Extrañaremos Santiago

Well - it's time to move on... It's been close to 100 days and we leave Santiago on the 6th of February for a 3 month backpacking journey before heading back to the states the middle of May. We ended up spending 3 months here with all the blessings that came our way and the volunteer opportunities that arose. We will depart with some awesome memories from the time here and have met some wonderful people that will now be lifelong friends.

Adding to our packs for this leg of the journey - we now have a tent, 2 sleeping bags, 2 pads, 2 small fold-up stools, and a basic camping cookwear set strapped and bungied to the packs. We're fully loaded that's for sure...

We have a pretty good plan and have made some reservations in a few towns for hostels. We also plan to do quite a bit of camping to stretch our money and couch surf where possible. We best be camping as we are hauling it now :). We are honestly going to see some pretty amazing places - and are both so thankful for this opportunity.

Before I go further on our plans I must first give a shout out to the true love I've found, friend, and partner - Jenny Marie Jackson Boyd - What Up - I love you and thank you for who you are - you're such a wonderful, strong, and amazing woman! Thank you GOD ALMIGHTY for introducing us! I can't imagine having this experience or doing a trip of this nature with anyone else - plus - they would have probably put me to rest by now... :) Thanks sweetie.

Our plans from Santiago will be to travel to the following places in Patagonia and beyond:

Pucon, Chile
Villarrica, Chile
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina (Bariloche for short)
El Calafate, Argentina and Glacier National park (36 hour bus ride in no man's land of Patagonia via rough roads from Bariloche - this we have both agreed = FUN, but it's close to the southern tip of S. America is why).

The last week of February we fly from El Calafate to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where we will head down the coast of Brazil from Rio to the following:

Sao Paulo
Curitiba
Paranagua - we'll take a boat to "Ihla do Mel" (Honey island)
Florianopolis (another little island off the coast)
Porto Alegre
Also a few small towns in the mountains near the coast to visit my friend Lucia's Mom and some of her recommendations:
Taquara
Gramado
Crenola

After Brazil we will venture down the coast of Uruguay with a few stops where we are hoping to rent some beach cabanas:
Cabo Polonio
Punta del Diablo
and then the capital of Uruguay - Montevideo

From Montevideo we'll take a ferry to Buenos Aires for a few days to meet up with some friends we made there when we began our trip and then bus back across Argentina to Santiago, Chile again. We plan to stay for a night there and then begin heading north through Chile for a few stops, possibly parts of Bolivia, and then ending in Peru where we plan to Volunteer again for a couple weeks, take a 4 day excursion into the Amazon, and end with Machu Picchu. We'll see how well we do with our budget and time as both are running out. :)

Before we even left for South America I remember wondering to myself who we will meet, what they will be like, and even what they were doing right at the very moment I was having those thoughts. Now to reflect on the before, during, and after, halfway through our trip I find it quite refreshing and fun. It creates a little tingle of warmth and happiness within. Upon snapping out of this little dreamland - yet again - I find myself smiling...

Some of the people from Santiago that became real from my prior daydreams in Colorado are Diego, Ale, Tomas, the Perkins, Frank, Dulce, Vito, Maria Jose, and the babies Jen has grown to love at the orphanage - especially Isaac - who wasn't even created at the time of my original thoughts. Each one of them are now joined with a few others we've met along the way such as Guido, Natalia, and Marlen in a special and secure place deep within the treasures of our chest. We still have more to come as I begin again to think about the before for the next 3 months...

We are both excited and ask for your thoughts and prayers for our safety and guidance as we set out for the next step of this journey. Thinking of you all always and have you in our prayers as well! We most likely won't be in touch as much (like Santiago) over the next few months. All depends on the capabilities of the technology we find ourselves with, which has actually been quite impressive up to this point. Afterall - it is 2010.

Love you all and thanks for following us.

Onward and upward...

Aaron & Jen

Natural Selection

Fuimos a acampar otra vez el fin de semana pasada con Marlen amiga nuestra de Alemania en "Parque Nacional La Campana." [We went camping again last weekend with our friend Marlen from Germany at "Parque Nacional La Campana."] We met Marlen a few months ago in northern Argentina and she has been staying with us for a few weeks in Santiago. Charles Darwin visited this same park (causing its fame) back in 1834 and also hiked to the summit of the tallest mountain there (La Campana, 6,000 feet). The views from the “cumbre” (summit) of "La Campana" extend to Valparaiso and the ocean in the west and to the high peaks of the Andes in the east. We decided to attempt it thinking it would be fun to go on a nice hike.




It turned out to be 14k round trip (8 miles). We actually had an idea of the distance and time it would take, but didn’t actually realize the intensity of the hike and in reaching the summit.

The first 7k was at a thigh burning, steep incline almost the entire way - one of the harder hikes I've done thus far. I would even say it was tougher than Long’s Peak in Colorado - just not as long (Long’s Peak takes an average of 12 hours). It took us 7 hrs for this one.




