Packing

One thing I don’t much like in this freewheeling life is deadlines. And as curious as I am about the four day ferry journey through the fjords of southern Chile sitting around waiting for the day we load, which is Monday, is proving to be tedious. 

Layne got back Tuesday afternoon from Key West loaded with stuff as always including a collapsible barbecue grill some German Overlanders introduced us to in Peru…

…a couple of fresh SD recording cards  for my digital Panasonic cameras and a new type of compact coffee press called The Final Press.

Solidly built, easy to clean and compact which makes it ideal for van life but will my persnickety wife give up her clumsy Aeropress? This tea drinker watches with eager anticipation and no great hope. 

At the moment my bachelor life has been turned on its head. Clothes are out of the van and in the cabin as Herself organizes her winter wardrobe to face the rigors of Patagonia. Rusty handles the chaos with his usual aplomb. When we were alone I made tea and plowed through my book and he hung out as an old dog should. He still does that as bags of t-shirts and shorts go into the bowels of GANNET2 and long johns and woolen watch caps see the light of day. When we get back up north we will have to swap back as this visit to cold places is purely temporary. Next April we hope to be sunning ourselves on the tropical beaches of Brazil. 

When Layne got back the first thing we did was go food shopping. I saw these frozen sides of lamb hanging in the Jumbo store’s meat section in Puerto Varas. I thought that was unusual enough to photograph. It’s not the raw unrefrigerated street markets of Andean Peru but the sight startled me.  

We will have Monica and Christoph over for Thanksgiving so I’ve been trying to read up on the myths and realities of the holiday but I will say I’ve found another reason to enjoy Thanksgiving as the best holiday. It keeps Christmas at bay. Around here trees and carols and decorations have shown up in stores for weeks already. Last year we did Thanksgiving in Nicaragua I think. It’s the best time to be home for me but oh well. 

Robert was busy gardening and sorting out his house for sale. He went me a wave after Layne came by to see him. We first met sailing in the Bahamas 35 years ago. I wish I had been there but a photo is the next best thing. 

Friday we have an appointment to install the alternator parts Layne brought back from Florida. Then at last we board the ferry on Monday and sail to Puerto Natales 1200 miles south of here. That should be a change.