by Missie Hills | Mar 5, 2017 | International Adventures, South America
We arrived in El Calafate eager to explore the famous Patagonia. We had been conditioned to love the Patagonia already through overpriced fleeces worn by the cool kids in high school. So, actually seeing it with our own eyes brought an appreciation for the vast region full of mountains, desserts, and grasslands. But mostly grasslands.
When I always pictured the Patagonia, I pictured green snowcapped mountains as far as my eyes could see. What I actually saw out of my plane window as we started to descend was quite different. I saw a vast flat dusty area covered in prickly bushes and spotted with aqua blue lakes. I started to wonder if we made a mistake. What could we explore in this summer tundra other then sheep herds?
I perked up as our cab driver took us into town. The little village was full of life with backpackers walking up and down the street buying gear, drinking wine, and sampling the chocolate shops. It was clear that these backpackers were getting ready to explore the mountain regions nearby. That excited me as we had our own plans of seeing some of the Andes. As we explored the small shops on the main strip, we began to notice a theme. El Calafate loved their namesake, the calafate berry. We tried the calafate jam and drank some calafate liquor. We even bought some calafate beer.
That night we decided to take E out for a nice dinner to try the famous Argentinian parrilla. We knew to expect a lot of meat. But what we got exceeded our expectations. We stuffed our face with a mound of different meats and a side of potatoes. We washed it all down with some Argentinian Malbec. We tried something new, blood sausage, and decided we didn’t care much for it. Jason cut my meat for me while I entertained a fussy baby. We started to question wether the nice dinner with Little E was a good idea. He normally does quite well in restaurants, but this night he wasn’t having it. Perhaps he was jealous of the delicious meal Jason and I had laid out in front of him.
When we left the restaurant, it was still bright and sunny outside. The sun was still overhead barely starting to set. It seemed like we had so much day left, but when we looked at the watch we saw it was already getting close to ten o’clock! It was no wonder why Baby E was so fussy. We had kept him up way passed him bedtime. We weren’t prepared for the long days being so close to the southern pole. It was a strike on our parenting record.
On day 2, we planned an excursion to see the Perito Moreno Glacier. At this point I could enter into the story a long drawn out explanation of why we ended up missing our morning tour and going on the afternoon tour. But just thinking about it exhausts me. So in short, always remember to pay extra so your baby has a seat on the tour bus to be safely buckled in.
Frustrations were high when we finally were on our way to the glacier park. However, the first stop to see a beautiful panoramic view of the Argentino Lake made those frustrations seem silly as we remembered why we put ourselves through these hassles. Seeing the gorgeous blue lake was a wonderful beginning to all the beautiful sights in our future. Our guide picked some of the popular calafate berries from a prickly bush. By eating the berries, she said we were making a promise that we would come back one day.
When we arrived to the park, it started to drizzle. We all donned our raincoats and ignored the overcast skies as we stared at the massive ice front working its way through the valley before us. To get an up close and personal look, we boarded a boat. The boat took us about 300 feet away from the massive wall of ice which reached 30 stories high. Jason and wondered if this was how Jon Snow felt when he first peered up the Wall in Game of Thrones. As large pieces of ice fell off the wall, we heard sounds of thunder rumble through the valley. Coupled with the dense fog, it was an eerie feeling that caused the hair on my arms to stand.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking the extensive catwalk maze around the glacier just happy to be outside breathing in the cool air.
The Perito Moreno Glacier successfully amazed us giving us a higher appreciation for the Patagonia region. And we still had so much more in store.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Feb 5, 2017 | International Adventures, South America
After a slow, but nice, uneventful day in Buenos Aires, we were ready see something cool. Jason had this great idea of seeing a bit of Uruguay while we were here. So, we woke up bright and early, hailed a cab to the docks, and caught a boat to Colonia across the Rio de la Plata.
