Different view

This is us getting excited at Heathrow terminal 5.

We are ready for our 14 hour flight to meet Bishop Frank!

Flight BA245 if you'd like to track us. uk.flightaware.com

The home strate

Well here we are at the end of our trip. We have had an amazing time, seen some amazing sights and met some amazing people. Looking back over the trip it´s hard to pinpoint what was the best bit, for me it´s been meeting the people, from meeting new people in Cordoba and all the places we´ve been to catching up and spending time with old friends. Everyone we have met has made us feel welcome and at home.
So sadly now its time to make the trip back home, the sun is shining, the bags are packed, and we get the bus from Barilochie to Buenas Aries this afternoon, arive sometime tommorrow and get the plane back to Paris then Heathrow, back to home sometime tuesday night, all being well, put the kettel on!
Muchas gracias amigos, hasta pronto.
Nathan

In Bariloche

befor coming to Bariloche its was hard to know what to expect we had herd about the volcano and the problems it has caused but we didnt quite know what to ecpect.
On friday we visetied a farm and helped feed his animals it was like a blizerd but with ash and sand we could not see past the end of the bonnet of the pickup it is not a good place to be. We also viseted some of the places we went to last time we were here it is verry different. Yesterday we went to the young peoples group from the church and enjoyed meeting some new people and some we had met before, unfortunatly Nathans team won the football.
We are now getting ready to come home we have had an amazing trip and will be sorry to leave.
Joe

The last leg west!

Hola. Well here we are our last journey west before heading east and back home. Neuquen was a realy good, we stayed with Fernando and Marina, Neuquen is a city built on oil and gas all around the city is towns built for the workers in the oil fields in the countryside all you see is oil pumps and sandy scrubland. We left there at 4am this morning! and made the 6hr bus trip to Bariloche. The weather is sunny but a cool wind, and everywhere is covered in ash from the volcano.
See you soon
Nathan

In Bariloche

we are now in Bariloche and have had an amazing time in Neuquen we viseted an oil town and saw a dinosore skeliton. its amazing just how much space there is around Neuquen you can go for miles without seeing buildings or people except the few cars and waggons there are.
Joe

Hola

We are past half way of our trip, unless we extend it! so far everything has been spot on as Joe has said everywhere we have been we have met really nice people, they have all been really good to us and made us feel part of everything that has been going on. The camp has been really good 270ish young people all in one place, viva la fiesta! and the weather was good one day of rain when we got there but hot and sunny after that.( They need the rain, it hasent rained for about 8 months in that part of the country) Last night we set off for Neuquen about 600miles to the south. We past through some realy amazing country side, from crops and cattle country to oil pumps and fruit trees, one long strait road with a roundabout every 60-70 miles, Argentina is vast! Looking forward to the rest of the trip in the patagonia reigon, hopefully ill be able to remember how to spell!
Hasta luego amigos
Nathan

After the camp

Well the camp is over and evryone had a good time.
its been nice to catch up with some old freinds and make new ones.
on the first day it raind all day and it has been sunny ever since. The camp was based on the feeding of the 5000 from mark and the talks were verry good. it was also intresting to listen to the debates and see the voting on how the young people want to change. It was verry siimaler to the one in the uk.
we have realy enjoyed it.
We are now in Neuquen and then we go to Bariloche.

day 4

we are getting into the rythem of life here we had an early night last night we went to bed by 12:45!
we had an assado (bbq) at the church with some of the young people it was very good we talked about sport and music, they are all very friendly we practiced our spanish and they their english.
Other top news we were on tv! when we came out the airport in Bueons Aires TV crews were wating for Carlos Teves and we were in the background!
Tommorrow we are going to the camp should be good.
feels like home today its rained!
Adios
Nathan and Joe

in cordoba

hola from Argentina
we arived safely with no dramas!
we have spent the day in the city with members of the church and have seen the sighs and some of the surounding area, it is very dry.
the weather is sunny and warm like a british summer is supposed to be!
we are staying in the flat above the church.
nothing else to say all is well
we are looking forward to meeting more people and whaterver the week brings!
Hasta pronto
Nathan and Joe

prepairing to go to Encuentro (Joe pattinson)

Hear we are again myself and Nathan are preparing to go to the Encuentro camp in Argentina and visit some people we know too.
we are flying tomoro night at around 8oclock to paris and then on to Buenos Aires, we then catch a flight to Cordoba where we are staying until the camp which is hapening 8th-10th after that we are traveling to Neuquen for a few days and then on to Bariloche befor returning home from Buenos Aries.

