It’s the beginning of Fall so all the leaves are changing color and falling from the trees, one by one. The evenings have been cold so we’ve had to put a fire in the fireplace to stay warm. It’s been nice because the guests will come and huddle around with us, a conversation will start, and before you know it you’re on a first name basis with them. Our host has been spoiling us with delicious food and wine of all varieties. We’re afraid we might gain some weight staying here because the cheeses and the wine and the bread are SO good.

Every villager is breeding some kind of animal to put in their bellies during the cold winter so the daily journey to get bread from the bakery was like walking through a petting zoo. On an average 20 minute walk we would see free-roaming geese, mules, chickens, sheep, turkeys, horses, ducks – even partridges.

About 2 miles away from the village are some Roman ruins that are actively being excavated. Last week we took a walk down a long country road to visit the ruins and take some photos. It was pretty impressive.

We also met a very nice English couple that were so generous and considerate to take us around to the different villages, merchants, historic landmarks, and overall insider stuff that we would likely never have seen or known had it not been for them. We are forever grateful to them.

Istanbul is BIG but surprisingly easy to get around if you’re not driving a car. We had learned just enough Turkish to be able to grab a bus, order a tea or coffee, go grocery shopping, and pay the bill. Luckily for us, English is the second language in Turkey so that helped us out a lot. We went out every day for a new adventure. There’s so much history to see and experience. We will have to return some day and spend more time.

Then, she took us to Cappadocia to see the surreal landscape they call Fairy Chimneys. Local myth has it that Fairies once had dwellings there. Maybe. But they must have been pretty religious fairies. Scientists say that a volcano erupted leaving soft ashy sediment that was later eroded by wind and rain. All that aside, Cappadocia is really something to see with your own eyes. Her good friend Irem then took us to her home town along the Red River (Turkey’s longest river) that is known for its pottery. Great fun, great people, great experience.

Finally, Tulay invited us to visit her family’s village way, way, way, way out in the Turkish countryside. We met the sweetest, most loving family EVER! We can’t even explain the kindness and good graces we experienced while in the village. It was heart-warming and genuine. They fed us a lot of delicious Turkish food as well as some authentic Circassian food. We slept better there than we have slept anywhere during our travels; really. We were very sad to leave. We love Tulay and her family. We feel privileged to have met her and to know her.

So, we volunteered at a charming little B&B WAY, WAY out in the country that offers eco-tourism for its guests. This involved daily cleaning of the pool, guest rooms, and gardening as well as preparing breakfast and helping with dinner. Equally important duties included runnning bandit chickens off the property and the occassional goat. July in Turkey is HOT; a brutal face-melting heat. We have a new appreciation for a cold glass of water and some shade.

The food has been excellent, second only to the genuine kindness and generosity of the people we have met. We’ve been eating the Mediterranean-style diet and have been loving it. The soil here is volcanic in many parts so it is rich in nutrients. You could put almost anything in the ground and watch it grow – olives, grapes, citrus, pomagranite, berries, bananas, figs.

Our hotel was located 30 km South of Marrakech – at the foot of the Atlas mountains. The morning sunrises and evening sunsets were amazing. The mid part of the days were so hot that all you could do was get into the pool to cool off. The hotel was like a large, quiet oasis way out in the countryside; decorated with a lot of Moroccan drapery, ornate lanterns, and rugs – very beautiful.

The main square in the old part of Marrakech can be a little crazy and overwhelming. The narrow streets are a colorful labyrinth, lined with countless souks selling every type of spice, shoes, kaftans, lanterns, leather, jewelry – anything you can imagine – and ready to make a serious bargain with you. All day you will hear, “Come see! Just for looking, not for buy.” But you must be ready to bargain for anything that you’ve shown even remote interest. In addition to pedestrian traffic you might find yourself directly in the path of a motorbike or donkey pulling a wide cart. By the way, the employment rate for donkies in Morocco seems to be at a healthy 100%.

We had seen TV shows on Marrakech before but you really have to experience it for yourself to understand what it is everyone likes and doesn’t like about it. The food is very inspiring; rich with all types of spices. Tanjine cooking is similar to crock pot cooking but tastes about 1,000 times better. If you do visit Marrakech, just say “no” to anyone offering to show you to a tannery. We’ve read stories and heard first-person accounts of the….unique odor in the air…..the less-than-kind approach…..and the method in which you might get entrapped in a smelly old tannery. UGH! So, we avoided that like the plague. We would definitely like to return some day and spend a little more time and money in all the souks.