My legs had already turned to jell-o with half a kilometer left to the summit. As the sun beat down and observing how little water we had left - I was a little concerned about my endurance and legs handling the weight of my body for the 7k down. No way was I stopping though – I hadn’t come that far to quit now. I wanted to stand on top of the mountain! Plus, pretty Jenny was a trooper and hardly even tired. She was some good motivation. I guess all that running she does pays off. Her endurance was amazing! Good job hunny!! :) The last ½ k was the steepest and most difficult by far. Several areas we had to step up a couple feet at a time by grabbing on to a hold above for assistance.






I misread the way down as I thought it was going to be much easier. I guess it was other than the first half kilometer. The decline forces your legs to be flexed constantly. My thighs were so shot it was all I could do to catch my weight with each step down. It was also so dusty and dry that many areas were slippery causing you to easily lose footing if not careful. Shortly after beginning the 7k descent to camp we ran out of water. We luckily arrived at a little drinking hole about another kilometer down as it was the first time I had ever been in a situation where all I wanted was water. It was the mountain stream water that when passed on the way up I thought no way would I ever drink it! Obviously outlooks can quickly change when it becomes apparent something is absolutely necessary! HA! That water was the best I’ve ever had!! It amazes me how the body can reach a point where nothing matters to it other than obtaining water.

It was safe to drink for the most part - just contains a lot of minerals. You wouldn’t want to drink too much or you risk upsetting your stomach as your body is not use to it - didn't stop me though as I filled up and chugged 3 bottles in a row before dousing my head in the water to cool off... it was so hot! Wow – did that help! If those water holes would not have been there I’m not sure how I would have made it down without falling over from heat exhaustion. Thank goodness for the “Corporacion Nacional Forestal” and its strategic placement of these water areas.

All said and done it was awesome, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad we made it to the summit. It was really cool to be at the top and look around parts of South America and the peaks in the distance above some light clouds – especially with my hunny bunny! Yet another thing we’ve done together that we can check off our list. They even have a log for those who make it to the top to sign and write some words - our mark is now there - the triangle.


Looking at our pictures I'm impressed with how far up we hiked. Nearly two hours after starting the trail we took a picture from a clearing we came to of this peak way off in the distance not even realizing that it was the summit of our hike.


Maybe I should begin running more like this girl I know that wakes up in the morning, rolls over, opens her eyes, and says to me first thing, “I think I’m going to go for a run.”

I also got some really cool videos - took one of this huge stick bug in the forest that I just so happened to see move... it's an awesome video! A bee is trying to land on it the whole time - so we got to watch it defend itself and even throw the bee off a few times by completely stopping and blending in with the dead twigs and branches lying on the forest floor.


The bee fell for it a few times and actually landed on the small twigs thinking it was the bug. Talk about a Darwin’s theory at its best, "natural selection," on Darwin Mountain. :) Stick bugs blow my mind with their camouflage or "natural selection."

Couple more interesting discoveries along the trail and best of all - a quick easy dinner before retreating to the tents:







AA

8626 Rio Loa

It’s a bit strange to be sitting in a living room relaxing on the futon while looking around all the rooms of the house and décor constantly realizing none of this is ours. It sure feels that way having spent over a month in this house already. We’ve grown to love Santiago and all the blessings that have come our way here.


Almost daily, my mind drifts away as I gaze out the window reflecting upon all that’s taken place the last days, weeks, months, and years – let alone what all’s transpired within just the last year and the emotions I’ve felt.

In 2009 I welcomed my 3rd nephew into this world in January, traveled to Puerto Rico in February with Jenny for a wonderful trip earned by reaching top sales for 2008, again celebrated my birthday and Jenny’s together in April (only 5 days apart), proposed to the beautiful, sandy-blonde girl from Florida in May, earned 2 promotions in 6 months (January & June), truly had the best day of my life on our wedding day with our families and best friends in July, cruised with my new wife to the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras in late July, arrived home and decided with Jenny to “push pause on life” and take a year off to travel, grow together and appreciate more, turned in my two weeks and left Denver for South America in August, welcomed my 4th nephew into this world via Skype in September, lost my precious Grandma in October while in Puerto Iguacu, Argentina, and celebrated my 1st Christmas as a married man with my wonderful wife here in Santiago at this house in Las Condes. Time truly does fly by…

Here it is January 2010 and I have 8 months yet of overall new discoveries, travel, cultural observation, language learning, people to meet outside the U.S., and activities to attend before I’m back home in Denver. I plan to make the best of it. I’m beginning to look at my return to Denver as a fresh start to a new career (as well as many other things). I’m brainstorming several ideas for what to pursue. Many people would call these ideas of mine – dreams – and smile about the “dream” and maybe pat me on the back for a good thought and wanting to possibly go for it, inadvertently telling me not to go for it. I’ve actually come to realize though that I truly am a dreamer and one of the things that puts a smile on my face and motivates me is the absolute challenge of making most of these dreams become reality.


