Im NOT Leaving on a Jet Plane!

Luisfer, Ivo, and I high above Quito:)!

Buenos días desde Quito, Ecuador!!! Im STILL here! And so very very very happy:). This whole grand aventura of mine was to come to a grinding halt this morning at 8:20AM when I was to board a Miami, USA bound plane here in Quito and, thus, I am supposed to be on a jet plane headed for Jacktown, Mississippi, USA at this very moment. BUT plans changed. I was not ready to say goodbye. I am not sure I will really EVER be ready to say goodbye to this lifestyle of mine. Even more so now that I am in Quito where I have been off and on for the last two weeks living with Ivo and Luisfer. It feels so darn homey here. I have a room, a mattress, sheets, drawers to put my clothes in, even my own "females only" bathroom - even though somehow it is also the males teeth brushing, hair-prepping bathroom, too! And I really, honestly LOVE being with the two of them. We were such good friends the year I lived here and it's fun to be with people who know me so well after months and months and months of meeting, greeting, and moving on. It is true that I have made some WONDERFUL friends, and spent enough time with some people that they know me pretty well at this point, but there is something so delightfully refreshing about being with people with whom you have an honest-to-goodness history. So as I soaked all this in the last two weeks, and made side trips to Otavalo to bike, hike, dance, and even try the fabled Ayahuasca - which didnt do a darn thing to us, by the way - as well as Mindo to raft, swing across a deep ravine on a zip line like Tarzan, jump off waterfalls and eat grilled choclo, I decided I could not bear to leave. I broke the news - gently - to Poppa T and mom. But, honestly, neither was terribly surprised. We Glenn/Lanell Taylor children tend to lean more towards extending our wanderings as opposed to looking forward to returning to the homestead. So here I am! For two more weeks....theoretically.

In the last week, I have gone for some wonderful runs in Parque La Carolina, spent 2 days celebrating Inti Raymi - the festival of the sun - in Otavalo where local indigenous groups danced around in circles while wearing Halloween-like masks and eating corn and guinea pig in celebration of the harvest. Luisfer joined me on a humorous search for Ayahuasca that involved knocking on random doors in a town of 2000 people and being told that the drink could kill us, but for a mere $60 the townspeople would be happy to cleanse of us all the evil inside and throw in a little good luck for $20 more! Who knew it would be so hard to find the fabled drink in this country! We made friends with a local family who finally took us to a local shaman's house where instead of seeing my own visions, I relinquished myself to paying $20 to let the shaman see visions of what was in my heart (her response? many people envy me and I am healthy...."anything else?" i asked? "Any evil?" "Negative thoughts?"....not a thing, according to her....hmm...I would LIKE to believe that that is all that is there, but Im pretty sure I am not chock full of goodness...). She then "Spiritually cleansed" me which in theory was refreshing, but when she told me I could not bathe or eat anything with onions for two days, I found myself struggling to decide whether it was worth walking around covered in dirt for two days so that people would stop envying me...In the end, I caved and bathed after 24 hours:(.


Rafting in Mindo

The next adventure involved a trip to Mindo - a beautiful town in the cloud forest - with Ivo, Luisfer, Victor, and a guy from Sweden on Saturday. Neither Ivo nor Luisfer had ever been to Mindo, much less taken part in any of the activities I had planned for the day - Ecuarafting (i.e. 7 tubes tied together to go down the river), as well as a hike to a nearby waterfall. These are CITY boys, after all! And while they moaned and complained, at first, in the end, they were laughing and loving it - albeit huffing and puffing as the hike involved a STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP climb! We also had a bonus adventure of riding two long zip lines over a deep canyon and, for Ivo, jumping 36 feet off a waterfall into the swirling waters of the river below. It was a good, adventurous day, and we all returned to Quito EXHAUSTED! While plans to go out dancing were underway, we were all in bed by 10:30....so much for being night owls!


Hiking in the Cloud Forest with the Boys!!

Sunday, Luisfer, Ivo, and I stayed in Quito to do some exploring around the city. It was a rainy, rather dreary day, but we rode the Teleferico - a gondola that carries you 4000 feet into the surrounding mountains - to catch a view of the city below and hike for a little bit before the rains came. Afterwards, we adjourned to the arcade to play silly kiddie games and win a few prizes.

But, BY FAR, my favorite part of the last few days has been around 10:30, when the three of us pile onto my mattress on the floor in my bedroom and watch cheesy romantic comedies on Ivo's laptop. It feels like family. And I will surely miss it. For now, I will revel in the opportunity for two more weeks with my Ecua-family. VIVA!

