puerto natales

so much to update. im sitting in an internet cafe in puerto natales. i dont feel like typing everything. we were in puerto montt for 3 days. it was nice. but then we left puerto montt on monday. sent a package home. i hope it arrives in ok shape. the post office didnt have a box so i had to get one from a local supermarket. sent that off on monday. then we went and boarded the ferry for puerto natales. we left monday evening and arrived just today at about 10 am local time. i´d love to write more but i think we may be in jeopardy of missing our bus to punta arenas. if only you could read my journal. i write in it so much. its much easier than updating this blog. anyhow we´ll be in ushuaia soon. within the next 2 days. we are both eager to get the next leg of this journey started. i´m out. hopefully everyone is good. i hope soon i am able to let go of so many things. until next time. buenas dias mis amigos.


zach

in south america!

Hey! So much to tell you! Crazy trip down here but after 16 hours on 3 planes, we´re finally here! We got in last night, or early this morning, and had a difficult time finding a place to stay. We finally found one and ended up having to carry our gear, two huge bags plus a bike box across town! We´re at a hostel for one night and tomorrow evening we´ll be on a bus for Puerto Montt.Santiago is a nice city. We explored a little bit and found some great streets and old plazas. Makes me feel like im in Europe! We´ll be charging up our camera batteries and hopefully be out taking photos in the morning. We´re both eager to get out of here and start the real trip and fulfill our true reason for coming down here. The bus ride to Puerto Montt takes about 13 hours so we´ll get there tomorrow morning. I´m still getting used to the idea of being down here. It´s super hot and humid and it feels exactly like summer in seattle does, ick! It´s impossible to sleep! We did however manage to sleep for about 5 hours, but we´re still on Seattle time so we´ll be up late again tonight. So many people here. Lots of traffic, pollution, lots of little stores and outlets. I´ve surprised myself with how easily I have been able to get around here with my spanish, like asking questions, and finding out about things, even conversation! The city is busy, dirty, and hot and humid. In the south I know it will be cooler, wide open, and much more enjoyable. I think when we come back to Santiago it will be better and more welcoming, but right now we´re both eager to get out. I hope everyone is well. Might be a few days before I´m able to write again. We´ll have to see what they have in Ushuaia when we get down there in about a week. Hasta luego. Chao!


Zach

19th

so the 19th is finally here. this past week has been crazy. seems like its taken forever to pass. lots of stress, sadness, confusion, and anxiety. we leave today at 120 pm. kind of sad to be leaving things here. me and my girlfriend are mutually breaking up after i leave today. i'm scared to leave that. confident but scared. tomorrow will see me and thomas sitting at the airport in miami. not sure when i'll be able to update this but it will probably be in chile. once down there we plan to spend a day in santiago and then head south to puerto montt and ushuaia. take care. talk soon. byebye.

Zach

Getting Closer

I just added a new feature to this page. If you scroll down and look just below the photos on the right hand side of the page, you will see that I've added two clocks. One shows the current Seattle (PST) time and the other shows Santiago time. I think it's kind of cool. Only a five hour difference. Anyhow, Thomas has been working on sprucing up the site so be sure and drop by periodically. We're attempting to break our trip down into 9 pieces; with a description and close up view of where we'll be and what we'll be doing so head to the "Route" section for a visual on what I'm talking about. Thomas has also written a piece and updated the "Cause" section of our site, so go and check that out. It's now January 8th, and we're drawing closer to our departure date. Thomas will be here in 3 days. I don't think leaving will truly sink in until we gear up and have everything packed and ready to go. It feels like it's taking forever but I know it will be here soon enough. That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!


Zach

2009

2009 is finally here. Honestly I thought it would take forever to get here but now it's here and we're heading out in less than 3 weeks. It's crazy. Exciting. I know it's going to be an amazing time and one that I am so ready for. I've still got some things to take care of before we head out but it looks like I'll have reached my cash goal for my trip. I'm hoping to surpass that mark but we'll see. Anyways, happy new year! I hope your 2009 begins well! :] I'll write more when we get closer. Thomas is flying into Seattle on the 10th. I've got about 2 weeks of work left, and I'm excited about that also! byebye!


Zach