realities

We're up in the North of Chile in the Atacama Desert.  It is the driest place on Earth outside of Antartica.  It receives rain every few years and only very little at that.  The average rainfall per year is measured in millimeters. I'm flying once, twice, three times a day now.  The lift is everywhere and the flights are exceedingly gorgeous as I fly over 1000 ft sand dunes and the city to land at the beach.

We are starting to realize how difficult it is to travel with a baby.  I know that all babies are different and it might be easier to travel with one baby over another, but I also know there are some universal realities to traveling with a baby that makes it more difficult.  Number one, they are heavy.  Anytime you move cities, places to stay, etcetera you must not only carry your 20+ pound baby, you also need to bring all their stuff.  As we don't co-sleep that includes a baby crib, on top of the clothes, diapers, wipes, toys, and food that you need at all time when traveling with baby.  While traveling with baby, one must also consider nap times and schedule accordingly.  Does this flight leave before his nap, so he can sleep on the plane or after his nap so he can sleep at the house?  Or will baby simply go without nap (a daunting thought)?  All of this adds up to spending more money.  When traveling with a baby I can guarantee that you'll spend more money.  Your not going to want or be able to hunt down the cheapest deals when arriving at a new place.  So instead you find a comfortable place to set up and if it's too expensive you'll end up hitting the streets while baby naps.

I'm not saying that traveling is a bummer with a baby.  I think it is a wonderful adventure.  I appreciate the process that we go through to ensure that Jaden feels comfortable and secure at all times.  That said, I'm excited to settle down in a couple of weeks in a place where we plan to stay for at least 2 months.  I'll be working construction, building a shed and cabana with a Chilean contractor for a couple of gringos.  It's a two month job that gives us free living and a ride to the surf a few days a week.  Plus I'll get the added bonus of working in the spanish language, while learning some more building skills.  I'm excited about it.  Kate will be staying home with Jaden, taking Spanish classes and doing some babysitting on the side.  We are making it work out here and are still hoping to find English teaching jobs some point in the future.

Here are some more picts!

Jaden meeting a couple of Carabineros on caballo(police on horse)

Shopping in Santiago

Plaza de Armas Santiago: A clown making some money making fun of everybody, including Jaden!

The clown took this picture as he pretended to run off with our camera. The whole crowd was dying of laughter

During Siesta hundreds come to play chess! Young and old, it's pretty cool!

The castle in Santiago that was built by Validivia the conqueror of Chile

From the top of the castle we got a spectacular view

There are stairs and archways everywhere.

Modern, airport art!

Our place in Iquique is a converted shipping container.  It's pretty nice, really!

The sand dunes above our hotel!

Jaden's getting better at walking, but he still thinks an orange is only a ball!

Family photo

We find some interesting signs around here.  These are posted in all ocean cities.  Evacuation in case of Tsunami.  Unfortunately the guy in the picture didn't get a big enough headstart.

Iquique

Sand dune fun!

Yeehaa down a steep dune!

Nice playgrounds around here

Yeehaa!  Some flyin!

paraglider vs. baby

Going to the town center to buy food and everything else, I’m reminded of how different this place is to where we live.  The Home Depot, Costco and our local Super markets sell tens of thousands of items each.  Yet when you’re there, you can’t find an employee to save your life (especially in the Home Depot).  In a larger Mercado in Chile it is much different.  Many of the markets specialize in one area, so you aren’t going to find food and clothes like in Costco or plants and tools like in Home Depot.  Your definitely not going to find the volume and/or variety of stuff sold in these markets.   Yet, today I had a hard time maneuvering down the isles due to the sheer amount of employees cleaning, selling and working in various capacities.  It seems that Chile doesn’t want to “downsize” their employee base to increase their profits.  Maybe this is a key to the success they are experiencing in the global market.  Everybody has a job here.  It’s amazing!  Perhaps we can learn something from these emerging markets.

On a personal note, we are struggling with how best to travel with a baby and a paraglider.  It appears the paraglider has taken a back seat to the baby.  We just flew up to Iquique, a paradise for paraglider pilots, boasting some of the best flying in the world.  However, I had to send my paraglider here via snail mail because the airlines could only accommodate a certain amount of weight.  Baby clothes, toys and pac-n-play win, my paraglider lost.   Oh well, it should show up in a couple of days and I’ll be flying once again.

