Bitter Sweet

The sweet taste of home and the bitter after burn of departure swell through our souls.  After 36 hours of traveling, and some couch surfing, we're comfortably safe and sound in Santa Barbara.  Many of you might remember that we were planning on staying in South America until June.  Obviously our plans changed.  There are a number of factors that went into our decision to come home early, too many to name here.  In a word, we caught up with our future down in South America and we were excited to come home to start living it as the present.  Although I already miss some of the simplicities of life down south, it's good to be home.  Santa Barbara is an absolutely stunning landscape and city.  We are all lucky to live here.

So, where do we go from here?  Do I continue to keep up with the blog?  Will you continue to read it?

I'm going to keep writing for a while.  I'm not sure where we are going in the next few months, so I'll keep writing and posting what we're doing.

Right now, we know what the next 6 weeks hold.  We are house sitting in Santa Barbara.  After that, we're not sure.  We'd like to find another house sitting job or perhaps even better, a permanent place to call home (any ideas?).

My future is starting to become more clear.  I've been notified by my school district that I'll be teaching at a new school (Hope).  This is also bitter/sweet.  I'm sad to leave Vieja where I've dedicated a number of years of my life.  But, I'm also excited by a new challenge and a new culture.  As of right now, I don't know anything else.  But, that's one of the exciting parts of living...the mystery of what's around the next bend.

For the summer I'm looking forward to teaching paragliding at Elings park with Eagle paragliding (www.eagleparagliding.com) and to teach bouldering, climbing and surfing classes on my own.  If anybody is interested in learning any of these sports, let me know.

Oh yeah, I'm also planning on stopping by VV for the graduation ceremony as some of you requested.  Congrats!

That's all for now and I look forward to keeping you up to date as we start to resettle in paradise.

Here's another installment of photos!

How can saying goodbye be so cute!

Last surf of this trip at Punta de Lobos.

I love to eat empanadas, especially after a surf.  Unfortunately, these gave me a lovely present of stomach pains and digestion issues.

Too much fun.

Ciao Señora Sonia y Don Eugenio

First a bus

Then a taxi

Plane rides...

Ahhhh, home, sweet home. Hi Grandma, Kiko (the two with cameras) and Popi. Only 3 more hours to go.

A Tribute to Shwarma Carma

The photos in this Shwarma Carma Tribute mainly document our trip over the Andes from Mendoza Argentina to Maitencillo Chile.  We made a last minute decision, when we dropped into the valley floor of Chile to head toward the coast rather then Santiago.  I love the flexibility of this kind of travel.

With great sorrow and a handful of relief, I drove Shwarma for the last time yesterday...delivering it to it's new owner.  Shwarma was a classy looking car.

It never looked this clean again. 

Notice the handle on the gear shift.  Yes, it occasionally fell off.

Shwarma ended up being quite the adventure.  She took us to absolutely amazing places and allowed us to do things and see things we never could have, had we travelled in buses.

wild donkey (quite a few).

Guanaco (kind of like a tall, sleek and graceful llama)

I added this picture because it gave Kate and I the giggles to see these photos.  This is one example of a school crossing sign.  Each one is slightly different. But it is usually of a body holding a briefcase either walking and often times running across the street.

Big snow covered peak in the background is Aconcagua, the largest mountain in South America.  It is 22, 841 feet tall.  It's also one of the least technical 6,000 meter peaks out there.  I've put this climb on my bucket list.

So awesome!

Happy to return to Chile.  Especially after waiting at the boarder for so long.

This road should be a wonder of the world.

They count the curves.  There are 27.

She also left us in very strange predicaments, like when the radiator hose burst on a main thorough fair in Mendoza, the exhaust pipe broke (again...like 10 times) and it was so loud that we had to drive for 4 hours with earplugs in,

a flat tire just in time for Jaden's nap,

it goes on and on.

We visited the mechanic in almost every city and small town we visited and I learned a lot about cars and Spanish car vocabulary.

But, as I said many times, she was a great car.  The engine was impeccable, minus the huge oil leak.  It would have been a great ride if the rear shocks actually worked....

Selling the car was about as easy as anything we've done in Chile.  A trip to the bank, then to the Notary, then the Registro Civil, then the Notary, then the Registro Civil again, then the Notary, then the Registro Civil and finally the Notary.  It only took 4 hours!  Way easier than trying to get a green sticker that I accidentally ripped off the windshield as it was in the way of the passenger.  I made 10 stops and spent half a day for that little mistake.




Good times shwarma!

Oh well, we've passed the carma on and with it her problems.  Now, the only dilemma we have is how to travel south to the final destination of our trip.  It's between bus and taxi.  We've got at least 400 pounds of stuff, mainly Jaden's and my toys (surfboard, toy truck, paraglider, picture books, stroller portable bed, etc...).  We won't worry about it too much though,

as we've found another piece of Chilean paradise.

lessons learned

Old lessons:

Stay positive:  positive things happen to positive people and everything will work out for the best in the end.  We've been practicing this lesson for much of our lives and it never works better than when traveling.  Time and time again, we are impressed by the luck of our travels.  A lot of that luck has to do with our state of mind.

New Lesson:

In the past, and I think due to human nature, I got caught up in comparisons.  When I was younger it was all about who's got the best toys, who's the best athlete, the smartest, the best looking etc...  In adulthood it doesn't go away, it just gets more complex.  Who's got more time and more money, who's kid is walking first, talking first, etc...

The lesson I've learned recently is that if you're busy comparing things that you do or don't have, you're missing out on the enjoyment of what you do have.  All of us have so much.  But, in comparing, I don't always see what I have.  I see what I don't have.  I've realized that it is so much more important to be happy with what I have than what I want or think I need.

I've learned that lesson by watching people with very little, in terms of money and things, so happy and content with their lives.  They are content and happy because they focus on the things that they have, family, good health, a beautiful place to live, friends, etc...  These things you don't need to buy, you only have to appreciate.  I'm practicing this lesson right now and I'm getting better at it.

Here's a few picts of my fam, which I'm enjoying tremendously!

I think he enjoyed the horses better, but I'm not sure.

Nothing better than getting the excited greeting from my son after flying or surfing!

Mmmmm,  pasta

The zoo in Mendoza... up close and personal with a Puma (mountain lion).  You can't believe how close you get to the animals.  Really sad too...small cages.  I have mixed feelings about zoos.   

Beautiful day in Mendoza, chilling out next to a fountain

Our cabana had a kiddie pool. 

Bariloche Argentina

Bariloche Argentina!  Absolutely amazing!  Here's some picts!