Skiing in the Andes - July 2008

Last weekend we took our first ski trip as a family to Valle Nevado, a ski resort about 45 miles from Santiago (45 miles up one of the windiest, steepest roads you've ever seen). Tiffany took a snowboarding class, Hailey and Mya took a ski class, while Jake just played in the snow (with a little adult supervision). After a hearty lunch of peanut butter sandwiches (brought from home), Tiffany took a turn watching the kids and I went out for a ski. The conditions were great and the skiing was awesome. At the end of the day we were treated to one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever witnessed.

Check out pictures above and videos below...

Pucon - Villarica March 2008

In Chile there is a summer tradition where everybody vacations in the South. Southern Chile is a beautiful region with lots of lakes, volcanoes (some still active), and rivers. If you journey far enough south into Patagonia, you find the kind of beauty you'd expect to find near the southern pole...glaciers, etc.

In our first trip South last March, we journeyed as far as Pucon. Pucon is about 800 kilometers south of Santiago. It reminded me a lot of Jackson Hole, Wyoming in terms of geography, as well as the variety of outdoor activities you can do. One of the coolest things to do is climb Villarica Volcano, which you can do on a guided tour, complete with crampons and ice axes. As this was more of a family trip, that hike will have to wait until next time.

This was the view from our hotel 'Hosteria La Colina.' Great little hotel owned & operated by an American couple. We had our own little private bungalow with a deck overlooking lake Villarica. The food (especially the American-style breakfast) and the service were great, and they had a cool old-fashioned, wood-fired hot tub. It looked like a giant wood barrel. Anyway, I highly recommend the place: http://www.hosteriadelacolina.com/
or this one if you prefer to stay in Pucon
http://www.monteverdepucon.cl/

Hanging out at a local pizza joint in the town of Pucon.

Horseback riding in the hills of above Pucon. Hailey and Mya loved it, Jake got a little bored after 3+ hours.

Jake is 100% daddy's boy...a real man's man. Notice that I am the one holding him in almost every photo...my faithful sidekick.

THERMAL POOLS

This place is cool. They call them the 'Termas Geometricas' (geometric thermal pools). Basically its a series of pools heated by natural spring water piped down a canyon from above. Each pool offers varying degrees of heat, some scorching, some lukewarm. At the top of the canyon there is an ICE COLD waterfall. The only ones to brave the waterfall were the gringos...that's us and our gringo friends the Walkers.
Getting to this place was part of the adventure. It's about 50 miles or so from Pucon, but the last 10 miles are up a windy dirt road with one lane, rickety wooden bridges. It's the kind of road you would only attempt in a 4x4 (which fortunately we have)...unless you are Chilean. It that case you see all kinds of vehicles making the attempt and most seemed to make it there.

Tiffany and I taking in the icy refreshment

My buddy Nathan Walker and I getting the full icy waterfall experience

The Davis Family soaks it up in the warm mineral waters...probably some kid urine in there too!

Hydrospeed

Hydrospeed is sport that would never be done commercially in the US, for liability reasons. It is basically whitewater rafting on a hard plastic, sled-like apparatus. Our guide was a chilean dude who spoke very little English. He basically leads the way, shouting instructions to help you avoid the rocks. My group consisted of me and 4 Israeli dudes. They spoke no Spanish and limited English, so I served as the relay man for the guide's instructions. On the very first rapid we encountered, I hit my left thigh on a rock...hard. It hurt at the time, but the cold water and the adrenaline made me forget the pain. Not until the next day did I realize how nasty it was. Even though I limped for a week, it was worth it.

all geared up...wetsuit (smelled like 40 day old urine), flippers, chest protector, helmet, and lots of bravado.

Take a BIG breath...

...close your eyes and hope you don't smash your face on a rock

Live to fight another day.

Machu Picchu - Dec 2007

Last December we took a family trip to Peru to Cusco and Machu Picchu. I have always wanted to go there, but I never imagined going there with 3 small children in tow. We were a little apprehensive about taking the kids for safety reasons and because of the high altitude, but we didn't have any problems.

It was truly an awesome experience. Peru is a beautiful country with great people. Although there are lots of gringos around Machu Picchu / Aguas Calientes, there are very few children, especially small children. The locals went crazy over our blonde, blue-eyed kids. Everybody was rubbing their heads and saying things like: "Ay, que lindos ninos!" In the Lima airport we were sitting eating in a food court when some Peruvian dude came over and asked me if he could take a picture of my family. I said yes, and he proceeded to take a picture of each of my kids with his camera phone. Then, just for good measure, he also took one of Tiffany. He wasn't interested in MY photo... Hopefully our faces don't end up on some strange, perverse website.

Machu Picchu itself was the highlight for everybody. I've been to other ancient Maya/Aztec ruins in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, but nothing compares to the Incan Ruins at MP. It is amazing how they constructed that city in such an isolated place. After taking the whole family to the ruins on day one, we overnighted in Aguas Calientes. The next day I went back to the ruins solo and climbed up to the top of Wayna Picchu, which is the mountain you always see in the background of any MP landscape. It was a rigorous but rewarding hike. I proved to myself once again that I am not as out of shape as I think I am. I got to the top in about 25 minutes, wearing only my Crocs (thanks mom & dad for the Crocs - they rock).

The girls posing with some Peruvian girls...culture contrast. Those are lambs the Peruvian girls are holding

the city of Cusco

Me carrying 'the Jake'...like his personal sherpa

Mancation - San Diego - August 2007

suck in those guts dudes!!

Before we left for Chile in August 2007, I hooked up with my two older brothers for what we liked to call a 'mancation.' This is esentially a getaway sans wives and children where all you do are manly activities, such as golf, baseball games, and shoe shopping. We have had similar mancations in the past (hiking the Narrows in Zions National Park, hanging out in Seattle/Mariners game, and attending the Front Sight firearms 'resort' in Nevada, a.k.a. Guncamp), but this one was special as I was leaving for Chile within a few weeks. Steve (middle bro) and I (youngest bro) flew from Boise to San Diego to meet up with Doug (eldest bro), who lives is SoCal.

The itinerary was more or less like this:

Thursday: Attend Padres/Dbacks game at Petco Park, crash at the downtown Marriott

Friday : Pacific Beach for surfing lessons. Having grown up in SoCal, my bros and I have been around the ocean and have all surfed and/or bodyboarded to one degree or another. But I thought the longboard lessons would be cool. We were all doing pretty well until Steve and Doug got tangled up (not sure who 'dropped in' on who) but Doug got the worst of it and ended up with a pretty nice gash on his lip. This explains his hitler-like upper lip in the photo #1. Anyway, the injury was minor and we still had time to squeeze in some In-n-Out Burger (best burgers on the planet) and some jet-skiing in Mission Bay.

It was fun dudes: my our 'Bro-mance' never die!