Jaden is doing okay.  I’d be lying if I said that he loves sleeping in new places every few days or weeks.  Kate and I are starting to get really excited about settling into a place for a few months.  Kate especially.  She’s been doing a tremendous job keeping this little baby happy and asleep at night.  He’s been waking a lot lately and we’re hoping that this all settles down as soon as we settle down. 

He is an amazingly resilient boy though.  His vocabulary is simply taking off.  He now points up into the air and says airplane.  He also knows the parts of his face: eyes, ears, mouth, and teeth.  These little things bring joy to our lives and we love watching him excel even in the difficult situations of travel.  He’s learning patience, acceptance and a lot more that I can’t even imagine.   I’m so happy to get to spend so much time with him at this point in his life.

No berries until spring!?

We've been made weak by the luxuries of our decadence.  What I mean is that we've (kate, Jaden and I) become so accustomed to having blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and other summer fruits at all times of the year, it came as kind of a shock to us that this part of the world doesn't operate the same.  I thought it feasible that Chile, of all countries, might be importing summer fruits and vegetables as much as they are exporting their fruits and vegetables.  Next time you go to Trader Joes, check out how much produce we buy from Chile.  I thought it was reciprocal, that they might be buying our summer fruits as well, but that isn't the case.  We've had to adjust.  At first we were taken aback.  What do we feed Jaden.  Berries has a been a staple of his diet.  After almost every meal he'd have a couple nutritious and tasty berries.  It's forced us to become more industrious.  For now, he's contented himself with potatoes, peas, carrots and the like (a winter diet).  It's a healthy and nourishing diet.  It makes me wonder why we didn't focus on these things before.  I know the answer though, and I'm not sure I like it.  Summer fruits are tasty, inexpensive and easy (i.e. you don't have to cook them to make them soft, chewable and tasty for a baby).

We know the berries are well on their way, as a lot is blooming in the inland valleys.  But I've got to say, it's been fun learning to cope with the realities of our environment.  In fact, it's been good for us, a healthy bit of mind flexing.  We've got to be more industrious.  I wonder if we'll bring these experiences home with us or will we simply go back to what's easy and tasty.  It should be noted that the practice of importing food from all over the world is extremely damaging to the environment.  What's the carbon footprint of the blackberry you ate in the dead of winter that was flown from Chile?  I bet it's pretty high.  I guess that's why their is a movement to buy local (probably better for the economy too).  

While I'm on the topic of food, we've had a great time tasting the local cuisine.  The last week we've been in a series of festivals around their Independence Holiday, El 18 de Septiembre.  The barbeque (asada) has been absolutely wonderful.  

Before arriving, we worried about buying organic, as that's how we shop in the states.  But what we've found pleases us.  The eggs that we buy are from the local farms and households in the area...i.e. free roaming/grazing chickens.  We buy meat from the local butcher and it is some of the most tasty meat I've ever had.  It's also hormone free as it's also local.  Basically there isn't a movement for organics here because they never really strayed from good old fashioned farming.  It's a pretty novel concept. 

Overall, everything is great.  We continue to enjoy our time here and I have a job.  It starts on October 10th.  I'll write more about this later.  

When Jaden wakes from his afternoon nap, we're headed out to the fonda (party) to people watch and enjoy the spectacle of patriotism.  It's pretty off the hook here.  I've never seen this kind of fervent love for a country.  It's fun to be part of.

 Here are some pictures from our trip so far...

paraglider check, stroller check, a bunch more stuff check, seriously what are we taking!

I love flying, just like my Daddy!

Our first place in between Valparaiso and Vina del Mar

Jaden's first haircut.  Without sideburns he kind of looks like Jim Carey in the movie Dumb and Dumber

Punta de Lobos is a strikingly beautiful place!

Got to appreciate the coming of spring

Yeehaa!  I can't feel my hands or feet but the long rides can't be beat!

He's starting to walk!  La Punta con las olas esta en el fondo.

Our Cabana for the last 2 weeks.  Great spot

Quality time with the boy....lovin it!

A wish for carpet!

It turns out that carpet, the soft, comforting, warmth that we tread over daily, is a luxury that I never thought I´d miss.  Well I miss it.  My baby misses it and my wife definitely wants it too.  We´ve realized that carpet provided us insulation and warmth, not only for our feet, but for the whole house.  The tile and wood floors we are currently living on our cold, no...freezing!  When a civilization lives their daily lives on dirt road, carpet makes no sense.  It would become too dirty too quickly.  Therefore it isn´t around.  It´s a luxury that I´ve taken for granted all of my life.  So, if you´re reading this on a carpeted floor, rub those warm feet on it and realize you could have freezing cold feet like mine are now.

