chile treks

Heads Up!

2008-03-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

We just posted the last 3 slide shows of our trip before we head back to the States this Monday (p.s. call and make dates with us cuz we miss you!) so take a look at them!

Lately, we've been talking about what our transition is going to be like re-entering the country after 6 months of this crazy adventure and, hopefully, we'll have a chance to write some of our thoughts down, so, until then...

Saying our goodbye's to the chilean coast

2008-03-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

WWOOFING at Freddie's

2008-03-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

Termas De Callao

2008-03-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

Slideshow of wwoofing at Matias´s Place

2008-02-18T12:40:00.000-08:00

WWOOFing is a worldwide association made up of farmers who are looking for volunteers and volunteers who are looking for a farm to volunteer on in exchange for room and board.

We have spent the last 2 and a half weeks on a small farm near Puerto Montt. Soon we are headed to a different farm near Pucon after our 4 day hike to the Termas de Callao.

Enjoy the pics!

heading off to the farm...

2008-02-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

We don't have time to do a proper account of what we've been up to and all the beautiful things we've seen ... nor have we updated the MOST recent pics from our 4 day ferry trip through the chilean archipelago but, if you want to see pics of our hike in Los Glacieres Parque Nacional in Argentina and in Chile's Torres del Paine, visit our photo album.

For the next 2 weeks we will be volunteering on a farm and will most likely not be hooked to the net so you may not hear from us for a bit. We'll keep in touch as soon as possible...

xoxoxo, g&m

thoughts on day 145...

2008-02-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

So today Micah and I went on a long walk around Puerto Varas to wear off the cabin fever from our 3 day ferry ride. It was gorgeous but the boat was small and after being so active with all our trekking we found it difficult to sit still for so long. So, we took a walk along the lake and, as you can imagine, got to talking. The thing about this is that we talk a lot these days, the 2 of us. Cuz there's not too many other friends around to talk to and that means we talk about a lot of the same stuff over and over... we talk our subjects to death, sometimes breaking ground and other times, just saying the same old thing. When we get an email it is the subject of our next meal...updating the other one about the news and/or gossip. Then we take it to a whole other level of thought that one might normally because we have all the time in the world with few distractions. And other times, we find ourselves with no words. There just isn't anything to say today and the other one is left with their own thoughts.

Today, we broke some ground. I think cuz on the ferry I was left with no words and after 3 days, I was ready to talk and Micah was ready to have someone to talk to. And so, we talked. We talked about that. About how on this trip we have more time to think and talk and read then we ever do in our normal lives. We read a book and pass it on to the other and then when we've both read it, we talk about it for days... hell, we're still talking about the first book we read in October. We talk about circuses, the war, the conquering of Chile, love affairs, Iraq, fantasy worlds, breaking computer codes and everywhere else our books have taken us. Worn books passed from traveler to traveler have taken us to places we never imagined to visit these 6 months.

When we pass the book onto the other we sit back and watch them read out of the corner of our eyes, guessing where they are in the book... we ask questions and for their opinion, trying hard not to give too much away. And then at dinner or lunch we talk about it at length. We talk about the characters, the situation, the place, how it all relates to itself, how it relates to us, etc. And then we get sidetracked somehow into another conversation but not entirely cuz often we bring it back to the book. Like this one book I'm reading about a suicide bomber in Iraq. We started talking about the complexity of the situation there and the fact that there is a civil war there whether US is in or out and then somehow we applied that thinking to intervening when you see a parent abusing a child in public and you don't want to ignore it but you wonder if stepping in will improve or worsen the situation for the child. It's always like that, limitless connections being made only because we have endless hours to talk and process with each other and the comfort of complete trust of each other...

It reminded us of something my mom said when we were traveling with her a month ago. About how with our new age of technology and the rapid rate news is distributed we aren't left with much to discuss and ponder and talk about. In her days, she would sit with friends and read the paper and they would talk about the current news: clarifying it, critiquing it, challenging it, forming opinions, etc. And there would be time to process it all before the next news announcement. But now, we don't have time to process it all and marinate in thought, we just wait for the next hour of headlines to tell us what's happening. The fast paced internet technology has its blessings though... this blog for instance and all the other pieces of news that come from the far corners of the world from direct sources...people making their own news... but I suppose not without a cost...

A big one we talk about is other people's blogs and myspace bulletins. Seriously. The bulletins are not common subjects but there have been a few that have caught our eye for sure. Our most beloved bit of consistent internet writing, though, is from Greensboro based writer Liz Seymour. Maybe we wouldn't relish in it so much if we were caught up with our normal, busy daily lives but being here, so far away from home and friends we chew on each week's entry like a piece of mango in the desert. So good.

We like these endless conversations that we revisit and revisit again. And while we feel lonely and tired of each others company sometimes and are exhausted of traveling and witnessing other people's lives and finding ourselves in yet another van or bus or boat full of Europeans in quick dry pants, we love this elbow room for our thoughts. We want to live a life that values marination, that values sitting, perhaps in silence, with an old friend,...no projects, no running off, just taking the time to sit, to think, to listen, to talk and to let the conversation go to an unexpectated place.

The trick is figuring how to create that time and space in everyday life... maybe that will be our guiding question for day 146...

Slideshow of Bariloche, Argentina y Nahuel Huapi P.N

2008-02-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

Bariloche, Argentina & Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi

2008-02-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

So we have spent a good portion of the last three weeks in the woods and have some catching up to do as far as the blog goes....Unfortunately we can´t seem to upload the pictures right now so you can read and then view the pics separately if you are so inspired for a visual. Use the link on the right.

After parting ways with Bart and Eliana, we geared up for our first trek (hike) into Nahuel Huapi National Park (the oldest in Argentina) outside of Bariloche, Argentina. We began our trek at Villa Catedral and hiked along the ridgetop looking over Catedral on one side and on the other a breathtaking valley with views of Cerro Tronador (the highest peak in the park) grumbling in the background. We had a moment admiring this bad bad looking peak. North Carolina Outward Bound instructor friends had been hiking Tronador a few weeks before we were there and I have to say as she loomed in the distance with her own set of dark clouds circling....that mountain looked like it would chew up and spit out anyone who tried to climb it. It was scary looking. A lot of time nature gets trampled by us humans, but sometimes nature demands respect. I mean demands it. This is something I have been thinking about more and more as the global environment lashes out with hurricanes and floods and earthquakes more and more frequently these days. Also as I spend time in the more extreme environments of the southern hemisphere, I am learning to listen. So anyways, I listened and respected Tronador from a far and had no desire to get closer than I was.

