living the good life

whether it be from friends at home, or family members we get to see via skype or else fellow travelers we meet at hostels, many times in the last few weeks, people have commented to us that we are living the good life. the good life has taken us from peru to chile to argentina, with over 100 hours on bus so far in the first three weeks of this new year. not a day goes by that we are not aware of how blessed we are to take this time, free from obligations of a house, children, car payments, etc. to wander around together.

hiking in Cafayate Argentina

recently, we have been meeting all sorts of new people. a group of gypsies in the park. the boy from louisiana who is starting his own non profit. a group of 30 young people from buenos aires we ended up hiking with. the australian girl working the front desk at the hostel. the family on the roadside cooking up tortillas. the old man who struck up conversation at the outdoor concert. and so many more people who are the characters in this story. being constantly faced with people who are different from me has been a great chance to practice loving others like jesus did- not on my schedule or terms or only with those who are easy to love. i am reminded that it doesn´t come as easy to me as it did to him.


Iquique Chile

the good life has taken us into chile where we were almost given a huge fine at the border because of the popcorn kernels that we had tucked in luke´s bag. by the grace of God, the officer decided to let us go with no problem. we then headed to a beach town in the north called Iquique, where the sandy shores were packed with families and friends enjoying their vacation and the sunshine. no one except me seemed to be bothered by the multitudes of jelly fish in the waves. from there, we headed to San Pedro de Atacama, a hopping town in the driest desert in the world (Atacama Desert). we rented bikes and rode out to a valley, where we were able to watch the sunset over a huge sand dune. we caved in and took a tour to a salt lake with a salt content 7x that of the ocean, which means that everyone FLOATS! we also got to see salt flats and flamingos.


floating in the salt lake of laguna cejar

deciding that Chile was a bit too rich for our blood (hostels and bus rides were more than double what we had paid in Peru and Ecuador), we headed over to an unpresumptuous town in the north of Argentina. entering wine country in Cafayate, we got to go to a winery and try the famous torrontes white wine and the malbec red. we met new friends from Buenos Aires that invited us to stay with them once we reach the capital. after several days camping in a municipal campground with Argentinian families on vacation (they really do bring everything but the kitchen sink!), we landed in Cordoba, where the highlight for me was exploring the city by night and enjoying a concert in a park. now, we have landed in Rosario (a common destination for study abroad students), a city that reminds us of Portland- a lovely riverfront, coffeeshops on each corner, people getting around by bikes, lots of small businesses, etc. tomorrow, we move onto Bueno Aires where we will spend a few days exploring a new city and this weekend, we take a ferry/bus combination to Montevideo, Uruguay where we will rendezvous with an old family friend of luke´s. then, we will head north to Iguazu Falls and then cross into Paraguay, by mid-February.

Argentina is much more like the States, not nearly as underdeveloped as Ecuador and Peru. everyone is much more stylish here and we are feeling underdressed everywhere we go these days. the small wardrobe that we each carry with us is starting to get old. our chacos get strange looks, and everyone wonders where my high heels are. also, literally everything closes for about five hours in the afternoon for a siesta. breakfast is a coffee with croissant and dinner joints start filling up around 10pm. yerba mate is the drink of choice and nearly everyone walks around with their thermos ready to go with hot water. we are finally among our kind of people! (in case you don´t know, luke´s family has officially turned me into a mate addict.) easy to feed my addiction here.


the best things about argentina- wine and mate

what a whirlwind our trip has been, especially recently. i am having a hard time believing that it has already been nearly five months. we have seen some incredibly beautiful places and been able to experience truly unique things, as we live this good life. but i am not going to lie. there are moments when i long to sleep in my own bed or go over to my family´s house at a moment´s notice. i long to cook my own meals and eat just one slice of tillamook cheese. drive my car around or be able to go out for a chai with a girlfriend. wear a new outfit or pick up the phone. those things will all come soon enough (and inevitably, then, i will be longing to be back in south america. why is it that the grass is always greener?) that being said, for now, i will remain where God has called us to be and enjoy this special time of life with luke, my loving and gracius husband. i am looking forward to meeting his family in Paraguay and perhaps a more normal experience than hurriedly rushing from one place to the next.

Until then, remembering each morning that ¨this is the day the Lord has made. we will rejoice and be glad in it.¨ psalm 118:24


sunset in the atacama desert

Starts with a BANG

(Luke´s version) Some people say the Colca Canyon is the world´s 2nd deepest canyon- we even saw a shirt that argues it should be one of the new 7 wonders of the world. We were quite impressed by the majestic canyon, but in all reality it is much more like a giant Andean mountain gorge. We spent 5 hours descending the steep switch-back trail to arrive over 4,000 feet below where we started (the town of Cabanaconde). We saw a Condor on our hike (a giant vulture) and were completely exhausted by the time we reached the bottom. The beauty was well worth the effort!



Going all that way down, we expected to be in complete isolation. To our suprise we found a construction crew at the bottom, working on the new road that was being built into the canyon. We didn´t care. We set up our tent next to the river, and took a nap on the rocks. BANG! (the sound of the dynamite breaking the mountainside.) construction? why here? We were able to drown out the construction by locating ourselves close enough to the rushing river, and camping 2 nights at the bottom of the canyon, swimming, hiking, and having a campfire! But the time came when we had to make the 4 AM wake up to beat the heat...up up up 4,000 feet.





We were very thankful to return to a wonderful family in the town of Huanuco who invited us back to stay with them and their church for New Year´s Eve. We spent the night singing English and Spanish songs in front of the church, praying, and eating the traditional Paneton (an italian sweet cake with raisins and candied fruit) and hot chocolate. What a blessing it has been to not just see scenery, but meet genuinely loving people. I enjoyed many soccer games with the teenagers, and kat constantly had 7 little girls hanging off her arms at all times.



From there we went to Lima where we stretched our legs by riding some poorly made bicycles around town, and on the Oceanfront boardwalk. From there we came to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, and now we continue into Chile tomorrow. By the end of this month we will be with an old family friend, Susana, (from Paraguay) in Montevideo Uruguay, and then past Iguazu Falls to Paraguay to visit my family there. What adventures lay ahead! Thanks always for your thoughts and prayers.