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Pucón, Lake District

January 2019

After enjoying a few days in Pichelimu on the coast, we decided to muscle through the 8 hour drive south to Pucón in the Lake District of Chile.  I have been sweating this place ever since I watched an episode of Househunters International (you know you watch it too) in which a family with two young daughters was moving there.  (In the end we decided not to move to Pucón because the climate is quite rainy and cold in winter.)  But what a place!  As you near the town you see beautiful Villarica volcano, an active volcano that last erupted 3 years ago (gulp!) and the road winds beautifully through the town of Villarica along the lake of the same name.  We spent the first two nights in a small hotel in town to get a feel for the place and decide what to do next.  

First order of business was to talk to the locals.  Our Bali friends had told us to stop into Summit Chile to say hi to owners Suzi and Claudio.  They run an adventure tour business focused primarily on hikes up to the summit of the volcano.  Claudio is a preeminent climber in Chile and during the busy summer season he hikes up and down the volcano several days a week.  Todd signed up to summit the volcano the following week (while I chickened out, suggesting that SOMEone had to stay with the girls).  Suzi sent us across the street to Latitude 39 to meet her good friend Monika who had a daughter O’s age.  The girls hung out and Monika fed us incredible chicken tacos and gave Todd and I suggestions on where to stay in Pucón.  At her recommendation, we moved into one of seven rustic, spacious cabins on a beautiful 10-acre property just outside of town – and just like that she had set us on the right track for the week.  The girls got to spread out in their own rooms upstairs, run free on the property, made fast friends with the 4 dogs living on the property, and we were able to grill outdoors on the charcoal barbecue every night. By the end of our week there, the girls had also made friends with a couple of Chilean kids who were staying in the neighboring cabin.

On the day of his volcano hike, Todd woke before dawn.  It was a 4.5 hour hike uphill (crampons and ice picks included) and an hour-long somewhat precarious “sled” down the hill.  While up there, he and his group had to don gas masks to combat the intense sulfur smell at the summit.  Suddenly, they felt something like sand rain down on their helmets, which the younger of the two guides excitedly explained was the first time he had experienced a mini eruption at the summit!  It turns out there was an “alert” issued for the volcano that day (glad I didn’t know about it until afterwards).  Todd arrived back safe and sound, and exhilarated.

While in Pucón we swam in beautiful lakes, hiked to various waterfalls, and ate delicious pollo asado. The girls made friends with dogs and chickens wherever we went.  And on top of it all, they had a Spanish lesson with a local kindergarten teacher every morning.  Poco a poco!

Making new friends over ice cream:

O and C did an obstacle course in the forest:

Date night at Arbol just outside Pucón - beautiful restaurant owned by a fabulous couple Luz Ana and Marcelo:

The volcano is the backdrop from wherever you are in Pucón.

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Santiago de Chile at last!

January 2019

After two flights, one of which was overnight, we arrived in Chile’s capital.  It felt surreal to be at the bottom of the southern hemisphere, plunged right back into summer.  Chile is a long, skinny country that experiences every possible climate from north to south, and boasts a 2,600 mile coastline, with only an average of 110 miles from east to west.

Santiago, our new hometown, felt enormous.  With 5.6 million inhabitants, it is home to about a third of the entire country’s population.  The city sits at the foot of the Andes mountain range, which you can see from most parts of the city.

We started out in the city’s Lastarria district – a super hip, central and artsy area in the center. After a couple of days in the wrong Airbnb (to put it nicely), we moved to a great little apartment in a bustling part of Lastarria where we had easy access to restaurants, grocery shopping and a couple of beautiful city parks where the kids could let loose.  By day, we began the hunt for a house rental near the girls’ school.  Easier said than done.

Before we started this journey back in June of last year, many friends (and strangers) told me they thought what we were doing was “brave.”  That first week in Santiago, Chile, I finally accepted their description. Todd and I had to figure everything out on our own – everything was new and different and intimidating.  It takes time to settle into an environment, figure out the lay of the land and what is safe to do and what is not.  When it came to looking for a house to rent, we learned that the Chilean real estate market is not centralized through an MLS type system, so you have to go out with several different realtors to see their individual listings.  With every new realtor we approached, we had to explain ourselves all over again – very different from in North America where you need only develop rapport with a single agent who understands your needs and acts as your advocate.

So I say thank goodness for Facebook.  Even though I haven’t been actively posting on FB on this journey, I did join a FB Group for expats in Chile, and through that amazing network we found an awesome house to rent from the sweetest family.  We will be able to bike with the girls to school every day (a priority for us), and we have a beautiful view of the Andes all around.  On top of it all, we totally hit it off with the family and feel like we have made lifetime friends.

The girls spent a week away at a Chilean summer camp in a part of the Andes about 6 hours from Santiago. We sent them away on a train with 50 other campers and their wonderful counsellors (again feeling like “what the hell are we doing?!”) and they had an incredible experience hiking, horseback riding, swimming in rivers, doing carpentry and archery and singing.  When we picked them up, the whole crew looked dirty and happy. It took two showers and scrubbing down with towels to get rid of the baked-on dirt from the week.  The perfect camping experience!  The girls made friends and many happy memories.