Instead, Gig and I hiked for a couple hours on the top and then the side of the very rocky ridge before dipping down into a valley- out of the wind but still nothing but rocks- where we spent the night at Refugio Frey. Among the other people staying with us were many rock climbers who looked so happy to be alive. There was still snow there and a few brave souls rode plastic bags down the very steep hill. Most of them were able to jump bag before crashing into the boulders at the bottom of the hill, but there were also some gnarly spills.

The next day, when my knee pain wasn´t feeling better, we opted for a day below the tree line instead of another rock scrambling day. We hiked down and spent the next few days exploring Nahuel Huapi while base-camped near Lago Gutierrez. We met a great couple from Germany who were cycling around the world with their 70 lb. half husky half Lab pup! They were lovely and also have a blog (with English options) if you are interested. It´s www.dogonwheels.de.tl

Being below the tree line in the park felt so much more like home to us and we are big fans of the Lakes District both in Chile and Argentina. After a good meal (Argentinan beef and wine) back in Bariloche, we took a leg-numbing 26 hour bus ride south landing in El Calafate for our next trekking trip. That story will wait because tonight we board a four day ferry headed north through the archipelago of southern Chile. How amazing is this life?!?!

Cazuela

2008-01-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Hey there winter bunnies! We have had such positive responses from previous recipe posts we want to give you another. This is true Chilean comfort food..a version of piping hot chicken noodle soup without the noodles. Micah fell in love the first week we arrived and although it is summer here and folks think she is strange Micah cant stop eating it. The dish- cazuela. The recipe-(easy to alter to your liking) is de Tia Marcela.

Ingredients:

chicken or roast beef (if you choose chicken use 1/2 a bird sliced in the middle or be sure to include the legs and skin for flavor)

1/2 potato per person

1/2 corn on the cob per person

acorn squash- a decent chunk per person

sweet potato- optional also 1/2 per person

(In cazuela, the ingredients are not chopped into bite size pieces, rather each bowl has a half a piece of corn, a half a potato, one piece of meat, etc.)

rice- handful

oregano

cumin

salt

fresh cilantro- the more the better as far as I am concerned

Directions:

Submerge chicken in water, add rice and vegetables. Be mindful of what veggies will take the longest and add accordingly.

Sprinkle with oregano and salt

Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and check veggies. Take them out if they are done while the chicken and rice finish. Dont overcook the veggies!

Salt to taste and add fresh cilantro.

Gigi´s aunt says to let the soup sit for a few minutes covered after it is done to let the flavors set in. Leftovers on Day 2 also taste great.

Let us know how it turns out!

The Lakes Region with the folks

2008-01-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

After we left Pucòn we breezed through the lakes region and got to see alot. Here`s a little collage of what we did starting with Pucòn. There`s tons of pictures in our photo album (see link to right) if you want more.

No matter where you are in the lakes region, there is usually a volcano a short distance away. This is Volcàn Osorno, who had erupted just a few days before we arrived.

The south of Chile is full of German influence, both from fleeing Nazi`s and from hippie ex-patriots (according to some Germans we met on the road). You can see the influence in the architecture, skin & hair color, food, uniforms, and random street decorations like in the photo (they`re little windmills?!).

For instance, cheese!

Also in Pucòn there is a LOT of wooden artesenia.

On our first night we went to some rustic hot springs.

There were around 7 pools of varying depths, size and heat to choose from. Everyone was drinking wine and settling into a late night of partying. We left at 11pm, just in time to catch a glimpse of the stars while submerged in the water.

Unfortunately, our car got broken into while we were in Pucòn. BUT, nothing was stolen so it was more of a nuisance than anything else.

After Pucòn we headed further south to the little island of Chiloè. We finally got some of the infamous wet weather we´ve heard so much about.

Chiloè was a place we really enjoyed. It`s got lots of history and, because of its isolation as an island, you can still experience alot of that historical culture. There are tons of legends of ghosts and creatures and a huge fishing culture. And, of course, some of the oldest standing churches around. The place made a huge impression on us also because everyone was incredibly nice. Like maybe the nicest-people-we`ve-ever-met kind of nice. Actually, we talked a little bit about how it reminded us of the southern hospitality we live in back home.

We decided to venture out of the city and visit the national park which was absolutely beautiful... rain and all.

So far Pucòn and Chiloe have made our ¨possible free week options¨ list.

After Chiloè we headed back into the lakes district working our way towards Bariloche, Argentina. Here is Volcàn Osorno, a big hunker of a volcano (but aren`t they all?). We rented a cabaña and decided to drive as far as we could up the volcano.

And we hit snow!

We all had ALL of our clothes on it was so cold... we couldn`t believe it! In the middle of the summer and it was snowing.

Here we are on a boat in the middle of Lago Todos Los Santos, my mom said it was considered to be one of the most pristine lakes in the region. The color of the lake was incredible.

Volcàn Osorno from the boat.

And then we visited Lago Ranco and ate lunch in an amazing restaurant in Llifèn (SE corner of lake) overlooking the lake. The food was incredible and we got silly off the white wine.

We eventually crossed the border and drove to Bariloche via Ruta 7 Lagos. We took a walk in the woods, visited one of the most famous hotels in the world and had a lunch we`ll never forget in Colonia Suiza.

Under this smoking mound of dirt is our lunch. It`s called a Curanto and this restuarant serves it up as a 7 course meal every Sunday and Wednesday.

Under the dirt is a layer of cloth and then wet leaves (see them covering the potatoes?). The whole place smelled of the leaves! Under the leaves is the food and below that are HOT rocks that slowly cook the food, which absorbs the flavor of the smoking leaves.

My mom finnagled our wa to a little table outside for our meal... turns out, unless yer related to Eliana, you need a reservation

Our amazing entertainment for the evening. By the end of the evening he had everyone clapping and singing along to old Argentine folk songs

See how hard they work me?

After lunch and all that hard work, we visited the beach of Colonia Suiza

Pucon

2008-01-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

After celebrating a quiet New Year`s with Gigi`s parents and tia Marcela, we headed south in the rental car. Slowly we noticed the change in vegetation as we left the dry and brown landscape for more lush green sights. And finally we are surrounded by the famous Araucaria tree!

