Hospiscare Exmouth & Lympstone
On Monday 11th June Phil Corcos, from Lympstone Village picked up his 400cc motorbike from Anchorage airport in Alaska and started his epic journey south.
Phil Corcos has now arrived back in the UK safely after nearly six months on his fifteen year old motorbike on the roads of north, central and south America. Phil said ‘this really was the adventure of a lifetime for me; I was incredibly lucky to have had the time and resources to make this journey, and if I am able to convince a few other pensioners that their retirement can be an exciting part of their lives, I will be happy’.
Phil was determined from the start that he would live as frugally as possible; He camped throughout north America and in parts of Mexico, and used hostels in central and south America. He bought local food whenever he could, recalling that in most of south America, fresh fruit and vegetables were plentiful and cheap, enjoying avocado pears, papaya and mangoes almost daily.
Despite warnings about Mexico, Nicaragua, and Colombia, he never felt unsafe, and credits this with travelling solo. ‘As a grey haired solo traveller on a tatty old motorbike, you are more of a curiosity than a threat to people you meet. My faith in human nature has been restored completely by the number of ‘good samaritans’ I met en route’.
There was so much spectacular scenery in the countries that Phil passed through, he finds it difficult to list the highlights. He would willingly return to Alaska, Colombia and southern Chile to spend longer exploring these countries, but in truth, there was rarely a day that passed that did not have a ‘wow’ moment. He enjoyed some time off the bike in Peru when his wife joined him for a two week holiday, during which they travelled to Lake Titicata, Machu Pichu, and the Amazon jungle.
Phil arrived in Ushuaia, the southernmost town in Argentina, in late November, 2018. It was the end of the road, so in exchange for a modest donation towards his air fare to Buenos Aires, he handed over his bike to the son of a local mechanic who was building his own first motorbike, and would use many of the parts of the Suzuki. ‘That was quite an emotional moment actually’ said Phil. ‘After all the bike had taken me more than 20,000 miles through two continents, with very few problems; it was tough parting company with my old friend’.
It has taken some time for Phil to re-adjust to normality and the real world, but he knows there is no place like home, and is planning to enjoy some time in and around Lympstone for the foreseeable future.
Phil decided before his trip that he would like Exmouth & Lympstone Hospiscare to benefit from his trip in some way 'I decided that I would like to support my local charity Exmouth & Lympstone Hospiscare . This important charity raises funds to meet the cost of supporting people in Exmouth and Lympstone who have been diagnosed with a progressive life limiting condition. Lympstone Hospiscare have always been very active in the village, and I would like to help if I can'
All of us here at Exmouth & Lympstone Hospiscare cannot thank Phil enough what Phil did for us was a huge challenge and we are very proud, honoured and grateful that he has chosen us as the charity to benefit from his challenge.
You are still able to support Phil please follow the following link -
Virgin Money Giving - Philip Corcos