Despite the cold feet and nights, Kate, Jaden and I are having a great time.  We´ve found ourselves in Pichilemu, in the south of CHile.  Pichilemu is home to PUnta de Lobos ...one of the most famous waves of South America.  Think Rincon but a left with bigger and more powerful waves.  The only downfall is the freezing cold water.  Santa Barbara doesn´t get this cold in the dead of winter.  I´ve started to get use to the numb hands and feet though.

We´ve made our first contacts in town and I think I might even have a job offer on the table.  We´re as of yet not sure we are going to stay here.  After all, I carried my paraglider all the way down here, not my surfboard.  But, it´s hard to walk away from this surf.  Especially when the line up is empty.

I discovered that traveling with a family is a very intimate way in which to travel.  We are living more like the locals then I ever did when I travelled on my own.  We rely on the local population, we need to be more rigid with our schedules (due to the baby) and I believe we are received by the locals with very open arms.   I´m really excited by the prospects of traveling with my family.  I believe new doors, previously unknown to me are opening due to the little boy we carry with us.  It´s pretty exciting.

That´s all for now, Jaden´s waking from his midday nap and it´s time to go explore.  Love to all, roll around on the carpet for me...

I´ll be sure to upload photos on the next post.

phew! We've made it!

I've got to say, it's been a whirlwind the last few days.  We left from LAX more than 36 hours ago and we are now comfortably settled into a bed and breakfast between Vina del Mar and Valparaiso Chile.  It's a beautiful spot, a couple blocks from the beach with a million dollar view of the port and the coast in both directions.

Some parts of the last few days have exceeded my expectations.  For example, I feared the 12 hours of flight time.  The image of a screaming baby came to mind every time I pictured the trip.  You know the one I'm talking about.  You start to get comfortable in your crammed space, you start to drift off and WHAM!  That baby starts screaming again.  We were lucky and good in this respect.  We were well prepped to take on any baby nightmare.  New books, check!  New interesting toys, check!  Mama's milk, on board!  Plenty of finger foods, yep!  We were also lucky.  Jaden, our non sleeper, decided to sleep pretty well.  We were also blessed with wonderful plane neighbors.  Nobody stayed up late in loud conversation or minded much when Jaden crawled down the isle one way or another.

We've also had a superb bienvenidos (welcome).  The Chilean stewards working the desk in La Ciudad de Mexico made sure we had the best economy seats in the plane, up in front without the nuisance of neighbors in front of us.  They also made time for Jaden, checking in on him, playing with him and teaching him the word "hola."  Pretty sweet deal.  Finally, two Chileans gave us their phone numbers and told us to call if we have any questions or problems.  After 12 years since I've been here, I'm glad to know that the Chilean's spirited and generous hospitality has remained unaffected.

We haven't been in the country very long and already we've accomplished a lot.  We have cell phones for local use only (sorry mom).  We have our RUT number so we can begin to look for work at the local schools and we got a new stash of toys and manipulatives for Jaden.  We've also gone to the park and the beach.  Overall, we're really excited about being here and everything has gone really smoothly.

On another note, we've discovered that everything that looks good and sounds good on paper isn't always great in practice.  We were sure that we would spend the next few months in Vina del Mar.  The only problem is that Vina has grown a tremendous amount.  I knew that from the photos I'd seen, many new multistoried apartment buildings on the beach.  The only thing is, I hadn't realized that meant there was a significant amount of people living here.  There are people everywhere.  I also realized that while Vina is close to all the things I love to do, surfing, climbing, paragliding, it doesn't really have any of it.  Without a car, it will be very hard for me to enjoy living here.  So, we've decided to look around a little bit.

We took a drive today, up to Renaca (about 15 minutes north) and realize that we could both handle living in this cute beachside community.  We also realized that we know very little about what the rest of Chile has to offer us.  So, we've decided to go for a little drive (a week or two) to see what else is out there.  We're going to head south.  We know there are good waves down south and beautiful forests and mountains.  So, we're going to take a look.  If we find somewhere we like, we'll stay and try to find jobs.  If not, we'll go and look elsewhere.  If all else fails, we'll end up back in Renaca, where there are many schools in which to work, a wave to surf and flying and climbing nearby.

Anyway, we're excited about the little adventure we're going to take and are hopeful to find a home base in which to stabilize very soon.  More later!  I've got a lot to say.  This is the quick and dirty version of what I'd like to write.  Just the facts for now!  Love to all!