It`s amazing how we didn`t notice how dry of a climate we were in for the past 3 months. Obviously we did when we were North in the desert, but it didn`t occur to us when we were in Santiago and the coast. But now that we are here, surrounded by hills and mountains covered with a green canopy, we realize we`ve been saturated with brown and orange and dust.

We just arrived to Pucon on Thursday and have loved every minute of it! Gigi`s mom made reservations at a hostal called Ècole! and it`s totally charming with its ripe cherries falling into the courtyard, ready to be eaten.

Pucon is an adventure town with a big tourist industry. Not a place to go if you want the nitty gritty Chile but definetely worth a stop for its beauty and awesome adventures. No matter where you are in town you can see the smoke billowing out from volcan Villarica. And all year you see the sun reflecting off its thick white coat of snow. In fact, as i`m writing this entry on a tour agency`s computer, there is a group of tourists getting ready to snowboard the slopes of the volcanoe. And it`s the heart of the summer here in the southern hemisphere.

Last night we got to see a video someone filmed of a nearby volcanoe that erupted just 1 day before we headed on our trip. That would´ve been an amazing thing to actually witness!

Our first night here we soaked in some thermal baths and watched the stars emerge into the sky. We still haven`t figured out why we can see Northern Hemisphere stars here in the Southern Hemisphere... but anyways, they´re gorgeous... especially in a hot steaming thermal bath deep in the mountains. Check out our photo album later for pics (I forgot to bring the cord to download the photos, whoops!).

Then the next day we signed up to go on a whitewater rafting trip. My parents signed up for the class III trip, and Micah and I went on the class IV trip. It was such a rush of adrenaline! We had to concentrate on the rapids most of the time but whenever we could we picked our heads up to see where we were. A few of the rapids were class V and we were nervous we wouldn`t make it but we were completely successfull. Phew! Gigi was the only one in our boat to accidentally end up in the water but that´s because the guide pushed her in! At another point we had to get out of the boat and hike for a bit. And then, to get back into the water we had to jump off a rock 15ft. above the rapids into the water. That was definetely the scariest part for me. But we made it out alive and with all our senses awakened. It was a great adventure to start this leg of our trip.

We`ll download pictures of Pucon next time we get on the internet so remember to check em out on our picasso photo album.

Cabbage Salad

2007-12-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

So we can´t stop eating cabbage salad here. We ate alot of it back home as well but we´ve learned a different way to make it here. It´s really simple so if you were brave enough to make the empanadas then this should be a piece of cake! And we promise you that lack of difficulty does NOT mean lack of delicousness because this salad is sooo good!

Ingredients:
(We´ve never actually measured our ingredients so we´re guessing. Use your judgement and taste buds to get it just right)

1/2 a head of white cabbage (red cabbage does not work nearly as well)
2 tblsp of salt
1/4-1/2 bunch Cilantro
Juice from 2-3 lemons
1/4 cup Oil

Directions:

Thinly slice cabbage and put in a bowl
Dice cilantro and add to cabbage
Add salt, lemon juice and oil
Mix well
Best if left to marinate in lemon juice for a bit
Eat!

See how easy that was?! The trick we learned was to use white cabbage which has a milder flavor than red cabbage and soaks up the lemon juice much better.

The past coupla weeks...

2007-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

So we finally got to share our hooked up paradise with some other gringo friends for a few days. Our friend Ariana was visiting Chile and Argentina with some of her colleagues from Outward Bound for a mountaineering course and paid us a visit! We spent 3 days drinking wine and bbq-ing with the 5-person Outward Bound possé. The highlight was definetely the scavenger hunt we all made for Sam´s bday. It might have even been more fun for all of us watching her tromp through the resort trying to figure out our silly clues.

It was hard to re-adjust to the quiet life after they all left. But there wasn't much time to mope since we left hot on their heels to visit the famous Valparaiso. It´s famous for it´s bohemian and artsy culture as well as it´s physical layout. The city is built on a steep incline that runs into a busy port and is filled with steep-as-hell stairs leading to winding alleys and neighborhoods... and all of it decorated with amazing murals and graffiti.

At the bottom of one of these said stairs, we had our first run-in with bad (and perhaps inevitable) luck and were robbed! Some twerp stumbled in between us and yanked off with all his strength Gigi´s "man purse," throwing her to the ground. Micah saw perpetrator #1 coming which gave her time to register what was happening. As the twerp tried to run off she yelled "Nooooooo!" and grabbed him by the shirt. She was reaching for the bag but all she could manage was a big tear in #1´s shirt. Fortunately, Micah´s continual repetition of her war cry, "Nooooo!" snapped Gigi out of her sprawl on the sidewalk and she ran to put #1´s head in a lock, which did nothing to get the bag back but seemed important at the time. She pulled his hair as Micah tore his shirt and yelled her cry. We were so close to showing this twerp what tough gringas are made out of...alas... not tough enough. Twerp had a friend, perpetrator #2, who eventually came back to help his friend. #1 passed off the bag as #2 ran for the steep stairs. We let go, realizing our defeat and watched #1 follow #2. But no! Gigi followed them up the 100 steps of stairs making sure that they would have to work hard to win our valuables. And let me tell you, by the 50th stair all 4 of us were barely walking in between our huffs. At the top of the stairs they ducked into one of the many alleys and vanished. Blasted! We were left with piercing lungs, scrapes and bruises and no camera amongst other stuff!

(Dr. Jones, if you are reading zees, ve are not fooled by yer tactics! Ze secret plans you seek ver not stored in ze cameraz micro chip! HAHAHA!)

After the incident several people came to our help and were so kind. We filed a police report so, hopefully, our insurance will cover the stuff in the bag. We are, of course, the saddest about our camera but, fortunately, no money nor important documents were taken. We were mistrustful of everyone in the streets for the next couple of days and talked alot about compassion and classism. It´s hard to bounce right back without harboring resentment. Every young boy with brown hair we walked past was a potential robber. And that practically means every boy in the street. We reminded ourselves of all the positive experiences we´ve had and how those have mostly shaped our trip, not the bad ones! And 14 year old boys aren´t to be assumed criminals! It was hard to do in reality... so we decided to go back to our apt where there weren´t many people and recover without the expense of insulting innocent young boys in the streets.