Ben's Post

Well that’s it!!! All over. Had an AWESOME time here!! The people were amazing and just so friendly and open! Campamento was so much fun and I learned a lot from just watching how everyone behaved!!! We made some really good friends, it was incredibly sad to leave them, especially when they told me I had to go back next year!!!
I would love to go back next year but can’t! (Silly school).
We played a lot of football at the camp. I was amazing!!! Unstoppable, unless it was the goal post!!!! But we found that despite the language problems we could still have fun and communicate! I’m also very grateful for everyone who translated for us. With out them we would have been stuck!!

Betty's Post

We’ve be super busy since the last time I wrote on the blog in Porte Madryn. The Campamento was amazing. We met so many wonderful people who we’re welcoming, kind and friendly. Over the week although my spoken Spanish didn’t really improve I found it easier to understand what was being said much better. Isn’t the human mind an amazing thing?
It was an incredible experience to be in a group of people, who were all there for the same reason, united through Christ, and it didn’t matter where we came from, what our home situations were or even, thank goodness for us poor Spanish speakers, what language we spoke.
We have all learnt from the experience and have talked at great length about how we can share our experiences with the people we know back home.
On a lighter note, Ben may have converted to the Argentinean way of life; he even wants to bring Mate to his Geology lessons. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we will all miss the lovely people we have met and the beautiful places we have seen.
Muchas Gracias Amigos, we had a wonderful time and will miss you all.
Asta Pronto amigos en Grand Britannia, we are now on our way back home.

Betty

Joe's Post

Well the camp is now over we are all very tired but we have had an Amazing time.

The camp was very similar to those in the UK just in Spanish however the kids were very helpful in translating for us.
We felt very welcome at the camp and quickly made lots of friends. When we arrived the camp had started and we were straight into the main meeting telling them who we are and what we do. in Spanish.
One of the first things we did after this meeting was play football which sounds fairly normal but this was actually one of the main ice breakers football those first few games of footie were good fun and very important
The theme was la paz or the peace we had bible studies and talks on this subject in the drama group we did dramas on peace in the home, church and streets these we very good fun with a very good message in them.

Nathan´s blog

Hola amigos! Nathan here our trip is almost at an end, we´re sitting in Buenos Aires airport waiting to board the plain home. And it deffinatly has been a trip of a life time, but this is only the begining! we´ve seen desert, we´ve seen mountains most importently we´ve seen cows and tractors! but more importently we´ve met people and shared stories, we´ve been challanged and humbeled. The people over here have been spot on they´ve looked after us well and taught us so much. we´ve had laughs, we´ve had tears and we´ve had ice cream! but most importent we´ve made friends. the trip is coming to an end but the adventure carries on!
Adios

Bens post 2

so the weather is lovely here, must be around 30 ish!!!! so yeh we will all stand out with our awsome tans! As you probably saw on Carls blog, i said that i was going to stop eating!!!!!! its true!!! i stopped eating at an all you can eat resturaunt!!!
Oh well, were off to campamento now. Should be an interesting week!!! Woo

About to go to Campamento

We have a first - you could say the earth shook at this comment! Sitting at the table with Ben last night, he uttered the words..."y'know I could eat more, I'm not hungry...but I could eat more...but I think I'll stop"

We had a sunny day in Puerto Madryn and people caught up on some sleep, we're getting our clothes washed and making final prep to go to the camp this morning.

We have a bit of a trek to get there, 2 buses and a taxi - I guess we're probably going to get there late!

Please pray for us, this week the key challenges will be the young people mingling, getting across language barriers and having the pace to keep up with the camp.

We have tried to upload some pics, but the connection has been too slow!!!! Will try again some time!

