The adventure has started...

Well, that's that then... Bram's finally off. The last couple of weeks went by very quickly. Bram worked long days and weeks, of course the orginally well planned work schedule changed and everything had to be done at the same time. Murphy's law.. But in the end, it worked out. Goodbye hugs and kisses with the kids yesterday morning before they're off to school, then a final trim of his hair, paperwork, money, phonenumbers, checking the gear... and ready to go. We drove down to Marseille and had lunch the two of us at IKEA, maybe the last decent meal in a few weeks! Bram's had a little bit of a stomach bug the last two days before leaving, but everything seemed fina today. Gravlax and köttbullar & lingonsylt went down smoothly... as it always does ;-) After the obligatory tour of the shop, another 300 euros poorer (you cannot come out emptyhandied from IKEA!!!), I dropped him off at the airport nearby. An emotional farewell...

Many thoughts go through your head. I know it's pretty safe, but the mountains get higher and more complicated and there's less room for error. That is of course what it is all about. To see how far you can get. Train harder and aim for another, more challenging goal. And to experience something unique and beautiful with your best friends. I'm confident they're well prepared for this trip, both physically and mentally and they've included extra time for unextepted obstacles (weather etc). Time will tell...

First night alone... I hate it! I hear every good damn sound inside and outside and cannot sleep. I stress myself and on top of that... Alex sat straight up in bed at midnight puking all over. Ahhhh.. what a great start. Luckily I think he ate something he couldn't handle, because that was the beginning and the end of it too. But before I finished running washing machines, cleaning the bed, my son, myself and desinfacting all the bathrooms (just in case) it was 2 am and Alex sound asleep. Not me... I'm awake listening to the nightly sounds and wondering "is he going to puke again"?? At 4 am, I must have passed out beacuse when I woke up it was 8:30! Not too bad...
All the kids at home, Seb's back for the weekend and it's cosy. We'll play some games, watch a movie, cook a nice dinner and relax. It's cold outside today, windy but sunny. We'll take the dogs for a long stroll.

In two hours Bram and Tim arrive in Santiago, that's a long flight!! 13+ hrs... Hope they got some sleep. Then there's a short flight over the Andes to Mendoza in Argentina, where the www.aconcaguaexpeditions.com guys will meet them at the airport and take them to their hotel and get the logistics settled. On Sunday they start their trip out to Aconcagua, with mules carrying most of the luggage, two guides to assist them on the mountain and perhaps a third guy doing the cooking etc. It must be an awesome walk into a base camp, Plaza de mulas at 4260m. First the Mendoza valleys with the vineyards, then the Andes getting higher and higher...

Well... time to attack the kids and household now! I've promised Gabriella that she'll get her own room, so I've bought two big bookcases to make a partition wall in the big room she shares with Ben. Let's get going on that project... And hopefully I 'don't have to take Ben to the doctor, he just fell on his roller blades and hit his elbow really hard... No worries, three weeks alone with kids are never boring! I'll just be slightly tired by the end of the trip.

xx Jen