Settling in

Megan:
Well, five months ago we were on our way to Chile getting ready to head back to the States, and that's kind of the last most of you have heard from us. Let me apologize for the lack of follow-up. I suppose sleeping late and reveling in just hanging out at home hasn't made for very inspirational subject matter. Although it has typically been our exotic physical experiences that have inspired many of our blog writings, it's often the internal journeys that end up being more rewarding to share. While these past five months have not been as action-packed as the journey that preceded it, the experience has been rich with new challenges, and new learning.

Because of the economic state we walked into when we came home, we did not end up seamlessly returning to our previous jobs a month after our return as we had originally anticipated. Instead we were blessed with several months to settle back in, to focus on retaining many of the valuable lessons we learned on the trip, and to blend some of our new found perspective with our old ways of thinking. One of the most important skills we learned during our year abroad was how to roll with whatever situation presented itself, no matter how different it was from what we were expecting. These past five months have been a wonderful opportunity to continue practicing that.

Instead of frantically searching for jobs in one of the most grim economies either of us has ever seen, we have found ourselves reveling in the unexpected free time, and basking in the warmth of family, close friends, and home. Jon has immensely enjoyed getting back on his bike including a 200 mile, 4-day trip through western Colorado with his dad. We also had a wonderful visit with my mom at the beginning of July when she was in Boulder and helped to celebrate my 30th birthday.

Even with our heightened appreciation of free time, we have both stumbled into work opportunities that we feel pretty excited about. Jon has recently accepted a design position with an international firm, and I have decided to take a different route than the traditional graphic design positions I've had in the past - I have been designing and producing handmade greeting cards. Although this endeavor is still in it's early stages, it has been quite rewarding to watch the process evolve, knowing that whatever it becomes will be determined almost completely by my own actions and decisions. If you are interested in seeing what I've been working on, feel free to check out my website (mhellerdesigns.com).

To celebrate one of our last weeks of uninterrupted free time before Jon started work last week, we recently took a trip to western Colorado for a little backpacking, and a taste of the wine culture on the western slope. For three days and two nights we enjoyed exploring the tranquil flowered valleys of the West Elk Wilderness area. We were shocked that over our entire time in the backcountry we did not see a single other person - only a few elk, some massive cows, lots of birds and a bunch of mosquitos that we could have done without. It felt wonderful to be outside again, carrying everything we needed on our backs. As we were hiking over mountain passes and through aspen groves I found myself thinking about what moments I would like to capture to be included in the blog - something I hadn't thought about since we had been home. It felt great to be inspired again in that way.

Once we were finished exploring the backcountry we indulged in a lovely bed & breakfast in the town of Paonia where we enjoyed a much needed shower and a delicious dinner that was not prepared over a camping stove. The next morning we were treated to an amazing community brunch around large tables in the perfectly shaded garden at the B&B (which doubles as an organic farm). Jon and I really enjoyed getting to know the other young couples at our table as we shared a sensational meal made completely of ingredients from the B&B and a handful of other local farms. Later that afternoon we rode our bikes between several different wineries and enjoyed some very low-key tastings. None of the wineries in this region are more than 15 years old, which probably accounted for the very comfortable small-scale charm that we encountered with each visit. Aside from the fact that everyone we met spoke English, the whole week bore a striking resemblance to many of our experiences in Central and South America.

We feel so grateful to have experienced all that we have over the past 18 months. Thank you all for the support you have given - it has meant the world to us.

Coming home

Megan:
Since leaving the fantastic city of Buenos Aires, Jon and I have been experiencing some amazing places and letting the reality of our new homeward-bound situation sink in. It really feels like we have been making the most of our last month.

Our first stop after leaving the capital of Argentina was Córdoba where we found some charming pedestrian streets and continued enjoying the tango culture despite the city's noise and grit. From there we headed north to the small flower-lined town of La Cumbre where we checked into a quaint little bed and breakfast and quickly became friends with three other travelers, Robyn, Ryan, and Pieter. This small town's claim to fame is that it was home to the 1994 World Paragliding Cup. We decided that we wanted to get in on the action, and extended our stay here by several days to wait out the strong winds in hopes of giving this exhilarating sport a try. After passing a few lazy afternoons getting to know our new friends, we finally got a call the third morning informing us that the winds were perfect and it was time.

What an incredible feeling to run as fast as you can toward the edge of a cliff until the wind fills your glider and you are swept upward. Jon and I both really enjoyed the experience, and with our instructors doing all the work we could sit back, relax, enjoy the dropping stomach sensation and watch a rainbow that seemed to have appeared just for us. After about 30 minutes, we landed next to a beautiful river and spent the rest of the day swimming, basking in the sun and drinking a few too many beers with our buddies.

