Santiago, a 10.5 hour overnight flight to Atlanta, and ending with a 1.5 hour flight to DC on Tuesday morning - plus a two hour car ride to Dayton.  Add in the layovers and it was about about 24 hours of door to door travel - with zero sleep.  After returning the rental car we of course had to stop in downtown Harrisonburg for a beer and a burger at Jack Browns - my first indication that life was returning to normalcy.  I slipped in a quick afternoon nap before we all went out for sushi for Marybeth's birthday - meeting up with Justin and Luke at Mr. Lees.  Two familiar foods in one day - I was having comfort overload!

I've been back from South America for a week now and it's just beginning to sink in that we are back and the trip is over.  It's been 10 days now that I have not ridden on a motorcycle so seems reality should have come earlier.  Maybe because I basically just traded the motorcycle for a truck in terms of travel vessel and have continued to move from place to place.  The current road is more familiar and less interesting than the roads two weeks ago.

Reflecting back on the trip in its entirety feels overwhelming - Mexico seems so long ago.  Amazing that three months can feel like an eternity and a flash - both at the same time.  I feel so much closer to the countries we rode through - even those I had the privilege of visiting previously.  Riding through a country by motorcycle allows for so much more than flying in and flying typically can.  I really can't say there is one favorite country but certainly there are favorite parts of each country.  Also so many parts of each country was missed altogether - I need to go back again someday soon.

I have some time to kill before my next adventure begins in June - riding up to Prudhoe Bay, AK and back.  Currently I'm in Florida visiting family and friends.  Next will be trip out to Colorado to visit friends and get in some turns - hopefully the snow gets better before I get out there.  After that, who knows.  I'm looking at some travel options now.  The goal is to kill some time, see some stuff and not completely break the bank.

It was a heck of a journey covering a huge amount of land mass.  Many days were difficult due to the terrain, the weather, the traffic, the bike - but looking back I wouldn't trade back a single day.  It is about the journey after all and when traveling by moto you get what you get.  At the end of the day what I got was an absolutely incredible experience only other overlanders can fully understand.  

 

Flying back over Patagonia.

 

Winding down

KS- Friday/Saturday

So its been a different couple days, winding things down, getting ready to start the long journey back to Virginia.  After the air traffic settled down the other night at camp, we were able to get some sleep. Nice spot overlooking the bay, a little bit of trash scattered around, because since it was a free campground, nobody took care of it or provided any facilities.  Which caused the next story.  Since there were no facilities, I decided to take my roll of toilet paper for a walk the next morning. Being a scrub brushy area, there weren't many large trees to hide behind, or lean against, so I picked a suitable spot protected from view from the couple scattered campsites around.  Now remember how I said we were on the flight path, actually on the approach side of the airport.  Well, about that time, with no place to hide, a commercial jet came in for a landing.  Close enough and low enough to where I could have made out startled faces of the passengers on the right side of the plane, if I hadn't just ducked my head and waited for the jet to pass.  Yep, classy travelers we are

After packing up and leaving camp, we rode to La Guarida to meet with Silva and sell our bikes.  I had a buyer lined up from Isreal who was going to continue travelling with it. Salva had found a buyer that was interested in Chips bike, and we all met at the shop that morning.  The buyers checked out there perspective new bikes and asked questions.  Quick test rides seemed to have everyone satisfied to the condition of the bikes.  Then money was exchanged and we all headed off to the Notaria to have sale papers drawn up, being in a bit of a hurry because the Aduana closed early in the afternoon that Friday.  So we were in a time crunch,  and our number we were given as we walked in the door was 57.   After a while, the guy that bought Chips bike,  talked to a couple people, then came back with the number 26,  smiling and saying "magic"  Papers were drawn up, notarized, signed, stamped, and paid for. And off to the customs office we went.  Paperwork on my bike was finished, because my buyer was not from Chile, and the bike was not being imported into the country. After having his Temporary Import Permit cancelled, Chip had to deliver his bike to the customs area of the dock to wait for it to clear for the next buyer, a process that could take a couple weeks.  But not Chip and I were free and clear of our bikes. 

