Well I left Uyuni the evening of Friday 8th October to start my premature journey home! Earlier that morning I had to watch as the riders left, and the trucks pulled out of town to continue their journey south to Ushuaia - it was a very sad moment and I felt very lonely, but hopefully I'll be back in 2 years to complete the same journey myself!
The insurance company had got my route home sorted out and I was picked up that evening to be driven back to La Paz in a Land Cruiser. The journey started with some more Bolivian washboard roads for a few hours, just to give my collar bone a further shake up but thank goodness Didier had provided me with some pain killers to survive the pounding! Eventually after 9 hours and some smoother tarmac roads we reached La Paz. I overnighted here and caught the plane to Lima the next day where I overnighted before finally getting the plane back to Manchester, via Amsterdam, and home again on the 11th. Avril met me at the airport and it was nice to get back home to familiar surroundings, but I was still thinking of all my friends who would now be getting into Argentina and away from the high altitudes that we had been at for so long.
I started The Andes Trail with only one real aim and that was to get to the end! Only a serious mechanical failure or an impossible to get over physical problem was going to stop me - and that is what happened! I had maintained a 100% record for the total distance I had covered until a Bolivian dirt road got the better of me! Like all of us on the trip there were parts of the journey that I found hard, easy, interesting, boring etc., but it was an amazing experience while it lasted. I have met some super people and enjoyed their company for many weeks, and hope that I will keep in touch with them for a long time. The Bike Dreams crew were great and did all they could to make our trip as enjoyable as possible, thanks to all of them - I hope I'll see them again on some more trips in the future.
Lastly, to all of you who have followed my blog, sorry it had to end early but thanks for following me on my journey and for all your comments. If I have the opportunity to end this journey in 2 years time, and if I tackle other trips I'll give you another chance to watch my progress and spur me on again. Bye for now and thanks again!!
The Andes Trail
The Route
Hi Rob
ReplyDeleteI turned on the computer with the plan of e-mailing Avril to make sure you had got home safe and sound but checked here first and, lo and behold, here is your post! Glad to see you're not at all defeated - but....returning again in 2 years? To pick up where you left off? There's no keeping some people down is there! I've got a 200k to ride on Sunday (and a cold threatening today!) and I'm getting in enough of a state about that.
Recuperate well and heal quickly and, if you're down this way, would be REALLY good to meet up with you both.
Lots of love from
Margaret
thanks for the final post, Rob. Topper is home now too. I enjoyed reading your blog and I hope you let us know if you get back to the Andes in a couple of years. All the best.
ReplyDeleteHello Rob,
ReplyDeletemay be this comment is a bit late, but the reason to comment is not your last contribution to your blog on the South America tour, but the fact that your name and photo also appear in the Timbuctu participants list! I guess therefore the Bike Dreams tours have that something that make you want to come back and ride again! I am also one of the riders in Africa, the one on your left with the sloppy australian hat on. I guess you will start a new blog or expand this one for the new tour? In the meantime I am curious about your experiences with tour organizer Bike Dreams (not that I don't trust them) and about your preparations and cause to do this tour. May be we can even exchange valuable hints and tps, as I am currently doing with another participant, Ron Jonker. He seems a nice guy and is willing to share his experience with others. See you in Dakar soon!
Greetings,
Michiel Visser