Otherwise we had an awesome time in Valpo exploring the streets, finding the murals and meeting some friends of Gigi´s sister who were great hosts. We went to this community center called "Ex-Carcel" that is located in an old prison! There are workshops, studios, a free circus and who knows what else. It was crazy to be in such a rad place surrounded by huge cement walls and metal bars. We had an interesting conversation with a man there that was selling jewelry. He asked us why we elected Bush as president which lead us into a conversation about politics and US activism. At the end of our conversation he told us we had homework to do back home. It was awesome. We told him about the new community center in Greensboro called the HIVE and he gave us a poster of the Ex-Carcel as a gift to the HIVE.

Which, we are wondering how the HIVE is going and what kind of thriving community there will be when we get back to the boro..?

Oh! and the past 24 hours have been super exciting (but totally safe) with another earthquake and her aftershocks! Check out this footage from our neighborhood grocery store:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNEWQ8iT1uI

Arica & Micah´s Bday!

2007-11-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

After our road trip in the Iquique area it was time to head even further north and check out Arica (20 km from the Peruvian border). We were debating whether or not to visit the nearby national park or to focus on Arica because time didn´t allow for both. Micah made the call (bday priviledges) and we stayed close to the coast. The first 2 days we stayed in a hostal run by an older New Zealander and his Chilean wife. This was the hotspot for older travelers which was quite a change from the young surfer hostal we had just come from in Iquique. We rented bikes for Micah´s bday and rode down the coast.

We found some caves on the road to explore. It was too dark to go far.

Gigi tried making a geoglyph for Micah´s Bday. Can you read it? It´s harder than it looks people! (P.S. It say´s Happy Bday)

We left the old timers hostal to go camping on a northern beach. Hurrah! We scored an umbrella again!

Everyday at sunset this group of kids would show up for bareback horseriding.

Fortunately, we found a viscous guard dog to watch our tent while we went on walks. She was really viscous, watch out. She barely even let us have room under the shade she was so viscous.

We couldn´t figure out what these groups of people were doing out in the water. It looked like they were dancing or something. Finally we figured it out when we saw a man walk up to shore with a bag of Machas (razorclams). The dancing was them digging with their toes to unearth the clams. And they got to take them home for dinner. Mmmmm!

"Thank god I have these sunglasses! You and me sun! You got nothing on me!"

Day 4: Salar de Huasco y Mamiña

2007-11-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

We spent the night in Pica again cuz we loved it so much and then woke up early to go to Salar de Huasco. We were really excited about this trip because we missed alot of the salares when we were in the San Pedro area. Salares are salt lakes. Alot of them have dried up but the ones at the highest elevation still have water. Most of them have wild flamingoes! So we bought coca leaves and we grinded on em as we drove the 5000 meters to the salar.

We couldn´t get enough of these fuzzy cuties. They´re called llamas and not all of them come with bright cloth collars. This flock must belong to someone but they sure looked like they lived in a wild place with nothing nearby.

As we got higher into the Andes we got a better and better view of the mountains on the Chile/Bolivia border. Take notice of the clouds.

Here we are at the mirador (lookout point) for Salad de Huasco. We were so close we could taste it! Can you see the blue of the lake?

So close yet not close enough... as we stood at the mirador taking it all in, the black clouds started rumbling and looking more ominous. In a matter of seconds the moisture broke and it started raining and hailing! In the driest desert in the world!?! Turns out, this is what they mean by a "Bolivian Winter." The road was dirt and sand for the last part of the trip and we didn´t want to risk getting stuck in our little rental in the middle of nowhere... so, we turned back with no flamingo sightings and went onto Mamiña.

Mamiña is a mining town centered around thermal waters in the depths of the Andes. We soaked in our own private bath tub tapped with piping hot thermal waters sipping on coca tea our wonderful host, Gloria brought to our room. She took extra good care of us because we were the only guests in her big hotel. We couldn´t have asked for a better host... she was the cutest woman ever! And the baths were, of course, delicious.

The next day we went exploring and found what must be the sweetest spot in the whole town. An outdoor thermal water bath that is actually a holding tank for the town.

To get there, walk down from Hotel Bellavista until you see a trench of hot water. Pass the burros and keep following the trench.

Eventually you get to what looks like an inground bathtub and huge pool full of mineral rich hot water!

Day 3: Pisagua

2007-11-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

Pisagua is a tiny town with a very interesting landscape and brutal history. Originally, it was built as a port town for all the minerals that were mined in the area. It´s nestled in between the Cordillera and the Pacific on a tiny ledge, making Micah shake with fear at the thought of an earthquake, or worse off, a tsunami. It´s a claustrophobe´s nightmare! We decided to make the trip short for her frazzled nerves and went straight for the graveyard.

It´s an amazing graveyard overlooking the coast. All the gravesites had a wooden crib. We don´t know exactly what that´s about... Is it a chilean custom or just a Pisagua custom? Maybe it´s their way of protecting the dead from falling out of their coffin into the rocky coast?

The real reason we went to the graveyard wasn´t to explore the cribs, despite it´s intrigue. Pisagua´s more recent history of brutality is due to its isolation, which provided Pinochet a perfect location for one of his torture camps. Recently, a memorial was erected paying tribute to bodies found in an unmarked mass grave and to political prisoners of the area who were ¨disappeared¨.

After the memorial we went to the town and were almost immediately bombarded by a group of tiny superheroes. I wonder what it´s like to grow up next to a memorial reminding you of tortures... I was so happy to leave Pisagua on a note of laughter and youth...thanks niños.

Day 2: Route 1

2007-11-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

We headed out early in the morning along Route 1 which connects Antofogasta and Iquique for good beach camping. We slowly drove all the way down to Rio Loa marvelling at the scenery which really doesn´t get old. Then we found our camp site and just relaxed.

Route 1 is the red line along the coast south of Iquique.

Check out the Cordillera literally running right into the ocean!

Lunch break

Aaaarrrggghhh!

Our cute little tent in a gorgeous nook

(Ken: we found a different tent that was super light so we opted for that one... but thanks!)

Day 1: A day with Christian

2007-11-19T11:47:00.000-08:00

While we were in Iquique we decided that we were tired of being in the hostal and wanted to put our tent to use. But with it being the desert and all, we were nervous to get too far off the beaten path with no experience and no sight of water. So, we decided to put our good money to use and rent a car for 4 days. We made friends with the paragliders and they hooked us up with info of all the good spots to check out in the area and we even covinced Christian, Micah´s pilot, to join us.