The buyer of my bike also bought a combined luggage setup from us,  Chips rear panniers, my tank bag and duffel bag, and tank panniers  We also loaded him up with spare parts, camp food, and all the miscellaneous items we didnt want to hate to carry back home.  All ready to go,  it was almost a bit emotional seeing my bike leave,  almost.  There are more bikes to be had in the future.  It is a bit of a weird feeling to not have a motorcycle anymore,  after being so used to riding anywhere we wanted, at any time.  Now we were walking, and taking taxis to get around.

Another side effect of not having a motorcycle or motorcycle luggage is you have more stuff to carry around, and nothing to carry it in.  So we took a taxi downtown and found a place that sold luggage. Picked out something cheap and big that has wheels,  all it has to do is get us home.  Once we got back we packed up our piles of gear into our new bags.  A helmet, boots, and armored riding pants and jacket liner take up a lot of room.  Everything is going to fit for the trip home, but I will be wearing my riding jacket through the airport, mainly because its comfortable, and has enough pockets to store everything. Just to be nice to fellow passengers, and increase my odds of making it through airport security, I'm washing the jacket before we leave. 

So here we are, hanging out in Punta Arenas Chile, waiting  for our flights on Monday.  Not exactly an exciting place to hang out, but waiting till Monday to fly out, saves us several hundred dollars.  We did meet back up with Dick who is riding down to Ushuaia today to finish his journey south before he comes back to town to sell his bike and head back to Holland.  Good thing is, I'll be back home in time to take my wife out for her birthday on Tuesday.

Until then, I'm just passing time, trying to wrap my head around everything that has happened since pulling out of my driveway in Virginia over 3 months ago.  Its raining, and much cooler than yesterday, so once I get done writing this, my to do list is pretty much wrapped up for the day.  Maybe we'll try to find a place to watch the Superbowl today, that could be a challenge as well.

Back to Punta Arenas

CN - Wednesday/Thursday

We spent the day Wednesday exploring Ushuaia a bit but mostly it was just a lazy day lounging around the hostel.  As we were gearing up to head to the Tierra del Fuego Nacional Parque, Ken noticed a link on his chain that had looked odd.  Upon further inspection, the chain had a link that had broken in half and about 2 dozen other that were cracked.  It's a miracle that the chain had not snapped off the previous day riding at high speed and RPM's.  This was something that had to be address before riding on so he went to a nearby Suzuki shop and purchased a clip style chain.  Unfortunately upon returning to the hosted he realized he had nothing to break the only chain that was not a clip style so we headed back to the shop to use their grinder to get the old chain off.  Unfortunately it was just past 1:00pm - the time that in Chile everything shuts down until 3 or 4pm. Most every business that is not tourist related has these daily hours - open in the morning, shut down from 1-3 and then back open until 7 or 8pm.  Not wanting to ride back up the hill to the hostel Ken was able to break the old chain by filing down one of the pins and the new chain was then popped on.

We rode to the National Park entrance but didn't end up going in due to the $35 each entrance fee.  We just didn't feel it was worth it just to get a picture at the Tierra del Fuego sign that everyone snaps a photo in front of.  We might have missed out on a nice Parque - but figured after Torres it would be a bit anti-climatic.  Later that evening we returned to Dublin and had some more stout and dinner.  We also ran into Sid there who we had last seen a week or so earlier at the gas stop that had no gas.  It was funny that when we had parted ways he told us about the Dublin bar in Ushuaia that he had visited the year before and would see us there and buy us a beer.  Crazy that he suddenly appears on our last night there and followed through on his promise - hence the funnel.

Thursday morning we headed out with minimal motivation to return to Punta Arenas.  After reaching the goal it was more like work riding the 620k back.  Again, the wind was relentless most of the way. At the border crossing a bike was on the ground from dropping over in the wind and Ken's bike got blown over at one of the gas station stops breaking off one of his mirrors.  When we arrive at the same hostel we had stayed at on Monday night they had no room for us.  Apparently with the language barrier the innkeeper had though I said we would return on Friday - not Thursday.  It was getting dark and we didn't want to look for another overpriced hostel/hotel option so we rode back 12k to a free campground near the water.  Turned out to be a great spot, except for the planes taking off and landing right overhead.  The campground was right smack in the middle of the flight path.  Still it was a picturesque spot and best of all free.  We even got to see the remnants of the supermen as it rose in the east over the straight.  It looked like a ball of fire as it rose - pretty darn cool.

