This year we continued our South American sabbatical that began in 2024. We drove and hiked through Patagonia for about 2 months, then stayed put in Argentina and enrolled the kids in school for 3.5 months, and then spent a month traveling home.
How was our Sabbatical?
By the numbers
During our 8.5-month trip, we...
Visited 9 different countries
Crossed 27 borders
Spent the night in 47 different places
Visited 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Drove 12,000 miles by land
Took 2 trips by train
Flew 11,000 miles by air
Voyaged 6,000 miles by sea
Hiked 130 miles, including 15 miles in one day
Seeing the sights
☆ Clara was delighted by Iguazu Falls. It's so big there's no one place you can stand to see it all. Roaring water relentlessly pours over more than 100 waterfalls spanning two countries and almost two miles.
☆ Caleb was most awestruck watching skyscraper sized chunks of ice break off the enormous Perito Moreno Glacier and crash into the water.
☆ David loved hiking through the meadows and forests along the coast near Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. DAD JOKE WARNING: Sea. Horse. See horse? But not a seahorse!
☆ Shaunda enjoyed the part of southern Chile known as "Patagonia Verde," especially Chaitén, with its steaming volcanoes, black sand beach with polished obsidian stones, 700-year-old indigenous cave paintings, mountains covered in dense temperate rainforest, 1000+ year old alerce trees, and a cozy cabin heated by a wood stove. Near La Junta, we all found magic in a scented forest, with its bamboo, tasty wild berries, and stunning flowers, with a rich aroma of cologne wafting from the Tepa and Luma tree leaves. We explored only part of Chile's Route 7, which connects this region via a series of roads and ferry crossings. We would love to return to explore more of this 770-mile "Carretera Austral" that serves only 100,000 residents.
☆ Ollantaytambo is an enchanting town in Peru between Cusco and Machu Picchu. It was never ruined by the Spanish conquistadores, and thus preserves its original Incan character and charm. We treasured our stay, exploring the nearby ruined temple and granaries, and walking its narrow cobblestone streets with water still flowing in the fountains and aqueducts.
☆ Even though Machu Picchu is swarming with tourists, its stunning setting in a cloud forest atop a vertical landscape of cliffs and peaks makes it worth a visit. This city on a hill remained hidden and well-preserved for centuries because it was abandoned before the Spanish conquistadors could find and destroy it. Shaunda’s brother, Ryan, joined us for this magical experience.
☆ We saw so many wild animals! We saw right whales so close to the beach we could hear them breathe. We saw orcas lunging out of the waves to hunt sea lions on the beach. We saw TWO pumas in the wild! The pumas were easy to find; we saw the long line of cars & buses on the side of the road and simply looked where everyone was pointing.
Creating a life in Argentina
☆ After 2 months and 5,000 miles on the road, we settled for 3.5 months in the wind-swept Patagonian city of Trelew. We were warmly welcomed by Shaunda’s friend Priscila and her family. We put our kids in school with their kids, they cooked us some of the best meals of our trip, and we managed to have thoughtful and funny conversations in Spanglish.
☆ Caleb and Clara bravely attended school. It was total linguistic and cultural immersion, and the teachers and students showered them with kindness, patience, and attention. Caleb discovered the joy of kicking a soccer ball, and Clara finally worked up the courage to return her friends’ traditional cheek-kiss greeting, much to their surprise and delight. Our kids started understanding Spanish as time passed, as if by magic.
☆ Clara lost her first tooth on the same day she discovered it was loose. Our friend Priscila taught us that in South America, a mouse named Ratoncito Perez handles the Tooth Fairy's duties.
Our favorite foods
☆ Whether it's a local dish or their take on pizza or risotto, Peruvian cooking is uniquely delicious. After many of our meals in Peru, David would exclaim, "I have no idea what that was, but it tasted AMAZING!" The exotic spices and sauces, the quinoa that actually tasted good (even to David), the numerous varieties of corn and potatoes, and the artistic presentation with edible flowers combined to delight our senses.
☆ Our best Argentine meals were prepared by our friend Fernando. These are his homemade empanadas. We also enjoyed the plentiful, fresh pears in Argentina.
☆ The Argentine town where we found the most plentiful and affordable vegetarian food was El Bolsón, a scenic hub for hippies and backpackers in Patagonia.
☆ Completos, which are loaded hot dogs with guacamole sealing in various toppings with potato chip sticks on top.
Surprises, challenges, and lessons
☆ We especially enjoyed traveling with friends, whether it was old friends or new ones we met along the way.
