A Day in the Life with Leon’s/Happy Birthday Mum

Sunday, February 8

Lily and I met Nati and her family at Dane’s for an empanada lunch. I spoke with her husband who is a very interesting guy. He works in the salmon industry down here, and is extremely athletic and active. We spoke about sailing and cycling and before we knew it they invited us for an afternoon bike ride with their family to Llanquihue (one town north on the west side of the lake). We obliged and hit the dirt paths that followed the lake shore. The bike ride was absolutely beautiful and great exercise as their whole family is obsessed with athletic activity (my kind of people). Even their 4-year old riding with training wheels was keeping as we rode for almost 1 hour.

We made a pit-stop in Llanquihue to for helados (ice cream) before making the return leg to Puerto Varas. The kids were great fun going off jumps and over curbs while we hung back with Nati and Martin to converse some more about our time in Chile. Everyone keeps telling Lily and I to stay, but I don’t think they comprehend how far Chile is from the northern US. A move like that is not in my decision-making abilities, but it is nice to know that Lily has made such a huge impact down here.

We returned home and all I wanted was a nap…shocking. We threw together a quick meal of hot dogs Chilean style with palta & tomatoes, before I got on the computer to wish Mum a happy birthday. I wish I was there to celebrate with everyone, but it was good to be able to catch up with her and give her birthday wishes live over the internet. It’s hard not to feel homesick on days like this. But, I couldn’t be more excited for tomorrow and all of the meetings I have scheduled. It would be great to have some solid projects to concentrate on during the day.

Chile Trivia: Due to the lack of consistent ozone protection in Punta Arenas, CL, it’s inhabitants are 3 times more likely to get skin cancer