The End of the Adventure, Santiago Chile

Amie’s Parting Words
Our adventuring has come to an end. Yes, that is right; we are departing South America, land of adventure, and continuing our travels to other regions of the world.

Back when this trip was just an idea, a thought that Mike and I entertained with excitement, I can say now that I had not a single clue what was ahead of us. A lot had to be accomplished to make this happen, and I truly believe we are very lucky to have all the cards laid just right so that our dream did become a reality. The trip was a very vague concept requiring much mental and physical work even before we set out on the road. Not quite knowing what was ahead, but strongly continuing with curiosity and freedom as our only fuel we persevered. I would almost say that the mental aspect of changing our lives to focus around only one thing, the trip, was the hardest thing for me. I had slowly grown into a life which was very comfortable and enjoyable. I loved my life, but I had to change everything about it and give up so much for this trip with no real expectations or knowledge of what I was going towards.

Once on the road, a whole new set of challenges hit me. I remember on the second day of riding realizing that I didn’t have a phone or a vehicle which I could control and I was completely dependant on Mike. I have gone through several painful withdrawals in which I desperately miss my family and friends. I have been in extremely uncomfortable situations where I have realized I don’t have any other option than sucking it up and pressing on. I have been hungry. I have been so hot that I felt I couldn’t even hold myself up, so cold that I felt I may loose my fingers. I have had the worst stomach pains, diarrhea and food poisoning. I have gotten filthy. I have broken down and wondered why I would ever put myself in the situation I was in. The list goes on and on, but throughout all the aches and pains I have had the most wonderful time of my life. I have seen so many different cultures, met so many different people, gazed upon some of the most unique and beautiful sites, become closer friends with Mike, have done some amazing things and lastly I have completed a huge accomplishment in my life. It feels great and I can say now that I am a changed person. For those of you who have dreams of adventuring, I greatly encourage you to make it happen. Anything is possible with ambition and effort.

I would still consider the rest of our journey an ‘adventure’ if Yoshita was to be a part of it, but over much discussion and time, we have made the decision to ship her home and continue our travels with backpacks. The reason for this conclusion are as follows: the cost of shipping her to Australia and Turkey, the great hassles of importing and exporting her in the various countries ahead of us, my desire to be able to help with the driving, my desire for a break from the saddle… the list goes on. I know Mike is a bit disappointed, but also strongly understands and agrees with the reasons, namely the first two. We are going to continue to the countries we originally set out to see, but utilize airplanes and rental cars to get around. I know we will still run across many adventures and great stories, but I do not think it will be as often and therefore our daily blog will not be continued.

We will post occasional stories and pictures to “Part II” at mikeandamie.blogspot.com for those that are interested.

Mike's Parting Words
I’ll never look at a globe the same.

This trip hasn’t been easy, but it hasn’t been impossible. If you are dreaming of doing something like this I would advise you to stop dreaming and start planning. 5 months traversing the Americas by motorcycle will cost you between 10-20K, a lot less than you would expect I bet. That is all inclusive, bike, flight home, shipping of the moto, everything. If you really want it, just do it (sorry Nike). Really, plan it, work towads it and do it. This trip has made me think its just that easy (because it is).

It was the best of times it was the worst of times. It was trying, not always fun (often we asked ourselves why are we doing this? Are we crazy?) almost never comfortable… but the worst memories soon become the best. I’ve come away with a new perspective, focus, appreciation, and confidence—not to mention an incredible bonding experience with my wife.

We said to eachother before we left “This will make or break our relationship.” Honestly, I felt like our relationship was already “made” but a bit nervous that 5 months together, 24 hours a day, through tough times might strain the relationship to a point where we might not be able to recover. But I decided we needed to do this, especially now. If we can survive this together, we are ready to start a family together. Maybe a bit more rigorous than other couples trials…

One of the biggest eye openers for me has been in regards to the perspective of time. Four and a half months at home, in the routine, goes by in the blink of an eye. There are birthday parties, a BBQ or two, maybe something a bit more exciting, but really, not all that much happens and everyone just grinds through the days, weeks, and months. For a bit of sacrifice, Amie and I were able to live, really live, for 4.5 months, and it felt like we’ve lived years—experiencing things you couldn’t experience in a thousand weekends.

Thanks
We want all of our fans and readers of the blog to know that you have all made our trip so much more enjoyable and have been the ones that inspired and encouraged us to keep up the journal so diligently. We have felt our friends, family and interested persons are almost right there with us, sharing our adventures as well as misadventures. It has kept us from profound homesickness and encouraged us to keep going during trying times. Thank you all!

We also would like to thank Brian for generously giving us the only ipod which has brought us music on our entire journey (after Amie managed to destroy it in Mexico); We don’t know what we’d do without such a generous gift! Also, thank you for the compression sack as we use it everyday! Thanks to Keith for bringing out all kinds of goodies to us in Ecuador (Yosh thanks you too)! Thank you mom (Pele) for providing us so many delicious snacks that have saved us many times and taking care of our red tape while away! Thank you Aunt Debbie for taking care of our baby, Candy, so well while we are away, we don´t know how we would do all of this without you! Thanks you Grandma M for hosting a wonderful Bon Voyage party for us. Thank you to Tornincasas for the great sendoff and mini vacation in Ensenada; great times. Thank you Gina and Tariq for taking such good care of our house while we are away. Thank you Adam Pate for being a great travel friend and contributing to the many great memories on the trip. Lastly we would like to thank Adam and Valerie for the inspiration of this whole trip.

Gear Review
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Lessons Learned-Tips
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