Journey back home - The great adventure comes to an end

Now the time has finally come. We start the journey north, which is also our journey back home. We will take the bus for 10 hours, including crossing the border and taking the ferry, to the familiar Punta Arenas. The landscape is beautiful, but by now it has become almost normal for us. The highlight is the (strongly swaying) half-hour ride on the ferry, from which we unexpectedly see dolphins jumping around the boat! That quickly makes us forget about the waves and the fear of seasickness! We ask the bus to drop us off a few kilometers before the city and we march towards our secluded accommodation: 'La Casa Escondida' - The Hidden House. And that sums it up pretty well! It is located next to a large military area with some tanks (the hotel owner's opinion about it: 'Well, now that we have them, we should use them, otherwise we bought them for nothing!' - Let's not comment on that for now) and it is surrounded by a small forest. And here are the beautiful wooden cabins. The interior is also done in wood style, which we really like. The only thing that doesn't necessarily have to be there is the huge (and yes, it was REALLY huge) spider that awaits us in the shower. The friendly owner even drives us to the supermarket, because there is nothing else around here. Except for an ATM. We spend the evening in the large living room and chat until late with two Swiss girls who have just arrived. They are going to Chalten the next day to hike Fitz Roy. We learn that one of these girls' brother lost his life climbing Fitz Roy 2 years ago.

We spend the next day completely 'at home'. We get to use the small sauna, which is in the middle of the forest, and we have a relaxed day. It's the last full day before our flight marathon starts. The next day, we go into town again to run errands (mainly buying 5kg of mate!) before we are driven to the airport in the evening. Our flight to Santiago departs at 23:00. After arriving, we have until 8 o'clock to wait and try to get some sleep, at least for a while. But the floor is hard and the announcements are way too loud! Then comes Flight number 2, from Santiago to Sao Paulo. Here, just to be safe, we have booked a night at the airport hotel, which we are very happy about now! Another proper bed before we take the last two flights home. There are no shopping opportunities in sight, so we have to rely on the hotel restaurant. And in retrospect, we are very happy about that too! The lunch buffet is okay, but the dinner buffet is amazing! Maybe it's also because we weren't exactly spoiled with good food in Chile and Argentina over the past few months, but everything tastes so delicious and varied that we indulge ourselves! We just don't believe that the 'mineral water' comes from a bottle. It clearly tastes like chlorine! But we overlook that, soon we will have chlorine-free water from the tap again. We sleep a lot, but then get up early the next morning and use the fitness studio before indulging in the equally delicious breakfast buffet.

We then fly at 13:30 from Recife to Frankfurt and arrive on Thursday at around 8 o'clock. Even though we have had a lot of time to think over the past few days and have tried to prepare ourselves as best as we can for our return, the bitter moment of realization only comes when the wheels of the aircraft touch down on the runway. It is over. We are back in Germany. Our grand trip, which we have been eagerly anticipating for 1.5 years, has come to an end. Walking through the halls of Frankfurt Airport feels like being in a daze, and we try to imagine how the many people who have been traveling for much longer feel. Completely exhausted and like in a dream, we pick up our luggage, take the next train to Walldorf, and then the bus to Dielheim. Just entering the apartment after such a long time feels strange. There is no other way to describe this feeling. However, here we are greeted with two great surprises! A small table with memories of our fantastic wedding (Lisa's parents were in the area while we were away) and a first good, healthy meal lovingly prepared by our neighbor. We are touched and very happy about this successful surprise!

Now it's Friday evening and we have been back for almost two full days. We have stocked our empty kitchen cabinets, signed a new internet contract, done laundry, baked our first bread, visited our sheep, and picked up the new company car. It still feels strange. A little bit like the journey was a long dream from which we have now woken up. But of course, we know that it was real. We fulfilled a big dream with this trip and we are incredibly grateful that we were able to live this dream and that everything went so well. We both had a cold once, but that was all. We were not robbed, we didn't lose anything (ok, a pair of hiking pants, a buff, a lighter, and two spoons, but nothing really important), we almost always had good weather, we met wonderful people, and we were able to follow our planned route pretty closely. It was a huge experience that will keep us going for a very long time and that surely has also changed us. But - just like our wedding - we also need some time to process it all. In any case, we are very much looking forward to seeing our families and friends again, even though it will take us a few days to really arrive and understand everything. Fortunately, the sun has followed us to Germany, and the beautiful weather makes the arrival a little easier. But now we have to go. After having the long-awaited feta cheese salad yesterday, today we will go out for Thai food. Thai curry is also high on our list of 'Things We Look Forward to When We're in Germany'.

PS: This will probably not be the last post. With a little distance, there will be a 'Off the Beaten Path - Part 2'.