Eat, Drink, Dance, Bike, Wander, Make New Friends, and Be Forever Merry!

Buenos Días desde Quito, Ecuador! I am so happy to be in one place - even though I went out of town this past weekend and have another trip or two planned. It's great to be able to take my time to explore the city, eat normal meals, run/walk through the park, eat my favorite cheese-filled, sugar coated empanadas, visit with old friends, go out dancing, and return to the same (albeit cockroach-infested) bed each night.

Last week, I hung out in Quito and spent my days wandering around the city and nights hanging out with Ivo and Luisfer. It's so crazy to me how so much time has passed since we last saw each other, yet to be together again feels like no time has passed at all. And oh so fun to remember our lives together 4 years ago - climbing volcanoes, biking to waterfalls, dancing salsa, playing soccer - so much fun! And I really like Quito. It is a pretty city with a big, beautiful park perfect for running (or trying to run), tons of places to eat high or low, and so much energy. So each day after the boys got off work, we went to eat or see a movie or dance salsa or just sit in their - comfortable, but mildly disgusting due to roach-infestation - apartment and catch up on life.

This past weekend, Ivo headed home to Guayaquil to celebrate Father's Day with his fam, so Luisfer and I ventured to the indigenous town of Otavalo in the Northern Highlands to get a good breath of fresh air and explore the great outdoors. While I had been to Otavalo - which is famous for its Saturday crafts market - a few times the year I lived here, Luisfer had never ventured much otuside of the big cities of Quito and Guayaquil, much less taken part in mountain biking or even hiking. Since I LOVE la naturaleza and almost any activity that involves being in and experiencing the great outdoors, I was thrilled to travel to Otavalo and expose my dear friend to such activities.

So off we headed bright and early on Saturday morning to the small, but lively town of Otavalo surrounded by three hulking volcanoes, countless lakes, and many tiny indigenous communities. Upon arrival, we also discovered that the biggest and most important festival of the year is right around the corner - Día de San Juan during which much dancing, drinking of chicha and eating of cuy (guinea pig) takes place. The actual festejando begins on Wed, but there were many people in town in anticipation of the events. We spent Saturday afternoon biking to a nearby waterfall, and then along the old railroad tracks to the nearby towns of Peguche and Iluman. That night we danced the night away with locals - and something Luisfer and I both found quite interesting was that the indigenous females went out to the discos in their traditional dress and danced alongside the guys and gals dressed to the nines like it was no strange thing... - and gringos until 3 AM when we returned to our comfy lodging and promptly passed out.

Biking along the Railroad tracks outside of Otavalo.

Sunday, after a very very lazy morning, we headed out on a dirt road toward La Fuente de Salud - some thermal baths I read about that sounded pretty. We decided to take the "scenic route" - i.e. we got lost. But one is never lsot for too long in Latin America. Especially in small towns. We asked around and made our way toward the baths through indigenous famrland making friends with loacls every 5 minutes or so as we asked passersby headed to and from the market if we were in fact headed towards the baths. We consistently got response such as "4 blocks more and then turn left" in a place where you would be hard pressed to figure out what exactly defines a block (we were in teh middle of farmland, after all! Or, my favorite, "30 minutes more and you are there" when, in fact, we would find ourselves walking for at least a good hour. I really have yet to figure out latinos concept of time.

But as we wandered up and down, scrambling down steep hillsides and crossing rivers, we came upon a lovely and incredibly friendly indigenous family en route to their father's house who either took pity on us or really wanted to make some new friends, who not only gave us directions to the baths, but accompanied us. Really? Were they SURE they wanted to go out of their way?!? They seemed sure. So off we went, chatting about life in Otavalo, speaking Quichua (the indigenous language), typical foods (guinea pig, blood and potato soup), and the size, ages, and marital status of each and every member of our families. I love experiences like this! In the end, the baths were not much more than a hole filled with yellowish-colored water, but the company was fantastic and we ended up being invited to the father's house were we were invited to spend the night if we ever found ourselves out that way again.

Our new friends!

We ended the night eating quimbolitos (sweet corn tamales) and humitos prepared by a local woman in the street market. I have decided that these sweet tasty treats are my new favorite food in the world and we both considered staying another night just to be able to eat more!

These things are so delicious!!