For the rest of Chilean summer, we are making our way south.  Todd and I enjoyed a few days in the wine region of Colchagua while the girls were away at camp.  We rented bikes so we could go on long rides in the countryside in the morning, then go to wine tastings and tours in the afternoons/evenings.  The town of Santa Cruz which was our home base has dozens of vineyards within close Uber distance.  Many of the restaurants are situated next to or within beautiful vineyards, and offer delicious and varied cuisine.  A highlight was a sunset tasting at Ventisquero winery, which sits perched at the top of a hill with a breathtaking view overlooking vineyards and mountains as far as the eye can see.  Todd and I were the only guests and we had the wraparound deck to ourselves, listening to the birds chirping and the wind whispering through the vines – so peaceful.

We continue to meet interesting people wherever we go, and Santa Cruz was no exception.  We shared a tasting at Apaltagua with two American women who were traveling the country together.  We ended up deciding to have dinner together that night, sitting outdoors overlooking a vineyard at restaurant Vino Bello, and sharing stories. It’s funny…I have found that when you meet people while traveling, you tend to dispense with any formalities or getting-to-know-you stage, and instead go right to “the good stuff.”  So we learned a lot about each other :)

We are now spending a few days in Pichelimu, the surf capital of Chile about 2-3 hours from Santiago. Here we will meet up with new friends we met in Bali, Britt and Max, who are very involved in saving large parts of Antarctica through their environmental work.  Britt and Todd had met in the water while surfing off Nusa Lembongan, an island off the coast of Bali, and I later separately met Britt at our hotel.  We ended up on the same ferry to the mainland and found out that her husband is Chilean and that they would be visiting Chile during the time of our move here.  Life throws you together with people sometimes.  They are an amazing couple doing great things.

Watching outdoor movie at the Eco-lodge in Corbun

Happy dirty camper at Las Mulas, Achibueno

Arriving at Santiago airport...as residents!

In downtown Santiago, Lastarria district, there was a parade that passed our window

See any similarities between Costanera Center (tallest building in South America) and Todd’s hair?

Enjoying Santa Cruz wine country

With new friends Debra and Corrine

Ecolodge made out of former shipping containers

Visiting the girls’ soon-to-be school!!

Making new friends

Hangin’ out in Lastarria district, Santiago

View towards our new neighborhood at the foot of the Andes

Ventisquero winery and its special tasting expert, Daisy

Dirty happy camper arriving from a weeklong summer camp

Our new ecolodge friends hosted us - what a treat

The girls took skateboarding and climbing classes in Pichilemu while daddy surfed

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Ottawa, Canada

We spent a few days in Ottawa to see my parents, sister and family.  One of the highlights was taking my parents and all the little cousins for some multi-generational bowling.  We broke up into teams and had a blast.  I’m pretty sure this was my parents’ first time ever in a bowling alley and there was much hemming and hawing about it on the way there… (I didn’t tell them where we were going until the last minute.)  My favorite moments included watching my mother’s double-handed between-the-legs bowling technique and seeing my sister’s bowling ball go flying dangerously into the neighboring lane because her fingers got stuck in the junior-sized ball (as she claimed).  My dad took highest score on his first bowling day ever – he’s always enjoyed a little competition.

I knew it would be hard being in such a familiar place, and with my family, right before moving down to Chile.  In many ways, I felt like I was five again – like “Nooooo!  I don’t wannago!”  Chile suddenly felt very foreign and very far away, and there were so many unknowns.  I thought to myself, “What am I crazy?  I’m moving my family down to a country I’ve never even beento before!”

But then we were off to the airport, Chilean visas in hand, ready for the next adventure.

Todd and I had our talented new friend, @mitchbrookman (who we met in Vietnam) paint this for my parents in honor of the time Jimi Hendrix walked into a small bar in Spain when my parents were in their twenties and played an impromptu set.

Cousins forever

Some sweet technique from Mormor

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Pralognan-La-Vanoise, French Alps

Christmas to New Year

We joined the full Magee family for a week in the French Alps over Christmas and New Year. Pralognan is a tiny little ski town nestled in the Trois Vallees, about a 2 ½ hour drive from Geneva, Switzerland (which we flew into).  When Todd was a young lad, he and his family used to ski here under the guidance of a fantastic high mountain guide named Bernard.  I have heard about this Bernard fellow repeatedly over the years I have been a Magee, and now I was finally to meet this larger-than-life Frenchman.  He did not disappoint – he’s an absolute sage in the world of skiing and all things mountain.  Because of my ACL surgery last May I was not allowed to ski on this trip (doctor said I should wait a full year – torture as skiing is my favorite sport) but I was able to snow shoe up and down the mountain and on various trails, while the girls and Todd went skiing with the larger group led by Bernard and two other skilled high mountain guides, Quentin and Sigrid. It’s always fun connecting with Todd’s family, but even more so because we had spent so many months far away from everyone, and the girls got to reconnect with their other 12 Magee cousins.

With THE Bernard

Sibling skiing with their first teachers

New Year’s Day 2019

Some snowshoeing with Nonna

And snowshoeing by myself

Let’s just say that the only reason my O is wielding a weapon is that it was part of that Olympic sport with the cross-country skiing...and she’s a mean shot.

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España

Many years ago, after I finished university, I lived in Spain for about a year and a half.  I didn’t mean to live there that long, having originally signed up for a month-long Spanish course in Salamanca. But having no fixed plans back in Canada, I made my way to Madrid to see how I could support myself for a while and learn some Spanish.  I fell into teaching English, took Spanish classes at the university, and stayed and stayed and stayed.  Todd and I met years later while studying in Barcelona, so Spain is a special country for us.  This was Todd’s first time in Madrid, so I was looking forward to showing him the strong culture of the castellanos.  We stayed in the center, did tons of walking, ate tortilla española, paella, and patatas bravas (3 great reasons why I got a little chunky in my early 20s), and enjoyed El Retiro park on electric scooters.  While in Madrid we were due to pick up our residence visas to be able live in Chile, paperwork that thankfully went smoothly over the course of several hours at the Chilean Consulate.  With that done, we were free to head south.

