We are very thankful for our two weeks in Ottawa with family and friends. From our snowy arrival, skating at Parliament Hill, a Marchand Lascelles pick up hockey game, seeing all the kids we hold so close to our hearts, a girls weekend, and the many outings with family and friends to catch up ... we feel truly blessed! We are heading to New Zealand to continue our travels, and will do our best to keep our off exploring blog up to date! Happy Holidays to all th...

Well...with our South American adventures behind us, here are the facts. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in all of the countries we visited and still have some check out another time! Frank crunched the numbers for us... 3 months 4 countries 30 different cities/towns 2 memory cards (well... 1 and a 1/2 filled) 21 365km by air 4076km by bus 275km by train 1140km by boat 600km by car Now for part two!

The most southern point of our trip is Punta Arenas and Tierra del Fuego. Punta Arenas is a port town, but like a few of them in Chile it has had a down turn in traffic and profit. This would be the place where we arrived and the wind hurt my face...with the potential of 200km winds our kayaking ideas were dashed. The weather can turn and we often experienced high winds needing a toque and mitts. Our days in Punta Arenas will filled with museums, and tours t...

We have arrived in Punta Arenas...and other than Tierra del Fuego, it will be our southern most point for South America. All I can say right now...Penguins! Stay tuned!

After disembarking from the ship, joined by a Brit and an Aussie, we decided to rent a car and make the most of our time in the national park. Our first morning we headed off with clear skies to hike to the base of Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine), three granite pillars that soar up in the park more than 2000m vertically. The hike is 19km round trip, up and down terrain, over bridges, and through wooded sections. The weather was perfect for the day, with ...