Whales & Wonders

Two weekends ago Greg and I did something I've wanted to do for a long time - we went whale watching!  We flew to Argentina for what turned out to be one of the most amazing weekend get-aways we've had to date.  Our expectations were far exceeded and I'm still amazed at the magnitude of beauty and enormity of delight we experienced.  It left me breathless, giddy, and hopeful.  Once again, I couldn't separate my experience from an acute awareness of God's handiwork and faithfulness.  His creativity and continual kindness in sharing it with us feeds that peace that already lies deep within my heart: God loves me.  He knows my every dream, delight, and desire.  And He is and will continue to be faithful.  In light of ALL that He's already done and created, how could I not have hope?

I've been a little nervous about this post - nervous because I fear I won't have sufficient space for all the photos I want to share without creating the longest post of the century!  So I'll do my best to pictorally sum-up our adventure.  There are basically 6 parts: Whales, Elephant Seals, the San Guillermo Estancia,Seals, Penguins, & the Final Whale. 

Whales:
We left Thursday night on a midnight flight to Buenos Aires (way past the Esau bedtime!) and slept in the airport (not recommended, though we'd do it again if needed) until our 6am flight to Trelew.  We landed, got our rental car, and drove the hour and a half to Puerto Madryn where, I was quietly hoping, we'd get at least one or two really good whale spottings.  I was preparing to handle disappointment, in a healthy way. 

We arrived and as we walked into the oceanside storefront to pick up our whale-watching tickets, Greg pointed out the store window towards the beach and said ever so calmly, "There's what you wanted to see."  I looked out the window and saw a huge whale tail sticking out the the water like a black boomerang against a clear blue sky.  I was dumbfounded!  I said, "Hurry!  We have to go down there!"  We ran the 100 or so yards to the edge of the water and I grabbed out my camera just in time to see this:

 


Yes, that's a WHALE, jumping out of the water!

 

A whale jumping next to a boat - huge!



See the four whales?  We stood here in awe.

We continued to watch and snap photos.  I was mesmerized.  We watched for a good 30 minutes, then headed for some lunch before our boat ride.  Following are just a few of the many photos from our whale-watching trip!

LT & her whale: you can see the nose above & the tail is "next to" my hat!

Mother & Baby

Mother Whales lift their babies towards the surface to help them breath - this baby is rolling over and over on it's mother's back.  The mother's nose is on the right and the baby is belly-up in mid roll.  :)

This is only its snout!  I had a great spot on the back of the boat - they told me to stand on the seats for a better view! 

Elephant Seals:
Though I hated the thought of leaving the whales, we continued our journey north to the remotest part of the area - Punto Norte.  At certain times of year, killer whales can be found risking death by swimming onto the beach to grab seals.  We didn't see any killer whates (maybe nextime??!!) but we did see elephant seals and seals - lot of them.  I don't know if I was so busy before this trip that I didn't stop to think, "Wow!  We're going to Argentina to see marine wildlife!  I bet we'll actually see some!" or if it was a protection instinct in case we didn't see much of anything.  But I was wrong.  Way wrong. 

The San Guillermo Estancia:
Dragging ourselves away from one of the most gorgeous, untouched coastlines we'd seen, we headed back towards Puerto Madryn to find our Bed & Breakfast before dark.  We drove along the coast, somehow managed to find the unmarked "driveway" and entered, unbeknownst to us, into another glorious stage of our adventure: the San Guillermo Estancia.  This place was a working sheep farm where 80 day-trip guests had just left hours before our arrival. And we were the only guests for the night.  We may as well have been visiting family because that's how they treated us.  I want to go back one day.  You'll see why.

Driving to our B&B for the night - beautiful - no one in sight.

The welcoming Committee!

My first Matte - a hot tea, sifted through a metal "bombillo" to filter out the bits.

These guanacos (like llamas) were SO soft!

Getting a tour of the sheep farm - very interesting!  We loved it!

Giving Pepa (pronounced "pay-puh") her bottle - I got to feed her in the morning, too!

Learning how to make empanadas - super delicious appetizers!  And supper was just as yummo!

Our very cozy, romantic room.

What he really meant was, "if you don't give me some of Pepa's bottle, I'm going to spit in your face!"  And he did!  Gross!!!!  (you can find the photo of proof on my FB.  I couldn't bare to post it twice.)  Ha!  We laughed our heads off.  Greg especially.  We loved every moment at this place!!!    :)

Seals:
We regretfully said goodbye and left our new friends and my buddy Pepa as we headed out for the short drive to the coast.  There was a cove nearby that was home to some local seals.  We just didn't realize how many.  Until we got there.  And looked over the edge.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  SEALS!  Five colonies worth!  I told Greg I could stay there all day and just watch them!  What fascinated me is that there was hardly anyone else around!  We were in such a desolate, out-of-the-way area that the lack of tourists and people in general afforded another beautiful, untouched view of God's awesome nature.  I should have had National Geographic pay me to take photos of all of these creatures in their natural habitats.  Amazing.