We spent a beautiful day and night in Granada on the way down.

While in Vietnam, we had met a wonderful Spanish family (hola Paloma y Javier!) from Cádiz in southwestern Spain.  We liked them so much, and they had such great things to say about their home province, that we decided that the rest of our three weeks in Spain would be spent in Cádiz. It is the oldest city in western Europe and has a history as an important port.  The old town juts out from the main land, separated by a historic wall, filled with cobble-stoned, narrow streets and charming “plazas” (squares) where life is lived in the open.  In December, the days were warm and sunny (70s) and it cooled off at night.  We found a charming apartment facing one of the main town squares, with a view to the port.  Within a day of arriving, we rented bikes for the month, joined a gym to work off some of the patatas bravas we’d enjoyed in Madrid, and signed the girls up for daily Spanish lessons at a local language school.  The girls were so excited to settle in one place for several weeks, after having been on the road for so long, so they busied themselves with setting up their bedrooms and arranging the “stuffies” they seem to have been collecting along the way (contrary to our 4 purple bags philosophy of no stuff).

It felt great to be settled and be able to cook meals in our own kitchen.  The living room faced out onto the square, so we could open up the windows and watch everyday life being lived in front of our eyes (including a demonstration that ended up with the police lighting flares to break up the ever-growing crowd - oops).  The church bells sounded every 15 minutes, with a long “song” on the hour from 9am to midnight which we all knew by heart by the end of our stay.  For those of you who know me well, you might think this would drive me to insanity, but I have to say it felt right somehow, and quite reassuring to hear the bells.  No, really.

The girls did their Spanish lessons, we proceeded with math and writing homeschooling, and settled into a routine that we had missed while on the road.

Cádiz is an absolutely beautiful city, surrounded on nearly all sides by ocean.  There are beautifully maintained parks, a bike path around the perimeter, and beach after beach.  Since it was low season, I think we must have been the only tourists in the entire city, which was great for our Spanish.  The locals started “letting us in” a little bit more every day, as we frequented the same coffee shops, restaurants and surf shops.  Todd rented a board for the month and got his surf on almost every day.  The girls did a lesson with Willy, the top surfer in Spain, and caught the surfing “bug.” As Christmas approached, we found a small artificial tree and decorated it with simple lights and colored balls, and allowed ourselves a Secret Santa gift-giving.  Because we’ve been traveling with just our four purple bags, we’ve rigorously maintained our rule that if you buy something new, something in the bag has to go.  

Cádiz is the land of flamenco, and we enjoyed a fabulous show at the Teatro Falla sitting up in the nose bleed section (they fittingly call it “Paraiso” or paradise), with six women and six men taking turns singing together and separately, dancing and the whole of our Paraiso section clapping in special Flamenco rhythms along with the performers.  Absolute magic.

We went to visit our Spanish friend Paloma’s lovely parents, Cristina and José, in the small town of San Roque which looks out towards the famous Rock of Gibraltar.  They treated us to a typical Spanish lunch, the girls got to play with their cats and dog, and say hello to their sweet donkey.  We visited a beautiful old castle on top of a hill, then went into town to see the live nativity.  It seemed as though half the town was dressed up in biblical costumes and there was hay everywhere and goats and rabbits, a choir singing Christmas music and a beautiful nativity with a real newborn baby as Jesus!  This is typical for many towns in Spain during the holiday season and I absolutely loved it.  We stayed up late into the night with Cristina and Jose, sharing stories and life philosophies, drinking Spanish wine, and eating manchego cheese, José’s delicious tortilla andaluza and Spanish jamón serrano.

The next morning we took a 40-minute ferry ride over to Morocco and spent several hours walking with a guide through the streets of Tangier.  Pretty wild to be able to go to Africa for the day.  We particularly liked walking through the narrow pathways and old cobble-stoned streets of the Kasbah area of town, where we stopped into a bakery which had a typical oven inside the rock wall where they made bread but also roasted different kinds of nuts.  We had an amazing Moroccan lunch – mine was chicken baked in a clay pot with couscous - overlooking the city and Atlantic Ocean.  A very interesting day, but I will say that we were happy to leave the hustle and bustle and get back “home” to Cádiz.

In a Morocco vegetable market

Sunset in beautiful Cadiz, Spain

Choir at the live nativity in San Roque, Cadiz

“I know the cure for everything:  salt water...in one form or another:  sweat, tears or the sea.”

Doing Christmas in our Cadiz apartment

Beautiful La Alhambra in Granada, Spain

View to the square from our apartment

Cadiz Cathedral

Authentic Cadiz with Paloma’s parents, Cristina and Juan, and Grandma

Olive stand in Morocco market

Walking the streets of Tangier, Morocco with our guide

Madrid

Surfing with daddy in Cadiz

Santiago of A. Piñon bike store in Cadiz, hooked us up for the month

Sunset over shores of Cadiz

Train to Madrid with the 4 purple bags

Learning to cut a jamon serrano the proper way

Spanish surf champion Willy was Todd’s guide and the girls’ surf coach - here with his awesome mom and girlfriend

Helping mommy hang the laundry

She ordered “grilled cheese” - oops.

