Tag Archives: family

Patagonia Greatest Hits

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Travels in Patagonia with los abuelos

Travels in Patagonia with los abuelos

All things considered, our kids travelled like pros for three weeks as we explored Patagonia, Buenos Aires and Colonia de Sacramento in Uruguay with Erica’s parents.  Much to the kids’ dismay we managed to squeeze in some study time along the way, but the best part was watching them learn simply by seeing new and amazing sights along the way.  At times it can difficult to appreciate how wonderful this time together has been for all of us when Ben is squealing, Elliott’s yelling or Molly’s screaming about how her clothes are too tight.  It sometimes takes just a deep breath and a look out the window at the gorgeous lakes of Bariloche to gain perspective (terrific wine doesn’t hurt either).

This segment of our year abroad marked 6 months since we left Portland, Molly’s 4th birthday, a long anticipated trip to Patagonia, a visit from grandparents and our 2nd border crossing to renew our 90 day tourist stamp.  We thought it would be fun to share some of the kids’ favorite experiences from the trip south.  Needless to say the best part for all of them was seeing Grandma and Grandpa.

Elliott

  1. Bariloche chocolate (check this out!)
  2. Seeing all the glaciers (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares near El Calafate)
  3. Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa and the boat captain on the glacier boat ride

Ben

  1. Our house in Bariloche was awesome
  2. Seeing the lake monster and playing in the fort (Lago Nahuel Huapi)

    Playing in a driftwood shelter on the beach near Llao Llao

    Playing in a driftwood shelter on the beach near Llao Llao

  3. Eating lots of hamburguesas and drinking Fanta

Molly

  1. My birthday cake

    Molly's 4th birthday cake in Bariloche

    Molly’s 4th birthday cake in Bariloche

  2. My smoothie at the hotel in Bariloche

    Savoring a smoothie at Hotel Llao Llao

    Savoring a smoothie at Hotel Llao Llao

  3. Seeing the glaciers

A few other good times captured on film include:

Being tourists in Bariloche

Being tourists in Bariloche

Elliott on the Cerro Catedral chairlift

Elliott on the Cerro Catedral chairlift

Taking a bet to swim in Lago Gutierrez

Taking a bet to swim in Lago Gutierrez

Pictures & Maps

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A photo montage from our weekend trip to La Cumbre a few weeks ago and a trip to Villa General Belgrano for the day yesterday.  La Cumbre is located to the north of Cordoba in the Central Sierras and is famous for paragliding and the Cristo Redentor statue.   Yesterday we managed to visit VGB for one of the final days of Fiesta National de la Cerveza, otherwise known as Oktoberfest.   Villa General Belgrano is located south of Cordoba.   We’ve had some fun playing with a map program recently to document our travel, but we can’t quite figure out yet how to embed it nicely into the blog.  Until then, here is the link!!

Cristo Redentor, La Cumbre

Cristo Redentor, La Cumbre

Sunset from Cuchi Corral, La Cumbre

Sunset from Cuchi Corral, La Cumbre

Vast skies at sunset, La Cumbre

Vast skies at sunset, La Cumbre

Huge crowds at Oktoberfest, Villa General Belgrano

Huge crowds at Oktoberfest, Villa General Belgrano

Daily parade, VGB

Daily parade, VGB

Oktoberfest complete with amusement park!, VGB

Oktoberfest complete with amusement park!, VGB

Many different groups and dress in the parade, VGB

Many different groups and dress in the parade, VGB

And yes, bier. Note my selection of stein.

And yes, bier. Note my selection of stein

Day in the Life

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Viernes 04 de octubre: A busy day in the life

7:30 AM:  Up and at ’em!  Coffee on, check email, FB and a few hotel options in BA for an upcoming trip.  Solo breakfast of left-over cornmeal pancakes, fried steak and egg before chaos ensues.

8:00 AM:  Chaos ensues when waking the kids for the day.  A Molly no le gusta la manana.  Shades open and breakfast requests made.  The kids have morning and night checklists now for basic stuff.   They include getting dressed and making beds before breakfast among other duties.  $5 pesos can be earned daily for compliance.  Screaming and yelling follows when Molly realizes she’s supposed to wear her swimsuit under her clothes today for daycare.  Friday is pool day!  Molly’s preference is to wear no clothing at all, so the idea of a tight suit under clothes is unbearable.   Molly loses screen time today.

9:00 AM:  Daddy bolts for Spanish class.  The boys begin their morning tutoring and homework with Erica despite Molly’s tortured wails.  The school that Erica and I take Spanish lessons at is a 20 minute walk from the house.