We ate what might be considered the best pastry ever at a bakery called ‘Pastéis de Belém’. It’s like baklava and creme brulee had a delicious little baby with cinnamon and sugar on top.

Kind of a long story…..but we had quite an adventure getting to the port city of Santos, Brazil – South of Sao Paulo. Our travels now consist of trains, planes, automobiles, buses and boats – oh, and a cable car.

We spent a lot of time relaxing (sleeping), eating, visiting a few port stops along the way, and just enjoying the ocean views. Rio de Janeiro was our first port stop but it was flooded due to excessive rain; so they wouldn’t let anyone off the boat. We did see some dolphins somewhere off West Africa, a hint of a whale, and did a lot of shopping on the Canary islands.

Argentina is all about Tango, Malbec wine, and meat…..meat is served with every meal. So what else could we do but treat ourselves to an evening of Tango, wine, and steak. Buenos Aires is a big, beautiful, modern, metropolitan city with a lot of French architecture, high-end shopping, a monument on every other corner, and pizzerias everywhere.

We learned a lot about the country while we were here – learned a lot of Chilean Spanish, folk music and dance, experienced some unique Chilean food, learned about wine. We took a train through one of Chile’s many wine regions and stopped off at a couple vineyards to learn about wine and, of course, taste wine.

So, we went out-and-about today to the Bella Vista district to have some lunch. We were looking for this Vietnamese restaurant (we really miss Vietnamese food) but they don’t open until 8:00 pm because they spend the daylight hours repairing damage caused by the earthquake. So instead, we ate lunch a couple blocks away then headed for the Mapocho Station Cultural Center. Formerly Santiago’s primary train station, it now serves as an art and culture center for performances, exhibits, and events.

When we got back to our apartment we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had hot water again and the washer/dryer services had been turned back on. Woohoo! Cold showers and room temperature baths are not fun.

Tomorrow is Chile’s Day of Mourning in honor of those who lost their lives over the past week due to earthquake-related catastrophes here in Chile. Something interesting we noticed was that, each week day, the city of Santiago would fire off a very large, very loud canon at exactly noon. That canon hasn’t been fired in over a week. Surely everyone here can do without a loud “BANG” every day when their buildings have been rattling for a week.

We’re trying not to dwell on it but if you watch CNN you’ll see that not much has improved over the past 4 days. Personally, things for us aren’t bad…we have cold water (no hot showers), electricity, and internet…..and we are extremely lucky compared to the towns on the coast. AND we get to enjoy sunsets like these out our window:

Our local grocery store is only one door down and, as soon as we step out onto the sidewalk, we are standing in a line that is easily 40 deep. The grocery store is a really popular spot right now – water, bread, items of sustenance – so they are serious about regulating the traffic flow. For the past 3 days we wait outside the grocery store for about 20 minutes, shop inside for about 15 minutes, then wait in the check-out line for 30 minutes. Again, not a big deal as compared to life on the Chilean coast but that’s just how things are going for us at the moment. Today we took the elevator in our building for the first time since Saturday……the stairs feel safer.

Tomorrow we’ll get out-and-about again and try to take in some more local cuisine, see some museums, art shows, and live music. We’ve searched for local volunteer opportunities that simply need our time and effort but, very surprisingly, those aren’t as available as we might have hoped. We’re looking for a food bank or a blood drive or some sort of central dispatch where we can bundle care packages for those in need but…..still looking.

It was really weird. Around 3:30 this morning our building started to shake and sway and everything in our apartment started rattling. I was asleep for the first, major tremor but Angela was wide awake. We had no electricity so we grabbed some flashlights and got dressed. Then we did the smartest thing any couple could do at a time like this – we ate all the ice cream in the freezer before it melted then went back to sleep. There were small aftershocks for the next 4 hours after that.

8 hours later, the electricity came back on and we were awakened by the sounds of all our gadgets coming back to life. We get online and see all this doom, gloom, and disaster in the news. We had no idea the earthquake was that serious. We feel very lucky to have been safe while something like this was happening around us.

We just got back in from walking around the city taking photos. Some of the older buildings had some of there facades shaken off and some of the old churches lost their bell towers. After the electricity came back on, the water in our building was shut off. But everything – except the elevator – seems to be back to normal for us now. Our apartment is on the 14th floor so…..we get a workout every time we leave and come back.

