My South America Journey, Epilogue, 19-22/1 2026

19 January — Monday

After a good nights sleep, I start the day by hiking (if you can call it that) some of the shorter, and exceptionally well maintained, trails around Aqua Calientes. At 10:30, I took the bus back to Osorno. In Osorno I had my eyes set for a very high rated, and expensive, steakhouse as I still have a lot of leftover cash to burn. Chile turned out to be much cheaper than anticipated.

As I approached the restaurant, I could smell the grilled meat from 200 meters away right in central Osorno. And I immediately thought that this will be a good one. The restaurant is filled with well dressed suits enjoying a late lunch, and here I come with dirt in my face (among other places) and clothes that desperately requires a wash. Will I even be allowed to enter?

Lo and behold, I was allowed to enter without any remarks. I already know what I want, the T-bone steak.
– “Me gustaria el filete T-bone por favor.”
– “Lo siento pero no tenemos el filete T-bone en este momento.”
– “Ok, tienes el chuleton?”
– “No, lo siento.”
We almost had a Monty Python “Meat Shop” situation here, but luckily they had the Chub Steak and in no small quantities. Delicious!

After that massive lunch, I go to the mall to buy some new clothes for the journey home, and spend some more of my remaining cash on some Kombucha and blueberries. All that is left to do today is laundry, which the hotel did for me for a very reasonable price, and catch up on Fallout season 2.

20 January — Tuesday

After a brisk morning workout, I went and got a much needed haircut, took the bus to the Osorno airport, and boarded the plane to Santiago de Chile. The sky was crystal clear and I had a window seat facing inland. For the entire 1.5 hour airplane ride I had perfect views of the Andean mountain range, and of all the areas I have been hiking. Now, it is not particular easy to recognize the areas I have been hiking from the air, except for in one case, and that is the very start, the GPT Section 06, Descabezado. The Descabezado area is just so iconic that it is impossible to mistake for something else, there is nothing alike it. If I come back to Chile, I will definitely visit that area again. There are other hiking routes I can take, and there are entry points that does not require me to meet with CONAF 🙂

At Santiago de Chile airport, I took the bus to a nearby accommodation and went to sleep. This will be my last night in Chile.

21 & 22 January — Wednesday & Thursday

After much delay, I’m finally on my way back home. I’m flying with Turkish airline to Istanbul with a stop in Sao Paolo. The airplane stopped for about one hour to exchange some of the passengers and refuel I guess. I was not allowed to leave my seat during that time. I was kind of hopping to be allowed to stretch my legs, perhaps I would have been unless for the fact that the airplane was far behind schedule. I assume they wanted to regain as much time as possible. It was the first time I have traveled with a plane that has multiple stops, I kind of like the idea, especially if you are allowed to stretch your legs.

In Istanbul, due to the delay the previous day, I only had about 1.5 hour layover before departing for Gothenburg, home sweet home. I’m greeted by my parents at the airport, and I’m greeted by the Swedish cold and dark winter. I have missed the cold, sometimes, actually, but certainly not the darkness. With that my adventures are over, for now (I cannot stress the for now part enough). I will be in Sweden for little over a week before flying to Switzerland and start my new job as a RF Engineer at CERN. Hopefully there will be plenty of time for adventures in the France and Swiss mountains.

Epilogue

At the time of writing it is currently the 22th of February and it has been a month since my journey ended, and I have completed my third week working at CERN. I have now had plenty of time to process and reminisce. Although I only traveled for 4 months, it feels like I was away for much longer. Life becomes so much richer when filled with constant experiences, that is one of the many aspects I love about adventuring.

To regular readers it should come as no surprise that GPT Section 06 was the best experience. Overall, Chile was my favorite destination and I have already decided I will return to Chile, there is so much more left for me to experience. Besides from some occasional way of right disputes (CONAF, private properties, etc.) I have nothing negative to say about Chile. The country is as clean as any European counterpart, the people are friendly, the food is amazing and affordable, it feels very safe — which is a bit ironic to say perhaps as it was the only country I was robbed in (well almost robbed) — and it has an abundance of legally accessible wild nature, which after all is the most important in my book.

Moving on to my second favorite country, Peru. In my previous post about Peru I might have said that I loved it but that I have no desire to return. In retrospect I can definitely see myself returning to Peru and also visit Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela. It is not on the top of my list but one of many possibilities. However a return to Peru is contingent on having my own car or other mode of transport. To get the best of Peru, and I assume the neighboring countries, it is essential to get far away from the bigger cities to the rural communities. It was in the small towns I had my best experiences. I also have many high peaks left to climb in the Cordillera Blanca 😉

Last on the list we thereby have Costa Rica, the land of barbed wire. Costa Rica is to regulated and closed off for me, and everything costs making Costa Rica extremely expensive in comparison with the other destinations. More than half of my budget was spent in Costa Rica. I do, however, believe most people will find Costa Rica extraordinary, and in many ways it is, I’m still happy I went there and got to experience some of the incredible biodiversity, but in the end Costa Rica is just not for me. I want adventure, and Costa Rica does not offer proper adventures. At least not if you are to walk on the right side of the law.

Lastly, I’m going to stress the for now part one last time. My adventurous are over for now! My big adventurous that is, there will be many smaller ones in the European Alps among other places the coming two years. Stay tuned!