Slowly the visions, voices, and images of today’s daydream so real and alive dissipate as small gusts of wind softly sway the branches of the tree in our front yard luring me out of the trance and back into this moment. Then again, sitting on the futon I look around and smile taking in the fact that I’m here and able to live what was before a dream.

It is all completely foreign – the books, dishes, towels, photos of smiling strangers everywhere and our temporary dog Tully, (SOMEBODY PINCH ME), the Weimar-wiener we have here. She’s probably feeling a bit strange herself with all her familiar surroundings, but yet the people are different. I can tell she is happy and going with the flow – she’s comfortable, has food, water, gets to run with Jenny, has quite a bit of playtime with us, and even gets to break some of the rules she’s known (I know I’d be a happy dog if that were the case for me)! She’s already grown quite attached to us as she follows us everywhere, whines when one of us leaves, and sleeps at our bedside. I must admit we have grown quite fond of her too!


We have been blessed to have such an opportunity land on our laps. We have an entire house, cell phones, dog, and even car (if we need it) in a beautiful city and country in South America. The Denver of South America in my opinion. It has the best of both worlds; the Andes Mountains lining the city and the Pacific Ocean less than 2 hours away. If you like the waves or the mountain snow, Santiago has it, along with your normal city life activities, disco-techs, and restaurants. One of the other not so common amenities of other cities that Santiago has is the numerous vineyards on the outskirts of the city which produce the famous Chilean wine.

We will have been house sitting here for over 70 days by the time we leave. The bus route and metro (subway) are already embedded in our heads, we have both completed over 100 hours of Spanish which is beginning to make things much easier, and we both have part time volunteer opportunities we are contributing to 20 hours per week. Jenny is volunteering at 2 different orphanages a few days a week along with helping out at an “English café” in which she helps Chileans practice their English. I have been volunteering in sales and marketing for a language school here at Escuela Fronteras and helping to further develop its study abroad program with the U.S. and Europe.

The family we are house sitting for happen to be missionaries here with two children. They are on “furlough” for 2 ½ months back in the states. This was an excellent solution for both the family and us as it saved them money by not having to pay someone to stay here, take care of their dog Tully, and maintain their house and yard. In turn, it has definitely helped us out as well with saving money and having a wonderful place to call home, volunteer for awhile, practice our Spanish, and enjoy Santiago and the central part of Chile for a good amount of time.




We will leave here the 18th of February and head south through Chile to nearly the southern tip of South America to experience Glacier National Park. We then plan to fly up to Buenos Aires to catch a ferry over to Montevideo and travel the entire coast of Uruguay and Brazil up to Rio de Janeiro visiting as many beautiful beaches as possible. When finished with Rio, we will fly back to Santiago and travel north along the coast of Chile into Peru and quite possibly some parts of Bolivia. We plan to volunteer in Peru in the town of Pisco where we will help to rebuild a city devastated by an earthquake a few years ago. Our finale if all goes to plan will be Machu Pichu in Peru and then fly out the Middle of May from Lima.

Again - Onward and upward my family and friends…

AA

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Happy New Year!

We just got back from camping the last 2 nights for our New Year's celebration. We went with a friend of mine that I worked with at Cbeyond a few years ago. We actually couch surfed with someone in Buenos Aires back in October and when we arrived the host told us he had hosted a couple from Denver 3 months prior. He wanted to see if we knew them (I told him no way will we know who they are), he pulled them up on facebook and I couldn't believe my eyes - it was my buddy Greg from Cbeyond! hahaha...

I emailed Greg about how small the world is in that we both couch surfed at the same house - he emailed me back and said they're actually living in Argentina. Wow! Are you kidding me?? How ironic!!

He, his girlfriend, and a friend of theirs came to visit us for the New Year. It was funny to see him - as back at Cbeyond who would have ever thought what was ahead of us...

The place we camped was AWESOME!!! It's called "Islote Las Gaviotas." We seriously got the best spot in the campground.









It's near the famous coastal town, Valparaiso, on the Pacific ocean that puts on the most famous show of fireworks in Chile for New Year's. Our campsite was at the top of some cliffs on a point overlooking the ocean and from this beautiful view we could see Valparaiso for the fireworks that were to launch at midnight.



At this gem of a site we were able to have a breath taking view of the ocean, witness the "Blue moon" for New Years that won't happen again for another 19 years (blue moon happens every 2 1/2 years where there are 2 full moons in one month), and saw wonderful fireworks all the way up the coast line as far as we could see!



To top it off there was an oasis of a beach that was right near our campground that was at the bottom of the cliffs in a little cove. It had gorgeous water, nice waves, soft, clean sand, and little caves all over in the cliffs and huge rock formations coming off the cliffs with caves as well - I felt like I was in Goonies for a bit. The beach was called "Playa Las Docas."







I thought about all of you and wondered what you were all up to... as our celebrations were all several hours apart.

Love you all and Happy New Year from Chile,

Aaron & Jenny





Here's a link to the video I took at the beach "Playa Las Docas"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iYM1FscbHk