The boat ride was rather basic with nothing too interesting to see. The river we were crossing was so big you couldn’t see land across it. It seemed more like a bay then a river, but who is arguing semantics? Nevertheless, E seemed to enjoy his very first boat trip.
When we arrived in Colonia, we started our day with a short walking tour. We learned about the Portuguese and Spanish influence in the small town. We moved back and forth between centuries old Portuguese cobblestone streets and Spanish cobblestone streets. By the end of the tour we could easily point out which buildings were Portuguese and which were Spanish. We could feel the nice breeze coming off the river and we thought to ourselves, “This is quite nice.”
As the day went on, though, the breeze got less nice, and the air got more stuffy. Before we knew it, the temperature had rose to 102 degrees. We felt every bit of it. Jason and I panted and sweated our ways through the streets. However, E just loved being outside. He looked in awe at the sights, babbled to passing by strangers, and napped from time to time.
We had lunch in a nice restaurant with no air conditioning, ice cream in a cafe with no air conditioning, and beer in a bar with no air conditioning. All the while, E was a champ. Despite the heat, we adored Colonia. It was a wonderful way to spend the day with my family, and an easy way to add another country to E’s passport.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Feb 3, 2017 | International Adventures, South America
After 9 months of pregnancy, 7 months of no sleep, and 10 hours on a redeye flight, my two feet finally stepped on new ground… this time with an extra passenger along for the ride. Our next destination? Buenos Aires.
Awww, so romantic… ohhh, so savvy…. mmmm, so sexy… Wait a minute… Maybe not so much with a baby in tow. I admit, we didn’t really experience Buenos Aires like we should have. There were no romantic steak and wine dinners. There were no relaxing hangouts in cafes. And, most sadly, there were no sexy tango performances to be seen. It just wasn’t going to happen with Ethan in our arms, not if we wanted to maintain some sense of sanity. Instead, we ordered room service and acclimated to the small three hour time change kicking Little E’s butt. We still managed to make it out for a simple steak lunch where we tried the world famous helado (Argentinian ice-cream).
We even found time for a leisurely stroll through the La Recoleta Cemetery full of extremely ornate tombs of famous people we never heard of. Still, it was a photography goldmine.
So, I think that counted as a successful day to start off our South American adventure. Maybe we didn’t experience the heart of Buenos Aires. However, I like to think Little E was still impressed. This, after all, was his very first big adventure. And there was still so much more in store for him.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Jul 27, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
I admit it, I LOVE weddings. The romance, the tears, the cake, and, most of all, the dancing! So, when our friend, Jit, invited us to his Hindu wedding in India, I was ecstatic! I had no idea what to expect really. My knowledge of Hindu weddings was pretty scarce. Ok, so maybe it was non-existent. Something about red wedding dresses and the groom riding an elephant… Right? Well, that all changed, kind of… Our experience enlighten my view of Southern Indian customs. Although, I’m still a little fuzzy on the details. Due to the language barrier, most of the time, Jason and I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Our wedding experience started in Trivandrum with a quick shopping trip to find wedding cloths for Jason and I. We needed to look like we fit in (well as much as two Americans in a sea of Indians can fit in). Jit had arranged for an artist to come to my hotel and decorate my hands and arms with mehndi. I sat for a couple hours while the artist hand painted intricate details on my arms. I loved the delicate mandala design.
Then, Jason and I put on our first set of Indian attire for the rehearsal dinner. I felt like a princess in my ivory and gold dress, and Jason looked sharp in his matching tunic.
The rehearsal dinner was full of laughter and joy. Family and friends gathered and spread love throughout the party hall. The bride, Pooja, was gorgeous in her beautiful red dress. There was singing and dancing… speeches and cheers… and traditional Kerala cuisine. We were asked to say a few words, which was rather funny… Me speaking in front of hundreds of strangers who couldn’t understand a word I was saying. They smiled and cheered for me nonetheless. Bless my heart.
