"Not All Who Wander Are Lost"

Did I simply forget? Have I become too lazy to post regularly? While there are millions of excuses from my lengthy hiatus from this blog, I'd like to think I've simply been too busy living. The past few months have overflowed with adventures, laughter, and work. Blogging, unfortunately, just hasn't been a part of my world.

Recounting several months of la vida cotidiana seems almost impossible. Where to start? Classes ended, finals happened, and my internship consumed much of my time and mental energy. Yet, the workload never proved overwhelming; perhaps due to the excitement interspersed throughout the monotony. Weekends brought white water rafting, an excursion to La Serena, my two left feet struggling to dance la salsa, and wanderings through places as varied as Persa Bio-Bio and La Vega. Moreover, it was a time of celebration. The Gringos brought Halloween and Thanksgiving to the southern hemisphere and we celebrated each with elaborate costumes or pumpkin pie respectively. Even Christmas made an early appearance when we decided to celebrate with cookies, secret santa, and some fabulous holiday tunes.

The excitement has not abated as the end of my first semester approaches. For the past week, I trekked through Torres del Paine, a Chilean national park that we affectionately dubbed "The Middle Earth" due to its uncanny resemblance to the home of Bilbo, Golum, and the other beloved characters from JRR Tolkien's popular series. We meandered through this world of immense rock towers, shimmering glaciers, and icebergs with all our gear strapped to our backs. With blistered feet, unshowered bodies, and lots of GORP (gold old raisins and peanuts), we sang and laughed our way through an indescribably wonderful week in one of the remotest places on our planet.


To the nine other members of our own little fellowship of the ring,
I reckon I could use heaps of words in an entry about the trip and never fully explain its wonder. From the first 4AM sunrise in Punta Arenas to the crazy gaucho with his slightly oversized meat cleaver, each moment was absolutely unforgettable. Maybe it would be best to just say that it was "so good." After all, that lovely little Australian phrase has forever infiltrated all our vocabularies and sometimes less truely does say more.

And, yes, if I could marry a trip, I most certainly would have "put a ring on it."