Starting anew

We’ve been back in Belgium for about 10 days now: 

We’ve been welcomed back home with open arms from both family and friends.  On our first couple of days back, having told no one other than our mothers exactly when we were arriving, we went around from door to door surprising our friends with our return.  The surprise on their faces was genuine and the evenings spent with them since then have been fantastic.

On a very positive note, I landed myself a job.  I was interviewed 2 days after landing, got the response after the week end and am starting tomorrow as Operations Administrator at Map Relocations in Overijse.  I am nervous as the only company I’ve known so far is Inter IKEA and there’s a lot I’m going to miss there, but I think my new role, which should have me multi-tasking left, right and centre should suit me fine.  The short drive to Waterloo should also allow me to go for lunch with ex-colleagues from time to time too which I’m very happy about. 

Arnaud is still searching – at the end of the day, we are in an economic crisis – one compared to that of the 1930′s, so we were expecting it to be difficult.  I believe I got very lucky, having sent off spontaneous applications to just about every relocation company in the Brussels area while we were still in Santiago and having received an invitation to this company before we even returned.

Besides jobs, we’re also in search of a new apartment and a new car.  That might still take some time, but with a little more patience and taking things one step at a time, I’m sure we’ll come out on top.

Unfortunately the Belgian climate has not changed in the last 4 months, so the dreaded grey and gloom is still with us.  If we’re lucky, in just one month’s time, we can expect the Spring and then hopefully a lovely summer.  After so much time in the sun, you’d think I could bear the cold for a while, but no, I’m a child of the sun and I need warmth, so the sooner the seasons change the better…

Volta Sempre

“Welcome on-board flight TP156 to Lisbon.  Please make sure that your seatbelt is fastened, your seat is in the upright position and your tray table safely stowed in front of you”…

This is how most long distance trips begin, that holiday excitement rushing through your veins; but also how most long distance trips end, that end of holiday gloom mood sets in and you question once more why time flies by so much faster when you’re enjoying yourself?

Although this was not a classic holiday, nor even an adventure trip like our previous South American journey in 2006, these 141 days have not failed to fly by.  From previous entries you all know that we’ve had our ups and our downs, our doubts and confused states of mind, but at the end of it all, for it is soon we will be back home, I can proudly say that I have accepted that we didn’t find “our place in the sun” this time round and that I am happy and impatient to see my family, my family in-law and my beloved friends again soon.

We all know that for a while I had felt as though we had failed our quest, but perhaps I’ve grown-up a little (don’t worry it’s probably just temporary), as right now I’m feeling good about where we’re going and looking forward to a new beginning.  We’ll probably go through some more ups and downs and confused states of mind, but that’s life right – especially when you demand as much from it as Arnaud and I do…

Thank you everyone for following us, supporting us, guiding us, loving us and entertaining us with your comments.  This journal is priceless and you are all the best people anyone could wish to know!  A special thanks (do I sound like I’m receiving an Oscar award?) to you too Babe.  As long as we’re together, I know everything will be okay!

Much love and until next time on our next adventure (cos this is in no way the end)…

Fica Vantagem

Over the last few days I’ve thought of plenty of things I wanted to mention in my last post… But today I seem to have forgotten everything. For the first time in four and a half months the heat has become unbearable, the humidity suffocating. My entire body is now fully dedicated to the doomed task of keeping itself cool, depriving my brain of the necessary blood circulation to handle even the most menial of tasks such as politely chatting to the fellow guests at the breakfast table.

No worries there I guess, since very soon we will be catching a plane snow bound. No more heat, no more havaianas, no more shorts… Probably shave off that beard while we’re at it…

Since we left Chile, Marie and I have been on our honeymoon. A real honeymoon… including, but definitely not limited to, caipirinhas in the swimming pool whilst watching the sun set in the sea, snorkelling hand in hand surrounded by hundreds of little Nemos and cleaner fish, divine seafood meals to the soothing rhythms of “La Garota de Ipanema”, dolphins and turtles, boat rides and coconut trees… It has been absolutely perfect!

