And this concludes our Overland Travel Blog.

About 20 years ago we started dreaming of this trip and now, incredibly, we have completed it, and are back home. The 'back home' part still feels a bit surreal every now and then. No more planning of the next day: planning a route and destination almost every day, distance that can be done on the given roads, finding accommodation for the night, sightseeing en route,...


In the coziness of Sterlin, our trustworthy Land Rover, we were able to drive to and through countries, deserts, steppes, mountains, cities, Unesco sites, along rivers; we crossed international borders, met fellow minded travelers, made new friends, caught up with and renewed bonds with old friends, and time and time again, were awed with the beauty, vastness and diversity of the world and its people.
It made us realize how fortunate we were simply for being able to experience the world like this.

It truly was the Adventure of a Lifetime.

We hope you have enjoyed our stories and photos.
Thank you for following along.
We will further update existing posts with more links were possible, and we will add photo albums on the 'Photos page'.
All you aspiring Overlanders, feel free to drop us a line.

Caroline and Stephen (and Sterlin).

Numbers

Some of the key statistics from the Trip:

• Distance Traveled = 56,560 kms (35,145 miles)
• Time Spent away from home = 578 Days (or 1 Year 7 Months)
• Countries Visited = 34
• Countries Sterlin Visited =23
• Visas Obtained = 10
• Borders Crossed = 57
• Borders Sterlin Crossed = 29
• Accidents with Sterlin = 4
• Breakdowns with Sterlin = 1
• Tire Punctures = 2
• Other Issues with Sterlin = 15
• Planned Maintenance with Sterlin = 4
• Unplanned Maintenance with Sterlin = 4
• Traffic/Vehicle Violations = 0
• Bribes Paid = 2
• Cost of Bribes = $16 
• Major Medical or Health Issues = 0
• Stomach Bugs - Stephen = 3
• Stomach Bugs - Caroline = 3

Sterlin finally made it home.

Monday, December 22nd.

Thanks to gps tracking we spotted Sterlin's cruise ship, 'Hapag-Lloyd Seoul Express' in the Bay just across from Pier 32. Sterlin was in one of the smaller containers at the front of the ship.

Thursday, January 8th.

When we dropped Sterlin off in Rotterdam to be shipped to Oakland, CA, the scheduled arrival date was November 29th. Due to a labor dispute between operators of the 29 West Coast port terminals and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union which has brought a worker slowdown, Sterlin didn't arrive till this day.
*At the time of writing (Feb 10), the dispute entered its 14th week and ships and cargo containers from San Diego to Seattle were stacking up leaving produce to wilt and frustrating customers worldwide.

Once back home, where he now has his own spot in the garage, Stephen waisted no time converting Sterlin back to a 'normal' car: shelving unit and water tank got taken out, tent and roof rack came off and back seats were put back in... et voilá: no one would ever know that he just came back from an amazing around the world overland adventure!

For the week following we made several appointments with the DMV to get Sterlin re-registered and roadworthy - ready for a quick jaunt up to Vancouver, Canada.

Tuesday, February 10th.

This day we - finally - got around to paying Philippe at Euroland 4x4 Center a visit. Philippe checked over and tuned up Sterlin before we left on our adventure and we believe that mainly thanks to him we had no major issues en route.

With Philippe at Euroland 4x4.