Stef and Matt

It has been quite some time since our last “real time” update. Matt and I are still in the States- our present location is sleepy upstate Pennsylvania, where I am happy to report that my brother Joe has been discharged home! He has been quite a trooper since having surgery in mid-November- facing down not only brain surgery, but also a post-operative stroke that left him very weak on his left side.

But anyone who knows Joe knows that he is unstoppable. So after weeks of inpatient rehabilitation, he is back at home and going to outpatient rehab (he prefers to call it his “workout time”) three times a week. He is getting stronger every day and shows no signs of stopping.

Needless to say, it has been a challenging time, but also one in which we have realized how fortunate we are to have such wonderful family and friends. Many thanks to all the people who housed and fed us while Joe was in the hospital, and called or sent letters, cards, packages and emails to Joe and to my mother, Matt and me. It meant the world to us and definitely helped Joe stay positive in facing another difficult medical situation.

So here’s the latest on our travel plans. We are scheduled to fly back to Buenos Aires, Argentina on Tuesday, February 2nd. We will spend a couple of days there, eating steak and drinking red wine (I think it is worth a red wine headache in this case). Then we will continue with our travels through Argentina and any other adventures (or misadventures) that await us.

Over the next few days, Matt will be posting updates on our trip from October and November to bring the blog up to date (and to share pictures from the the canyon region of Peru, the deserts of Chile, Easter Island, Santiago de Chile and more). Thanks again to everyone for following our journey and wishing us well- it is a great gift that you give us.

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