…It has been 3 years now since all parted ways in Ushuaia. John left and sped home to New York and a long neglected and amazingly patient girlfriend. He took up work where he is today, at Malaria No More.
Nate hitched a ride to Chile to make good on a promise he made with a beautiful girl he had met a month before. After enjoying the differences between a woman and his adopted brothers (John and myself) he eventually headed north and settled back in Santa Rosa, California.
I staid in Ushuaia for a week and wait for my girlfriend to met me. We spent 3 months civilizing me and getting reaquaited with one another. We backpacked 10,000 miles through every country in South America and finally caught a flight from Colombia to the US. We ended up in San Francisco in February of 2007.
A lot happened during that 13 months on the road and though I cannot fully explain what exactly that means, we were all changed by the experience.
What I can tell you is that the trip saved my relationship with my brother. Though 3000 miles now separates us, living on opposite coast, John and I are now closer than we have ever been at any point in our lives. Growing up I never believed my Mother when she said one day we would be the best of friends, not even in her final days of life. I am glad she was right and I was wrong.
As for Nate, he has earned what he deserved and hoped, he is a well respected and acclaimed film maker. His documentary is set for release in the coming months and the depth of his skills have attracted new project offers in such far flung places as Kenya, Rwanda and Iran. I see him now and again when he comes to San Francisco but will likely see him less and less having taken a new job in Chicago.
Though it shouldn’t be strange, the three of us haven’t rode a single mile together since that day the trip ended. We all talk about a life that now seems more and more distant. Thankfully we all continue to dream big. Perhaps if we can keep the complications of life in proper perspective someday we’ll find our way back on the road again.