Our next and last destination in Argentina was the famous wine region around Mendoza. In this delightful city, we enjoyed the numerous plazas, wide streets filled to the brim with shady outdoor cafe tables, fabulous gourmet food and of course, vino. We rented bikes one afternoon, to cruise around and visit a number of wineries, a liquor and chocolate manufacturer, a specialty organic food farm, and an olive orchard. This provided us with a fun, but surface level sampling of many of the region's offerings. Something Jon and I had never done before our time in Menzoda was pay for a flight of wine at a high-end tasting room. This was a really fun and informative experience - we were each given 6 generous tastings (for a total of 12 wines between the two of us), and we had our own personal guide throughout the evening who facilitated an incredibly detailed explanation and discussion of each wine.

Despite all of these amazing experiences that still fill the majority of our time abroad, as the end of a year long journey creeps closer, our heads seem to be filled more and more with thoughts of home. I think when we were planning this trip, we naively thought that we could leave the country for a year and then slip right back into the lives that we had grown to love once we were finished traveling. We knew that our mind-sets would have shifted slightly, but I think we forgot to take into consideration that all of the people and things at home would also have an entire year to change and evolve.

In about a week, we will reenter a reality that has gone through a number of obvious changes. We'll be coming home to a depressed economy, fragile job market and a new president, not to mention the multitude of more subtle shifts that have occurred since we've been away. Instead of picking back up where we left off, Jon and I are facing the very real possibility of having to drastically change our jobs and as a result, our living situation, our routine and our lifestyle. We do not know how long it will take to sort out the next phase of our careers, when we will begin searching for our next home, or how we are going to ground ourselves in the meantime.

I never thought that coming home could feel more scary and unknown than traveling through a foreign country. Over the past year, exploring unknown lands, speaking a foreign language and switching beds every few nights have become our way of life - that's what has become familiar. I have come to know what to expect from this. In contrast, I no longer know what to expect from home. For whatever reason though, we have decided that although going home brings with it an infinite number of uncertainties and will probably bring up an equal number of insecurities and personal confrontations, it is time. I suppose it is a combination of the desire to settle down, to reconnect with the wonderful friends and family who are waiting with open arms, and on some level we feel ready to take on these new challenges.

The textures of Buenos Aires

Jonathan:
It wasn't long after we got used to the idea of being on our own again that it occurred to us, somewhere in all the excitement of family time we had forgotten to notice that the last leg of our trip had somehow crept up on us. It was silently waiting for us in the same place it had always been, but suddenly the end of February seemed a little too close to be comfortable.

My initial reaction was to panic and try to somehow quantify our experiences. I felt my head spin into a frenzy of doubt about whether we would have anything to show for this year once the next six weeks had passed. Had we really changed at all or would we just go back to our lives, slip back into our routines, and helplessly watch our year's experiences fade into a collection of paper-thin memories?

I spent one long grumpy evening in our apartment complaining to Megan about how I didn't feel any different, and I must have missed something somewhere. Well, obviously some things don't change as quickly as others. The next day I had to smile at myself. No matter how many times this comes up, it always seems to take some effort for me to step back and remind myself that nothing is wrong.

The truth is that it's hard to imagine that even a single moment of this trip has managed to slip by unnoticed or unappreciated. I can't count the number of times Megan and I have found ourselves staring at each other across a table somewhere with uncontrollable grins on our faces, just basking in the freedom that this year has been for us - A full year's worth of experiences bursting with an unfathomable quantity of unforgettable adventures, fulfilling relationships, and challenging moments of growth and clarity.

You can't do something like this and not come back changed.

In a lot of ways it feels subtle though. Sometimes it's hard to notice that the colors are slowly shifting when you've been staring at them the whole time. The growth we've experienced on this trip is not something we can quantify or list out (as much as I would love to). No, instead this year has just become a part of us - the same us we've always been, constantly growing, constantly changing, constantly adapting to new situations and new ideas. We'll come home just as we are, knowing that everything we see and everything we experience is slightly tinted by the lense of wisdom this year has provided.

We spent our last two weeks in Buenos Aires soaking in the rich textures of that amazing city - not trying to justify anything or make the most of any particular experience - just basking in it. When the end of the month rolled around and we packed up our things, checked out of our apartment, and hit the road again we both realized this was the first time on this trip that we were leaving a city without feeling quite ready to move on.

With thoughtful smiles, we boarded a bus to head out to the central Argentine capital of Córdoba. From here we will spend the next several weeks enjoying the journey west through wine country toward Santiago where, on the 26th of February, we will catch our flight home.

