03rdOctober

Hospitals & Weddings & Stereotypes, Oh My!

It wouldn’t really be fair to spend 2 weeks in America and not give any sort of recap of our time there – after all, adventures happen at home too. After spending a few days in Santiago, Chile, which was an extremely modern and easily navigable city, we received bad news on the home front on Thursday, the 13th. We had spent the evening at an over-priced expat sports bar in the nicest neighborhood watching the Bears vs. Packers game as …

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20thSeptember

It’s not Thanksgiving but…

We recently completed our almost 7 month odyssey around South America, a journey that will certainly never be forgotten. One that has changed me as a person in many little ways, hopefully for the better, as only challenging travel can. We’ve been spending the last week here in the US with my family as we rally around my Grandmother in the hospital and I’ve had a lot of time to think about the things i’m grateful for in life. I’ve been …

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12thSeptember

Climb Up then Slide Down. Yes Please.

I like Pucon, Chile. It is a fun town. I hope to go back to Pucon, Chile because of those two facts. It was pretty as well. Ok, enough of that. That was my imitation of my writing skillZ in comparison to Seema’s. #Fail. En serio – Pucon was our first real Chilean experience. We made our way over the border from Bariloche to Pucon to see if we could taste the difference between Chilean Patagonia and Argentina Pategonia – turns out …

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11thSeptember

To Aunt Dorothy

Tyler’s Great-Aunt Dorothy passed away early in the morning on Monday, September 3rd. She was almost 91 years old and in good health until being diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer this spring. She chose not to undergo any treatment and unfortunately  and most undeservedly faced a great deal of pain in her last days. When we chatted with her though, she was nothing but positive and grateful for having lived the life she had. Her faith in God and her …

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11thSeptember

Lakes on Lakes

It would’ve been a huge disappointment if we hadn’t made it to at least part of Patagonia on this trip, so after Mendoza, we decided to overnight bus to Bariloche. Now before you get all “oh.em.gee that’s not REAL ridiculously remote/difficult to get to/freezing cold Patagonia next to Antartica” – we are aware – but it is legitimately called northern Patagonia, and I’m not going to argue with the experts. Quite frankly, it was cold enough for my NorthFace fleece …

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10thSeptember

Is it possible to OD on Malbec?

If the answer was yes, I would’ve found out the hard way. Mendoza MUST mean “Drink Too Much Wine” in Spanish. In all of Argentina’s restaurants, they offer bottles of wine for at least 1/2 the price of water, and the grocery store sells them for what essentially rounds to free. And these are not cheap, crappy wines – these are delicious pairings to restaurant steak or homemade soup & salad in your hostel or no-food late night drinking while …

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09thSeptember

Don’t cry for me, Argentina

The truth is, I didn’t really want to leave you. That may not be apparent by my lack of posts, but don’t take it personally – I’ve just been lazy (and mildly busy). This is going to be a long one! Part One: Iguazu Falls – Argentina side (August 18) As I previously mentioned, Argentina is considered the “best” side of the Falls because it provides the most panoramic views. After a mediocre breakfast of delicious coffee with plain bread and super …

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08thSeptember

How to travel like a pseudo-backpacker

*So I wrote this weeks ago and just never posted it. As an FYI, it was written on Friday, August 19th in Iguazu Falls, Argentina. We’ve received a number of inquiries about what we’ve packed and how/why, how we plan our destinations and find what to do/where to eat, and general travel advice. As I wait for my family to arrive in our B&B in Iguazu Falls, Argentina (they have been traveling for forever, and their last flight was delayed, so …

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04thSeptember

Iguazu Falls & Itaipu Dam, Brazil

After spending the most incredible few days in Bonito, our new favorite “nature-y” destination, I wasn’t sure I was ready to have Mother Nature blow me away again with Iguazu Falls. After taking a bus back to Campo Grande and flying (via 3 stops) to Foz do Iguacu (Brazil side), we finally made it to the Green House Hostel. The hostel was pleasant – clean and decently located near buses and a supermarket – and we made use of the …

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16thAugust

Bonito is bonito and Pantanal is mais o menos

Leaving the wonderful home and comforts of Madalena’s house in Belo Horizonte was going to be difficult regardless of where our next stop would be, but we didn’t make it any easier of an adjustment by picking Pantanal as our next stop. Everyone knows about the Amazon rainforest, but not too many non-Brazilians know about the Pantanal and Bonito, the Brazilian savanna (mixed with a little rainforest too). Lucky for us, Otavio showed us pictures of both while we were …

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