9:30 AM-12:30 PM:  Today my twice weekly class seems so tranquil after the crazy morning.  One-on-one with the teacher leaves me exhausted after 3 hours.  Today we work on reflexive and irregular verbs.  Erica walks Molly 2 blocks up to her daycare.   Drop-off has been going well for the week, but today started out rough, so she cries.  Daddy usually drops her off as a result.  Elliott works on science and Ben on math today.  We’re using a variety of home school books, but primarily the What Your XXXX Grader Needs to Know, by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.  The 3 strikes rule is working better for curbing freak-outs during this time each day.  Afterwards the boys entertain themselves by watching some baby pigeons in the backyard try to fly.

12:30 PM-1:30 PM:  Erica picks up Molly from daycare, and she had fun!  Today was the first day she decided to actually swim.  Erica feeds the kids lunch and gets the boys ready for school.  I finish up class and step out to catch a bus downtown.  We need money so time to visit the money guy.  The process of getting money in Argentina is a whole other post someday on its own!  I wait for the nicer, diferencial bus for the 20 minute ride to Centro.  Erica starts walking about 1pm with the kids to school (the walk to school takes about 25 minutes with the kids) but runs into Elliott’s friend’s mother, who gives the boys a ride.  Bonus since now Molly can have a nap!!

2:00 PM-3:30 PM:  After Molly’s nap Erica walks to the school kiosko to volunteer as kids scream in candy orders rapidly in Spanish during each recess.  Molly tags along today.  The kiosko is solely staffed by the equivalent of the PTA and raises money for the school.  We think incorporating a small shop that sells vast quantities of soda and candy to kids during the school day at Beach School back in North Portland would go over well.   After 3 previous trips to the office downtown where I pick up money I finally remember the correct bus stop.  Downtown during siesta is packed but my sense of direction is improving in Centro and find the office with little problems.   After a little chit-chat I descend the elevator with a large wad of pesos on my person.   Since we are planning a trip to Uruguay and Buenos Aires soon, I stop in across the street at the local Buquebus office to purchase 5 roundtrip ferry/bus tickets using my newly acquired pesos.  Fortunately they’re open despite siesta!  This takes longer than expected, but after an hour I leave with our tickets and exhausted after 3 hours of class plus an hour speaking completely in Spanish with the ticket agent.

3:30 PM-4:00 PM:  Before the bus ride back to our barrio, I stop in a La Tasca near San Martin Square for a bite to eat.  Little old men in bright red coats are servers, and seem to outnumber the customers.  I thoroughly enjoy a Quilmes beer and small pizza complete with the hearts of palm that seem to be on every pizza I end up with.

5:00 PM:  After short wait for another diferencial bus, I’m back where I started get off about 6 blocks from the boys school.  I walk up and relieve Erica of Molly’s company at the kiosko, if only for a short time before school’s out at 5:30.  Molly and I head back home, first stopping at the corner toy school to load up on a few birthday presents for the coming weekend and 3 scheduled parties.   We all end up back home about the same time.

6:30 PM:  Manuel (neighbor and rugby coach) honks and the boys race out the door to rugby practice.  Manuel is a saint and Elliott’s become good friends with his son, Santi.  My beautiful wife brings me a gin & tonic as I start on our dinner of fettuccine with squash, arugula and lemon!

9:30 PM:  Boys return and chow down.  We all devour the remains of a pint of Bariloche helado for dessert when  plates are cleaned.  The boys escape showers since they have a game in the morning and kids are in bed by 10pm.  1 kid out of 3 earns $5 pesos today.

Rinse and repeat

Unloading

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In a plan with a lot of benchmarks along the way, we’re hitting the final stretch. Two big ones are getting close. Our property manager showed our house for rent for the first time today and it looks like my car is sold pending an inspection! Securing a tenant for a year is obviously critical to making ends meet. Hopefully all the work during Family Clean Night paid off, we’ll see. Selling the car is the final budget chunk needed.

The kids seem completely unfazed by the idea of complete strangers living in our house for the next year. Elliott did ask what we’re doing with the bunk beds today though. So far fairly vague answers are working. For the most part they’ve been blissfully unaware of our massive cleansing projects. We sold a couch 4 months ago and they never said a word!

A huge part of the preparation and planning process has been unloading belongings and gradual packing. This has actually been enormously cathartic for Erica and I. Deciding what went to Goodwill or on Craigslist was a lot more difficult 1 year ago. It’s easy now as we get closer. We’ve become expert Craigslist merchandisers over the past year and have sold over 30 items according to my count. A brief list of our sales: turkey blind, TV, croquet set, paper shredder, air conditioner, shotgun, 3 bikes, electric smoker, baby changing table, desk, and a rocking chair.

The packing effort is in full swing and out in the open with the kids thankfully. The goal now is to pack as much as possible early to avoid a complete panic as we approach departure day. Thus the guest room is now the storage room.

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