Final Thoughts (Finally)



I am finally getting around to posting my final thoughts on this trip.

First, our travel home was uneventful - the way I like it.  We flew out of Balmaceda airport on Saturday at 4:40 p.m.  It was about 40 minutes away from our hotel.  It really isn't much of an airport; it is more like a pole building with a runway.  There was only 2 gates!  We flew from Balmaceda to Santiago (Chile) and then to Dallas and finally to Indianapolis.  We arrived back in Indianapolis around 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Here are my final thoughts and comments regarding the trip.
  • For me, the 2 most beautiful parts of the trip were Perito Moreno Glacier and the Mable Caves. Additional photos of each at the end of the post.
  • My favorite road was Hwy 265 that we did on the last day.
  • I would estimate we rode about 60 - 70 percent gravel roads of varied conditions.
  • We rode a total of 3,714 km or 2,305 miles.  We averaged 336 km or 209 miles per day.  The longest day was Day 1 which was 425 km or 264 miles.  Daily details are below.












  • Patagonia is an area with a wide variation of terrain from mountains, glaciers, and lakes to  areas with "a whole lot of nothing" - other than wind, sheep and guancos, of course!
  • Having a guide like Wilfredo (Moto Rent Adventures - http://motorentadventure.com/en/) was helpful in so many ways:
    • Translating and interpretation - Very few people in the region know English and my Spanish is limited to about 10 words.
    • Border crossings - There are many questions and lots of paperwork for the vehicles and people each time you leave a country and then for entry into the next country.  It took about 1 hour each time we crossed the border.
    • Carrying our luggage -  With our extra luggage in the truck, we were able to have smaller and lighter bikes which made handling and maneuvering them much easier that if we had fully loaded bikes.
    • Bike maintenance and repairs - Chain maintenance and replacement were handled by Wilfredo who was carrying the extra chains plus other supplies such as tires and tubes.
    • Logistics - Wilfredo handled all the logistics such as figuring out the route, making hotel reservations, where to eat, purchase gas etc.
    • Camping made easy -Wilfredo brought along all the camping supplies, did all the camp set-up and take down, and camp cooking.  He did everything while we got to relax.
    • No extra unexpected expenses - Everything above and more (such as all meals) were included in the up-front costs so there were no surprises.  The only thing we had to pay for during the entire trip was fuel for the bikes and truck along with admissions to locations such as National Parks.
This was a great trip and I am so glad I made the decision to take Pradeep up on his invitation to join him on this trip.  Thanks Pradeep for the invitation and for being a great riding and motorcycle travel partner!

Since our return, several people have mentioned that Patagonia is on their bucket list.  For anyone that has Patagonia on their bucket list - I would highly encourage you to go - its a great place to visit! 










Comments

  1. khammerbeckJanuary 15, 2019 at 7:37 AM

    I'm finally getting caught up. What a remarkable adventure!! Bucket list material.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The "Roaring 40's" Didn't Disappoint (Monday, December 17 - Punta Arenas to Rio Grande)

Image
As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, the area we are riding in now (between 40 and 49 degrees of latitude) is called the "Roaring 40's" for the very windy conditions.  That is exactly what we had all day today.  It didn't take long after we left Punta Arenas this morning to feel the forces of the wind.  We quickly learned that riding here is not for the faint of heart or for those without adequate riding experience.  For much of the day, it took all the strength, weight, and will-power we had to keep the bike on the road.  Much of the day was spent riding with the bike leaned over just to make it go straight with the very strong side winds.  Needless to say, we are a little tired tonight. Most of the land in the area we are riding now is very flat and very desolate.  Occasionally there are some rolling hills but there is not a lot to photograph from that perspective.  There are 2 things we did see a lot of today and that was sheep and gu...
Read more

Blessings!

As I am about to depart for yet another great motorcycle trip, I am reflecting on the many blessings in my life.  I must always remember how fortunate and blessed I am to be able to do these adventures. Cathy First, for my wife Cathy that again encouraged me to take this opportunity when it came along.  She knows that as we age, some of these adventures will no longer be possible so she supports doing them now while I still can. Also, she was ok with the fact that due to the timing of this trip, we will not be together for Christmas this year.  Cathy and I have been married 35 years and we have always been together for Christmas. Family I have 2 great daughters that are both doing well, are well educated as demonstrated by their Doctorate and PHD degrees, and are making major contributions to society through their work and lives.  What more could a parent ask for?  It is such a blessing to not have to worry about how a child is doing or what they are do...
Read more

Merry Christmas and Rest Day (Monday, December 24)

Image
First, I want to wish all my family and friends a Merry Christmas.  I am sorry that I will miss all the family gatherings and celebrations this year.  Knowing I was not going to be home for Christmas if I did this trip was part of what I had to contemplate if I said "yes" to this trip. Also, Christmas this year a little sad as it is the first Christmas without my mom who passed away this year.  Not having either of my parents around for Christmas will definitely be different and take some getting used to.  This is also the first Christmas without Cathy's beloved Aunt Ann - rest in peace. Sr. Ann Redmond (1933 - 2018) We are currently in El Chalten.  The famous mountain peak here just outside the city is Monte Fitz Roy.  We got several good views of it today during our little outing.  I have also included another photo from the city. For our rest day, we took a van 37 km north of El Chatlen to Lago del Desierto (L...
Read more