The warmth of family

Jonathan:
After wrapping up our visit to Patagonia and seeing Molly and Andy off, Megan and I had exactly 2.5 days to enjoy our privacy in Buenos Aires before my mom & dad arrived for a visit of their own. Knowing that my parents would be spending the better part of the month with us in Buenos Aires, and thinking it would be nice to have a space of our own, Megan and I had made arrangements to rent an apartment during our brief visit to the city back in November. Since the place was big enough for four, we ended up moving in the day before Molly and Andy left, and all of us enjoyed a nice quiet celebration of our final hours together in our new apartment.

It's hard to describe what it feels like to have a space of your own again after spending the better part of a year sleeping in hotel rooms and spending every minute in what is essentially someone else's space. Suddenly we had our own private niche in the middle of this howling city where we could quietly do whatever we wanted. We had a kitchen that was just sitting there waiting to be used; a fridge that we could fill to the brim with whatever we wanted (including what ended up being an alarming quantity of beer); a closet where we could unload our backpacks and leave anything we wanted out in the open... It was amazing!

We spent the weekend before my parents arrived basking in the warm glow of privacy that neither of us had expected would feel so good. We spent new year´s eve at home together, quietly sipping wine and watching the city's fireworks from our terrace.

The apartment itself turned out to be a hip and spacious brick loft located in a very nice neighborhood in central Buenos Aires called Palermo. By the time my parents joined us, we were still reveling in the luxury of our plush new surroundings. We spent our first several days together exploring the vast expanse of gorgeous parks that surrounded us in upper Palermo, and just enjoying some time together in our nice air-conditioned home. We didn't get out much at all, and it was hard to keep Megan and me out of the kitchen - every meal was an opportunity to break out one of our favorites from home, and share some good home-cooked food with the folks.

The following Monday we all made our way downtown to start yet another round of Spanish classes. My parents have always been interested in learning the language, and since there's nothing quite like learning it on location, we thought it would be a fun way to spend part of our time together. That whole first week, we all plugged away together - spending our mornings studying hard at school, and our afternoons and evenings huddled around the table doing homework together.

Feeling thoroughly fried after just five days of intense studies, we all decided it would be better to spend the rest of my parents time exploring Buenos Aires, the area around the city, and having a little fun. After spending a few free days checking out the city, and catching an authentic Tango show in the theater district, we headed out on an overnight bus north to the province of Misiones to take in the magnificent Iguazú Falls - one of the largest series of waterfalls in the world. We spent 2 full days exploring the vast network of walkways that wind in and out of the 300-some falls, providing humbling up-close experiences of the falls' sheer force, and some absolutely breathtaking panoramas.

Upon returning to the city, we headed out on a day trip across the Rio Plata to pay a brief visit to Uruguay, and the beautiful cobbled town of Colonia. We enjoyed a very pleasant day exploring its shady flowered streets, and playing on the sandy beaches of the riverbank. Our final few days together with my parents were spent exploring still more of the richly varied parts of Buenos Aires, and enjoying each other's laughter and company over card games at home.

After bidding my parents farewell, and seeing them off in a cab on their way to the airport, Megan and I solemnly walked back into what turned out to feel like a very quiet and cold apartment. The same place that just two weeks before had felt so exciting and filled with potential, now seemed sterile and empty. We've spent the better part of this last year surrounded by new faces, strange places, and the only thing familiar or constant we've had has been each other. In all of the excitement of spending the past 6 weeks with family, it hadn't really occurred to either of us just how wonderful and different it had been to be with people we love. It was such a blessing to spend that time surrounded by the warmth of our family in the midst of a journey so far from home.

That night we couldn't help but break down crying as we thought about how fortunate we feel to have our family, our wonderful friends, and what a tremendous joy it will be to come home.

Lakes District

Megan:
After our time in the south, we took our longest bus ride of the year (28 hours) to the Lakes District of Patagonia. We spent a few days in El Bolson, an incredibly charming little town known for its microbreweries, chocolate and ice cream - could you ask for anything more? From there, we set out on our final backpacking trip with Molly and Andy. These three days were filled with a variety of climates, some of the most poorly constructed trails we've ever seen (these people don't believe in switchbacks), unbelievably rickety bridges, glacier-fed crystal clear swimming holes, and some spectacular scenery. Jon and I decided to take a different approach on this portion of the trip and instead of bringing our tent, we stayed in small artfully crafted log-cabins along the way - each complete with hand-made furniture, playful kittens and a cozy wood burning fire. These welcoming refugios ended up being one of the highlights.

We finished our trek in the wilderness on December 24th, just in time to spend Christmas day back at our quaint, family run hostel in El Bolson. The four of us enjoyed cooking some delicious meals together in their well-outfitted kitchen, and even found time to enjoy a picnic in a nearby park where, in the heat of the southern hemisphere sun, it was difficult to remember what holiday it was.

