Fast Forward

We uploaded Bariloche photos today and I was reminded of how far behind we are on our blog. It's raining an cold today in Puero Varas, Chile. We arrived in Puerto Montt on October 12th after abandoning plans to fly back to Buenos Aires and then on to Santiago. We opted to spend an extra day in Bariloche and then drive across the Andes into Chile and work our way north by land to Santiago. From there, we are scheduled to fly to New Zealand on October 27th. Our decision to stay in Bariloche triggered a series of events that day that culminated with a scary accident. We all escaped with minor injuries but I had to spend a long night in the hospital under observation because of a head injury. All is well but it reminded us all of how precious and fragile life is and how important it is for all of us to live each day to the fullest because you never know when your time will come. More on that later. In an effort to keep the blog chronological, we are going to try to get through Ecuador, Peru and Argentina in the next few entries. Sorry to rehash old news but we use the blog entries to help us keep the sequence clear in our own minds.

Quito was cosmopolitan by Ecuadorian standards and we enjoyed our first creative international cuisine. By that, I mean food other than pollo and rice prepared and presented in a creative way. We walked to 12 blocks to and from the restaurant district every night. One night, we strayed a bit off course and ended up with a bunch of hookers. Then it was on to the gay restaurant. Always seeking new educational opportunities for the kids! We took a day trip to the equator and conducted lots of cool experiments. We spend 4 hours shopping for new shoes to fit Anne Nelson. Our driver Patricio suggested we go to the open market downtown for the best selection. I've never seen so many shoes in my life and I think Anne Nelson tried most of them on. We stayed at a delightful small hotel called Los Alpes. It was located right next to the American Consulate between the historic heart of downtown and Mirador, the newer section of the city where most of the nightlife can be found. While in Quito, we adopted a new system in which the responsibility for choosing a restaurant rotated each day to another member of the family. The kids were given a strict daily budget for food and they could spend it however they wanted but if they went over one day, they had to make it up the next. It worked really well for everyone except Jacob who had a hard time staying within budget. Anne Nelson would take it to the other extreme, avoiding food altogether so she could save up money. Anyway, we've kept the system going, modifying the budget as we change countries and adjust to new economic realities. We all enjoyed Quito but were ready to leave Ecuador when the time came.