Neal F

Chile´s Patagonia: 1. Punta Arenas: Old Wool Boom and My Recovery Town 2. Puerto Natales & Torres Del Paine National Park: 5 Day Hike in Patagonia 3. The Navimag: Cargo Ship or Backpackers Cruise? Since last time ive wrote (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) ive crossed into Chile´s patagonia (same but different beautiful scenary, only now on the chilean side of the southern andes). 1. Punta Arenas: Old Wool Boom and My Recovery Town I caught a bit of a cold in the chaotic weather of Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego. So i decided to spend a night nursing myself back to health in Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is usually passed by travellers because theres not much to do here. And as such it was a perfect stop and a beautiful place. Its the most southern city of ... read more

So upon finishing our volunteer work in Estancia, Becky and I spent 2 ½ weeks travelling through the rest of El Salvador. And heres the scoop. Contents 1.Perquin: couples get away in the mountains (with the other couple volunteers) 2. El Tunco: Beach culture El Salvador, with surfing. 3. Colonial Towns and lakes: Suchitoto, Lago de Coatepeque, Ataco, Ruta de las Flores 4. Juayua. Gastronomia Food Fair 5. Barra de Santiago: 6. La Despedida 1. Perquin: couples get away in the mountains (with the other couple volunteers) Our first stop was a joint trip to Perquin with the other 2 volunteers, also a couple. A quick recap on the situation: they were really cool but we all basically shared 1room. There was a wall between us but you could hear every sound, even tossing during the ... read more

Since Mexico, Last 2 Weeks 1. Bats in the Night and Baseball 2. Relationships 3. Honey a la miel. 4. Working the Fields 1. Bats in the Night, and Baseball Last night (Dec 11), a bat got into our house around 9 pm. The problem was that to get it out, it has to go through either the door or 1 of 2 windows, which are pretty low compared to the ceiling. And since it was flying high, it was clear that it needed some external help. Fortunately for us, Bela (the dude), had been to Africa and learned that in these situations, the best tactic is to smack it out. Thus, with a broom in hand, Bat Baseball began. I then spent the next 45 min. swinging for the fences at this little mammal. The ... read more

that sums it up, the newest member of our family has arrived, she´s a girl!!!: Baby Noa Leigh Arhangelsky 6 lbs, 4 oz 19.5 in long Born at 4:34 pm on Dec 4 in Phoenix, Az Sorry theres no pics, Noa Leigh isn´t ready for the internet yet. But, I´m heading to Phoenix for the holidays, and ill be there from 12/25 - 1/2. Will probably have a phone, or at least someone i´m with will have a phone, but not sure yet what will be the number. But id love to catch up any way shape or form while there. Lots of love to all... read more

The Floods 1. Flooding in El Salvador/FMLN 2. Hammocks 3. Becky’s Work 4. Siete Semillas (7 Seeds) 1. Flooding in El Salvador/FMLN As for me, I escaped all of the flooding, but the damage is pretty incredible. As it turns out, I didn’t even know there was a hurricane passing until I heard about the flooding and landslides (which I found out about a day and a half later). I actually was at a rally for the FMLN party (quick history cuz it sets the scene: FMLN is the far leftist political party of El Salvador which represents the poor, campesinos, and the down trodden. They were the guerilla party of the war fighting against the wealthy families who controlled the military, government, and wealth. Eventually the civil war ended with a truce and the downtrodden ... read more