Thursday, May 15, 2014

Leaving South America

A long overdue synopsis and photo journal of our final weeks in South America
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With many drawn out goodbyes and some tearful hugs we made a healthy departure from Bariloche, and I left feeling that I had completed a chapter. My time there taught me so many things about myself and brought so many special people into my life. I am filled with nothing but gratitude and love for this small Patagonian town that I was lucky enough to call 'home'. 

old fishing neighborhoods, Puerto Montt, Chile
Michael and I packed up our little cabaƱa and loaded up the mochilas one last time for our last two weeks in South America. We crossed the Chilean border (after waiting for 5 hours to get our passports stamped because the Chilean state employees were on strike) and arrived to Puerto Montt late one afternoon. We were approached by a little old grandma at the bus station who asked us if we were looking for lodging. We couldn't turn down her tiny,wrinkled face so we accepted and followed her daughter back to their house, while she stayed on to solicit more tourists for her'hostel'.
"There is no need to search; achievement leads nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else too! It's all the marvelous play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don't worry, you are already free!" - Way of the Peaceful Warrior