What this is
A family record, written from the far side of the world.
Samafas began as a way for Rob at first, and then Rob and Silvina, to keep friends and family updated — and slowly grew into something bigger.
It follows a Christian missionary family across South America: from Corrientes and the whale coast of Puerto Madryn, to Ushuaia at the very end of the world, and finally over the Andes into Pichilemu, Chile. Stories, photographs, culture shock, faith, and the ordinary texture of life in a very different world.
The diary is no longer active — life moved on, as it does. But the memories are all still here, preserved exactly as written. Every journey leaves its traces.
Earlier incarnations
The Archives
Long before WordPress, this site lived other lives. Two of them are kept here — not tidied up or modernised, but preserved as they were. A site has a history worth honouring.
Preserved
c. 2004 – 2005
Origsite
The first static Samafas.com — hand-built HTML, “a close look at the life of an ordinary dude that loves God,” before the blog took over. A genuine time capsule.
Explore Origsite
Preserved
c. 2002 – 2003
GroovyGuppy
The original name — “nothing fishy here.” Born in New Zealand and carried to Argentina, it lasted only until it became clear nobody in Latin America could say it.
Explore GroovyGuppyWhere to begin
Why explore?
Fifteen years left a deep, strange and tender archive. Three ways into it.
Read the diary
Over 700 posts across fifteen years: culture shock, faith, small disasters and quiet wonders. Browse by year, month, or category.
Into the Blog 02 — PhotosWhat survives
The original album — hundreds of photos from across South America — is gone. What's left is scattered: a Flickr set and the images that still surface alongside the stories.
See what remains 03 — InsightUnderstand the why
Who Rob and Silvina are, what brought them south, and what it means to make a home inside another culture.
Into the About