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Lake Como, Italy

Thanksgiving week 2018

So I pick up our story after a “personal writing drought” in the beautiful town of Como in northern Italy, where our dear American friends, Charlotta and Mark and their two kids hosted us for a week.  They are spending the school year in Como so their kids can learn Italian and connect with Charlotta’s Italian heritage.  Como is beyond-words picturesque – all the photos you’ve seen online just begin to do it justice.  Nestled on a gorgeous lake with houses climbing all the way up the hill on either side, it is everything you want Italy to be:  cobble-stoned streets are lined with one good restaurant after the next, the town squares are lit up for the holidays with the most magical light displays projected onto the cathedrals and historical buildings, the melodic sounds of spoken Italian surround you wherever you turn, and every few minutes you walk past a stand of a hundred different cheeses, or chocolate, or something else yummy.  Wine is offered at every meal, and you say “Si! Per favore!”, even at lunch.

We arrived on American Thanksgiving Day.  Since Como is in the north, we were plunged into European winter weather (a bit of a shock to the system coming from Africa – did I just say that?)  We welcomed the crispness in the air, and I bought myself a new winter coat within about 5 minutes of arriving.  This was our first holiday abroad - Thanksgiving away from family…but we were pleasantly surprised by the warm smells of the oven filling up Charlotta and Mark’s house when we arrived, and were treated to a delicious turkey with all the fixings. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our friend-family and felt very grateful.

We spent the week biking around town, hiking up the hills, catching the ferry to visit other towns around the lake, even popping over the border to Switzerland for an outing one day. We ate good food, drank good wine, and laughed our heads off.  The girls were very happy to have friends to play with again (parents get old after a while), and we loved spending QT with Char and Mark.  Thanks for having us!

At expat Thanksgiving in Como...look who’s in the background...

exPOSED!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Tanzania, Africa

“Am I really on my way to Africa right now??” I thought to myself on the long flights from Singapore via Dubai.  Crazy stuff. When we started piecing together this trip, I (cleverly) decided to figure out where we had unsuspecting friends living in interesting, faraway places, and go stay with them!  From one set of friends to another – we were on our way to see Claire and Eric and their two boys in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. “Dar” is on the east coast of Africa, and the capital has beautiful white sand beaches right downtown.

One of my favorite things on this trip is to stare out of the window of the taxi from the airport to get a first “feel” for a new place.  Arriving on a Sunday in the Tanzanian capital, I saw women dressed in beautiful khangas – colorful, cotton dresses – many of them balancing baskets on their heads, or with babies strapped on their backs.  I saw young girls with close-cropped hair in fancy, colorful dresses with puffy sleeves.  

First on the agenda was a safari in the Selous Game Reserve.  At 19,000 square miles, Selous is one of the largest protected areas in Africa, and home to an extremely diverse population of animals and vegetation. We hopped on a puddle-jumper plane for the 45 minute flight into the wilderness.  Our guide, Jackson, and driver, Omari, picked us up in an open-air Jeep and we drove another 45 minutes to Lake Manze Camp.  When we booked this part of the trip, I was a little nervous about living with my kids in a tent (aka thin fabric barrier) in the midst of wild African animals.  My fears were not unfounded.  I continued to feel very “alive” every waking moment that we spent at the camp – there is a sense of constant readiness that you feel, walking around the bush.  We were escorted by Masai warrior guards both day and night to and from our tent and the main dining/hang out area.  The camp is set close to a river that flows into Lake Manze, so many animals use it as a watering hole, and the water is a haven for hippopotamus and crocodiles.  Morning and late afternoons, we had the option of going on a game drive in an open-air Jeep, hopping on a small boat for a river safari or enjoying (!) a walking safari with a Masai guard.

Some highlights:  

- On day one, having a large herd of elephants cross right in front of our Jeep – we had the motor off, and were told to be quiet and not move a muscle – one of the most beautiful, exhilarating (and scary) experiences of my life.  The lead bull elephant postured and faced us with its ears flapping out like wings to let us know who was boss. I think I held my breath.

- Following the wild dogs on an exhilarating chase after a baby giraffe, with its mother kicking her hind legs trying to fend off the attackers.  All I could think was “my girls are about to grow up very quickly if the dogs are successful” – we were hugely relieved when the dogs gave up the hunt.

- Watching a female lion stroll leisurely through the bush in the late afternoon sun, as every other animal breed made loud, frantic warning calls to their mates.  She stopped to enjoy an unhurried drink of water from the river, then wound her way into the high grasses and found a spot to lie down and ready herself for the evening hunt.  At first I was curious why the giraffes didn’t run away as soon as they saw her; instead they all froze in place and stared intently, and only once the lioness had submerged herself in the tall grasses did they turn and run – I understood that they wanted to make darn sure they knew exactly where she had hidden before moving away to warn the others.

- Another wild dog high-speed hunt after a huge warthog and several impala (small deer-like animals) – this chase ended up with the warthog hiding in the middle of a bush (unharmed) and the killing and gruesome tearing to shreds of a couple of impala, with the wounding of a hyena in the mix – unbelievable.

During the day when it was HOT, we would go back to our tent and try to nap or relax with the solar fans desperately blowing hot air on us (did I mention the camp is electricity-free?) One day, the girls had been particularly “chirpy” – singing, dancing around the tent, giggling.  As I lazily picked my head off my pillow, I turned to see not one but two female lions leisurely strolling towards our tent (aka piece of fabric protecting my children).  I quickly snapped my fingers and held out my hand “STOP” to the girls and they immediately knew something was up.  We all stared, absolutely frozen, as the two lions walked past our tent and continued on to the watering hole.  Oh. My. This felt a little too close for comfort.  A Masai guard appeared on the other side of the tent and made a sign to us to be quiet and not to move (oh OK I think I’ll be quiet and not move…)

Oh and during two of our lunches in the open-air dining area, a bull elephant strolled through camp. Poor Todd hadn’t moved in time so was frozen in place at the table while this very large mammal walked directly behind him.

Safari is a beautiful and humbling experience, and one that I wish everyone could experience.

From Selous we flew to Zanzibar, an island just off the coast of Dar Es Salaam, that is predominantly Muslim, is known for its spice industry, and which has a dark history as a slave port.  Driving around the island, you see women wearing colorful head scarves and coverings, and many men wearing traditional kofia, cylindrical brimless hats.  The beaches in Zanzibar are the most beautiful I’ve seen anywhere in the world – the sand is impossibly white and fine, the water the most incredible turquoise…and oftentimes we were the only people on the beach.  

Frolicking in our tent.

Our experienced Masai guards walked us around camp both day and night.

Wild dog pack getting ready to hunt.

Wildebeest

Giraffes are such elegant animals - they walk in a slow, graceful manner.

Zebras are much smaller than horses. One of my faves.

Catching catfish on the Manze river.

Inspecting crocodile eggs buried in the sand. Our driver Omari spotted them because of the indent the mother crocodile’s body had made in the sand.

Baboons everywhere

Lion pack resting in the shade of a tree.

Oldest and largest Bao Bao tree in Selous.

Enjoying a boat trip off the coast of Dar Es Salaam.

The beautiful island of Zanzibar:

“The Rock” restaurant in Zanzibar - you have to wade through the water to get to it.

Claire and Eric - our awesome hosts

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Sojourn in Singapore

From Bali we headed to Singapore to spend a few days with my dear friend Genevieve.  She and I were “besties” from ages 11-14 when I was growing up in the UK!

I had not done any in-depth research on Singapore, so my main points of advice to Todd and the girls were a) not to chew gum and b) not to spit in the street – or risk getting arrested…Once again my expectations were blown away.  Singapore was beautiful, with plenty of green space, impressive buildings, wide streets, CLEAN sidewalks, friendly people.  You get the sense that everything just WORKS in Singapore – there’s a system in place.  The country (and city of the same name) is home to many different cultures and religions, who appear to live side by side in perfect harmony.  We walked around “little India” and ate delicious lunch, stopped into a busy working temple, got beautiful henna tattoos for the girls.  That evening we had dinner in the Arab part of the city, overlooking a mosque, enjoying amazing kebabs with hummus and various yogurts and dipping sauces. What I hadn’t expected from Singapore was the sense of respect the various cultures appear to have for one another.  In speaking to Genevieve about this, she told me that every year on the Singapore National Day, citizens everywhere recite a special pledge, affirming their dedication to living in harmony with one another, and that the diversity of the country is seen as a strength and a point of pride.  How beautiful.

Todd and I were impressed with the thoughtful development of the downtown area, with its wide expanse of green space and public recreation areas – it was borderline utopian. Thanks, G, for sharing your beautiful city with us – you spoiled us with your hospitality!

Henna decoration

Singapore skyline

The Arab quarter

Riding the tallest ferris wheel in Asia.

Some comprehensive instructions in our taxi cab.

A casino and hotel in downtown Singapore.

“Little India” temple

Futuristic structures wherever you go.

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Suksma from Bali

(Actually written in mid-October, Indonesia firewall blocked me from posting to my blog while there...)

“Suksma!”  Thank you.  I’m afraid that’s all I’ve picked up so far in Balinese because most people speak fairly good English.  Luckily it’s a word I get to say about 50 times a day.

We spent the first week in Uluwatu in the southern part of the island.  Todd was able to surf Padang Padang and Impossible, while I took the girls to swim at the beautiful beach nearby.  Photos can only begin to do this island justice.  Uluwatu is set up high on a cliff so access to the beach usually involves a bunch of stairs, but it’s well worth the short trek.  Sunsets are magical.

We then made our way to Ubud in central Bali with the intention of staying 3 days.  We are still here almost 2 weeks later.  We have just fallen in love with the warm, gentle, even-keeled people, the unhurried pace, the perfect weather, the lush vegetation and temple after beautiful temple.  

While Indonesia overall is predominantly Muslim, Bali celebrates its own religion:  Balinese Hinduism.  This Hinduism is vastly different from traditional Indian Hinduism, with a focus on making offerings several times a day, and ceremonies for every occasion.  It took me a while to really sink into the culture here, and begin to understand and appreciate the amount of time, money and effort the Balinese people put into their constant offerings and ceremonies (“how does anyone get anything done?” I kept thinking.)  

Yesterday, at Todd’s suggestion, we got up at 3:30am to drive with our local guide Eka to the Jatiluwih rice fields (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) because he wanted to arrive before ANYBODY else so he could get a clean view of the sun rising over the rice terraces.  When we arrived at 4:45, the moon was still high in the sky and I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face it was so dark.  At the discovery that the Magees had actually gotten up too early (!), Todd wisely kept his distance from me.  The girls snored softly in the car as the sun eventually made her appearance, revealing the most incredible green, lush, perfectly manicured rice paddies you can imagine.  It truly was magical to see and I had to admit that for once Todd was right ;) Unfortunately our driver, Sumba, lent us his selfie stick and we became selfie addicts almost immediately.  There are miles of trails running through the rice fields, so it’s possible to really lose yourself in the terraces.

