In this, the final leg of our round the world journey, Josh and I tackled South America before returning home through Europe, southern England and eventually back to Norfolk.
South America didn’t disappoint and the Andes proved a very worthy start to crossing this continent. Starting in Chile and cycling steadily uphill for a couple of days, we were faced by a daunting set of 29 switchbacks, taking us to the Los Caracoles mountain pass at almost 4,000 metres. At every turn the scenery grew more spectacular with much still to come as we settled into a remote mountain cabin after crossing the pass into Argentina.
An early start began well, with clear blue skies and an astonishing view of Mount Aconcagua (6,961m) shortly after setting off. The tallest mountain in the world outside of Asia was a stunning backdrop to our much-anticipated descent. Sadly, the headwinds removed any freewheeling and we endured frustrating hours of pedalling downhill. Not ideal!
After much effort, distracted by jaw dropping views around each corner, we reached the flatter lands of Argentina, a theme that was to become increasingly familiar and tough to endure. Roads seemed to stretch forever and landscapes opened up into immense stretches of scrub and grassland, with the heat constantly sapping our strength. Respite however came in the form of local hospitality with amazing Argentinian steak and local red wine before we scaled the heights of the Quebrada del Condorito National Park and were rewarded by stunning views of soaring Andean Condors.
From the Park, yet more vast open lands greeted us with our first tarantula encounter before we crossed into Paraguay and took time off to explore the incredible Jesuit Mission of the Holy Trinity, an understandably revered World Heritage Site. Josh and I then pedalled our way over dubiously surfaced roads to reach the chaotic border with Brazil. This was our first real break in South America, and justifiably so to spend time visiting the breathtaking Iguaçu Falls, the world’s largest waterfall system and undoubtedly the most spectacular.
From Iguaçu we had been warned that things would get a little lumpy. This was somewhat an understatement as Brazil became hillier and hillier, testing us and our bikes to the limit with climbs of over 14% in high 30-degree heat and time spent pushing 50kg bikes uphill. The reward though was the final stretch along sweeping firm-packed sandy beaches as we approached Rio de Janeiro and a well-earned rest in this vibrant and famous city. Some great food, a few cold beers, a helicopter ride over the city and an amazing football game at Maracana stadium later, we took our final flight of the trip back to Europe.
Our next stop, Lisbon in Portugal and a marked change of scenery and culture. Everything started to seem more familiar and it was great to return to freshly baked croissants for breakfast. From the historic buildings and vibrant streets of this iconic city we ventured north across more flatlands and over rolling hills to Spain, where Josh’s bike suffered a major failure. Luckily he managed to coax it into the beautiful town of Salamanca where a local bike shop dropped everything to help us get back on the road. From there, we passed through sleepy ancient villages and our second antipodal point – Alaejos. Continuing north we reached the coast and pedalled into France, enjoying a great network of cycle paths through forests and along the coast towards the port of Caen and our awaiting ferry to Portsmouth.
Finally, we had made it back to England! Then just a few days more of cycling, including an overnight stay in London and visits to Guinness World Records™️and UNICEF UK HQs, to enjoy a last night of camping before the home run. And what a homecoming! Joined by over 70 cyclists from all over the country we pedalled our last few kilometres into an incredible Chimney Sweep Guard of Honour before making the finish line. There Josh and I were greeted by friends, family and the Guinness World Records official adjudicator, confirming we had set 3 new world records by a father and son; the fastest circumnavigation of the globe on bicycles, the longest distance cycled and the most countries cycled through.
This has been the most wonderful of journeys, with such amazing support, not least from The Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps. It has been followed by hundreds of thousands around the world and so far, raised over £71,600 for UNICEF. In total, our journey took 400 days, cycling 30,004km through 30 countries. See how the story unfolded on Instagram and YouTube @joshpkohler and @georgemkohler, including the teaser for the forthcoming feature documentary! Meanwhile, I am now looking forward to returning to the much quieter life of a chimney sweep!