There is a chance we make make our way back to Otavalo on Wednesday and take our new friends up on the offer to spend a few days celebrating the fiestas with them. But for now, work called Luisfer home, so we flagged down a Quito-bound bus and bumped our way back to the hustle and bustle of the big ciudad. I am happy and healthy and appreciative for good friends in far away places:). VIVA!

Photos, Fotos, Fotitos Galore!

Buenos días desde QUITO!!! Oh my, I MADE it. It's almost hard to believe. 7 and a half months of travel, 4 countries, countless hours aboard buses, so many beautiful places seen and amazing people met along the way and here I am in my destino final - Quito, Ecuador!! And it feels freakin'fantastico to be here. So wonderful to see my friends, wander around the city, go running in Parque La Carolina, eat choclo con queso, Locro con papas, Habas, and other tasty Ecuadorian yumyums.

And after a ridiuclous amount of time at the computer, I have managed to upload photos from my time in Peru and my travels with my sister. So go to these links to check them out!

Travels in Peru: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067460&id=5901703&l=9c9cba8eb4

Travels with Annelle:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067505&id=5901703&l=b2dd5fddfc


Love to all! VIVA

Riding in Carros and Meeting Extranjeros

*NOTE: Once I get to Quito I will post photos - I promise!!*

Buenos días desde Machala, ECUADOR!! I made it - sort of. I planned to bus it as quickly as possible straight to Quito, but after a crazy crazy day yesterday aboard 4 buses, a minibus, 3 taxis, and perhaps the sketchiest border crossigng I have ever experienced over the course of 27 hours, I had to take a breather. Plus, it just so happens that two of my closest Quiteño friends (and the ones I will be staying with for the next 2 weeks) are in their hometown of Guayaquil for the weekend to vote as some sort of election is taking place today. And Guayaquil is only 3 hours away from where I am - as opposed to Quito which is 10 hours away. So after bathing, eating a real meal, and catching up on emails, I will pack my bag for one more long haul journey and head to meet Ivo and Luisfer in Guayaquil where the three of us will board a night bus bound for Quito. So this time tomorrow I should be back in Quito - my home away from home for nearly a year during my junior year of college.

So much of the last 5 days since I last wrote - has it ONLY been 5 days?! - have been spent in carros (i.e. Peruvian buses). After my 22 hour Cusco-Lima bus, I wandered around lost for an hour or so as I attempted to find a bus to Huaraz where I intended to spend a few days more hiking en la naturaleza before making the long haul to Quito. Well, here is where I have to say shame on me for ever thinking bad of big city bus terminals. It turns out big cities WITHOUT bus terminals are far far more overwhelming. Not only is there no central bus terminal in most cities in Peru, but the bus companies are not always close to each other. Not being aware of this, I wandered around what turns out to be a rather sketchy part of Lima at 7 in the morning from one bus company to another asking for buses to Huaraz. I finally found one, but had to take a taxi to the company and only had 15 minutes to make the 20 minute ride before my bus left. The taxista assured me we would make it in time. Me, feeling frustrated, tired, and overwhelmed in the big, belching city of Lima only wanted to get out. Didnt care where I went really, as long as it meant to come smaller, cleaner, less chaotic place. So as the taxi weaved through traffic, I decided, if I didnt make the bus, I would go to Quito. There was a direct bus - 32 horus! - in a few hours, and I would take that. Fin! At least in Quito, I know people and know the city. I have learned a number of things on this adventure that I hope to carry with me into the future. One thing that has come up A LOT in the last week is not to panic when a situation seems bigger than I can handle. I have found myself on the verge of panicky tears a few times, but been able to tell myself to take a deep breath, find a "safe" place, and think about what plan of action is best to take for the moment. And after a few minutes, the situation no longer seems so bad. It may still not be a place where I WANT to be, but it is a situation that I can at least handle for long enough to find a way to get myself out.