Christian took us to see a bunch of geoglyphs from pre-Columbian times. It´s pretty crazy how many there are in this area. There you are, just driving along the Pan-American highway and all of a sudden you´ll see one on the side of the mountain like it´s the most normal thing to have this evidence from the far far past.

This is el Gigante de Atacama, the BIGGEST archaeolical representation of a human in the world. It´s 86 meters high!

The north is full of old mines and ghost towns from back in the day when Nitrate was Chile´s biggest exporter. The industry fell when an artificial product was made to replace nitrate in fertilizers, thus turning thriving towns into ghost towns. We visited one factory near Iquique called Santa Maria. Nearby is a famous ghost town called Humberstone.

Maybe our favorite part of our day trip with Christian was eating lunch and taking a dip in Pica, a natural oasis in the middle of the desert. If you know anything about Chile then you know about Pisco Sours de Pica. Pica grows the country´s limes that are essential for the ¨sour¨in Pisco Sours. Alongside the limes there are mangoes, oranges, papaya, guayaba and grapefruit growing EVERYWHERE in the town. It´s unbelievable. The reason for the oasis, of course, is water. And below Pica is an abundance of hot, thermal water that is available for relaxing in at the public pool. Gigi will never be able to go into the cold Pacific ocean now!

We were so lucky to have Christian come with us and, in typical Chilean hospitality, show off his country with the greatest enthusiasm. Hopefully we´ll continue to meet folk like him throughout our trip.

We are safe!

2007-11-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hey yáll! Many people are emailing us to see if we were affected by the earthquake that hit Chile today. We actually left Calama (where it was much worse) last night at 11 pm. We are in Iquique now, on the coast, and only felt one rumble today. Really long, but not fuerte. So all is well and the travel continues! Thanks for looking out.

San Pedro de Atacama and Iquique

2007-11-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The tiny tiny airport in Calama

Here we are in San(dy) Pedro de Atacama in the desert. It is soooo dry here we have used an entire tube of lotion trying to keep from our skin flaking off. One woman we met from Brasil felt like it was so arid her soul was drying up! Perhaps a bit dramatic but it gets the point across. We arrived here late on Thursday night and stumbled off the bus barely able to see the dirt road under our feet. We both wondered to ourselves, where the hell are we? We couldn´t see a damn thing and the night was so quiet. We picked a direction to walk in and as we came to a corner we practically walked on 2 teenagers making out on the curb which totally added to the strange feeling of not knowing what was going on. But finally in about 1 minute (because this town is so small) we made it to our hostal and brushed our teeth under the brightest southern hemisphere stars we´ve ever seen.

Being in the north is so different than Santiago. The presence of indigenous cultures is much more apparent here than it is in the big city. It´s also quite interesting because we´re both reading Isabelle Allende´s Inez of my Soul, a story about the Spanish conquering of Peru and Chile, right in the region we are right now. The fiction story parallels with the museum visits and stories we hear from the people we meet... it´s such a different story than the U.S. and its tales of conquering.

The main road in San Pedro

The north of Chile is famous for the architecture of its adobe churches

It´s a cute town. Sleepy but full of adventure. There is so much to do here but it is all hard to access without a car so we´ve resorted to taking tours. It's not our preferred way but how else would we get to the geysers when none of the "dirt roads" are marked?

Valle de la Muerte

The first day we went to Valle de la Luna and Valle de los Muertos. Miles and miles of salt encrusted rocks and dunes. It was so beautiful and gigantic and nothing like we've ever seen before.

The 2 best parts of the tour were taking our stinky shoes and socks off and running down a huge dune with the softest sand we´ve ever felt in between our toes.

And then we stopped to listen to the sounds of the rocks creaking and clicking due to the temperature change.

The next day we got up at 3:30 am to take another tour (look at us!) to the Tatio Geysers.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a waste of money... not because the tour was bad but because Gigi got ill. 20 minutes into the ride we had to shout for the driver to stop and Gigi rushed out of the van to throw up. We couldn't figure out what exactly was causing this... was it the elevation? Did she have the flu? Was she car sick? Was it something she ate? After it continued non-stop for 4 hours we concluded that it was probably something she ate or the flu.

After getting medicine from a woman in ski pants on the tour and some rest Gigi was feeling better and finally able to laugh at the situation and even has a comic brewing in her head. Just imagine: huge geysers exploding in the background and hot thermal baths steaming with Gigi not having a clue, hunched over throwing up.

After the geysers we went to visit an old cactus forest nestled next to a stream. The only green we had seen all day!

This is Gigi pretending like she saw the cacti forest and wasn´t asleep the whole time.

Finally we left San Pedro and decided to abandon our idea of Peru for a different trip altogether and head to the beaches of Iquique. We took a night bus and rode into the city just before sunrise.

It's quite a beautiful view coming into this city with the way it´s nestled between the cordillera (coastal mountain range) and the coast. We stayed at a hostal run by some really nice young Chileans and had an adventurous couple days!

Iquique is an excellent place for parapenting (paragliding) because the conditions make flying possible everyday. We drove up the mountain and took off from a cliff, flew over Iquique, and landed on the beach 30 minutes later. Originally Gigi wasn´t going to go. It was expensive and well....she is terrified of heights and gets motion sickness. However after Micah took off someone was looking for a person to ride with them for free and she couldn´t turn down the opportunity. Keeping with the theme of sickness on this trip, she threw up 3 times while in the air...over the city. Aside from being awfully embarrassed and covered with the morning´s breakfast she was fine once her feet were safely on the ground.

The view from the cliff...a long way down.......

taking off....

and we´re flying!!!
Can you see the other parapenters in the distance?

Later that day Micah went for a surf lesson with Lalo, a surfer who works at the hostal where we stayed.

While not yet in the most proper form I did catch a couple waves and they weren´t all so teeny as this one...

and got trampled by a few more....

What a day! I am pooped!

La Victoria

2007-11-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

So we haven't done too good of a job in keeping up-to-date with our blog so we're gonna backtrack a bit. Think back to Saturday, October 27...

We met up with the x-pat and took a bus to La Victoria, a poblacion in Santiago that was celebrating its 50 year anniversary of official existence. More than 50 years ago poor people squatted the land which eventually became acknowledged as a settlement. La Victoria has a strong history of political resistance and has been a breeding ground for active leftists. Many of the poblaciones in Santiago may have started with a leftist perspective but most have lost that identity. But La Victoria and another, Via Francia, still hold a strong identity as a radical poblacion.

