It seemed time for an update on our whereabouts!
Steve has teamed up with three friends South Africa (Dave, Andrew, and Ningo) and Scottish sea captain Bob Shepton (aka Captain Bob). They’re taking a 7000km journey through the Arctic’s Northwest passages to do some big wall climbing on remote walls.
For the play-by-play, you can follow along at their blog. If Andrew’s account of their first test sail is any indication, it’s going to be an entertaining read.
Here’s team’s planned route (um, yes, I married a crazy person!)
Captain Bob’s boat, Dodo’s Delight, will their floating home for the next four months
With Steve off to sea, I’m heading to the mountain town of Huaraz, Peru, which is an overnight bus ride from Lima. It was these amazing photos from our friend Dirk Smith that first sparked my interest, and since then, I’ve heard about Huaraz from many a climber.
I’m planning on hiking and climbing and soaking up the mountain vibe. But biggest thing on my wish-list is to set up and teach a creative writing workshop (in Spanish) for local teenage girls with our quinoa-loving, maté sipping friend Ana, who we met last year in Patagonia.
The infamous Ana, picking guindas (wild cherries) in Argentina
Ana and I are collaborating with WriteGirl, a Los Angeles based organization that brings creative writing to teenage girls. We’ll be translating and adapting their curriculum for the young women of Huaraz. Ana won grant funding from her university to cover cost of materials, and now we’re working with an organization in Peru on the final missing piece: getting participants! I’ll share more once we have sorted out a few more details.
And so, that’s our latest! Steve and I parted ways on Friday at the Barcelona airport. I took a flight to the US, where I’ll be till mid-June when I leave for Peru. Steve flew to Scotland, where he and team are working on prepping the boat before they start the Atlantic crossing in a few days time.
It’s a big change from being together 24/7, but these trips feel almost miraculous in the way they’ve come together. We’re going to have some stories to tell when we reconvene in the States in October–and hopefully by then I’ll also have mastered all the finer points of pitching a tent on my own!
Thanks for following along–more to come!
