Rob's Rave and Silvina's Stories Living life at the end of the world
YWAM
Staff Meeting
On the good days, this is the way that we all get together for our staff meetings.
Felling Trees
Over the years that we have been in Puerto Madryn, some of the trees have not been able to survive the harsh conditions. Not only is there little water, lots of wind, and harsh winters, but there are also a lot of nasty borer-type bugs that burrow into them and kill them off slowly. As [...]
Not Snow, Not Sleet, Not Hail
It was something in between all of these when it fell. A storm cloud came over and dropped something like soft hail, or firm snow, or dry sleet, or… well, something that wasn’t quite rain either. So here are the photos to explain it.
Crash, Bang, Down and Out!
It was almost 1.30am in the morning and I was still on my last processes of getting to bed and asleep when there was an almighty crash. At first I did not react to it as it was likely something falling out of a cupboard or something like that. The guys in my dorm, which [...]
Back to Base – Corrientes
It was a long-standing promise that I had made to my friends that one day I would return to my old original YWAM base in the north of Argentina. Even though it was my first contact with YWAM and a place where I still have many friends, Corrientes was not a place that I really [...]
Getting Higher on Internet
To get internet out where we are, we needed to set up a wifi connection between us and town that allowed us to access a broadband internet connection there. This was first done with a 6m pole that we mounted at both ends of the connection. Although this worked well at first, the connection at [...]
Buenos Aires the Ups and Downs
Leaving Puerto Madryn, I never imagined that it would be all of two weeks before returning there again. Yet here I am on the bus heading south once again on the 18 hour journey that will return me to the place I now know as home.
Connections in the Bush
Well, to be honest it is not really the bush out here. In fact, it could never really be the bush out here, considering that we live in the middle of a desert. But the idea is the same. The bush means far from anything like a city. We are far from anything like a [...]
Helpin’ Friends and Makin’ Holes
Chasing down documents for Brazilians, finding a magic coffee bar in a perfect location, and fighting with cheap components when fixing houses… all part of just one more day in Buenos Aires…
Line-ups and Police
It was time to get my police certificate and sort out most of the remaining bits and pieces that needed to be done for my residency application. If I was able to complete these then everything would be finished except for the process of presenting it all to the right people. Immigrations in Buenos Aires [...]
Documents in Argentina
I have arrived in Buenos Aires to get my residency here. It would have been easier and more convenient to do this process in Puerto Madryn where I am now based, but the Immigration branch there could not do anything with my English language documents. So here I am in Buenos Aires trying to get [...]
The Impossible Became Possible Today
It had long been talked about. The possibility however, seemed far fetched at best and more probably impossible. Of course with enough money anything is possible, but we didn’t have that kind of money. Today everything changed. Today we have internet. Internet has had a spotted history here at YWAM Puerto Madryn.
Working in the Streets
I had been sitting there for a while before Andrew sat down beside me. The flimsy plastic chairs that we had lined against the wall provided welcome relief for Andrew as he shared of the complete exhaustion that now came upon him since he stopped using drugs. Brought up in a rich home with both [...]
Find a Wife by Sending Team
This was found amongst other paragraphs of serious content explaining how teams could get to the base, what the base would do for each team, and more. … So now I’m wondering how many people who are searching for ” find a wife in buenos aires ” are being sent to the YWAM base’s new website?
A Week in Buenos Aires
Before leaving Argentina I headed to Buenos Aires for a week. There was still one YWAM base in Argentina that did not have a website yet. My goal was to give them one by the end of the week. It worked. Through a lot of hard work and some very late nights, it was possible [...]
Where Has the Help Gone?
Loaded with a huge pile of books balanced precariously on top of each other, I turn the corner for the umpteenth time and pass through the crowd of young people gathered outside after dinner. One jumps up from his conversation and walks beside me asking if I needed help. It quite surprised me. This was [...]
Three Days in Miami
“They were three intense days in Miami,” I thought to myself as my plane taxied to the runway at Miami airport. Recapping over the events I realise that in retrospect it would have been wiser to have arranged more days here in the United States. But then my thinking was, “how much time does it [...]
Now in Miami
After a long flight and a few hours sleep I finally arrive here in Miami. It is warm and humid, a far cry from the brisk late winter of Chile.
Life in the Aires
Today I was supposed to be on a bus heading back to Puerto Madryn. But today I remain here in Buenos Aires. My visit of 10 days has just been extended for another week. The reason? Too much to do in just 10 days. The purpose of my visit here to Buenos Aires is that [...]
Travels and More Travels
This year has been an unsettled year, with one journey following another. Since the beginning of this year the time I have spent in my home base between travels has been less than 8 weeks, and it does not look like slowing down for the rest of the year. Mobile Hands in Buenos Aires What [...]
Heading to Buenos Aires
Well, I should really be moving right now, but thought it was worthwhile sending off a quick message to you to let you know that within an hour I will be hurtling along in a double-decker luxury bus on the way north to Buenos Aires. The purpose? To fix up an old house that will [...]
Life in Bariloche
In early March I returned from Peru to arrive back in my home base of Puerto Madryn. Late to mid March I was on the move again, to spend two months in Bariloche, a beautiful city nestled right in amongst the Andes mountain ranges and alongside a huge blue lake. It is also home to [...]
Back in Madryn – But Going Again
I guess it has been a while since writing something here. Life in missions seems to get really hectic at times. Even when I was travelling there seemed to be more time to write than now-a-days. At the end of every day, when I normally write something, I am exhausted and just want to sleep. [...]
Last Bathroom Photos
These are the latest pics of the bathroom, just before I left Puerto Madryn on my way to Peru. The shower floor is still not done, and there is a huge kink in my main sewage pipe which I made while trying to replace a broken T-joint. The problem was that my friend who knew [...]