Update – We are headed to Argentina!

Just kidding. We went to Argentina (a long time ago now) and are already home!

We left for Argentina on September 27th, 2023, just three weeks after getting home from Australia. