Hi everyone! How very exciting to finally be here in Punta Arenas, so far south in the the country of Chile and so near the bottom of the planet. I never dreamt in my wildest imagination I would travel to Patagonia of all places! So far Bobert and I had a wonderful early dinner with the most generous waiter. He was so attentive and genuinely excited to share the best food Patagonia Chile has to offer. Bob and I both wondered how did we get so lucky to find this wonderful personality during our first moments in another strange place? The air temperature is very crisp outside and still light so far (9 PM). I hope I brought enough layers of clothing to stay warm while we are out trekking around during the next week. I ... read more

I could hardly sleep last night because I have so much that I am thinking about as Bob and I getting ready to leave this great country . . . Peru. If you look at a map of Peru it has so many different regions from the selva (jungle), coast, high mountains, and high plains. It kind of reminds me of all the variety California has to offer. The people are as varied as the geography, but what I like is they all have big hearts and retain their heritage/history whatever it may be. Bob and I have made a few special life-long friendships here in Cusco. Maria (who I stayed with the last time I was here) and her family are very hard-working in their new business endeavors (two bars). What is a lot of ... read more

Wow what an amazing day we experienced yesterday. Bob and I had made arrangements to do a day hike in the Andes just for fun but we got much more than expected. After waking around 4 AM to meet up with our two guides we took a taxi to Lamay and then road a bus up to the very small commuity of Lares. That took at least three hours. But this is trivial information because during the hike as in most trekking experiences we were able to walk deep into the mountains and visit the most incredible scenery (similar to the eastern Sierra Nevada but green) and experience the communities along the way who truly keep their traditional values, living very simply in the most arduous circumstances. Bob and I felt very priviledge to be received ... read more

Hello everyone, This is our first entry. It is more of and experiment to see if blogging is a good avenue for us to communicate with all our loved ones. Today has been a big day to get ready. As usually I have been focusing on cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping and purchasing last minutes items, and packing. A magic wand would be nice, but wait a minute, the trip is magic! Have a special holiday in the coming days. Bob and I will blog in again soon. XO, Aud and Bob... read more