“There are dreamers and there are doers, but what the world needs are dreamers that do.”
Kevin and I have had a stressful week, though as you will see, everything did end up working out as we are currently in Ushuaia – at the very bottom of South America – more than ready to explore the Andes.
A month ago a German cyclist sponsored all of our new gear (from handlebars to lights to tires) in return for our promise to help others later down the road as he helped us. After a whole lot of paper work on their end, the package was sent, though because of the way too complicated Turkish customs, Kevin and I only received our parts five hours before our flight took off after three days of running around, translating emails, and paying taxes.
We were so happy to see the box that we hugged it once it arrives to our friends house.
Then we packed up our bikes in their boxes … (More about how to fly with bikes here)
…and waited for our special huge taxi to arrive. Our special huge taxi turned out to be a normal sized small car (even though our friend had specifically explained the situation in Turkish so that there would be no misunderstandings) with a very arrogant driver who tried to rush us into the car without our bikes, and once we made it clear that we were not about to leave our luggage, drove off rolling his eyes. Some neighbors overheard this exchange, and though they didn’t speak a word of English, signaled that they would find a way to take us. Though their car was smaller than the taxi, they were willing to be creative so we set out half an hour later in the back seat of a very kind stranger who had shoved our boxes into the back with the truck wide open.
After thirty-five hours of flights, Kevin and I found ourselves in the Buenos Aires airport for the night. Had we planned this trip a little better, we could have found flights which didn’t leave a fifteen hour layover, but as we only bought our last flight – from Buenos to Ushuaia – last week, that was no longer an option. So we set up camp (just our sleeping bags, I think they would have given us funny looks if we had put up our tent in the arrivals lounge) and settled in for the night.
And then, we finally arrived! I’ve wanted to visit Patagonia since I first hear about it, and it still feels surreal that we are really here. We (or rather shall I say Kevin)unpacked and assembled our bikes, so we were able to ride straight out of the airport and into the mountains and wind! But more about that later, here’s to the beginning of our South American adventure!!
For a photo of the day and other updates follow me on facebook here, and for some awkwardly cropped photos from our journey, follow us on Instagram @awanderingphoto!
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