From the journal
As I travel, I keep a journal. This post is straight from the source – documenting the moments as I experienced them. It has been recorded on the blog on the date it was originally written.
Day 1. Aaron yelled at me for soup….
The problem with arrows is that they point a direction. Not the direction. As we hiked toward Accampar Frances, I imagined that this singular problem could be how our 7 days in Patagonia could quickly turn to 2. Every arrow we passed pointed distinctly in the opposite direction.
We found our way to camp none-the-less. Legs tired. Hips a little sore. Aaron checked us in, we set up the tent and quickly got to work with dinner plans.
After a small hike to and back from the mini market (totally oversold) near the lake, we were finally cooking.
No lunch. A few snacks. Dehydrated. Tired and fading. I tried to set up bedding while he cooked. Amidst of the chaos, he started grumping about getting into the tent, so I started moving things to make room.
In an instant, our bag of rehydrated lasagna went tumbling on the floor – open.
“I have a towel,” I said and instantly started digging through my bag. Meanwhile, he was grumbling all kinds of ridiculous junk. And I just could quite handle it anymore.
Tears pushed at my eyes. The stress of 3 flights, 2 buses, 1 catamaran and quadruple checking every single thing lately finally hit. I miss our dogs. And home. I’m genuinely exhausted with almost no sleep. Everything had been going shockingly well right up until – food. It’s always food.
We survived it. I found the towel, we wiped it up and rinsed in the river. We made another meal and slowly came back to reality with some chicken and noodles.
I’m still fighting the tears though. Even while missing home, I can – for the first time – say home actually came with me. It’s amazing to think we can have so much fun in the middle of the typically most stressful phases of traveling.
We’ve joked. Relaxed. We’re both more present here. The shift is incredible. Without our phones.
It’s cold. Honestly, colder than I expected. Still, I was sweating through my jacket most of the day. We climbed into the tent early – around 6 tonight. Took a look over the map. I’m writing and very quickly planning to crash. Or, at the very least, get snuggled.
Tomorrow will be a 6-hour trek to our next camp. At my pace, more like 7. It will be amazing despite the length. The views we’ve already seen have been stunning. Tons of photos. Tons of selfies. Absolutely amazing terrain.
We’re fortunate. We really are.