Sometimes what happens instead of what you planned is the good stuff. While I didn’t make it Ushuaia on my motorcycle I did make it and the changed plans also allowed for a lot of other things I hadn’t originally even thought of. I ended up making it to the famous Iguazu Falls in Argentina and also to Uruguay and Paraguay which were never really on my radar for this trip.

I ended spending a lot of time in Buenos Aires which was nice. I made a lot of interesting friends from the hostels and from traveling around. After Ushuaia I reunited with my Russian military deserter and Brazilian who speaks 10 languages friends. We went out to eat a nice steak dinner with some other friends and a Romanian girl I had met on the bus. On one of my days in Buenos Aires I took a day trip on the ferry from Puerto Madero in Argentina across the bay to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. I spent a little bit of time walking the streets of the small colonial town. There was obviously, much like Buenos Aires, a heavy European influence. On another day as I was nearing my time to fly home from Buenos Aires I accidentally walked right through the start of a Milei presidential rally leading up to the country’s election. Curious, after I checked into my hostel, I went and grabbed some dinner and watched some of the rally. On the outskirts of the rally disagreeing citizens threw eggs and trash at each other while shouting what I am assuming were some pretty heated expletives. As I decided to head back to my hostel I heard the crowd erupt as Milei took the stage. I walked to the edge of the crowd to snap a photo to prove that I saw the president of Argentina in person if he does indeed win the election.

For a place that wasn’t even on my radar Iguazu Falls far exceeded any expectations I had. I was truly in awe of the sheer size of the falls! The falls are made up of roughly 275 distinct falls spread over a 1.7 mile edge. Since I was there during the start of the summer months, which typically experience heavier rain, I got to experience the falls at high volume which was incredible to feel the power of the falls as the mist sprayed me from hundreds of feet away. The only downside to visiting during rainy season, besides the 98 degree weather and humidity, was the increased volume of water can cause certain areas to be closed due to excess flooding. There were certain highlights of the falls that were unfortunately closed, but the open trails were still enough to fully amaze me!

From Iguazu Falls I traveled north briefly crossing into Brazil before heading west into Paraguay. Traveling through Brazil and into Paraguay marked the last new country and grand total of 17 countries I would visit during the entirety of the trip. I spent one night in Cuidad del Este, Paraguay before heading toward the capital, Asunción. In Asunción I stayed at the most cozy hostel of the whole trip. Unbeknownst to me, Paraguay has a reputation for being a boring country to backpack through considering the more exciting neighboring countries and waterfalls nearby. Maybe it was just a nice environment at the hostel, a special group of travelers, or the sheer boring nature of the country that forced us together but I ended up meeting a really great group of people at this hostel and enjoyed a slower pace of travel than I had been subjecting myself to previously and especially on the motorcycle.

One night we went out to a local soccer game that cost $2.66 for a ticket. I spent $7 for a jersey on the way into the stadium and then I bought two pizzas for $2 while in the stadium. The experience of this soccer game was much different compared to the packed crazy nature of a match at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires. Considering how cheap the tickets were, if I lived in Asunción I reckon I would be a season ticket holder! Another day I visited a underwhelming lake with some of the guys from the hostel. For such an underwhelming view comparatively to the surrounding countries the real adventure was the cumulative 5 hours of city buses we took to get there and back. I also was able to start finalizing paperwork for shipping my motorcycle back to the United States. On my last day in Asunción I met with Pastor Sutton and Pastor Degner, missionaries from my church synod (WELS), and got to visit their office and learn about their work before having a nice lunch with Pastor Degner. Interestingly enough, Pastor Degner’s sister-in-law was my 2nd grade teacher! It’s a small world! It was really awesome to hear about the work they are doing and the more advanced mission approaches through technology they are using to compound and extend their reach. I pray God will continue to bless their work! Despite being branded as a “boring” country a nice relaxing trip was exactly what I needed after being a little burnout from the rest of my journey.

Through a motorcycle adventures Facebook group, I was able to get linked up with a motorcycle collector and rider named Hernan. Hernan lived right near the airport I needed to ship my motorcycle out of. When I first dropped off my motorcycle at Hernan’s he let me stay the night at his house since I arrived late. Through broken English and Spanish, he showed me his motorcycle collection and told me about his adventures and those of his many motorcycle friends. I’m very thankful to have met Hernan and to have received his help. On my last full day in Argentina, I prepped my motorcycle to be ready to ship in Hernan’s garage. Then Hernan helped me load it up to take to the airport to drop off for shipping. After a stressful experience with some motorcycle export “experts” the motorcycle was eventually fully ready for customs inspection complete with a canine search. After passing that the motorcycle was saran-wrapped and I said my goodbyes hoping for an uneventful reunion in Chicago a couple days later.

After 68 days since the start of this trip I arrived back in the United States after a long day of flying. As I sit and type this post, I am stuck waiting at a bus station in Toledo after my Greyhound bus broke down before making it to Flint where I was supposed to be picked up. If that isn’t reflective of a good portion of this trip than I don’t know what is. Just another reminder—the harder the way, the more worthwile the journey. God is good!