So, on that note, I settled into my crazy cab ride, arriving in the knick of time to buy my ticket and board the 8 hour bus high into the Central Highlands of Peru with one of the highest mountain ranges outside of the Himalayas. And, as luck would have it, one other person also arrived late - Rafa from España - and as we congratulated each other for making it just in the knick of time, we got to talking and ended up spending the next two days together exploring Huaraz, visiting ruins, eating yummy food, drinking pisco sours in a hippie gringo bar, and discussing our travels (his involve far far more countries!). We has a fantastic time in this small, but energetic city of Huaraz that is FULL of discos and bars. There is certainly a lot of tourism as many people come there to mountain climb, but even more so, there are a lot of locals andando-ing. So we visited the local market to buy lunch items and headed high into the nearby mountains to visit some Incan ruins. Not being sure of the actual route, we made our way through family farmland asking men, women, adn children along the way if we were headed in teh right direction. I loved the pastoral setting - so green, animals grazing, women washing clothes on the rocks, kids yelling "hola" at every turn, and old men wondering where we were headed and assuring us "oh, it´s only 30 mins more..." Later, after visiting an ancient Incan burial ground and ducking down into and wandering among the underground rooms, we made our way back down to a city about 7 kms away from Huaraz. The hike again was so beautiful - that is, until a dog got spooked and came after the two of us with blood on the brain. He got Rafa in the back of the knee and me in the calf. I have yet to be bitten by the many "guard" dogs I ahve come across, and this experience nearly had me on the ground in tears - more out of fear than pain. But night was approaching and we still had a ways to go, so I sucked it up knowing that if I got rabies - ok, the reality is that I most likely had nothing more than a scratch, but these things run through your mind when you are far away from a good hospital and your mom´s loving care. And three days later, we are both still alive, so it looks like we´ve come out just fine! And I suppose teh scary dog lead us off track as the last part of our journey involved slip-sliding down a fairly steep hillside and jumping off rock walls to get back to the highway where we caught a carro back into town.

The next day, I got us sucked into a tour that gave us a view of some of the surrounding towns, but was overall fairly disappointing - as I find tours usually are. And then I was on a night bus headed 9 hours to the coastal town of Trujillo to make my journey North to Quito. I did a little research, but was unable to find much of any use, so as I began my trip, all I knew, was that most liekly, I would ahve to take a minimum of 4 buses to get to Quito. There are direct buses, but that would ahve been too easy. Ok, no, I actualyl would have PREFERED that a million times over, but those buses only run on Tuesdays and Fridays. I would have to wait nearly 4 days, so I opted for the "adventure" route. And what an adventure it was! I got to Trujillo at 6:30 am, found out teh most direct route to the borer town of Tumbes would mean a 15 hour layover in Trujillo. NOt liking hot, dusty coast towns, I opted to make the journey in steps. Took a 3 hour bus to Chiclayo, then another 3 hour bus to Piura - slowly working my way up the coast. Then a 4 hour minibus to Tumbes, where I took a cab to the Peruvian-Ecuadorian border, listened to the taxista tell me about how dangerous this border crossing can be adn about two Italians who were stabbed last week. Oh joy! And night had already fallen just to make me feel that much more at ease. Then another cab to Ecuadorian immigrations on the Ecuadorian side in hopes of catching the last Quito-bound bus only to find out taht while I made it 2 minutes befor ethe bus left, it was full. nearly lost it then. Deep breaths... So Plan B - FINALLY - a 2 hour bus to Machala where I decided I would take a breather and spend the night. I found a hospedaje, showered, called my friend to discover that it was for the best I didnt make my Quito bus, and quickly drifted off to dreamland on an actual bed - woohoo!

So that brings me here to Machala - the banana capital of the world. And, now, bathed, and dressed in the last clean clothes I found in my backpack, I am headed to meet Ivo and Luisfer in a few hours. It will be the first time we have seen each other in 4 years. Looking forward to seeing them and to the adventures the next two weeks will bring...VIVA!!

On the road again....Only 3 weesk left!!

Buenos días desde Cusco, Peru!! I woke up this morning to realize it is Tuesday, June 9th. I have no sense of time any more. No sense of the day, the week, even the month. When people back home talk about warm summer weather and finishing up school, going on summer vacation, I find myself thinking " Wow, it´s June - JUNE! How is it possible that 7 months have passed since I began this journey?!?" And even scarier - sadder?! - "How is it possible that I only have three weeks left." - Ahhhh! At moments, I find myself ready to be done. Ready to no longer be living out of my backpack, ready to have more than two outfits (ok, but honestly,who am I kidding, I usually wear the same 2-3 things when I am in los estados...), ready to sleep in the same bed more than 3 nights in a row, ready to not worry about bus terminals, bus schedules, where I will lay my head from night to night, and, sadly enough, the one issue that leaves me the most estresada - WHERE to find a bathroom (I SWEAR Latina women do NOT have bladders. The men pee wherever they want, whenever they want; the women, well....I RARELY - I kid you not - see them use a restroom....HOW is that possible?!?). But I am not complaining. Just stating fact and my personal state of mind.