God bless and see you all soon

Carl

Hi from Betty

Hello to everyone back in England.
We´re currently in Madarin taking some time off after a very long, that´s 13 hour, bus trip. Not a patch, though, on our first journey by bus from B.A. to Baraloche which was 24 hours long! The mountains around Baraloche were beautiful and we´ve all got lots of pictures to show you when we get back. I´ve also got a few rock samples as well but don´t worry, not enough that´ll take me over the baggage weight limit!
On Saturday we went walking with a group of people we´d met the day before at the Cowen´s. It was really nice, especially the warm whether, even if the walk was 24km long (I don´t do long walks usually). Everyone we´ve met has be very welcoming also they´ve been very understanding about our language limitations which is very, very, very, very (!) kind of them.
Bye bye for now.
Betty

Nathan´s Post

How do Nathan here, so far so good getting into the swing of things now, eating sweet pasterys for breakfast, and not sitting down for supper before 10.30 at night! Did have one scary moment on the first night i ordered a salad for supper, but i´m glad to report that normal service has been resumed and i´m back to eating propper food (no more salads)! the trip is spot on done a lot of travelling just been on a bus for 13 hours travelling from Baralochie thats a short trip! The people here are really nice and are making us feel very welcome. our next stop is the camp a mento looking forward to it, hope to improve on my spanish. The weather here is fairly warm suposed to get into the mid 30s! The team is getting on well altho the lack of sleep etc is making people do all sorts of interesting things, but you no what they say... what goes on in Argentina stays in Argentina!! laughs are plenty!! pñenty stories to come home with.
Adios amegos.

Bens blog

The flight was very long but i slept for most of it! Buenos aires was a very nice place, the food was very good, especialy the steak. We met Alfredo who showed us round Buenos Aires and took us to a very nice wee resturaunt.
The bus ride to Bariloche was about 22 hours, with a two hour breakdown. It was very comfy with folding seats. Bariloche was very nice and the people were very friendly and the food was even better.

Joes blog

In buenos Aires i enjoyed walking round the city and seeing the s ites, i also enjoyed eating the food.
in barolochie we went on a 24km walk which was verry good with some verry good views. i am enjoying the food and also getting a good sun tan.

In Bariloche

We have an hour before we get picked up to go to the bus station, so a few of us are going to add our blogs.

This is Carl - Up until now we've had a good time. There are 2 key challenges; energy and language!

Yesterday we took part in a 24km walk and have all ended up a bit redder - hopefully, the suburn will fade to a tan!

The bus journey from Buenos Aires to Bariloche was a total of 23 hours (after stopping to have the bus repaired for 2 hours)

We've seen some great sights and met some great people so far - next stop Puerto Madryn and then Campamento!

In a cafe

We are writing this sat in a cafe, that actually used to be a theatre.

The biggest news is that Nathan ordered a salad last night, which for those who know Nathan - will know it is an event that has never happened before and probably will never be repeated!

We have enjoyed a (noisy) night in the hotel...with Ben getting the most sleep (11.5 hours). We are currently touring the city and have collected our bus trips for the rest of our visit.

The team will post individual blogs later on, but for now keep us in your prayers and watch this space

At the airport

Here we begin another blog, for another trip to the Campamento in Argentina.

We kicked off the day with an early start (4am at 'The Bridge') - thanks to Rachel for the bacon butties.

The team for this year is me (Carl Dodd), Nathan Pattinson, Joe Pattinson, Ben Hamilton and Betty Evans...

I'll post more info when my battery isn't dying, but basically things are going well.

We're just waiting for the Boarding Gate to open and then next stop Toronto(!)...we have a random flight schedule over the next day...

Back Again!

It has been a long time since our last post and much has happened. We are getting ready to take 4 young people to Argentina for the 2010 and Campamento. We will be adding more details soon!

So many posts

I have just noticed, that we have added so many posts today that you may need to look at the older posts to see them all!

Well that's about it...

We then travelled back to Buenos Aires, and spent 2 days getting ready for our return. We met with Evangelina Suarez who works at the Bishop's office and put together so many of the details for our visit. Thank-you!

We also picked up a few things to bring back with us like some Yerba Mate which is a traditional drink in Argentina for more info visit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)

We also picked up some Dulce de Leche which is a sweet spread that we had in so many sweet treats.

All of these things we'll share with people across Cumbria District as we invite churches in the district to think about our developing youth link!

The trip was a great experience and the blog doesn't finish here, in fact in many ways it is the starting point. We now look to the future thinking about how we develop the link even further...a possible future visit by young people and also how to get people from across both regions to get involved.