We could tell we arrived by all the streamers strung in the streets and the colorful murals. It was amazing to see every street displaying a mural that depicts the pride the community has for itself and for its history and autonomy. Every where we walked we saw some faded and some bright words boldly remind us: "La Victoria, Always!" "Never Forget!" "Struggle!" "Live!" "Autonomy!" "Popular Education!"

Here is a picture of a typical mural in La Victoria. (indymedia)

Kids and adults were painting a beautiful new mural to commemorate the 50 year anniversary that we slowly watched into completion.

The streets were already bustling with activity by the time we arrived. We sat and watched a small group of folks playing capoiera in the street while our friends were preparing the stage for the hip hop/tango/punk/cumbia show later on.

We made ourselves useful by cutting tissue paper into streamers for the kids and then feasted on the common pot meal of noodles, beans, carrots and zucchini. Common Pot's have a long history in poblaciones based out of need for food and have continued as a cultural activity. We know it as a sort of Food Not Bombs. As we were eating and drinking a small bread van pulled up and handed us 2 huge bags of bread, just like that. And for payment they received whistles, shouts and applause.

After we eating we followed a small group of a mostly female samba group that played a variation of what we know as Reggae Samba. Gigi was dying to pick up a drum and join in (Cakalak withdraw in a MAJOR way) but thought best to keep to the sidelines. As we were returning to the stage, we walked upon a huge entourage of dancers in costumes, puppets, and a full brass and drum crew in the middle of the street getting ready to get down. Now the party was REALLY bout to start!

The anticipation of this ensemble's start was killing us with curiosity. Everyone was whispering to us how good they were and damn! did they look good in their fancy outfits and instruments. There was a loud whistle that blew in the air and all of a sudden the band struck out and 30+ dancers were spinning in time. The band is called Escuela Carnavalera Chinchintirapie and they play a traditional type of music to the North of Chile (and I think Peru). Maybe the coolest thing about this band were the drummers, who are called chinchineros, which simply means someone who plays a drum on their back. We highly recommend you visit their blog and look at the pictures. Our favorite is the tune "Nuevas Estrofas de La Piragua".

We marched with them for about 2 hours all over La Victoria. I think the whole town must've been outside with us in the streets singing along and dancing holes in their shoes. The puppets flirted with the kids, the grandfolk, the cars and the cops while the dancers spun and clapped and the band sung their hearts out. When we passed the cop station a couple guys from the crowd jumped on the cop car and sang out along with the band and the cops just stood there, unfazed. Maybe their presence is meak to the people of La Victoria (unless accompanied by tear gas) or maybe the cops don't care about petty stuff like that... But we definitely noted the many differences we were experiencing from our homeland (see top 10 list).

It was strange for us gringos to be present at this event. Not many people who aren't from La Victoria or nearby poblaciones visit it. Sebastian, one of our hosts, was telling us that he nor his friends has ever seen that side of Chile. There was no doubt that we were stepping off the beaten path not just for tourists, but for privileged Chileans as well. Maybe the fact that we aren't from here and without the same class experience we are sort of immune to cultural taboo's, or at least, not as sensitive to them. And so it is that 2 gringos without their Chilean family showed up at La Victoria's celebration.

We didn't really blend in, but no one made us feel put out. In fact, mostly we were made to feel so welcomed with smiles, nods and kisses. The highlight of the day was when an older woman with beautiful, long, white hair took a look at us dancing and opened her arms wide and with a beautiful smile, hugged and kissed Micah on the cheek. She was so happy! And we aren't sure why! But it was an amazing shared moment that'll stay in us for a good while.

Finally, we arrived back at the stage and there was a hip hop show waiting to start. We decided that we were tired and wanted to get back before dark so we left, much to everyone's protest... "You're gonna miss the cumbia!"

Empanadas con Jose

2007-11-03T17:35:00.000-07:00

We are currently chilling in the beach city of Iquique in Northern Chile, but we can´t share our pictures of this trip yet so instead we will continue with the flashback and leave you with a recipe....

A few weeks ago, we had a chance to make Chilean empanadas with Jose. We shrunk the recipe for 10 empanadas mas o menos in case you want to try it.

The first day we made the pino, the meaty filling, by chopping 5 onions finely and cooking in a pot on high heat with a half kilo of beef. You can use ground beef, but we prefer small cubes for empanadas. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp of salt, black pepper, cumin, 7.5 grams of paprika, 7.5 grams of oregano. Stir and cover, checking occasionally. It should be boiling. When the beef is cooked, turn it off , and let the pino cool overnight. It has to be cool when stuffing the empanadas.

While the beef is cooking, boil 5 eggs, peel, and set aside.

Day 2: Our ingredients all ready. Each empanada needs 1 black olive, pino, half or quarter hard boiled egg, and 2 golden raisins. But first, you´ve got to make the dough!

The dough is simple: put 1 kilo flour in a big bowl, make a hole in the middle and pour salt water (1 Tbsp. salt & half cup of water) into center. Add another cup of hot (but not boiling) water and half a cup melted lard (mmm...). Slowly work flour into middle until dough is moist and sticking together. We didn´t do this but Jose said half a cup of white wine is also optional here.

Knead hard for 5-8 minutes into sort of a long roll, stretching the inside out and then putting it back.

Separate into baseball size balls and knead each individually until soft and suave.

Roll each ball out into circle with roller or empty wine bottle.

Put 1 olive, 2 raisins, quarter boiled egg and 2 spoonfuls of pino.

Fold it closed and if you can be fancy like Jose, make a beautiful twisty edge.

Micah with our almost finished product.... Brush the tops with a bit more melted lard or scrambled egg yolks for a nice golden color. Poke 1 teeny hole in the center of each to let heat escape.

Can you tell which are his and which are ours?!?

We cooked them in Jose´s brick oven. Try 8-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven or until they are golden brown on top.

Buen Provecho!

The x-pat

2007-10-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

So today I got a chance to meet with a friend of a friend from NC who is here in Santiago. I am so thankful for this meeting. The xpat is working on a documentary about the radical youth movement here and is full of amazing knowledge on the subject. I got to learn about a whole other side of this country that I've been wanting to learn about for so long but didn't know how to access it.