☆ We learned that children everywhere naturally and easily reach across their differences to be friends, even when they do not share a common language or culture. For example, on our 4-night Navimag ferry ride through the fjords of southern Chile, our kids played with a family of Israeli kids for hours even though they did not speak the same language.
☆ We accidentally witnessed history in the making on our walking tour of downtown Buenos Aires. Our guide informed us that we arrived just in time for a huge, historic protest march. She deftly steered us around and through the tens of thousands of protesters, allowing us to see what was going on without getting pushed into the focal point. We got a little nervous when we saw smoke rising from the streets in the distance, until we realized that the smoke was from asado, the traditional Argentine barbecue. Of course, in Argentina, a protest is just one more excuse to have a barbecue party! Argentines are enthusiastic about the right to peacefully protest because their civil liberties were denied during many years of dictatorships.
The Pro-Peronist Protestors in front of a classic image of Evita
☆ Shaunda did a great job jumping through the bureaucratic hoops of buying a vehicle in another country and language. Crossing borders as American tourists owning a Chilean car was more complicated than we expected, but thanks to the kind and thoughtful border officials (and some dumb luck), we always got through.
☆ David drove our car the most, and the many ambiguous intersections with no clear right-of-way always stressed him out. We thankfully never had an accident, and the experience taught us that Americans are obsessed with their rights, whether they are property rights, gun rights, or rights-of-way.
The reliable Toyota RAV4 we bought in Chile
☆ Shaunda was surprised by how many veggie meat and gluten-free options were available in Chile and Argentina (unlike when she was there 20 years earlier). The frozen veggie meat sections in grocery stores were much larger than those in the US.
☆ We were surprised by how much work went into keeping ourselves going during our months of active travel. Between seeing the sights, buying groceries, cooking, loading and unloading, packing and unpacking, planning for the next destination, doing laundry, and keeping up with emails and basic communication, we had little down time. It was all-consuming, usually in a positive "flow" kind of way. But we did appreciate the slower pace once we were settled in Trelew and the kids started school. We were able to engage in more reflection and start to feel more rejuvenated.
We got a lot of practice packing and unpacking
☆ When we set out, one of our goals was to hike 5 miles together. We quickly surpassed that goal, and our kids surprised us by doing several 10-15 mile hikes on difficult terrain. The key was teaching Clara how to eat sandwiches while hiking.
After 10 miles, Clara still had a skip in her step
☆ After living out of these 6 suitcases and 4 backpacks for 8.5 months, our house felt crammed with junk that we hadn't used and didn’t need. Accumulating things is so much easier than getting rid of them. We learned to value people and experiences more, and our things less. We did a serious purge upon returning home.
Before (October 2024)
After (July 2025)
After returning home...
☆ Within a couple weeks of returning home, we were back on the road. We visited friends in Idaho and Walla Walla (WA), David’s mom in Pasco (WA), and David’s brother James and family in Bellevue (WA). We also took in an outdoor Jacob Collier concert.
Showing Grandma Peggy where we went
☆ In mid-August Caleb started 3rd grade, and Clara 1st grade.
☆ For Labor Day weekend, we visited David’s brother Nathan and wife Lisa in Grand Junction, CO. David and Nathan went to a Weird Al Yankovic concert.
☆ In September, Shaunda and her brother Ryan flew out to Georgia, where they reconnected with friends and family and helped their parents pack their home to move to Utah! Lyle and Karla arrived at the end of September and moved into a lovely home in nearby Daybreak.
Enjoying Utah with Shaunda's parents
☆ We celebrated Shaunda’s dad’s 70th birthday in November! We enjoyed spending the holidays with Shaunda’s parents and her brother (who moved to Utah last year) without having to travel.
What we are looking forward to in 2026
☆ Family bike rides: Clara recently learned to ride without training wheels.
☆ Growing Shaunda’s business: Shaunda started a law firm focused on employment law and workplace dispute resolution. After breaking free of the lawyer billable hour mindset and learning to stop thinking of her time as a commodity to exploit in 6-minute increments, she is striving to build a practice that she can work in sustainably while serving her clients well. Clara hopes Shaunda’s business grows quickly so that she can turn Shaunda’s home office into her own bedroom.
☆ Growing David’s business: David continues to enjoy working with his brother Seth and Shaunda’s brother Ryan on his subscription business that reminds attorneys about their upcoming court hearings. This past fall they made some improvements that have already increased revenue and subscribers, and are exploring ways to use court data to provide additional services to attorneys in Utah.
☆ Skiing again! We missed last ski season during the sabbatical. Thanks to switching between northern and southern hemispheres, we experienced summer and fall three times in a row before finally entering winter!
¡Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad!
Created January 2, 2026
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