Ushuaia to Punta Arenas

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We left Ushuaia still absorbing the fact that we had made it to the bottom and our journey was coming to a close. I felt kind of pensive and reflective as we rode toward Gerardo's farm to spend our last night together as a group of the trip.

There were strong winds and many kilometres of roadworks before we reached the ferry where we had a short and choppy crossing. We reached the farmhouse which was a beautiful home and must look quite magical in the winter when the snow comes. There was a newspaper on the table with a rather large article about Gerardo and our group completing the trip, quite amazing! We were spoilt with a wonderful home cooked meal and reminisced over drinks before bed.

Gerardo had been asked if he could do an interview covering the trip for a TV station so we accompanied him to the town square where we were greeted by his cheering family and friends and a film crew. We posed for photos by the monument in the square before heading to Gerardo's home and cafe nearby where we were treated to coffee and toasted sandwiches, very nice! Gerardo's hospitality, generosity and helpfulness during and after the trip were outstanding; a true gentleman. We said our goodbyes to Rosco, String and Deane who are traveling up to Santiago by boat while Jeff, Trev and I stayed in Punta Arenas to organise the sale of our bikes.

I was surprised at how sad I felt seeing Trev ride off on our bike the last time. She was a good steed and carried us down here safely and comfortably and I'll truly miss our bike. We sold her for a fair price and I'm happy she went to a good owner.

Now that the bike is safely in customs we can feel happy and relieved to have completed the trip without dropping the bike at all (aside from my stationary incident where I overbalanced it while I was sitting alone on the bike).

We said our goodbyes to Jeff in the afternoon as he had managed to get connecting early flights home to NZ.

We spent our last day in Punta Arenas looking at the historic city, visiting the waterfront and the cemetery which is huge and has graves from shipwrecks - all very interesting.

So in conclusion which some of you have already read on FB:

Our motorbike trip started at the end of July after months of planning. We packed our two saddle bags; one each (which I didn't know if I could do) and another bag which would eventually fit into our top box. We booked flights to Vancouver (via Tahiti and LA), left our kids, our home and our comfort zone and headed off on this huge adventure. Trevor worked up until about the minute we walked out the door which I (and anyone who knows him) expected.

We skipped the crappy NZ cold damp winter and headed into Canada's (mostly) warm and sunny summer.

45,500km (Vancouver to Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia to Punta Arenas and several diversions), 16 countries, a multitude of hotels and cabins (+ 1 tent), sun, storms, wind, snow, ocean, beaches, ferries, a sailing ship, trains, hiking, 3 incredible waterfalls, glaciers, sealed roads, dirt roads, clay tracks, forests, jungles, bears, moose, wolves, fox, snakes, iguanas, rhea pennata, toucans, guanacos, dolphins, penguins, protesters, humming cities, cute towns and villages, amazing cathedrals and outstanding architecture, gas station lunches, street food and restaurants (some good, some bad), cases of wine, a few beers, a couple of pisco sours, a couple of arguments, one or two challenging 'losing my rag' moments, along with creating some incredible memories between us which we will value forever. People have remarked that this is a "once in a lifetime" trip but I'd like to think otherwise. In the meantime it's back to regular clothes instead of riding attire and helmet hair and assimilate back into mainstream life.

I have truckloads of amazing stories and photos to share and look very forward to catching up with family and friends. Hasta pronto!

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Photos

Replica of Nao Victoria built in Punta Arenas, Chile
The Victoria was the first ship to circumnavigate the globe and was part of a Spanish expedition commanded by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, and after his death during the voyage, by Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Comments

[Anne]

Final stop on trip
WELL DONE Kim! You and Trev have the right attitude - what a fantastic trip. Am sure yo will have many more trips of a lifetime tool

[Kubabelle]

Final stop
Thanks Anne, glad you enjoyed the blog. Kim x

[Lynette]

Well done!
You guys are awesome, what an amazing and memorable journey - and very inspiring! Have loved reading the blogs and keeping up to date (ok its made me jealous as hell, but Im over it!). Good on you for embarking on and completing such an amazing adventure. I know a certain someone called Chanel who is very excited about seeing you! Safe travels home xxxx

[Kubabelle]

Thank you
Looking very forward to catching up xx