As you can imagine, there is a thriving radical youth movement in this country... and it feels so different from the states. I had a similar feeling when I was living in Mexico. There's an explosiveness and radical energy that is absent in the US...at least the US that I'm a part of and see. Images of cultural resistance are part of the landscape, and I mean literally. We visited several universities today that are home to a lot of the radical youth movement. The energy on these campuses is so different to those I've been to in the US. First off, there was a small police presence at a corner nearby... as a reminder, I suppose, of who is in charge... Yet it hardly feels like they are in charge. Walking around the campuses I must've seen at least 30 murals and stencils depicting something of a radical nature. Most of these murals were painted during a student occupation of some sort of that area of the campus. I'm not quite sure exactly what the nature of these occupations were/are... I wish I knew more on that but at the moment I'll leave it at that. The thing that got me the most was the fact that these murals stayed up. I imagined a situation like that happening at UNCG or Guilford and if, IF, the occupation were to happen, and IF it were to happen long enough for a mural to go up, it certainly would not be left up by the institution for the future to see. Unfortunately, it's such a curious thought for me...

There were students milling about on their lunch break. Some, well many, were smooching on the benches and stretches of grass throughout campus. Others, who I got to meet, were selling vegan egg rolls, others were studying and the rest just sitting about talking. But there was something in the air: maybe an uneasyness...? And no wonder, I found out from my friend that quite frequently students set up blockades in front of the police to push the envelope; to remind themselves, the other students, and more importantly the cops that they will not be held under a police occupation, that they will not allow others to be held under an occupation. And then they get tear gassed. I dunno if they are victorious. I'm not sure I fully understand the reasoning... but how could I? I don't understand the political climate of this country that has not even seen a year without Pinochet in its landscape... I don't come from a class of people that is underpriviledged... And I haven't been here for even a month yet. But after today, I have so many questions.

What is the relationship with the non-Mapuche youth with the Mapuche youth? What is the objective of the frequent blockades? Is it effective? What other ways are those objectives being met or complimented? How does the youth movement here compare with the youth movement in Greensboro during the civil rights? When I was listening to my new friend tell the story about middle school, high school and college aged students all uniting about economic justice I couldn't help but think of Dudley and A&T students uniting about civil rights...

It's 2:30 am and I can't go to sleep cuz I'm so curious about all this... I wish all our rad friends and mentors could be here right now to experience this and discuss this stuff with us. It's hard to write it all down clearly and not get side tracked. There's like 5 different ways this could go and I'm stuck at the intersection. Writing is hard!

So I'll just let all you spanish speakers know what we're gonna be up to on Saturday and know that our heart is content with knowledge, experience, food, (gluten !eeck!), wine, challenges, and new friends:

REBELDE Y POPULAR!!!
HAGAMOS DE OCTUBRE UN MES DE HOMENAJE AL PUEBLO POBRE ORGANIZADO, RECORDANDO EN LA ACCION A LOS MEJORES HIJOS DEL PUEBLO, A LUIS ALBERTO "CHAQUITA", A PAINE A MIGUEL ENRIQUEZ, A RAUL Y CECILIA, AL COMANDANTE CHE GUEVARA, Y AL HEROICO PUEBLO MAPUCHE EN SU LUCHA POR AUTONOMIA Y TERRITORIO. LOS INVITAMOS A PARTICIPAR EL DOMINGO 28 DE OCTUBRE DE UNA JORNADA POLITICO - CULTURAL (TODO EL DIA), EN LA POBLACION LA SANTIAGO, ESTA ACTIVIDAD SE DESARROLLARA EN LA CASA UKAMAU, UBICADA EN EL PASAJE 39 Nª 4450 ESQUINA PASAJE 37, DESDE LAS 11:00 HORAS EN ADELANTE. (MICRO I - 16 DESDE EL METRO SAN ALBERTO HURTADO) 11:00 MURALES EN LA POBLACION 14:00 OLLA COMUN (TALLARINATA) 16:00 DOCUMANTAL Y TALLER SOBRE "MOVIMIENTO MAPUCHE" AGRUPACION KILAPAN TRAER ALIMENTOS NO PERECIBLES PARA ENVIAR A LAS COMUNIDADES MAPUCHE EN CONFLICTO. LIBERTAD A LOS PRESOS POLITICOS MAPUCHE... AHORA!!! CONVOCAN: AGRUPACION KILAPAN CASA UKAMAU MURALISTAS LA MATRAKA COLECTIVO POLITICO SOCIAL PUEBLO POBRE ORGANIZADO

Today is a quite a different side of the story, eh?

the driest desert in the world next to the most dramatic coast in the world

2007-10-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

On the way to Vina del Mar from Maitencillo (the condo)

Se we´ve been hitting up the big countryside with my mom for the past couple of weeks. We first arrived to Marbella where my mom has her condo and well, I can´t say anything other than we´ve been living in complete luxury here. The condo is beautiful and cozy (important for those cold, foggy mornings) with an amazing view of the beach. The condo sits up on the jagged rocks that butt up against the coast here. The overlook is probably 2 football fields worth of distance. This morning after drinking an espresso (or as they say here un express) I walked outside onto the porch to be submerged in a cloud slowly rolling over the rocks. I´m so glad we´ve been able to spend so much time here before the high season. I can imagine that the mystical and magical feeling this place has would completely disappear with the throngs of vacationers that come here for the summer. Now, in the spring, there is a feeling of remoteness which more than compensates for the cold sharp wind.

Here is the view to the beach from our back deck!

We were very excited to explore the houses of Ochoalcubo. A project that my uncle dreamed up consisting of 8 houses built by well known contemporary architects. The idea behind the project is to create these houses in a way that compliments the land and each other; not one obstructing the others view or privacy. It's quite beautiful and literally, as we sat in my uncle's living room (which is one of the houses of Ochoalcubo) we saw the same living room in a architect/design magazine! This is quite a different world for us, eh?

My uncle, Eduardo in his picturesque house

We were so happy to meet Jose, an employee of my uncle who is also a gardener. Hidden behind large green wooden walls on the other side of the Ochoalcubo site there lies a huge massive garden of vegetables. The next day Jose delivered huge bags of aselga (chard), spinach and so much more. Micah and I were drooling and are excited to return with our gardening clothes to help!

Jose

Micah so excited for fresh organic greens!

