Ready

WE are ready and I am nervous. To imagine ourselves at 13000 ft high, climbing 6500 of them in 3 days, while sleeping on the ground every night and carrying a weeks worth of stuff, is to imagine the near impossible for me. It is so much easier to plop down on a beach and have margaritas delivered with ease. But this trip is different. I have a sense of nervousness that I have not experienced before. The reality of the challenge ahead of me has certainly sunk in. This is going to be the most difficult yet most rewarding trips of my life thus far.

In the end, the rucksacks have been packed and re-packed, the trek site memorized, the travel blogs read. There is only so much planning one can do, and then it is time to just go and do it, with no regrets and only success within our reach...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

So Not Ready!

So as most of you know, I am an organizer, a planner, a one month ahead packer. But for some reason, for our 4 Year Anniversary trip, I have completely fell apart. It is T-4 days before we depart to Peru and the mess you see before you is our "packing" thus far. What I am afraid of is not finding our way out of the ruble to actually make it on the flight to Peru. Can you imagine?!?!?!



If for some chance we actually pull ourselves together to get this mess in a rucksack and get on the flight, here is where you can find out where we are on our trek to Machu Picchu:

http://www.inca-trail.com.pe/maps/tracking.php?lg=en&id=1942498684&simul

Once you access the link, you have to type my full name: Sonja Rhea Figueira

We leave for Peru on Monday, May 25th, begin the Trek on Thursday, May 28th and should wake to the sunrise in Machu Picchu on Sunday, May 31st. Wish us Luck!

"The Best Vacation of My Life" -- Fernando Figueira

The Figueira Family was in full swing as of last Saturday, finally Pai and Gu arrived by train from Seattle, and we were in full force. Usually, life is pretty quiet for Rafa and I in our home, but once the Figueira's arrived, we were no longer the quiet street on the house. The package Figueira deal, is late nights, loud laughter, Rafa and Gu playing XBOX to wee hours of the night, and Pai smoking the house every night with his cooking. We have been able to share in the small delights of dinners around the table, casual conversation, good wine, family stories, and a lot of translating for me : )
And let me not forget to mention the HUNDREDS of shopping trips the Figueira's's took (poor pai) But thanks to them, the USA is on its way out of the recession! We should invite them back more often.

Before Gu and Pai arrived, Etna, Raquel, Rafa and I at the water front after shopping at Saturday Market



My favorite part of the week, The Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon:



The Oregon Garden Resort where we stayed the night:



Lovely yellow flowers at the Oregon Gardens:



Fernando, Etna, and Rafa at the beautiful Oregon Gardens:



Pond at the Oregon Gardens:



Etna and Fernando walk the Oregon Gardens



After the Oregon Gardens, we went to Silver Falls Forest. Here the Figueira's and Bella take in the Silver Falls Forest:



Pink flower along the trail during the forest:



The Figueira's at the falls, just as the sun came out:



And like any Spring day in Oregon, the drive home gave us something to be thankful for, dramatic skies and lovely green trees:



And tonight, we share in one last meal together (Pai leaves tomorrow) and what better way to do then a round table of family and fondue.

Hugs until next post.

Sonja

Family and Seattle

As Rafa and I await the arrival of the Figueira's, we decided to head up to Seattle to visit with Pai and Gu this past weekend.  We picked Gu up at the Portland airport and drove up to Seattle to meet Pai.  The weekend was lovely, peaceful, and such a great company to be in.  Here are a few pics:

Gu and Pai at the Neurology Conference:

At the Fairmont Hotel:

Rafa is happy...

And a few shots at Pikes Place Market, Seattle.

The whole crew will be here in Portland by Saturday for a fun filled week.  

Adventura

So this past weekend we took the boat out, finally.  And it wasn't just a leisurely afternoon out.  Oh no.  We decided to go "adventura" style, which is adventure in Portuguese.  Instead of choosing our first outing to be a couple hours on a lazy afternoon, we decided to take the boat out and camp on an island. We had not even been on our boat yet, let alone taking it to camp.  Nothing like going all out.  So we loaded the dog, the vests, the "limited edition" gear of camping, and food, all in the boat and ventured out.  It was painless, fun, amazing, and incredible.  It is wonderful to know what can happen in your life when you set aside the fear and the "what-ifs" and really go for it.  That is what I call living adventura.  

Adventura begins...

Bella is a boater girl for sure, not nervous, and totally happy....

The island to ourselves...see Rafa there?

Just us...

Rafa and his boat...

Sunset on the Columbia, we feel lucky to live in Portland on days like these...

And the camping was so successful, that we took the boat on Monday to cruise the Willamette We packed dinner and anchored where it was peaceful and quiet.  Lovely.  

View of downtown Portland:

Rafa makes waves during sunset...

Furry Ones

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend my day not working, but volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society.  Wieden + Kennedy sponsors quarterly volunteer days, and I think it is great! So yesterday we boarded a yellow school bus and headed over to help the furry ones.  We were split into groups and my team started with hauling, wheelbarrowing, and raking out bark dust to replenish the the dog walking path.  Our team was rock solid and made so much progress.  And let me tell you, I am sore today!  After that we got to spend time with different dogs in separated dog runs. I had two very shy dogs, and one very rambunctious lab.  Surprise, surprise ; )  After that with we went to the Kittie Houses.  I am not a huge fan of cats, but it was cool to hang out with them.  The Oregon Humane Society places 98% of the animals they receive, but they could not do it without the help of volunteers and donations.  If you love animals like I do, consider volunteering a couple hours a week or donating in whatever small way that you can.  And please, always spay and neuter your pets.  There are so many Fido's that need a loving home.  Here are two links to help get you started...

http://www.volunteermatch.org/

http://www.spayusa.org/

On another note, I think Bella is officially retiring us as parents after the latest humiliation we have imposed on her.  Since getting the boat, we want our Bella girl to be safe. So Rafa took the plunge yesterday and bought her a Doggie Life Vest; the brightest, sturdiest one you could find. Can't you see the enthusiasm in her face?

Win Win Day

Yesterday was my first day on the board for our neighborhood.  At the get go, it was disappointing that only 5 of 12 board members were present.  However, the meeting created an opportunity to get focused and establish co-operative ideas about our goals and future for Sylvan-Highlands Neighborhood.  First goal:  recruit more innocent victims.  With a neighborhood of roughly 200 homes, we should be able to provide some sort of incentive, so I am bringing cookies to the next meeting : )

Last night was a glorious win for the Worm Burners, 4-2 against Sparkle Motion.  It was a huge win despite a couple injured players and a fill in goalie.  But the Worm Burners dug deep to pull off this win, and according to Rafa, he "played mad defense" even ending the game with a slip of a foul against the other team. Here is his play by play: