Cliff's Notes

After nearly a month of silence, I have decided to get back on the blog bandwagon. Reading through some of my latest posts - which, indeed, can hardly be considered late - I am realizing that there are so many huge gaps in my coverage over the last several months, that I am just going to have to leave some unfilled, like the Aurora potholes in the winter time.

Still, there are a FEW things that I would like to include. For starters, let me try for a quick summary of what I am so far missing:

-After my trip to Machu Picchu, I went to Easter Island for a few days. In sum total, my three weeks of travels were filled with back to back to back wonders that really cannot be done justice by any meager attempts on my behalf to describe them. In light of this fact, I will simply suggest you look at pictures, and maybe one day book a trip of your own.

-Upon my return, I alternated between skiing, partying, and saying goodbye. Both Nayara and Heloísa (the Brazilians) left the first week I was back, which was a HUGE bummer considering they were my two closest friends in the Casa Andacollo. Meghan's birthday party helped the cause quite a bit with a little dancing at Punta Brown. In addition, during that time, I managed to grow a little closer with Nora (the Colombian) mainly on account of snow: I skied with her boyfriend for a day and then when it was snowing in Santiago for the first time in 20 years, I helped her build a snowman in the front yard. There was less than a centimeter of snow on the ground, but our house was perhaps the only house in all of Santiago with a genuine snowman, brown, grass-ridden, and emaciated though he was.

-Before heading home to Colorado I almost bailed on the CIEE weekend retreat in favor of a weekend of cat-skiing. However, after a complete white-out on the mountain one day, I took a short skiing hiatus, and opted instead for a little weekend getaway with what few members of the CIEE posse still remain (big shout out to Menelike and Amanda... We miss you guys!!!). Turned out to be a great decision. Free beer coupled with kick-ball, volleyball, choripan, and ping-pong was just what the doctor ordered to chase my Santiago blues away.

-Quick on the heals of the weekend extravaganza described above, I saddled up for the 14 hour trip back to good old Colorado. After a mandatory stop at Chipotle, the NEXT thing I did was accompany Josh to buy $1,000 worth of alcohol for his wedding. The loading and unloading of copious amounts of the Sumers' greatest legacy provided the perfect segue into a weekend of much of the same. In spite of the email string comprised of more words than Quixote, we all managed to pull together an incredible weekend of beer-drinking, cigar-smoking, burger-eating, gore creek-tubing (or tube-popping), salmon-grilling, shot-pounding, poker-playing, sleep-depriving goodness.

-Most of the week following the bachelor party was spent hanging with friends and family, catching up on life in the US, and golfing, so essentially, everything I could have asked for from a vacation back home. Of course, the icing on the cake was my sister's and Josh's beautiful wedding, which really needs no elaboration.

-I arrived back in Chile, half-reluctant, half-excited to return for the final stretch of what has so far been an incredible adventure. On the insistence (and bankroll) of Lauren and Josh, my first order of business upon my return was to book my cat-skiing trip at SkiArpa. All my failed attempts to lure another skier into the fray left me hiking through the cold Santiago streets at 5:30 in the morning lugging a ski-bag, a backpack, and a small duffel replete with helmet clunking along the outside. Needless to say, I did not exactly blend in. The snow turned out to be less than epic to say the least, but never in my life will I ski more incredible terrain in succession. Due in large part to a small group of the nerdiest adults I have ever met who kept us a little more conservative on Day 1, we only logged about 9,000 vertical feet of skiing (over 4 runs). Day 2 however, we were joined by a group of 3 brothers from Utah, and we hiked for every one of our 4 runs, which left us at a best estimate of around 12,000 vertical feet for the day.

-I caught the bus back to Santiago on my own and tried to sleep off some of the last 2 months of accumulated exhaustion. I have not yet been successful, but then, if you aren't tired at the end of the day, you're just not doing enough.

I will try to write a more reflective, engaging, or inspiring piece soon. For now, know that I haven't forgotten that this page exists, even though most of my readers have.

Good night, and God bless.