These two big boys were goin' at it!  We were told they're pretty possessive of their women.

Penguins:
Once again, I was "forced" to leave the seals in pursuit of our next stop, Punta Tombo, to see the largest penguin colony in South America.  We traversed more dirt & gravel roads to end up on a delightful walk among thousands of nesting, egg-laying penguins.  We thought we'd find them in a mass along the water, but instead, they were scattered, two by two, throughout the coast-side.  This coastline was spectacular and, again, gorgeous.  We made a few friends before heading back towards Trelew.

The Last Whale:
We decided we had enough time to drive back to Puerto Madryn for, hopefully, one final whale-spotting, before boarding our flight back to Buenos Aires.  We decided to go back to the seal colonies' cove and enjoyed a beautiful coastal sunset.  As we drove along the coast towards the cove, we could see whales out in the ocean - a tail here, a flipper there - so I was hoping for one more good sighting.  I spotted one whale playing around, doing nothing in particular, for what seemed the longest time.  I grew frustrated and turned to look in the opposite direction, just in time to see one last, glorious, whale jump!  Thank you, Lord!  I just wanted to see that one more time and I did.  It was magnificent.  We stayed until we had to go...the theme of our trip!

I couldn't pass up a photo of this little guy scratching his chin with his "foot!"

Waiting to see the last glorious whale show...and then...

 Even to think back about this adventure, I'm so grateful for the oppotunity we had to view such beauty.  My senses and my joy were full and running over.  I told Greg when we landed in Rio de Janeiro in August, that something about being outside the U.S. and in a foreign country made me feel alive.  I think that feeling has something to do with "bigness."  God's bigness.  I struggled with some fear and anxiety about another Ex-pat assignment, but once the journey had begun, I was excited and sensed God's pleasure.  I could feel Him.  His presence with me.  His peace.  His love.  I don't think I've ever felt smaller (or more out of my comfort zone) - but on the other hand, God's never seemed bigger.  I think it has to do with trust.  Will I trust Him to be faithful as He always has been?  Our Argentine adventure was a beautiful show of God's bigness & a reminder that He is, indeed, faithful!

God, thank you for this opportunity.  I believe you are who you say you are.  You made all of creation with one word and it's beautiful.  As I seek to trust You more and more, I want to believe without fear, without doubt, without impatience.  For I don't want to miss the blessing of the beauty that's before me TODAY!  Oh, how I love you, Lord.  









The Girl from Ipanema

Well, actually, we live in a neighborhood called Arpoador, but we're right at the edge of Ipanema...plus, there's no song called, "The Girl from Arpoador," so there you have it.  The title of this post is now justified.  And yes, I am the girl.  From Arpoador.  Right next to Ipanema.

Actually, you know how we know that God is faithful and we know that God knows the desires of our hearts and we know that God can work things out in a moment better than we ever could, even if we had a lifetime to plan?  Well, I do know this.  But moving here, I'm reminded that I KNOW that I know this.

We thought we'd want to live in Leblon or Ipanema (neighborhoods right next to each other) so this is where we asked to be shown apartments by our relocation company.  Greg started work first thing upon our arrival, but we wanted to expedite the process of moving out of our hotel, so I put on a brave face for my sweet boy and said, "sure Sweetie, I can do it!"  I mean, it's just apartment shopping...in a foreign country...with people who probably speak little to no English.  BUT I had my 5 months of Portuguese lessons ready to be tapped into at a moment's notice and a clean pair of socks, so I was feeling confident. (I wore the same pair for about 5 days, saving the clean pair for this occasion where I knew it'd be wise to impress and appear responsible...and smell nice.)

To shorten a long story, after 2 days of apartment hunting, only 2 apartments fit what we wanted/needed, and of those two, one just felt right and the other felt wrong.  The one that felt right?...the very first one I looked at on the first day!  I should back up and say I began the task feeling a little nervous since we'd already looked for 2 days on our visit in March and hadn't seen anything that would work for us.  To see such a lovely apartment right off the bat gave me hope.  And now we live in that lovely apartment!  Here's how I KNOW that I know, once again, that God is perfect in His faithfulness:

1. (And yes, this does need to be number 1.)  The bathrooms are wonderful!  Unlike any bathrooms I'd seen in my searching.  I actually wanted to take a shower and use the toilet and spend time in these rooms!  That's how lovely and inviting they are.  (Bathroom photos coming in next post! - since I know you're interested!)