Some highways near Santiago did collapse, the airport is closed due to some damage, and our building did shed some stucco onto the street below but the city of Santiago seems to be functioning well. An old building, probably with faulty wiring, did catch fire about a block from here earlier today.

Update: While writing this, we were hit with another aftershock. It’s much scarier when you’re wide awake, standing in your apartment.

This city is enormous so we’re just taking it day-by-day….first we found a friendly bank, then a grocery store that we like, then a currency exchange, then good restaurants, etc…taking a lot of photos as we go. Hotdogs are big here – not “big” as in “Everything’s bigger in Texas” but “big” as in they’re everywhere. One thing that we found strange is the lack of fresh coffee. The grocery store aisles are full of instant coffee but not-so-much on the fresh coffee. Chile has a couple mountains…so…what’s the deal? Maybe the wine grape industry out-weighs the coffee bean industry.

There are a number of volunteer opportunities for us here; it’s just a matter of picking the one that matches up best for everyone. We’re playing that aspect of this stop by ear at the moment.

We are a little disappointed that we did not get to visit Machu Picchu because of the damaging rain they had a couple weeks ago. But that does not compare to the disappointment of the people that live near there or the people that were visiting when it happened. Everything happens for a reason. We’ll just have to come back again some day.

Some of the highlights of our visit would have to be: The adventure of ordering food when you have no idea what you just ordered – even though you translated it. Being on Peruvian television. Eating the freshest ceviche. Saving a blind man’s life. Spending Valentine’s day in another country. Watching reggae bands perform. The amazing photo opps. Grocery shopping……that’s always an adventure. Walking around at any time, day or night, and feeling safe. Eating, reading, and talking on the roof top every other night.

If you ever visit Lima, Peru we highly recommend staying in Miraflores. It’s a bit tourist-driven but that’s mostly on the main drag close to the coast. If you venture a block or two on any side street, you’ll get a true, local experience. We’ll even recommend a great place to stay – it’s not a hostal – for $12 a night.

We’re off to Chile now to check out some wine country, fresh seafood, museums, and whatever else we find there.

We have met some very interesting people here, from all over the world, doing very different and interesting things with their lives. It’s been great because some of them have already been to some of the countries we will be visiting; so they are able to give us some priceless advice and guidance.

But one of the biggest highlights of our trip was the week we spent driving around the Nicoya penninsula. We rented a car and headed Northwest and drove down the coast….beach hopping, driving through fords (temporary rivers), driving through mountains, getting lost, seeing horses and cows. Did we mention the beaches?

Here are some random photos that we have taken along the way that somehow didn’t make it into any of our photo galleries.

Night view of the lights we see across the valley from our cabina.

Our favorite internet cafe. Free wifi, friendly staff, and the best coffee - Cafe Britt.

Dramatic sunset cloud

From outside our cabina door. How can something so ugly be so delicious?

Dog that chased us every time we passed by on our way to the internet cafe. Good times!

Window view from Chinese restaurant the serves the best chicken fried rice EVER.

Creepy life-size Santa Clause.

Every day is unique in its own little adventurous way. When you’re not anchored to anything, your sense for the passage of time is skewed and nothing is “normal” or “routine”.

Just in the normal course of a day, we learn so much from the farm boss and farm owner. We’ve learned that papaya is not only a delicious way to stimulate digestion but you can also 1) grind up the dried seeds to make pepper and 2) use the inner side of the peel to treat a sunburn. Good stuff. One of the most important things we are learning is to make the most of what is already available to you and waste nothing.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. We strongly believe it has been. We still have some adjusting to do – some country-specific but some just in lifestyle – but we feel we have gotten familiar and acquainted enough with the immediate area to connect with it and take it all in. It is a new kind of beautiful here.

We left Austin a couple weeks ago and have been hanging out in Houston until now.  Staying at various family members’ houses has been good practice for the hosted volunteer opportunities we’ll be experiencing in each country.

There is a small chance we’ll visit the Northern part of Panama while in Central America but we’re still working on the details of that.

It’s amazing how much information is out there on the topic of travel – on any topic, really.  Until you become interested in something, it almost exists “elsewhere”.  But when you tune into a topic and really pursue information on it, you find out that there are endless amounts of information from various sources and types of sources.   Sifting through all of it is a necessary process that can lead you to feel overwhelmed.  It takes a while to figure out what information is valuable and what is just fodder; what information you are going to reference time and time again and what is just for one-time use.