Simon says

We flew past some big, brown mountains on our way into Santiago  I'm a little bit bemused that we have made it to 1222 Regimiento Cazadores (I know that off by heart having written it on so many forms), our very comfortable apartment in Santiago.  I really thought that the odds were stacked against us and that we would fall at any one of the many hurdles.   Air travel is an extraordinary thing. Whichever way you look at it, it is bonkers. Just decades ago our journey would have taken weeks instead of hours. The very idea of building an aluminium cylinder attached to two jet engines, filling it with live humans, and jettisoning it 10 kilometres up into the sky is preposterous. And then there is the netherworld of airports, the pick-a-mix of nutrionless food, the curious mass of humanity, the consumption, the waste. But above all now, aviation is a symbol of human-caused climate devastation. Even more symbolic given that only around 10% of the world's population has ever taken a

  This week we booked one way tickets to Santiago, Chile, leaving next weekend!  We had needed some time to recover from the administrative effort of leaving France, travelling to England, and then on to Canada. It was a two-week period in December of shape shifting regulations, as governments desperately tried to make sense of the Omicron sized wrench in the works.   As we emerged from the festive season, we began perusing the map of the world, and, rather than putting a pin in, we scoured the rules and regulations, looking for somewhere with the right mix of accesibility, covid safety, healthcare robustness, and, oh yes, desirability!  Our attention turned to Costa Rica, the gem of Central America, home of ocean coastlines, rainforests, volcanoes and mountains.   But, as we did, our eyes also drifted south and memories of dreams of South America re-emerged.  Costa Rica is a year round destination, close as it is to the equator.  Southern Chile needs to be visited in their summer and

The glorious Rideau Canal, the world's largest skating rink! I left you on our way back from England to Ottawa with plans to stay in an Airbnb in Dunrobin, a small town on the way to where Crystal's parents live.  It's really the middle of nowhere but turned out to be quite nice.  We'd had a really long journey back, around 20 hours after flights delayed, connections missed, in-airport covid tests, and another delayed flight.  Once again quarantine came to our rescue, giving us some breathing space.  We had a view over the river, a backyard full of snow, and a stocked fridge, courtesy of a pre-visit by the grandparents (thank you).  Jet lag and winter excitement saw the kids out playing in the snow before sunrise, while adults staggered around the kitchen in search of tea.  This firebreak/staycation allowed us to move in with Crystal's parents for Christmas, confident that we were (still) covid-free. Rest, relaxation, and sticker painting Christmas present, not comi