The morning I left Mendoza it was raining and windy.  Great I thought - I only have to cross one of the highest passes in the Andes to get to Chile, and it will undoubtedly be snowing up there!  But as I rode west through the mountains the skies cleared until they were a brilliant blue.

 

I climbed up the switchbacks and past Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere.  When I got to the customs building at the top of the pass it was cold but clear.  I had to get my carnet stamped out of Argentina and I was worried that they might not be familiar with the procedure, but I had the carnet and my passport stamped out in about 10 minutes.  That must be a record for me!

 

Naturally it didn't go so smoothly getting stamped into Chile.  I crossed at this border last time I was in South America and it was complicated and slow.  This time it was even worse.  There are several forms to fill out, then a customs inspection, and a final checkpoint.  All these procedures took about an hour, and then I was riding in Chile.

 

The road wound down the switchbacks and onto the plains.  As the road flattened out the construction began and there were several delays followed by slow and dusty rides through the gravel.  And as I went lower the temperatures got hotter until it was uncomfortable in my jacket and fleece, so I had to stop and take off some layers.  That evening I stopped at the town of San Felipe, an hour north of Santiago.

 

My chest pains continued to bother me during my first days in Chile.  I had been planning on heading south in Chile, but as my pains got worse I decided that it wasn't smart to head into some of the remotest areas in South America where I would not be able to quickly get medical attention if I needed it.  I was bummed about missing out on Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego but I decided now was not the time to head down there.

 

So instead of heading south, I headed north into the Atacama Desert.  I've ridden through this desert a couple of times previously and I'm always amazed at how dry and barren it is.  The ride north of Santiago starts out as a semi-arid brush, and then as you get north of La Serena and Copiapo all signs of life slowly disappear until there is nothing living for as far as one can see - no trees, bushes, scrub, grass, birds, lizards, or even bugs.  Nothing but rock and sand forever.  It's quite a surreal experience riding through this lunar landscape.  Fortunately, even though it's very dry, the Atacama is not particularly hot, and in fact most days I was quite cool until it heated up a little in the late afternoon.

 

I rode north for 4 days until I was about 1,500 miles north of Santiago, and nearing the Peru border.  But as I rode my chest pains kept getting worse, until my discomfort was such that I couldn't sleep some nights.  And associated with the pain was the anxiety of being so far from good medical care if I should need it.

 

At that point after talking it over with Diana, I decided that I needed to come home and have my problems looked at.  There were two options for flying home from northern Chile.  I could ride north into Peru and fly home from Lima, or I could ride south and fly home from Santiago.  I wasn't excited about riding for 4 days back through the desert, but I was less excited about crossing the Peru border and riding into Lima.  So after debating my choices for a night, I turned around and left Iquique headed back to Santiago.

 

It was another dry and windy ride through the desert back to Santiago.  I relaxed for an extra day in La Serena so that I wouldn't have to hang around Santiago for a weekend.  I finally got to Santiago on Sunday afternoon and checked into a hostal on the west side of the city, nearer the airport and the shipping agents.

 

On Monday morning I started working with LanCargo shippers to fly my motorcycle home.  I rode up to their office and arranged all the paperwork.  On Tuesday I went back and we strapped the bike onto a pallette, I signed all the papers, and paid the bill - about $1500 to fly the bike from Santiago to Denver.  I was very sad to say goodbye to my bike and realize that my ride was really over.  Right up until that very moment I had strong urges to get back on the bike and continue my ride north.  But given my condition I did the smart thing and waved goodbye to my bike and headed back to my hostal.

 

My ticket home wasn't until Saturday evening, so I had about 4 days to kill in Santiago.  Knowing that my trip was almost over, I didn't have much energy or enthusiasm, but I went through the motions like I'd done in so many cities before - I walked around downtown and the suburbs and saw a little of Santiago.  On Thursday the hostal I was staying in was overrun by 14 Germans.  It got too noisy and crowded so I moved to a nearby hotel, hoping that I could chill out for the last few days of my adventure.  The hotel wasn't much better, but it was a little more peaceful.

 

It seemed like Saturday would never arrive, but it did finally.  I got a taxi to the airport and cleared customs and boarded my flight for home.  After an uneventful 10 hour flight to Dallas I was back in the States, after almost 8 months on the road.  I cleared customs in Dallas and ran to make my connecting flight to Denver, only to sit at the gate for an hour while they fixed a broken radio.  I was beginning to think that I was never going to get home!  But the problems were fixed and I had another easy flight to Denver.

 

As I flew into Denver I racked my brain to remember the roads I saw beneath me, but I couldn't.  I guess I've been gone too long!  Diana and my Father and Di were at the terminal to welcome me home.  It was wonderful to see familiar faces but I could not believe that I was really home even as I walked through the terminal and drove down the streets.

 

The next day I went to the emergency room.  I called my doctor first, but they don't have the facilities to diagnose heart problems so they told me to go to the emergency room.  In the emergency room I had lots of tests - EKG, chest x-rays, blood work, etc.  After 2 hours the doctor came in and said that all my tests were excellent and that he did not see any problems with my heart.  He did not think that my symptoms were caused by coronary problems.  That was good news!  Unfortunately, he did not know what was causing my problems, and he recommended that I contact my doctor for more thorough tests that might indicate the cause of my problems.  Then they sent me home with the only advice to avoid caffeine.

 

So I'm glad to know that my problems aren't immediately threatening.  I'll follow up with my doctor to try to find out the cause of my symptoms.  And hopefully now that the constant stress of the ride is over, some of the symptoms will lessen or go away completely.

 

Over the past several days I've tried to readjust to being home.  Diana and I checked on my house, and started my truck, and I even got a new cellphone so people can contact me.  And of course I had lots of things to take care of before the impending holidays.  How clever of me to leave the stress of the ride for the stress of the holidays!  But it's nice to be home and to have the love and support of my family and friends again.  Thank you all for the support you've given me over the past 8 months.

 

I'll send another email to let you know how my tests go, and how my readjustment to being home goes, as well as a summary of the trip  Talk to you soon.

 

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