So that’s it… My previous post sums up our four and half months away from home. Now it’s just a small matter of getting on that plane, finding ourselves jobs, a house and a car… and it will be as if nothing ever happened… Piece of cake, really!

All that remains to be done is thank all the great people we’ve met along the way for the fantastic times and the countless conversations we’ve had… And all of you, our readers (I like the slightly pompous sound of this), for all your support, input and comments. But most of all Marie, for making me enjoy every moment of this trip (including the lows) and putting up with me through thin and thick.

Keep checking the blog for the coming weeks, as we will put up more short films and update our “Tried and Tested” section. And following popular demand, here’s another poll:

To Boipeba and Back…

Beyond Beach Four

Out to discover the well kept secret of Morro – Beach Five (barely anyone ventures this far) – we were faced with the horrible stench of impenetrable mangroves…  About turn.  Beach Four, just beyond Pimenta Rosa, has everything anyone could ever wish for!

More Morro

Honeymoon II – Morro de Sao Paulo

No longer in search of the place we could call home, we’ve returned to Brazil with a very different mentality.  With no stress until our return to the real world, we are now enjoying our second honeymoon for real.

Bye Bye Santiago

4 months vs. 4 months

We’ve been « travelling » for a little over 4 months now. Our last trip, with Virginie, was also 4 months long but very different in nearly every other aspect. Besides a couple of weeks in the beginning, this trip was never meant to be a holiday. We came out here in search of something different, an opportunity, a place in the sun we could call home…

With Virginie we discovered a new continent, waking up each morning to new possibilities, jumping off mountains in the Andes, roughing it along the Caretera Austral, leaving our marks on forgotten glaciers, braving white water rivers, running for our lives through the tunnels of derelict mines, battling dark waves and winds in our kayaks alongside seals, wandering the largest salt flats in the world and climbing straight up steep mountain sides to each time discover something new on the other side…

Marie and I came to a continent we thought we knew. Yet from the very beginning we were taken aback by what we had embarked upon. Finding it hard to relax, we became apprehensive of the possibilities we woke up to each morning. All too soon, two things became apparent:

• Developed tourist destinations were too expensive and less developed tourist destinations were too isolated.
• Marie also woke up to the realisation that she could not part with city life.

It is at this early stage that the tone was set for the rest of our trip. Much more than our adventures with Virginie, this trip was going to test our resolve and require some significant soul-searching on our behalf. Whereas last time my father warned us, before we set out the three of us, that it would put our mutual relations to the test, I was more worried this time around. This fear never materialised and we have been more supportive of each other than I thought either one of us was capable of. Thank you for everything Babe.

Never mind the reasons, never mind the deliberations, never mind the countless weeks of indecision… Marie and I, both of us notoriously incapable of taking decisions, have come to certain conclusions. I have had to accept that it may be more judicious to pursue my aspirations a little closer to home, with a little more patience and Marie has had to postpone her eagerness to embark on the international circuit…

This trip may not have seen us jumping from mountains (or even ascending the Villarrica volcano), but it has taken us to wonderful places and grand cities. Time and again we were overwhelmed by the sheer friendliness of the Brazilians, Argentineans and Chileans. We learned more about each place we stayed in than we ever would have, as we researched each location and adapted our business plan time and again.

We are leaving Santiago (and Mike & Virginie’’s amazing hospitality) on Wednesday to have another go at Brazil… That is, to have another honeymoon, this time without stress or worries…

Countless times on this trip, we reflected on the incredible luck we have to be able to count on the help, advice and encouragement of the best friends one could hope for. Much more than voting on our “world cities poll”, you have all guided us through this journey. Thanks!

Valle Nevado

Only a 1 hour drive from home you get this…

In the winter Vigi & Mike come up here to ski, in the summer you’ve got 1000km of preserved land to explore.  Officially you’re still in Santiago city.  Why are we going back to Belgium?…