Today we would be making the long journey back to Concepcion. Another fun filled day of 12 hours cramped up in the back of a crew cab truck. The only problem is that this time we had already seen everything just in the opposite order.
The day started off pretty well. We woke up this morning and the house was still warm. We were able to keep the fire burning through the night and for that I was grateful. The fact that the house was warmer made it much easier to get out of bed. We had hot water for our showers but we had not water pressure. I was ok with no water pressure because it was hot. We were ready and packed just in time because just as we were about to walk out the door, Pancho came over to get us for breakfast. We all ate rather quickly because we all wanted to get on the road so that we did not get home too late. The car was packed and we were ready to get on our way. One last thing before we left, family photos. Marshall and I posed for several photos with my Family and the Abuelos. We said our goodbyes and our thank yous and we were on our way.
The rest of our day was long and uncomfortable. The ferry was a nice break but it was only 2 hours into the trip. A quick story about the ferry ride. As soon as we put the truck in park on the ferry Marshall and I were out and trying to find a good spot on the rail of the boat. Before we launched we were looking down into the water and realized that we could see the bottom of the channel and the water at this point was at least 20 feet deep. We were amazed by the clearness of the water. We tried to take a picture but the cameras could not capture what we were see (As are most of the pictures taken here). Just as the boat began to launch we saw a school of small fish. Marshall said to me, “Thats cool but I would love to see something big”. We weren’t getting our hopes up though. A short time later the ferry was about to pass a buoy and I notice something moving on the very buoy we were passing, and sure enough it was a sea lion sunning it self in the hot morning sun. To make this story even better, I snapped a picture and it was the last that was the last that would fit on my memory card.
The rest of the trip home was pretty, well, blah. We did not make any stop the whole way home except for the half way point to get gas. Thank God for the need for gas because I am pretty sure that if it weren’t for that we would have gone the whole 12 hours with out a bathroom break. I can hold it for quite a while but 12 hours is pushing it.
Overall this weekend has been great. I have had the opportunity to get to know my family better, meet the grandparents, I had a great time with Marshall there (someone to speak English with), and I feel that it provided the opportunity to bond a little with my Family. I feel much more comfortable living with them now and just knowing them a little better makes things easier. Even though there are some communication barriers I am still able to joke around with my family and we even have some small inside jokes. So far Pancho has made quite the impact on my friends. All that have meet him find him quite amusing but like him a lot. I now look forward to starting the week.