Friday we had an appointment with Salva at the bike shop to sell off the bikes.  Ken had a buyer from Israel lined up who was planning to ride it up to Canada and I was still hoping Salva would find a buyer for mine.  Ken's buyer had responded to a Horizons post listing the bikes.  I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would be able to sell mine as well.

Waiting for the ferry to unload so we could get on going the other way.

Straight of Magellan.

Campsite on Thursday night.

Moon on fire - terrible pic with my iPhone but shows the crazy color.

Ushuaia

CN - Tuesday

We left Punta Arenas around 10:30am for the final stretch down to Ushuaia.  Since the ferry straight across out of PA was booked (and would have shaved 200k off the distance) we had to take the ferry to the north across the Straight of Megellan making the total ride 620k.  The winds were particularly strong that morning - usually the don't get crazy until the afternoon.  But on this day they would be steady all day long.  It is really hard on the limbs and neck fighting the wind on a small bike with little faring protection.  We got to the ferry dock and the line of cars and trucks was extremely long.  We waited in line for about 45 minutes and not a single ferry had loaded yet so we were a bit worried that the delay would put us in Ushuaia after dark.  While waiting a trucker signaled to us that motos can go to the front of the line.  We rode to the front and were squeezed on the next ferry that arrived.  The crossing was a bit rough and the you had to have a hand on the bike or it would fall over.  We met a couple of riders on the ferry on BMW 800gs bikes from BA, Argentina also riding down to Ushuaia.  Even for Argentinians it is a long ride south!  

The border crossing back into Argentina from Chile was fairly quick and easy.  Both stations took maybe an hour or so.  We gassed up for the final stretch in Rio Grande on the Atlantic coast and polished of the last 200k through winding roads and snow covered peaks.  Easily the most enjoyable riding of the day.  The only discomfort was that it was getting quite cold.  We had put on heated jackets in Rio Grande but mine wasn't working too well due to having to switch to a regular headlight bulb from the original power saving LED bulb.  

After over 15,000 miles, 14 countries, 15 border crossings, through intense heat and humidity, torrential rain, sleet, snow, freezing cold and stupid crazy Patagonia winds, we made it to Ushuaia at 9:00pm.  The feeling was a bit emotional during the last 10k or so - thinking back over the past 95 days of the journey to get here.  We are not unique by any means as this trip is a bit of a mecca for motorcycle travelers - we encountered many along the way.  I guess what sets us apart from a bit is that we made the trip on 350cc dirt bikes - most are on much bigger and more comfortable machines.  There were a large number of big BMW 1200gs passing us heading north in the opposite direction - most rentals and tours out of Santiago and Buenos Aries.  We did encounter Mia - originally from Boulder, CO who had ridden down from Seattle on a Honda 250.  She was riding solo since parting with her brother in Peru - very impressive! 

Overall I liked the smaller bike in many situations due to its size and weight - an advantage in the dirt and when the roads disappeared into construction gravel fields.  The disadvantage was speed, comfort, fuel range and the crazy winds that toss around a smaller bike - several times I came close to being blown completely off the road.  In fact I did get blown off the dirt road into a ditch riding the gravel road in Torres - luckily able to recover and ride through and out if the ditch without crashing or dropping the bike. 

We had pre-booked a hostel which turned out to be very nice near the center of town.  Ushuaia is a travelers funnel.  Everyone traveling down to Patagonia seems to end up there.  We had heard about a popular Irish Bar called the Dublin and were hoping to get a Guinness there - no such luck but they did have a negro stout that would do.  The bar was packed and standing room only.  I heard so many different languages spoken while standing shoulder to shoulder with the crowd.  It was too crowded to get any food there so we finished our beer and went down the street to a Hard Rock Cafe and had a couple of sandwiches at the bar.  We didn't end up back at the hostel until almost 2am.  It was a very long and exhausting day.  We would spend the next day and night in Ushuaia before returning to Punta Arenas to hopefully sell the bikes on Friday.

Waiting to load on the ferry at the Straight of Magellan.

Ken making sure the bikes don't fall over on the ferry - rough water on the crossing.

Made it to Ushuaia at 9:00pm - 620k day!

The port in Ushuaia.