Saturday, April 2, 2016

Another exciting month

Hi All,
It's been another great month and actually some time since I've blogged about the trip. As a quick rehash - in the beginning of March we were still in New Zealand where we had the chance to go white water rafting, Maya bungy-jumped off a very high bridge over a ravine (Mira couldn't do it because she weighed 3 kilos less than the minimum weight requirement -bummer), we spent a day white water rafting and I ran in the Mountain to Surf Marathon finishing in just over 4 hours.

After New Zealand, we flew to Samoa to reconnect with my good friend Cedric from our graduate school days at Brandeis. In addition to spending quality time with Cedric, Suzie and their wonderful kids on Upolo Island (a big thanks Cedric and Suzie for hosting us), we also explored the island of Savai'i where we stayed at a relaxed resort and kayaked everyday out to an island about a mile offshore to snorkel on the coral reefs.

We then flew to Chile and spent five days in Santiago exploring the city on foot, eating at their outdoor restaurants, visiting museums and even taking a day hike at 10,000 ft in the Andes. We were fortunate to spend this time with our dear friend Inaki, who we became close friends with from our days in Asmara, Eritrea, and his wonderful girlfriend Meritxell. I'm grateful they've been traveling in and weren't in Brussels recently, where Inaki lives and regularly uses the transport systems that were attacked.

From Santiago we flew to Easter Island where we spent 5 wonderful days exploring one of the most remote places on earth due to it's location in the South Pacific. The island is famous for the giant Moai statues carved in stone by the original inhabitants in the 15th century and boy are they amazing. We explored the island on foot, by car, off-road on bikes and even underwater with scuba gear. The place is quite beautiful with electric blue water, green volcanic mountain slopes, wild horses everywhere, and Moai dotting the landscape reminding us of the island's mysterious past.

We're now just arrived in Baja, Mexico for a new phase of our trip. We're doing a 'house swap' so have a beautiful 3 bedroom place with a pool and jacuzzi just a few minutes walk from the beach. Our dear friend Kathy has flown down from San Diego and is with us as we toast the sunsets over the Pacific every evening with cold bottles of Mexico beer.

Here are some photos from the past month. I'll also post more pictures from March on my Facebook account. If you want to see them feel free to send a friend request to robmaroni.

Cheers, Rob

Maya getting ready for a long bunny jump into a ravine 

Just about to reach the finish line at Mountain to Surf Marathon, New Plymouth, NZ 

Beautiful coastline, SW on North Island, NZ 

At Mt. Taranaki, NZ 

Valparaiso, Chile 

Valparaiso 

Kids and artwork 

Maya in the Andes 

Hiking in the Andes 

With good friends  

Sunset on Easter Island 

Amazing Moai 

Looking to sea 

Inspiring

Nadia and Mira walking and biking along coast, Easter Island 

Colorful transport on Samoa

Mira sliding down waterfall, Samoa 

Seaside dinner, Savai'i Island Samoa 

Girls learning traditional way to make coconut cream 

Robert Louis Stevenson's House, Upolo Samoa 

Maya surfing in Baja, Mexico 

Cactus and mountains in the Baja 

The ultimate way to relax at the beach 

Late afternoon Cerveza, southern Baja 

The house we're staying at in Todos Santos








1 comment:

  1. Great pictures! Love the Easter Island heads. :) If you and Nadia can find me on Facebook (Kate Evans), let's connect that way. Nice to get to spend time together today.

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