But I fully intend to revel in my last 3 weeks here. So much can be seen and experienced in 3 weeks, so only time will tell what adventures will unfold! After my long overnight stint in the Lima airport (which is a really delightful place to spend alot of time, by the way!), I was met by my friend José in the Cusco airport. We immediately caught a mini-bus for a 6 hour journey deep into the Peruvian jungle to the town of Quillabamba to spend a few days soaking up the sol. I feel like I have been freezing for so long, that it was such a pleasure to walk around during the day - and night! - in shorts and a t-shirt. Plus, the jungle is freaking awesome. We went to this public pool that cost approximately $0.17 to enter and is more like a tropical resort than a public pool. Three giant pools alongside the river with hulking mountains in all directions - including one covered in snow! - and an abundance of flowers and fruit trees of all kinds - cacao, papaya, mango, orange, coffee, banana. I even managed to meterme en el agua and swim a few laps in the cold COOOOOOOLD water - woohoo! I drank fresh-made fruit juices from the local market each morning for breakfast, ate a ton of fresh fruit, as well as fresh-caught trout from the river, and fried green beans. I was only sad to be unable to find any choclo - Peru´s fat, meaty corn - YUM!! We also took a few excursions through the coffee plantations, ate popcorn and watched the running of the bulls at a local festival, drank my favorite dark Cusqueño beer at an outdoor bar overlooking the river uner the full moon and danced the night away with the Quillabambinos at Don Diablo´s.

I am now back in Cusco after the death-defying 6 hour return trip. The roads here are crazy - so many twists and turns and steep steep drop-offs, and I am convinced that the drivers assume there is only one speed - as fast as possible without toppling over. So we sped around curves, dodged fallen rock and oncoming cars as I sat in the back with my eyes closed thinking - "It´s going to be okay. It´s all part of the adventure." And, in moments of extreme panic, " Please please please let me survive this jounrey!" And I made it late last night, found a woman on teh street selling the choclo Ive been craving for weeks now, and slept soundly dressed in 3 layers of clothes under 4 blankets back in the chilly town of Cusco!

In a few hours I will board a 22 hour bus for Lima. My thought for now is to go to Huaraz in the North to do some hiking and then bit by bit to towns along the Peruvian coast until I arrive sometime next week in Quito. This has two pros - no 30 hours bus rides AND I get to see more of Peru. However, part of me is ready to just bus it in one trip and spend my final weeks with my old friends in Quito. Who knows what I will do, but I have 22 hours on a bus to think about it. creo que es suficiente!

Hasta la proxima...VIVA!

Hermanitas Taylor Taking Patagonia by Storm

And YOU thought Yale was located in New Haven...


Buenas noches desde Lima, Peru! Ahhh, what a WILD ride these last three weeks have been. And how so very much has happened since I last wrote. I have just arrived in Lima after a 4 hour flight from Buenos Aires where I said goodbye to my sister after 16 fan-freakin-tastic days traveling ALL OVER Argentina and Chile. And as I sit here in the Lima airport, it is currently 10:30 PM. I will be here writing, reading, eating, maybe even sleeping a bit until I catch a 5:40 am flight to Cusco, Peru. So as I have finally foudn myself with an abundance of time and little to do with myself, I can FINALLY update the world on the whereabouts of the traveling Taylor hermanitas - woohoo!

Sooo....

After my last update, Annelle and I boarded a 10 hour bus headed due South from Santiago, Chile to Osorno, Chile where Claudio so graciously met us at 8 AM at the bus terminal to welcome us to Osorno. I never imagined I would be back so soon....but such is the beauty of traveling with an open mind and no set plans!! It was a rainy, hazy, chiiiiiilllly day, so after one of Claudio´s hearty breakfasts, we headed to las Termas de Puyehue to warm ourselves up by first spending the afternoon soaking in the natural hot baths at the base of the Andes mountains and then hiking up to a beautiful viewpoint to look our over the river valley. It was still cloudy, drizzly, and hazy, so we didnt get much of a view, but it was so great to be there. I had actually done this same hike nearly two months earlier with Claudio and when I wrote about it in my blog, I talked about how beautiful and peaceful a place it is and how I so hoped taht the next time I found myself there, I would be with a family member - so I guess sometimes, the whole, "Ask and you shall receive" idea works out after all!



After a nice soak and a hardy hike, we ended the day with a typical Chilean Once (the meal of bread, tea, coffee, cheese, ham, and cake that is eaten each day around 6 PM) with his family at their home in the campo - Annelle got to eat some tasty kuchen and meet the pet pig who thinks he´s a dog!!