The children were very curious about Jason and I. They had never seen Americans before, and my pale skin and blond hair was intriguing them. They stared and giggled at us and would shyly run away when we tried to talk to them.
The next day, we dressed for the wedding in traditional Indian flare. I wore a beautiful white and gold sari that reminded me of an American bride’s wedding dress. I was worried about wearing white, but Jit assured me that it didn’t matter. Jason wore the traditional mundu. Jit’s mom wrapped flowers in my hair and blessed us with some ash on our foreheads. I thought we fit in pretty well, even if everyone was staring at us all the time.
The wedding hall was decorated with flowers and bright colors everywhere. We found a seat and waited for events to begin. People started pouring in.There were over 1000 guests! It was hard for us to tell what exactly was going on. We weren’t sure what marked the start of the ceremony. However, at last, the bride’s party came out in a procession, led by trumpeters, to meet the groom’s party arrival. We frantically followed the commotion outside and watched the crowd greet and bless the groom and his family.
Then, back inside, the bride made her appearance, looking absolutely stunning in a beautiful red sari and draped in gold.
Then we watched the ceremony, having no idea what was going on. Some walking in circles, tossing of flower petals, lighting of candles… And finally, lots and lots of photos. Because there was no kiss to mark the point that the two were officially married, Jason and I had a hard time knowing when the ceremony had ended. And the fact that the guests never really settled down and were constantly up walking around and socializing made it even harder to understand the process. However, at some point we were ushered up to the stage to have photos taken with the couple and then whisked away to the dinning hall for a traditional banana leaf meal.
Everything happened in quite a rush. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. Watching friends join hands is already such a special, sacred bonding moment. But watching in another country brings this experience to a whole other level of spirituality. We are grateful to have been apart of it.
We wish and pray for a lifetime of happiness for this wonderful couple. May God bless you, Jit and Pudja, with a joyful life!
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Jun 8, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
After our warm welcome in India while on the backwaters of Kerala, we were rested and ready for what the country had in store for us. Through all of our travels, on only one other occasion did we get the opportunity to spend our time with a local family truly immersing ourselves in the culture surrounding us. Now that we have done it twice, we agree, this is definitely the way to travel. Yeah, you might miss out on the resort style luxury where the staff caters to your every whim. And you might miss out the privacy of having your own hotel room stocked with a mini fridge of beer. But in exchange, you gain a deep relationship with your hosts, the generosity of strangers treating you like family, and personal exposure to the local lifestyle. Yes, this is the way we like to travel.
We were invited to Kerala by our friend, Jit. Jit moved to the States to work as an engineer, which is how he and Jason first met. We spent a lot of time with him eating Indian food in Mississippi while we chatted about how different our two countries are. He promised me that once he was ready to get married, he would invite us to attend his wedding in India. A few years later, he upheld that promise. So, despite our pre-planned trip to Europe at the same time, how could we say no? We shortened our Europe trip and made time to visit Jit and his family for his upcoming nuptials.
Jit had a whole agenda ready for us. We were just along for the ride. Most of the time we had no idea where that ride was taking us. The ride started by Jit’s brother, Jipin, and cousin, Manu, picking us up at the houseboat dock and taking us to see the ocean. Technically, we saw the Laccadive Sea, but we thought it was the Indian Ocean, and we were ecstatic to mark another ocean off our bucket lists.
We then took a long scenic ride through the jungle to Jit’s summer home in Pathanamthitta where his family was waiting for us with lunch. After meeting the family and settling into our cozy room, Mom had lunch waiting for us on the table. Dad sat with us while we ate and the ladies served us. The conversation was quiet, probably due to the language barrier. Also, it was a little awkward to have everyone watch us as we ate. But the food was delicious! And it just kept coming. As we finished up our meals, the men in the house begin to eat. This is when we first noticed that we were the only ones eating with utensils. The rest of the family ate with their right hand. Suddenly, I understood why everyone was watching us eat. We must have looked so strange eating with forks, and I know they went through a lot of effort to find forks for us in the first place. Once we (as the guests) were done and the men of the house were done, the women ate last. It was very traditional and very different then dinners back home. Jason and I were stuffed.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house before Jit and Manu took us on a drive of the country side. We drove through the jungle keeping our eyes out for wild elephants. We stopped for a short hike to a waterfall where we met some more locals that we followed up to the top. A nice dip in the water was refreshing and worth the steep hike up.