We will also add some more reflections on the visit as there are key themes that we can think about in the future.

We didn't get too many pictures during our trip to Bahia Blanca, but this is a church in one of the local neighbourhoods. Inside the church it looked very much like a traditional methodist chapel, we hope to upload some more pictures later. You will see the flattened basketball, unfortunately I did that when the ball hit a sharp bit of metal, so a replacement is going to be on its way!

There is a picture of a small library that is within the church along with a couple of typewriters



We also spent time in and arournd Bahia Blanca, exploring the sights (including british houses, cobblestone roads, railways and ports).

Thanks to Marina who organised us so well! And to everyone else who provided transport, food, accomodation and were really welcoming during our time in BB

Building the link (Carl)

On our Sunday afternoon in Bariloche, we were challenged to think about how we keep the link going between Cumbria and Patagonia between visits. For all those who have been reading the blog, we would love to hear how you think we can build links between the children and young people in Cumbria and Patagonia.

We were asked to think about ways to share resources, possibly work on common projects together and generally improve communication (across the language barrier) between both countries.

So if you have anything to input, please get in touch and post a comment

Church at Bariloche (Carl)

On Sunday the 18th, we joined the congregation at Bariloche for their morning service. Worshipping in Spanish takes a lot of effort, with occasional questions to Rachel about the meanings of soon of the words. I managed to get enough of a vocabulary to basically follow the sermons, but it takes a lot of concentration. The service was about 2 hours, with communion at the end.

We were invited to go out in the afternoon and we spent some time travelling around the lakes and seeing some amazing sights. We also discovered just how strong the wind can get as it comes off the lake, whipping up dust storms and vapour from the lake.

We drove through the 'Swiss Settlement' which reminded us of the different cultural heritages across Patagonia.

Bariloche Lakes

Overlooking the lakes at Bariloche

Chocolates and sweets (dulces) in Bariloche

Images of Bariloche

Some images from around Bariloche

Bariloche (Carl)

So after an over night bus journey from Trelew, we arrived last Saturday (17th) morning in Bariloche.

We were in the Lake District. As we drove into Bariloche, the view was beautiful. This town is a ski town in the winter and an outdoor adventure area in the summer. With fantastic chocolate shops, it was a mix of cultures from Germany, Switzerland and surrounding countries...

We were taken to our hotel which was a lovely place run by a lady who took good care of us (Rachel was feeling ill that day). Thank you to Suzie who helped us get a bit of medical help!

We explored the area and in the evening went to an Asado at the church (a bbq). It was great, because we had an open hearth in the church building and we sat indoors around the table sharing in a meal.

Trelew

Here are some pictures from Trelew. The building is the old railway station that is now a museum.

Patagonia has an abundance of fossils and dinosaurs, the pictures are from a local museum that also presented some of the most recent discoveries.

At the end of our time in Chubut family we were so thankful for everyone who made us feel so welcome during our time there

Churches in the Chubut Valley (Carl)

We spent an afternoon travelling through different parts of the valley visiting the local churches below is a picture of one of the methodist churches and also an Anglican church...I am trying to ring the church bell in the picture on the right

Playing catch up

Unfortunately we have been so busy that we haven't been able to keep up with all that's been happening while we were in Argentina - with so much to write about and difficulty getting wireless until the last couple of days we haven't been able to keep this space updated.

But we are going to keep on documenting all that happened so you can share in all that went on

We have just got back in the UK and will be publishing our posts over the next few days

Gaiman pt 2 and Puerto Madryn

Of course we had to have Welsh Tea in a welsh tea shop!

We visited the church at Puerto Madryn for an evening meal which rounded up with some dancing.
It was great to meet up again with some of the folks from the camp - the empanadas were great! We spent some time just sharing our stories from both sides of the Atlantic

Gaiman Part 1 (Rachel)

Here's some more photos of the camp and also the start of our pictures while staying in Gaiman after the camp

Gaiman is a town that was founded by Welsh settlers in the 1800s. It still holds strongly to its heritage and many people there are bilingual in Spanish and Welsh. We spent four days there.

Camp Part 2 and beyond (Carl)

Hi all,

Rachel will write down her thoughts from camp a little later.