Later that morning we visited another temple (“Mom! Dad! Not another temple, please!”) and that’s where I finally felt that I was beginning to understand the brilliance of Balinese traditions.  I realized that by taking the time several times a day to make offerings of flowers, fruit and incense at the temples or simply outside of their workplaces, the Balinese were stopping to feel gratitude and connection to Mother Earth and other living things.  This was meditation and mindfulness in its truest form.  How wonderful to take time every day to connect with the life force, and to bring up your children to appreciate and give thanks.  No wonder we see so many smiles everywhere we go.  Our guide Eka told us for Balinese people it’s very important to smile and think positively, because Karma then sends you back good things.  If you send out bad energy to others, you will receive bad energy in return.  These are teachings we are all familiar with in the Western world (duh!) but in Bali these are practiced every day.  

This is truly a special place.  Clearly the Balinese love to surround themselves with beauty.  Ubud is filled at every turn with intricately designed statues, temples, and doorways, expertly carved or chiseled:  I’ve never seen such human-made beauty.  Every home in Bali has its own temple, which can be as small as a statue in more modest homes, or consist of several beautiful buildings in the larger homes.  Multiple generations of family may live together under one roof, and come together for all ceremonies and celebrations.  In addition, each village has at least three temples:  for Brahma (for creation rituals), Vishnu (for prosperity rituals) and Shiva (for death and cremation rituals).  “Today is an important ceremony day in Bali” is something we hear almost every day from one of our Balinese guides.  Yesterday was the celebration of iron/steel, so cars and motorbikes across the island were decorated with flowers and beautifully woven palm and banana leaves, and families gathered together in the early morning for a special offering of thanks to their vehicles (I’m telling you, there’s a celebration for everything).

The girls have enjoyed a traditional Balinese cooking class as well as painting classes with a local painter.  We’ve visited the Monkey Forest (which is home to over 700 free-roaming monkeys), experienced the Pyramids of Chi sound meditation, and spent a special day with rescued Sumatran elephants.  At the recommendation of our Balinese hosts, we are now headed to Munduk, a small town set in the midst of the rice terraces a couple of hours north of Ubud.

Uluwatu in southern Bali.

Playing with and washing rescued elephants from Sumatra.

Girls enjoying sunrise over the rice fields (NOT!)

Jataluwih rice terraces - sunrise

WITH EKA AND SUMBA

Waking up to discover the selfie stick.

Uluwatu Temple

Kecak performance at Uluwatu Temple.

Monkey Forest in Ubud

Our friends at The Sungu in Ubud

Sister love.

Balinese cooking class.

All around Bali you see locals making flower and incense offerings.

Making doggie friends at the Pyramids of Chi.

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A few days in Bangkok, Thailand

After leaving Vietnam (sniff!) we spent 5 days in Bangkok, Thailand.  A busy city filled with warm, smiling people, delicious food (fried chicken with cashews and chili – unbelievable flavor), and beautiful temples. We experimented with different ways of getting around this sprawling city, and agreed that the tuk tuk (3-wheeled mini vehicle) was the fastest as it was able to weave us in and out of traffic as needed.  At one point I did question my judgment as I sat with my children at a stop light completely perpendicular to all the other vehicles on the road…While in Bangkok we were able to spend time with Todd’s dad who was on Operation Smile business, and meet some of the hard-working Operation Smile board and team members (hello, Therese and Kevin!) at the annual Fight Night fundraiser. What an awesome concept for a night out – there were 4 live amateur boxing matches that attendees could place bets on, as well as various casino games.  Todd’s dad worked his magic onstage – you could hear a pin drop in a room of 400 people while he spoke.  I’m looking forward to going back to Thailand in the future as we got only a small taste of this amazing country.

At the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Wearing new Vietnamese ao dais for Poppy.

Making a fresh flower offering and learning about Buddhism at the Erawan Shrine, Bangkok.

More outdoor exercise equipment!

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C designed her own ao dai then modeled it for us on this lovely moped.

O designed this ao dai herself - black with netted sleeves - the ladies at the store were a little shocked by her sophisticated color choice :)

Todd’s brother came for a short visit.  We celebrated with old friends from our first visit to Hanoi, “Dr. Thai Thai” and his daughter.

Saying goodbye to 30 Tay Ho Street!!

Our new talented friend @mitchbrookman painted this stellar portrait of Jerry Garcia for Todd.

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Saying au revoir to Vietnam

Our month in Vietnam felt like a year…in a great way.  By having our own apartment in Tay Ho, we were able to sink into a community, and meet wonderful people, both Vietnamese and expats.  We are so grateful to our friends, both new and old, who made our time there so memorable:  our Vietnamese crew Viet, Linh, Uyen Linh, Nam, Nguyen Nguyen, Nhung, all the amazing folks at the Operation Smile Hanoi office, our Spanish friends Paloma, Javier and Tomas, Aleks and Umo from the Canadian embassy, Louise, Ross and their girls Jade and Emma, Mitch Brookman our fabulous artist friend, the folks at N Square (especially Beth and Nada).  We will see you again next time!

