Foreigners...?

We are not foreigners for the first time since the 27th of November when we left on what has been a trip to be remembered for ever. We decided to cough up the $50 change fee and cut our time in Mexico a few days short. We've actually been back for a couple nights, but could not let the allure of being in some exotic foreign place dis-illusion our faithful few blog followers, until we were able to get these last few posts up.

After a couple nights and days in San Blas, we opted for a few extra days in California before I head back to Oregon on Saturday. Had we stayed, we would've just kept busy and moving up until the minute we flew out, then the storm of responsibility would've come crashing down in a hurry. This way we have a little time to prepare and lay low at Vanessa's parents house in the Santa Cruz Mountains of beautiful Northern California. This time is to reflect on an amazing 10 weeks while organizing our thousands of pictures and stories for sharing.

The next chapters of our lives together will undoubtedly bring more change as Vanessa finds a new job, and I continually follow my ever evolving path through life. We are sad to be done with this adventure as it has definitely broadened our perspectives on our lives and the world that we are living in, but only that much more inspired for a life together of new adventures around every corner.

So, we thank everyone who has contributed to making this the truly amazing experience that it has been. It was a real treat to keep in touch with everyone throughout. Every few days when checking our e-mail, we were always excited to read every comment anyone put up as it was our main connection with friends and family. We each made 1 phone call on Christmas day to our parents, and that was the sum our verbal communication with the states.

We will get at least 1 more post with links to see our slide shows in their entirety, as those get cranked out here in the next couple days. Probably some hi-light pictures as well.

Hopefully we'll see you all soon. Thanks for keeping up.

XO

Vanessa and Max

Eat drink and be awesome

Food

• Best Steak: in Carmelo, Uruguay - Restaurant "Fey Fey" order - Lomo parilla, cocido rojo


• Best home cooked meal - Conchita's (homestay mom) soups and camarones dish


• Favorite time drinking with total strangers - Fernet and coke with Mendoza kids in the park


• Best Ceviche - Mantanita, Ecuador


• Best cheap lunch - Lomito's in Argentina, the Columbian joint in Cuenca, and tacos de camarones (shrimp) in Mexico
  


• Best cultural dish - Max: Alpaca kabob in Cuzco, guinie pig in Cuenca was fun to play with on plate. Vanessa: Potato Vegetable twice baked type dish in Cuzco....
  


• Most appreciated Gringo food - Jacks Cafe in Cuzco (Bacon, French Toast, and good Coffee)


• Best all around dinner - La Cabrera in Buenos Aires' Palermo District: Champage while waiting, awesome steak and sides, great pasta with great veggies, good wine, all incredibly too cheap

Vinos, Jugos, Y Bebidas

• Malbecs in Argentina


• Sauvignon Blanc in Chile


• Sangria in Montevideo


• Liters of Beer everywhere with everyone


• Warm Agua de Flores by Conchita every morning

Best Moments

Longest Airport Stay - Santiago 14 hrs


Longest Bus Ride - Puerto Iguazu to Cordoba = 23 hrs! 2nd place - BA to PI 21.5 hrs


Worst Night Sleep - Colonia, Uruguay Hostel Colonia and its sweat absorbing foam pads for the 97 degree heat wave


Best Night Sleep - First night in Pam and Mikes BA Hotel


Most Proud Spanish Speaking - Inka trail with the Españolas


Least proud Spanish Speaking- First day in Montevideo when we realized their euro-spanish was much faster and different


Favorite Purchase - Max: black hat in Cusco. V: White dress in Buenos Aires


Best Sunset - Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay

Worst Sunburns - V: from Hiking Waynu Picchu. M: Surfing in Mexico


Best Quotes:

"No, no, that flight does not exist" - the head of Aero Mexico regarding our confirmed 11 pm flight from Santiago to Mexico City that was on the reader board with a crowd waiting to check in. Just after the power in the whole airport went out, and they rescheduled us on a 6:00 am flight .... to Cancun.

"ese no carne, es jamon" (thats not meat, its ham) - Waitress in Mendoza answering Vanessa's concerns regarding the pile of ham on her vegetarian sandwich...

"I've been robbed! When I came to, all I had was some little orange pants!" Our friend Adam upon getting his belongings robbed (misplaced) and sobering up with someone elses little orange board shorts on, on Christmas Eve in Ecuador....





Most memorable moments in no particular order:

• Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu = Best new years ever...


• Wine tasting on bikes in Mendoza with Jess Gaskil


• Kids in Fernet park in Mendoza


• Biking through tunnels to waterfalls in Baños, Ecuador with Philip the German


• Tango Shows, steaks and wine in Buenos Aires


• Surfing on Christmas day in Mantanita


• Pablo Nerudas house in Valparaiso


• Day trip to Parque Nacional Cajas


• Lazy Day in Vilcabamba serenaded by Adam the Aussie


• The pants party...
  


• Donkey riding in Villcabamba, Ecuador


• Tidepools in Mantanita


• A little waterfall I like to call Iguazu


• New years eve in Aguas Calientes

San Blas

Wedding week

Some mangled toes

Yoga on the beach? Check.

its tough being sooo sexy

Back on the Road

Nice spread for a week of lounging





The happy newly weds, Corey and Shawna

Wedding shenanigans

We had a smashing good week for Corey and Shawnas wedding. They are our good friends from Portland who moved to Amsterdam just before we embarked on this monster trip. It feels like they will be there when we get back, its sad to realize they live on the other side of the world now. Good way to do it. Instead of meeting everyone once in the buffet line, and for first impressions to be coupled with the influence of an open bar, we hung out for 5 days surfing, hiking, and lounging around together, and feel like we made some legitimate friends in the process (= couches to crash on in more places yet). We were in Sayulita for the whole week, staying at a nice resort style place that we set up with everyone in June when it all came together. Get us around a bunch of gringo friendst though, and there went our blogging motivation. We did however get to show off our newly acquired spanish skills a bit.

Now we are truely on the last push. Vanessa handled her budget to a T, as was expected, but mine on the other hand is all but blown, and stress about handling my life is the consequence. We have been in Puerto Vallerta for a day and a half and are about ready to leave this overpriced gringo haven. We even checked into changing flights, but it doesn`t pan out, so we`re stayin. Getting out of PV this afternoon though. A cheaper little beach town with less gringos and tourism a few hour bus ride up the coast, San Blas, is where we are pointing. There sounds like some neat day trips out of there. Crocodile`s, cheap jungle boat trips, exotic birds, and more...? thats what the books say. Good place for some inevitable meditating on re-re-evaluating my priorities, agendas, and life direction again so that I can hit the ground running when I get back to all my almost finished business at home.

Thats all. pictures soon...

xo


MaX