2. Our address is not Leblon or Ipanema, so I'm not sure why we were shown this apartment...but Arpoador couldn't be more perfect for us!  Our apartment building is situated perfectly - one block from Copacabana beach, and in the other direction, one block from Ipanema beach.  Truly perfect.

3. Arpoador is at the apex where these two beaches meet, like a "V."  There's a huge rock formation at Arpoador where all the surfers surf...and we can walk to this amazing, coveted spot on the beach, via a lovely park, in about 5 minutes. 

4. Location wise, we couldn't get any better for Greg's work commute while still being right in the beach action.  No small feat.  If you don't believe me, spend a day in the traffic here...you'll find your faith renewed as well!

5. This apartment was somehow in our budget - even though we have an ocean view from our balcony, overlooking a private beach with no people.  How to relax at any time:  open sliding glass doors, let ocean breeze in.

6. We have a futon!  This sounds small, but it was almost a deal-breaker since we knew we needed a third, comfortable bed for visiting friends & family!  Everyone said, "No, that's not a futon."  But you know what we found out at the last minute?  It is. 

7. Our apartment is owned and was remodeled by an American professor!  Thus the lovely bathrooms, an open floor plan (including a bright, open kitchen - highly rare here), and a disposal!  Not to mention that he has it managed by a sweet couple who live in our building.
8. Our lease must end on May 31st as the owner will be returning.  But we may be in Rio until August.  We know God has his hand in this, so we'll let you know how we see God's perfect faithfulness reflected in this seemingly inconvenient and premature move-out date.  In my spirit, I know the date is perfect!
9. All of our friends here AND the relocation lady (speaking from experience) said it would probably take at least 3 weeks to move-in once we had papers signed, and then maybe a few weeks more for internet connection.  Greg and I were deflated; we'd been hoping to be out of the hotel within a week.  BUT...aparently, we were the exception.  Length of time to receive the apartment keys after signing papers AND to have an internet connection: one day.  ONE, People!

This post was very long and detailed, but when you're giving God the glory, it's all about the details!!!  :)  Not a day passes that we aren't in awe of our beautiful, peaceful apartment.  Greg says it feels like we're on vacation.  Apart from the work, I think we are...

Lord, you amaze me.  Not one detail escaped your notice - not even the ones that escaped mine and that I didn't even think to ask for.  (Who'd have thought our budget could get us an ocean view?!)  If You care this much about my interest in bathrooms and futons, then I know you care about our desire to start a family.  Hot Dog!  (Or as the Cariocas would say, "hotchie doggie!") I feel my faith a-risin'!

The street in front of our apartment building (on right.)

View of the back of our aprtment building (the tallest building.)

Rio de Janeiro (Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador beaches)



The Simple Life

One of the things I love about being in Rio is that we've been forced to slow down.  I'm referring to it as the Simple Life - where the daily tasks of life seem to be savored more because of the sense of accomplishment you feel from the extra effort you have to put into them! 

And because of all the extra elbow grease, I have less time to focus on other busy-ness!  So while I'd normally be working on "the biz," I now have to consciously set aside time for enjoying "the simple things" - ya know, soaking and cooking the beans (because you can't buy them canned here - except for the white ones), hanging the laundry to dry (because most apartments, including ours, do not have dryers), hand-washing the dishes (again, a dish washer is a rare thing here indeed), walking to the grocery store multiple times a week (since you can only buy what you can carry home)...that kind of thing! 

But you know what?  I love it.

And to make it even better - to sweeten the deal, if you will - they've got all of these nifty gadgets to help you enjoy the Simple Life even more!!!

Here's our laundry nook, tucked away at the end of our kitchen.
After a wash cycle is complete, I just lower one of my two nifty
clothes-dryers, arrange the wet clothes with some TLC, then use the little hand crank (on the right wall next to the lightswitch) to raise the clothes up to the ceiling and out of the way!  So fun!  There's even a window to open to let in a lovely breeze to help in the drying process!  I mean, who knew laundry could be this much fun?!  (Okay, the rough-as-sandpaper, stiff-as-a-board dried underwear is not the greatest, but we're dealing with it.  I hear there's a spray you can use to soften things up a bit...I hope it's not a myth.)

Next, we have the kitchen, looking nice and clean after an evening meal.  The dishes have all been washed and put up to dry on the ever-so-convenient dish racks, perched right above the sink and complete with removable drip pan underneath the bottom rack.  This too gets even better!

Now you see the dishes...                              















...now you don't!  Tah dah! 
I mean, if I have to do the dishes, I want to do them just like this!
Lah-ove.


Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that simplicity doesn't mean doing nothing - it means taking the time to love what you're doing.  Even if it's doing the dishes....again...