So camp was really good. When we arrived, things were a little hectic and we had some last minute arrangements for finding where Rachel was going to sleep. But we all managed to find a place to lay our head in the evening. The camp was at a community centre in Gaiman, which is a Welsh settlement in the Chubut valley. It was a beautiful place and the weather was warm, but with strong winds during certain times of the day.

Each day started at 7am with a team meeting and discussions went on about the camp and the day to come. We then all said good morning to each other and giving a hug or kiss on the cheek - there were quite a number of people in the the team, so this took some time.

We then got the young people up with load noises and got them ready for breakfast (often bread, jam and really sweet tea). The young people then got into the Bible study groups and met for an hour and a half. These groups got into the topic of Christians and the environment and those who wanted to got really passionate about the topic. It was interesting to notice that the young people who weren't really into it, didn't distract but sat quietly in the group.

Then there was the celebration, with songs, prayers and a message from the Bible. It was a really lively time and it was great to be part.

Then lunch, going into free-time. After the free time there were different workshops at 4pm (drama, crafts, dance). Afternoon tea led into 'recreation' which were sports with an underlying message or theme.

Of course then there was the need for showers before getting into the Sunset service and there was often the opportunity for some sort of response from the young people.

That led into the Fogon (sin Fuego) which means campfire (without the fire). It was a daily talent night, and I even got invited up to take part playing guitar and even walking the 'catwalk'.

Bed was around 1am (the latest I got to bed was 2:30am) and ready to be at the meeting for 7am next day.


We'll put up some pictures from the camp and hopefully you'll get to put images to the story...

We will follow up later with what has happened since camp as we now have unlimited internet at our hotel in Bariloche, so watch this space

After the camp part 1 (Carl)

We have just got back to internet access and I will only be able to post a short blog about the camp (hence the part 1 bit). We are having to book a hotel, answer emails and arrange transport all in a short bit of time...we will post more next time we get access. So in shorthand this is the camp

Overall: Really good, lively, got to know the young people and adults. Lots of activities, very hot

Us: Rachel got a throat infection and had to see the doctor, I got a throat infection later and am now on antibiotics

Language: Shakey at times, when Rachel was ill I had to fend for myself and try to communicate. Some english speakers helped out. Rachel has struggled with accents, very different from the Spanish she has learnt...By the end of the week, I communicated in Spanglish and Rachel was holding many conversations with young people

Activities: Celebrations (services), Bible studies, sports, workshops, sleeping(!) and you guessed it, late nights...lots of dancing

That´s it for now, watch this space as we will try and post some pictures...

Oh and yes, I do have a tan...

God bless and thanks for your prayers

Carl & Rachel

Late nights, church and river deltas (Carl)

We've decided to put the name of who is writing the post in our title as it can get confusing as Rachel and I both write different messages.

Last night's evening meal lasted until 3am and so getting up for church this morning was a challenge! We succeeded in being ready for 9:20am and were picked up from the hotel by Eduardo who is a member of the church in Martinez. His wife Betty was already at the church as she led the worship on the piano this morning.

It was a really friendly church and Rachel understood a lot more of the Spanish service than I did. But it was great to feel God's Spirit that unites His whole church, especially around the communion table. Our hosts Eduardo and Betty recognised that our late night had left us a bit tired and they were really helpful. We went out for a meal alongside the river in a renovated train station (which was built by the British and so was really familiar)

We then headed north to the river delta and walked around a river and island system full of families gathered on a Sunday afternoon, sitting under trees, sunbathing, fishing and enjoying the weather. We visited the art gallery and took advantage of the air conditioning!

Getting back to the hotel early we're playing catch up and taking a bit of time to rest before we meet with Bishop Nelly tomorrow...

Photos around Tigre, the river delta in northern Buenos Aires

Videos and pictures

Just to let you know, our internet connection isn't fast enough to post lots of videos and pictures. We will try and post some soon, so watch this space...

Sunday morning in Buenos Aires

The last couple days have been a whirlwind of activity. The churches have supplied us with someone different every day to come and take us to visit a part of the city- so we’ve managed to see most of the city, which is quite a feat.

