2.27.2018
In my hotel room in Ushuaia, the fatigue of 7 months of travel finally caught up. I laid across the bed after dropping my gear and fell asleep for most of the afternoon. Strangely, I felt almost no emotions. No sense of accomplishment, no joy, no sadness, not much of anything. The long journey had taken its toll and I was drained.
That evening as I contemplated the day and the entire trip, I looked at my map and mileage journals and checked dates. It all added up to 16 months of riding the motorcycle and 45,000 miles to achieve my dream of riding to Alaska then south to Tierra Del Fuego. It didn't compute, seeming almost impossible to me and I couldn't believe I'd actually done it. I triple checked and sure enough, it was true.
It was only then, when I looked at the map that it began to sink in. I still felt no real emotions, just a sense of disbelief and incredulity. I felt no different inside, but the facts showed that I had done something that not a lot of people do, and something I never really expected to achieve. There was no pride or ego about it, just a sense of disbelief. It had been 25 years earlier that the idea was planted and seemed utterly impossible for so many reasons. And yet it had come to pass.
There were far more challenges than expected, and at times making it all the way didn't seem possible, but the people and sights will never be forgotten. Especially the wonderful, caring people everywhere I went.
I still had over 2000 miles to go along the Atlantic coast before reaching Buenos Aires far to the north, my final destination. After that, to plan for the future and the next challenge.
