Getting Approval From Work
I’ll be honest—this part stressed me out more than the logistics, the money, or biking 800 miles through Patagonia.
This is the first nursing job I’ve actually liked. I didn’t want to ruin it. But at the same time, I had to go on this trip. Both things were true, and they lived very uncomfortably together for a while.
I spent a full week low-level freaking out, trying to figure out how to present this to my boss. I imagined some well-thought-out proposal. A plan. Talking points. A convincing argument.
None of that happened.
I’m not great at communicating, so instead I just asked—very plainly—what it would take to get four weeks off work.
To my surprise, my boss was completely supportive. The only issue? I didn’t have enough paid time off. Her suggestion was that I take only as much time off as I had PTO for, which would put me right around three weeks.
The problem was… three weeks just wasn’t going to work.
Once Shaun and I actually sat down and mapped everything out—riding days, rest days, travel days—it became painfully clear that trying to squeeze this trip into three weeks would turn it into a stressful, rushed mess. And that’s when the real logistical nightmare came into focus…..
The Carretera Austral doesn’t just end—it literally DEAD-ENDS.
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At the southern terminus, the road stops in a tiny town called Villa O’Higgins. From there, you have two options: turn around and bike 150+ miles back the way you came… or attempt the only other way out.
And that “other way” sounds completely fake until you realize, it’s not.
To get from Villa O’Higgins, Chile to the next closest town—El Chaltén, Argentina—you have to:
· Take a 2.5-hour ferry, which only runs twice a week (Monday and Thursday), if weather allows
· Bike 12 miles to a remote border crossing in the middle of nowhere
· Clear customs for Argentina
· Hopefully catch another ferry, which again only runs twice a week and is weather-dependent
· If you miss that ferry, hike-a-bike seven miles along a lake and over a mountain
· Then bike another 22 miles to finally reach El Chaltén
When I first read that, I honestly thought Google was messing with me.
It wasn’t.
So I brought all of this to my boss. I explained the route, the logistics, and why three weeks simply wasn’t realistic. She was still fully on board—but the PTO issue was out of her hands and had to go up the chain.
At that point, all I could do was wait.
And then—best possible outcome—her boss approved it.
Luckly I work with some amazing people.
And Just like that.
The weight completely lifted off my shoulders. I wasn’t just hoping this trip would happen anymore.
I was actually going to Patagonia.
