Washing myself in the airport restroom, I felt thoroughly drained. I had now spent three days in the same clothes, without sleeping in a proper bed. But at the same time, I was quietly pleased with what I had pulled off: I had finished one of the longest trips of my life, and certainly the one involving the most travel by train; I had immersed myself in Latin America as a traveller; I had gained an incredible wealth of experience and had met people I would never forget. I had seen a new world, and by the end had been conversing with locals in Spanish (although, admittedly, rather shakily) …
Bio:
Ian Birch taught business and finance at universities in British Columbia and Ontario before retiring onto a wooded acreage in the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands to pursue diverse projects. This article is an excerpt from the author’s book The Last Train through the Heart of the Americas: By Rail and Road across Two Hemispheres, for which he is currently seeking an agent/publisher (ianbbirch@hotmail.com).