After traveling for 6 months, I finally made it all the way south to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina!

Two years ago, I took a trip to Mexico with Gary to Real de Catorce.  There were no banditos.  Nobody wanted to steal my bike.  While my spanish wasn’t very good, I had no problems communicating.  What really happened is that I ignited my wanderlust for Latin America.

Even being away from my life at home for so long I am still enjoying each day.  Unlike in “normal” life, every day is different.  Each city is slightly different than the one the previous day.  Every country is radically different than its neighbor.  It is amazing how imaginary lines in the dirt create such differences.

For me, the draw of taking a long trip instead of just a normal vacation is the continual influx of new experiences.

Although making a trip like this does have its own routine and frustrations.  Sitting for hours on a motorcycle trying to stay awake when driving for miles is obviously difficult.  It is strange feeling when you dread a day of curvy mountian roads.  OK, well, there weren’t many days where I dreaded facing the twisties… but when you’re crossing a 13,000 foot pass and it is raining– curves aren’t adding to the fun of things.  The other annoyance is arriving in a new city and trying to find a cheap but clean hotel.  Uhg.

Uncountably sitting in traffic in Guatemala City is much more fun sitting in traffic in Houston.  There is always something to look at =].

Theo and I rode a couple of hard days through the Pampa (plains and desert) of southern Argentina.  We were averaging from 500-650km a day.  The cross winds were so strong that I had to practically sit on the side of my seat as I counterbalanced the bike into a lean into the wind.  Intead of developing the typical flat spot that you get from miles of straight road like we road, my tire is noticably worn asymmetrically.

About 1 hour before Ushuaia the scenery changed dramatically.  The climate remained the same but the land went from soggy marshy tundra to jagged mountains peaks with bases covered in pine trees.  This is exactly what I thought the “fin del mundo”/ “end of the world” would look like.

Now that I made it to the tip of South America there is nothing left to do but head north.  I think I’m ready to resume my humble corporate life. Plus, I want to see my fluffy puppy!  Oh yeah, my family and friends too…

I’m not sure what route I’m going to take but I have two choices.  I can either take a ferry that cuts the trip down by a week or two to Chile or take the long way that is a few thousand KM offroad.  I’ve prepared for the long offroad trip, but it’d be nice to be on the water for a few days.

Either way, I’ll end up in Vallparisio / Santiago where I am going to ship my bike by air or sea back to the United States.  Depending on the price, the bike will either go to Houston if by air and possibly by sea, or somewhere on the west coast if it is dramatically cheaper.  Then I’ll drive from California back to Houston.

This has been a trip of a lifetime.  My expectations were huge and I was not let down.  There were days where I’d sit on the bike and think to myself, “What am I doing here?  How did I get this far?  This is so wonderful!”

I was asked the other day what are my dreams.  My response was terse:  I’m doing it.  Anyway, I don’t like the term dreams, I prefer the word plans.

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yeah, I’m pretty happy to be here!