We left Marbella to visit the North (not the extreme north, just the north). My mom has a sculpture made out of copper stationed in the La Silla observatory, close to La Serena. We went on a tour of the observatory and learned about very scientifically advanced instruments known as VLT and ELT. That stands for ¨Very Large Telescope¨and... can you guess...? "Extremely Large Telescope¨. I kid you not. All 3 of us were giggling during the movie when they uncloaked the names of these high tech instruments. Silly. But of course, the most fantastic moment of the day was not seeing the huge telescopes or learning about astronomy or even looking out at the sandy Andes mountains from our peak in the middle of the desert. It was finally seeing the panels I've only heard about all my life. There are 4 panels and each one represents the original astronomers of this land: Incas, Mayans, Aztecs (x2), and a local indigenous group from the North called Diaguitas.

Unfortunately, our camera ran out of batteries and so we don't have any photos. But hopefully our words can paint the picture for you.

After being in La Serena, we went to Valle Elqui which is this beautiful valley in the middle of the desert (but it turns out that we have yet to really enter the desert. The desert that earns the title "the driest desert in the world"). We drank Pisco Sours, admired the green plots of grapevines growing on the sides of the Andes Mountains, watched the festive Procession of the Virgin Rosario and bought homemade tinctures.

And now we're back in Santiago at my cousin's house. Micah had her first day of spanish classes today and will take them for 2 weeks.

There's so much more to write but that'll have to be it for now. Stay tuned cuz we'll have the access and time to write (or as they say, "blog") these next 2 weeks.

Photos of 01/10/07 - 04/10/07

2007-10-04T17:09:00.001-07:00

"Are we there yet?"

"mmm...yummy!"

gig "enjoying" Nescafe @ tio Eduardo & tia Pit's house

tio Eduardo & tia Pit's house

We went shopping at Chile's version of Wal*Mart, Jumbo, and there is an aisle dedicated to clothing for la nana. In Chile, everyone has a nana unless you are a nana. She does the cleaning, cooking and babysitting. In some houses, she comes once a week and in others, every day.

this picture is for Larkin

Elisita chan

All of the houses we saw today had large fences and gates enclosing the most beautiful patios and gardens. The streets here are filled with orange trees, jasmine, willows and so many other beautiful aromatic plants I feel like I'm in the tropics--not a huge metropolitan city!

The park behind mi primas house.
We are excited to do yoga with the virgin who spends her days protecting everyone in Santiago.

This is probably 1/16 of the city...!

Here is our pal Gaucho (cowboy) peeking through our bedroom window... he is so cute and wiggly and playful (but don't worry Sunday & Mason, not as cute as y'all)

Elisa and her papa, Sebastian

the gang at lunch our first day

I mean come on, isn't she the cutest?!
Hey Larkin and Scott: how's Henrille coming along?

we're here!

2007-10-03T16:33:00.001-07:00

we made it to santiago safe and sound yesterday morning. gigi's cousin, phillip, picked us up from the airport at 7:30 in the morning sleepy-eyed and ready to stretch our legs. we all went to caroline, sebastian, and elisa's house (caroline is another cousin and phillip's sister). gigi's mom, eliana, surprised us by coming over in the morning and we all made pastel de choclo together (micah's first cooking lesson!).

pastel de choclo is a typical chilean dish with ground beef, onions, pieces of chicken, golden raisins and black olives covered with a corn mush (liquidy & less gritty grits) sauted and then baked all together in chilean pottery called greda. these dishes are famous and we are so excited about them. tio eduardo, tia pit, tia marcela & prima isabel all came over for lunch. it was so so good and everyone was happy to see gigi again.

after lunch eliana, caro & elisita (almost 7 months old) joined us in exploring the neighborhood a little bit. we walked to a nearby park and took a ride on a little enclosed ski lift chair to see a great view of this enormous city. we can rent bikes here and apparently they have free yoga classes on the weekends! santiago is bigger than we imagined and we will never even put a dent in it.

today we went with caro and eliana to see eliana's old houses and the neighborhood where gigi's siblings lived. we saw the courtyard where gigi's parents met for the first time...micah shed a tear.

it feels great to be here. everyone is taking such good care of us and showing us a great time... even elisa, who is so cute, but prefers to be around her mama (we are working hard to win her over)

and now it's time to help with dinner (we can't let others do our lettuce washing for us! step 1: find grocery store and find disenfectante. step 2: soak lettuce in water and 1 teaspoon of disenfectante. step 3: rinse lettuce with bottled water. step 4: find the energy to eat after spending so much time preparing lettuce. will we have to do this for 6 months!?). so we don't have time to post more pics on this blog... maybe after dinner there will be some more for you to see.

8 days and counting...

2007-09-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm at my parents house right now, 8 days before leaving for Chile. I sent mi mama off to Chile yesterday and my Pops is driving me back down to NC in an hour. We'll have a good 5 hour long drive to say our goodbye's until I see him at the big New Year's party in Valparaiso.

8 days is not very far... It's hard to believe that this trip, which has been nothing but an idea for so long, has finally become a physical reality. I'm both nervous and excited as you can imagine. I'm nervous about the cultural shock and the reality of how damn American I am in the face of my Chilean family ...excited to see the ways Chilean culture is familiar. I'm nervous about being a host for Micah in a country that I barely know ...excited to get to know my mother's country better and share that with Mic. I'm nervous about feeling social anxiety around my family (where's the wine, please!) that I haven't seen in sooo long ...excited to drink wine! and of course to see my cousins who I haven't seen in so long and to meet Elisa, the newest member of our family! I'm nervous that I won't understand a damn word anyone says ...and excited to finally learn Chilean! I'm excited to have everything I need on my back and nothing more. The necessity for simplicity and resourcefulness is one of the things I appreciate the most about traveling. That and the freedom to be spontaneous and open. I've got so many great things going on in my NC life that there's not much room for spontaneity nor openness cuz I'm trying to get things done with a very clear objective! The idea of following the river of possibilities and letting it take it's path without my objectives getting in the way is gonna be an amazing change.

Hopefully this blog will serve as a way for mic and I to share with y'all how our river is flowing and also, a way for us to be accountable to our experiences. I don't want to live in some kind of vacuum for 6 months. So we're on a mission. I have a personal mission obviously but we're also on a mission to share with you the experiences we're having while y'all are working hard back home. So let's sit and drink some virtual coffee together and share our stories!