A Bucket of Benefits

A Bucket of Benefits

This better be worth it, I think as I snap on a neon-orange life vest, complete with light and whistle. After all the time and trouble we took to get here, I’m expecting a bucket of benefits from this trip. Maybe too much. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who…

Voyage to the Blue Lagoon

Voyage to the Blue Lagoon

Today we’re on our way to a frigid South Pacific blue lagoon, renowned for its millennial glacier flanked by towering mountain peaks. After looking forward to this moment for 35 years, I suspect the trip’s not off to an auspicious start. “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” –Ralph…

Return to Patagonia

Return to Patagonia

Today, we return to Patagonia. We’re still on the road from the Balmaceda airport to Puerto Chacabuco, the main port for Chile’s Region of Aysén. Day 1, continued. We’ve just crossed a river named for Frigate Captain Enrique Simpson Baeza, a British-Chilean naval officer and explorer who mapped the archipelagoes and fiords of Aysén aboard…

Mexican Fiesta

Mexican Fiesta

I’m pressing pause on our Patagonian journey again today, to detour not only north to Mexico, but all the way to my Father’s House for a Mexican fiesta. My 97-year-old friend and mentor, “Aunt” Helen, suffered a severe stroke on Christmas morning, sank into a coma, and woke up in Heaven on New Year’s Eve….