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Settling in

September 29, 2018 – A couple of days after we arrived in Hanoi, we found an apartment to rent in the Tay Ho (West Lake) district of the city.  It’s got traditional Vietnamese shiny dark wood floors and white walls, high ceilings, and a pretty view over the lake.  After three months of being on the road and living out of our four purple bags, it feels great to have a place to call home for a while.  We have settled nicely into life here.  After home schooling both girls for the first two weeks of being here (let’s take a moment to appreciate teachers everywhere – gulp), O has now started going to school with her Vietnamese friend Nam.  She had a great first day on Friday and told me excitedly that she had “made a new friend” in class.  This is a unique experience – one that she will always remember.

I’ve been going to spinning class at the local gym. Similar to class back in the US, except for the constant stream of Vietnamese from the instructor, and the assortment of very loud “oh!” and “ooo” and “ah’s” that I hear as my classmates increase their resistance on the bikes.

C continues to have her blonde hair touched and marveled at wherever she goes.  A sweet woman, Too, who works in our building actually picks her up, squeezes her and swings her around whenever she sees her.  We hear her running up six flights of stairs just so she can grab her – “get ready C – here comes Too!!”  I had prepared C for this before we arrived in Asia and so she takes it all in stride and just smiles.  I’m proud of her for being so cool about it.

We spent three days last week in Vinh city in the central province of Nghe An, volunteering on an Operation Smile medical mission.  This was the first time for the girls and quite the eye-opening experience for them. Their job was to play with the children and make them feel comfortable and relaxed before surgery.  The girls brought toys, balls and coloring books to entertain the kids.  (Side note: the trip to “toy street” in the old quarter of Hanoi was the first time we’ve actually shopped a stall set up in the middleof a busy street, with mopeds flying by on either side – interesting and life-threatening at the same time).  They were a little shy at first, but before long were blowing bubbles, singing and dancing with them.  We were able to follow a few of the children through the whole process – from screening/evaluation through to post-op, and both girls were able to don scrubs and masks and go into the operating room during a surgery.  We stepped into the OR, standing safely to one side, getting a fascinating first glimpse of a cleft lip surgery in progress, when C promptly looked up at us and declared “OK I’m done – I’ll see you outside.”  I guess someone’s not going to be a surgeon when they grow up…  I will agree it takes some getting used to, but I’ve always enjoyed watching cleft surgery – it’s intricate and exacting, yet artistic.  And watching a child’s life be transformed in just 45 minutes is just magical.

We’ve had some special experiences in the past few days – we took the girls to the famous “chocolate buffet” at the Metropole hotel, where they were invited by the pastry chef to try their hand at assembling some delicacies onto the display platter. Todd and I spent an evening at the breathtaking Hanoi Opera House for the opening of the season.  The Opera House was built around the turn of the 20thcentury by the French and is an intimate space holding just 600 people.  Our Vietnamese friend not only gave us her tickets, but also took our kids for the night – score!  Of course I had suggested to Todd that we could leave at intermission (let’s just say a surprise opera was NOT his original idea for our date night) but once we got to that point it was clear we weren’t going anywhere. So does it mean I’m getting old because I can appreciate sopranos now?  (C said she thinks opera sounds like honking).

Yesterday our lovely friend Nhung took us to have Vietnamese ao dais made – these are the traditional dress/pants that women here wear, mainly for special occasions these days as day-to-day clothing is more western.  We got to choose from hundreds of beautiful, colorful fabrics, some with embroidery and other decorations, then were measured by the tailor for an exacting fit.  We will pick them up in a few days!

With our new Spanish friends in Tay Ho

Making new Canadian friends!

Todd took the girls for a cycle ride in the Old Quarter.

Too loves to squeeze and pick up C.

O makes friends wherever she goes.

The market in the Old Quarter - selling mid-Autumn moon festival decorations for the holiday.

French pastry making at the Metropole.

Our friend Nguyen Nguyen took us to the most amazing Vietnamese restaurant for lunch.  Roast duck, taro balls dipped in sauce, tofu, pork belly with vegetables...

C entertaining the kids at Operation Smile mission.

Patient transport - one of the girls’ favorite jobs.

You see this a lot on the streets of Hanoi - people transport all kinds of things by moped.

So there was no way my friend Nguyen was taking my O by himself on those roads!  (Mama-bear)

O’s first day of Vietnamese school.

With her friends Nam and Uyen Linh.

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Return to Vietnam

September 20, 2018 - We’ve been in Hanoi, Vietnam for a week and a half. There was so much anticipation for this part of our journey, with this being O’s birth country!  Both girls were excited to get to Vietnam.  There is a picture (below) Todd took of O and C on the plane, with O craning her neck as we landed at Hanoi International Airport to catch a glimpse of her first homeland.  As we were landing, she turned to me and said “Mommy, I’m so happy.”

And she’s been happy ever since, taking every day and each new adventure in stride, like she’s lived here her whole life.

The city has changed and modernized since we were here ten years ago to adopt O.  Coming in from the airport you coast down a wide, multi-laned highway and a beautiful new bridge that is lit with different colored lights welcoming you to Hanoi.  What has not changed is people’s driving style…our cabby spent our time on the highway driving straight down the dividing line, alternating back and forth between lanes as he saw fit.  

Downtown is bustling as ever.  The people of Hanoi are industrious, always appearing to be on the move and accomplishing something.  Much of life is lived outside, with store fronts and homes opening up to the sidewalk (or the street when there is none).  Here we see people grilling meat skewers and stirring large, boiling-hot pots of pho, the traditional noodle soup, with guests sitting at tiny plastic chairs and tables enjoying their food.