The next day, we said goodbye (mejor dicho, "see you later!") - once again - to Claudio, and boarded a bus bound for Bariloche, Argentina. Ideally, Annelle would have seen the three HULKING volcanoes en route, but the rain poured and clouds shrouded the view, so no volcanoes for her. BUT as we climbed into the Andes to cross the pass into Argentina, we did enter into a Winter wonderland as the rain turned into snow and we found ourselves in the middle of a snowstorm. Now, Annelle jsut escaped from seemingly neverending 6 meses de frío. But I have not seen snow like that in over a year and found myself positively giddy as I looked out the window and hopped up and down in my chair saying, "It´s snowing, It´s snowing!!" And after a relatively easy, but coooold border crossing, we made it to Bariloche. I never imagined I would be back here so soon, and while it was chiiiiiiiily, it was beautiful. Positively beautiful. Blue skies, crisp clean air, giant snow-capped montañas, and delightfully friendly faces. Not to mention great food - ice cream, chocolate, budin, oh my!



Vista from atop Cerro Campanario. I was here with dad 7 months ago!!

Over the next few days in Bariloche, Annelle got to meet Rosario, German and his family, take the chairlift up Cerro Campanario to enjoy the GORGEOUS vista of the montañas all around, hike for hours and hours to the top of Cerro Otto (evidentally Argentinians mean FIVE hours when they tell you something will take you 2 hours...good thing we brought those extra empanadas...), eat the best ice cream in Argentina a Jauja, discover teh pure joy of a dulce de leche-filled plum covered in chocolate - who knew?! - and drink endless cups of coffee, tea, and maté.
Note about dietary changes: I have now become something of a coffee drinker - not to mention a ham and cheese sandwich aficionado. Seriously had you told me 7 months ago that I would be biting into a chicken sandwich topped with cheese, HAM, and FRIED EGG, I would have said you were out of your mind. But just LOOK at this thing...Doesnt it make your mouth water?!


Then, it was North to Junín de los Andes so Annelle could meet the family with whom I stayed for three weeks back in January - Tay, Noelia, and their three girls. We visited Tay´s school in the Mapuche community, took a walk along the river, visited San Martín de los Andes where we hiked, ate ice cream, and met a delightful old Frenchman who invited us to coffee and told us about his life in Argentina, his two daughters (who are about our ages), and his travels as a young whippersnapper. A last minute decision to meet Rosario and Claudio in Bariloche for one final hurrah (and an early bday celebration for Claudio) changed our initial plans - plans? what plans? - to head on to Buenos Aires. So we backtracked to Bariloche, ate pizza and cake, spent the night having a grown-up slumber party in Rosario´s tree-house as we all shimmied our way into the dollhouse loft to pass la noche, and went for one final hike in la naturaleza before flying to Buenos Aires. (I surprised Annelle by agreeing to not be Cameron McCheapskates for a moment by paying for a plane ticket to BsAs instead of forcing her to go the economical route - i.e. 20 hours aboard a bus!)


Yummy lunch with Rosario after a beautiful hike along the Río Limay!


And, alas, we arrived in the city that never sleeps and spent 4 days wandering the streets, exploring all of the neighborhoods, looking for teh street corner where Alex, Annelle´s boyfriend, lived 5 years ago, eating empanadas, taking photos, drinking coffee and tea, and desperately searching for that perfect pair of shoes and Annelle´s dream sweater. For some reason, the city that never sleeps, was rather sleepy - almost dead even - much of the time we were there. Annelle kept asking, "Is this what it was like when dad was here?" I think everyone must be hibernating for the Winter... We could not figure out the store hours and kept going out too early or too late to both shop and eat. But never fear, we resourceful Taylor´s found both food and awesome shoes (for Annelle, not me!) in the end.


Final Goodbyes in Buenos Aires! Hasta la proxima, Nurse Nelly!

And thus ends our 16 day adventure together. It was a grand adventure with much laughing, loving, and learning. And so delightful to show off these two countries to my sister. Even more delightful was seeing her response to every place we visited - how excited and awed she was by the people, the scenery, the culture - amazing, amazing, amazing!! To more great adventures together with my family en el futuro. Love and more love to all as I return to the life of a solo traveler and enter into the final three and a half weeks of Camerons Grand Aventura!! Who knows what adventures lie ahead....VIVA!!