Ron and I were talking about what a huge shift that must have been for you .. to be prepared for a Peace Corps assignment and then to have to suddenly change course.

Yes .. Botswana in the early 70s would have been fascinating, I'm sure.

I'm pretty fond of the universe that you and Rachael have created .. going on incredible bike tours all over the world. And certainly demonstrating how enjoyable and rich life can be from the seats of 2 pretty earth-friendly vehicles!

It took some searching, but I found some decent image matches with the name of sunburst aeonium.

https://www.succulentsandsunshine.com/types-of-succulents/aeonium-sunburst/

Might be golden barrel cacti.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinocactus_grusonii

I wasn’t sure about Parasite - it’s such a complicated, multilayered story that it’s hard to take in. Pain and Glory is a wonderful film though, and one I want to see again too. It makes me want to go back to see All About My Mother again also.

David Alston

We went to the same movie on the same day. If we had it do over again we would have seen Pain and Glory for the second time.

Your rain is on its way to making a white Christmas for us.

David and Maun

This was probably the biggest head-snapping moment of my life. I’ve played out this alternate path in my mind many times, as well as the one where Carol and I had chosen Botswana instead. Actually, that’s the one I regret. I’m sure I had nothing to offer with dust control in central Africa, but I’d love to go back and see Botswana as it was so long ago.

Hey, you two too! Do you have snow? It looks like we’ll be getting out for a ride today, but the rains return again tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Thanks, Susan. Weren’t those the times though? It all seemed so much simpler then. No one would feel safe hitchhiking across the country like we did then any more.

Fantastic story!

I'm wondering about the parallel universe where there was no Pinochet and you did go to Santiago to set up the air pollution monitoring program. I think the air would have been cleaner when I took my first trip there in 1991. Also, I think a few people would have been better off without the oppressive military dictatorship ..

Thanks, Ron. I’m so glad to see this photo again. It’s time I wrote it all down before any more details disappear into the fog.

That's a great story!

No freaking way.

Glad to hear about this change in plans. No need for a White Christmas when you're on a bike tour!

I see nothing of the sort.