Crossing the street is as challenging as I remember it.  You need to do it with confidence, and the mopeds and cars drive around you. Luckily most motorists drive quite slowly, but every day I feel like I’m half a foot from getting run over.  There are few sidewalks, and where there are they are covered in parked mopeds, restaurant tables and chairs, or people selling their wares – this means to walk along a street we are generally walking on the side of the narrow roads, a few hairs away from passing traffic.  Not comfortable, but we are taking it all in stride – I usually lead, followed in single file by O, then C, then Todd bringing up the rear.  If we have shopping bags we carry them on the traffic side so the bags will get hit first…you see what I’m saying, right?

People everywhere we meet are helpful and friendly.  Most Hanoi residents speak at least some English, which is super helpful (very different from our experience in China).  

Our Operation Smile family at the Hanoi headquarters is amazing as always.  When I was in Vietnam by myself for almost two months after adopting O, they were there for me every step of the way.  Bringing the girls to the office now, they feel as comfortable as I did – it’s wonderful to see.  As I write this, we are preparing to go on an Operation Smile medical mission about 5 hours south of here in Nghe An province.  The girls are looking forward to helping the kids feel comfortable and relaxed before their surgeries.  They bought tons of coloring supplies, bubbles and balls to play with the kids.  We’ll keep you posted.

Lighting incense at the temple. We are thankful.

Our good friend Viet came to pick up Catalina for her ballet class...on her first moped.  Gulp!

Downtown Hanoi - old quarter

With our new friends from Spain who are living here for 3 years.

View over the West Lake in Hanoi.

Todd got the day off while we had a girls’ day and night. Went to a traditional Vietnamese show to sink into some of this beautiful culture.

The ladies couldn’t get enough of O.

Typical family traveling by moped in Hanoi.

Best free outdoor exercise equipment EVER!  So hilarious watching these guys.

And finally...some downtown Hanoi cheesiness in anticipation of our 17th wedding anniversary :)

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A Taste of China

We landed in Shanghai (a city of 24 million people on the east coast of mainland China) on a hazy, “brown” looking day, and I have to say that I felt that my expectations were being confirmed.  I mentally prepared for several days of smog and overwhelming crowds – everything I expected China to be.

Boy was I wrong.  “Don’t judge…instead, be more curious” the keynote speaker at Microsoft had lectured during our visit to Seattle in July.

The next morning the sky was bright and clear and we could see an incredible view of The Bund neighborhood from our hotel room, as well as high rises as far as the high could see, with large, low cargo boats making their way slowly down the Huangpu River. Taking to the streets, we discovered wide, spotlessly clean sidewalks, electric mopeds and cars driving in an orderly fashion (no smell of exhaust, no speeding or honking whatsoever), and less people walking around than you see on a typical day in New York City.

I felt hopeful.

Everywhere we went people were friendly and helpful.  We ate well.

We hopped on the “bullet” train to Hangzhou (population almost 10 million) a couple of days later to visit a family friend who proudly wanted to show us his city.  I love trains and have resolved to take more of them. There’s no better way to see a country than to stare out a huge window from the comfort of your seat as you cut through neighborhoods, fields, and farms – logging mental snapshots of how life is being lived.  This train ride gave me more of what I was expecting to see – in a high rise complex, there were not three or four buildings as you might see in America, but rather thirty or forty buildings in the exact same style and color; followed immediately by another high rise complex of thirty or forty buildings in another shape and style; followed by another, and another.  You get the point.  So THIS is where everyone is, I thought to myself.

Along the train tracks were farms and greenhouses growing rows and rows of various bright green crops.

In Hangzhou we experienced more traffic, but the same level of cleanliness and order that we had seen in Shanghai.  Being hosted by our Chinese friends was a wonderful way to see Hangzhou.  We went to lunch, walked around a beautiful park, took a boat ride (for a touristy attraction, we appeared to be the only tourists), then checked out the view onto the West Lake.  The architecture of the downtown buildings was really creative and impressive – no concrete block here.

Dinner was with 10+ people around a circular table with a lazy Susan offering up food we had seen before: chicken, pork and noodles, along with many we hadn’t:  pigeon (complete with beak pointing to the sky), jellyfish, various whole fish, and snails.  The girls were happy to experiment with many of the new foods!

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Aloha

Who travels to Hawaii at the tail end of a hurricane?  We do!!  OK so thankfully the original Hurricane Lane was downgraded to tropical storm.  Our Kaui friend assured us that there would just be “some rain” so off we went.  Well he was right – there was definitely some rain, so for the first 24 hours we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of us.  But by the following day, the sun peeked out and the marvel that is Hawaii was revealed.  So this is what everyone’s been talking about!!  Holy cow!!  It looks just like that animated short film about the two volcanoes, complete with multiple waterfalls trailing down the peaks. Never have I seen so much GREEN – layer upon layer and shade upon shade.  Absolutely stunning.

The girls have gotten into wearing leis, flowers in their hair and snorkeling.  We came home from a local farmer’s market yesterday, laden with ripe mangoes, longans (“dragon eye” fruit), freshly picked lettuces, dragon fruit and pineapple.

I’m including a picture of a rooster on the beach, only because they are everywhere, which is quite interesting and unexpected.  Apparently a 90’s storm destroyed many a chicken coop, and the rest is history.

Today it’s off to do more exploring around the island. Aloha.