From there, we enjoyed a few days in San Carlos de Bariloche - the capital of the Lakes District. It only took a few minutes of gazing out at the amazing blue lakes that surround this town to understand where this region's name came from. We spent some time in the town wandering through the beautiful Bavarian architecture-lined streets, and felt like we had been transported to a ski village in the Alps. We also put on our hiking shoes one last time for an incredible day-hike to the top of Cerro Catedral where we were able to see an awesome panorama of multiple rows of mountain ranges fading into the distance.

It was bitter-sweet returning to Buenos Aires because although Jon and I were very much looking forward to having time to explore the incredible cultural capital of Latin America, it meant that our time with Molly and Andy was coming to an end. Not only did our time with them make us forget just how far from home we were, but their passion for natural beauty was contagious. Jon and I pushed ourselves to do longer and more intense treks than we ever would have done on our own, and it allowed us to experience Patagonia on a whole different level. Thank you both so much for everything you shared with us this past month.

Fitz Roy

Jonathan:
After our glorious 6 days on the "W," we crossed the border back into Argentina and headed back through the all too familiar El Calafate on our way north to the top side of Glaciers National Park and the magnificent Cerro Fitz Roy - a stunning tower of jagged rock that juts up out of the plains at the head of the Patagonian cordillera.

We had heard that Fitz Roy itself was almost always shrouded in clouds and could be difficult to see. In fact we had heard stories from people who had spent weeks in the area and never caught a glimpse of the peak. But for some reason the night we arrived, as we crested the surrounding hills and began our decent into the picturesque Chaltén river valley, we were graced with a crystal clear panorama of a spectacular and dramatic range of peaks. Fitz Roy was almost perfectly framed by deep blue sky and a few fiery clouds that were still catching some light from the setting sun.

We spent our first couple of days in Chaltén gearing up for yet another back country trip, and visiting the rangers' station to familiarize ourselves with the park. Initially we had thought that after our aggressive and somewhat grueling time in Torres del Paine, we would take it easy and do a quick 2-3 day trip around Fitz Roy - just enough to make it to a few lookout points and get a good sense for the peaks. Well, somewhere in the planning process that idea got lost and we ended up planning another 5 day adventure that would take us deep into the gnarled valleys of this beautiful range.

Our all-to-recent trip into Torres was the first time Megan and I had used our packs in the back country. The majority of the trip we've carted them between bus stations and hotels and not much in between, so we were pleased to find out that our backpacks actually work as backpacks. Regardless, we were still nursing sore shoulders and hips from our last adventure when we strapped 'em on and headed into the wild yet again.

Our first day on the trail we were blessed with more gorgeously crisp views of Fitz Roy. After we set up our tents at our first campsite, Andy and I made a quick trip straight up the seemingly vertical valley wall to the official mirador for a better view the peak, its massive glaciers, and the crystal blue lagunas that sparkle on either side. Doing our best to not lose our footing in the thunderous gusts of wind, we got our first taste of the powerful presence of Fitz Roy... At some point earlier that day, Andy had mentioned that for him, mountains seem alive somehow - showing emotions, and changing moods from one day to the next. I knew exactly what he meant at the time; I grew up around mountains. But Fitz Roy... I've never seen anything like it.

Awe stricken in its shadow, we watched as the rock face stared down at us, drawing swarms of wispy clouds out of thin air around it, leaving us with only brief glimpses of its jagged summit. Thick storm clouds crashed around its base like waves from the ice fields beyond, doubling over on themselves, and reeling back into the grey valleys where they had started. The peak felt massive and fierce, truly awesome.

We spent the remaining four days winding our way through the lush old growth forest, giant boulder fields, dramatic canyons, and expansive river valleys of the park, always in the shadows of the dramatic rock towers and frigid glaciers of the surrounding peaks. With only a few exceptions, we found that we had most of the trails and campsites to ourselves - A sharp contrast to our recent experience on the overcrowded "W" where we were rarely out of earshot from other hikers, and almost never slept more then 4 or 5 feet from the next tent.

Our last day on the trail, we had planned to get up early and hike to a nearby mirador for a glimpse of Cerro Torre at sunrise, the smaller but equally impressive counterpart to Fitz Roy. Unfortunately that day we found out the hard way that these mountains are seen when they want to be seen... Cerro Torre was so thick in clouds we could barely even see the trail that led to the lookout. So we happily slept in a little, packed up camp, and made our way back down to Chaltén where we would spend the night, and head out on an early morning bus back to good ol' El Calafate.

Our third and final time through that cookie-cutter town, we ended up only having about 4 hours to kill before we boarded a night bus for the grueling 28 hour trip up to the Lakes District. It was enough time to stock up on snacks, water, and a little wine to help pass the time on the long trip north.