We then visited Manu’s home and met some of his family including his pet cows. His family was so happy to see us. They fed us snacks and tea, and I even got a beautiful necklace as a gift.
We never spotted any wild elephants. So, Jit and Manu took us to an elephant sanctuary that next morning. Once again, I came face to face with these massive lovable beasts.
Then, Jit and Manu took us to visit his mom’s family home. We visited with her parents, sisters, and nieces. They showed us the massive garden they kept in the neighborhood. It wasn’t the type of garden I am used to seeing here in the states. This garden was wild, thick and full of every fruit and vegetable we had tried in India so far. Mangoes, bananas, coconuts, peppercorn, even coffee beans! And of course rubber trees. They showed us how the rubber was gathered from the trees and processed right there in the backyard. We had a wonderful traditional lunch served on a banana leaf before we headed out for the next stop on the agenda.
Next, we stopped at a local stream where we rode a little round boat through the jungle. The ride was serene and perfect for the nice weather outside.
After more driving through the jungle-side, we ended up at Jit’s dad’s family home. We saw the house that Dad was born in. Then we walked to a local Hindu temple while the family attended church. We watched as they prayed to their gods. That next day Jit would be married to a beautiful woman who was waiting for him in Trivadrum. Two families would join. They had a lot to be blessed for. And as I watched this beautiful family gather under the temple roof and pray to gods I did not know, I couldn’t help but be amazed. I thought of my own family back home, my mom, my dad, my sisters and brothers. I thought about Jason’s family and how they are now mine too. And I thought about the family that Jason and I were creating at that moment, the baby growing inside my womb. In that moment, I whispered a prayer to my god, thanking him for reminding me of the faith we can find in family.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | May 30, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
Getting to Southern India is no easy task, even if you leave from Vienna. An 8 hour flight, 6 hour layover, and 4 hour flight all in the middle of the night proved to be a bit more than I could handle. At least a bit more than pregnant Missie could handle. So by the time we landed in Cochin, I was shot. Thankfully, we had a houseboat waiting to float us through the beautiful backwaters of Kerala in Indian luxury fashion.
We arrived to the backwaters just in time for the start of houseboat season. So, the normally crowded canals were wide open and peaceful. As we boarded our private houseboat, we were in awe of the luxury they had waiting for us. Our room was decked out with flowers, fresh fruit, and chocolate. The king sized bed was calling my name. But I knew better then to snuggle in and waste our entire time in the beautiful country side tucked inside. A cold beer for Jason and a short nap for me on the roof top lounge was just what we needed to reboot our systems.
We stopped for fresh seafood at a local market mid-afternoon. During this stop, we shopped for some local woodworking souvenirs and visited a Catholic church. This turned out to be the oldest church we have ever explored, being built in 427 AD!
Then as it begin to rain, we boarded our houseboat and waited patiently for the dinner we just bought at the market to be cooked. We ate our wonderful dinner as the rain pitter-pattered around us. When we were through and after the rain passed, we took a canoe out into the smaller canals and watched as the locals continued on through their daily lives washing their cloths, their dishes, themselves, (pretty much anything) in the water as we floated by. We saw families dressed in bright colors and draped in gold as they walked the banks to the Hindu temple for the night. Their lives were fascinating and so different from our own.
We spent the night on the water as the boat swayed softly and the crickets chirped sweet music outside. And when we woke up at sunrise to the sound of kingfishers singing their morning songs, we couldn’t help but to feel the warm welcome India had given us.
Until next time,
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