Buenos Aires is full of beautiful buildings and friendly people. Parks and public areas are bustling with families spending time together. Having dinner with our hosts has been a cultural experience in itself. For starters, people tend to eat at 8 or 9 pm, and finish at 3 am! This time of year, it’s still light out till very late and people make the most of it. A meal over here generally includes several courses and is treated as a chance to spend time in discussion and savour good company. We’ve noticed a few subtle cultural differences at meals. For example, we suspect that finishing your food or drink is a sign that you would like more, and often people will fill up your glass if you finish what’s in it or encourage you to have more. Also and we noticed that it’s not impolite to leave a little behind food or drink behind- which makes a contrast to the British tradition of finishing everything on your plate!

Breakfast this morning consisted of toast with cheese spread(!) and jam, a selection of cakes, and gooooood coffee. I(Rachel) was in pastry heaven, but Carl’s missing meet in his breakfast. Today we visit a church service in the suburbs (in Spanish) and we will be taken to the river delta. Off for another adventure!

We have arrived

We are just about to have a nap having arrived at our hotel in Buenos Aires. Our flight from Washington D.C. to Buenos Aires had 100 seats not filled, so we got a central row to share and have a good sleep on the way down (it was an 11 and a half hour flight!).

Health - not too bad
Weather - a nice 25 degrees celsius
Language - Carl needs more study
People - all been friendly so far

Coming through customs and immigration was a breeze in comparison to the marathon at Washington Dulles - imagine what it will be like given that we are flying back through D.C. on inaugaration weekend!

from Heathrow

We've finally got a few moments to catch our breath while waiting for flights at Heathrow, so I thought I'd put my two cents in (that's 1.4p in GBP :P ).

How do you pack for a trip which includes flights from near-zero tempratures, a week in a big city in summer which includes a meeting with the Bishop, a week at camping in the Patagonian mountains (read: hot during the day, cold at night), and a week... well we're not quite sure where we'll be by the third week of our trip?! The end result is three suitcases jam-packed with everything from ski jackets to flip flops.

This trip is an adventure already and we've already experienced wonderful hospitality from the Argentinan churches. With a few short weeks of letting them know that we'd be coming, we've been supplied with someone to pick us up from the airport (on a public holiday, no less), hotel and travel reservations, people to show us around the city, take us to church, supply us with camping equipment, and host us. What a gift! I'm sure that we have will have a lot to learn from this Argentinian counterparts and we can't wait to arrive and start getting to know the people there.

Next stop... Washington Dulles airport. It'll be good to be home- at least for a couple of hours!
-Rachel

At the airport

It's amazing when you sit down at an airport, you suddenly remember all the things you have forgotten - time to buy yet another plug adapter for the trip!

Well it is possibly the quietest airport I have ever been in - hopefully the rest of the airport stops will be like this one in Glasgow! and of course thanks to David for his lift to Glasgow

We have plenty of time to spare and so we're taking our time and having a coffee!

Rachel continues to feel better.

Apparently the backpack was a bad choice for luggage as it classifies as 'odd shaped baggage' and will have to go through seperate check-ins!

Will keep you all updated as we go...

tickets...check...passport...check...

Well today is the day, we start our long journey south by heading north to Glasgow! A 5:30am wake up has hopefully left us just enough time to get everything done that has not yet been done (!) by the time we depart at 10am, thanks to a generous lift up north of the border.

We will keep everyone updated on all that is happening - I think our health is better today, although I can hear Rachel coughing in the distance...please keep us in your prayers

thanks,

Carl & Rachel

Our health

We would really appreciate all your prayers as we get ready to go away. We are just starting to mention to everyone that Rachel is in the early weeks of pregnancy(!) and of course this means we have to take good care of Rachel. Now throw in that Rachel has just started antibiotics for a chest infection & I am just clearing the flu, and you will realise that we could really do with God's help right now.

The Cumbria Patagonia Youth Link - Part 1

Well today is the launch of our blog. As Rachel and I get ready to travel across to Argentina and visit our brother and sisters in the Methodist Church, we wanted to set up the chance for everyone to keep up to date with everything that will be going on.

Our plans are to set off from Glasgow on the 30th of December. We will spend a day(!) at London Heathrow and fly to Buenos Aires (via Washington Dulles) on the 31st. We land in Buenos Aires late on the 1st of January.

So please come back and visit often, as we will try and keep everyone posted on all that is going on.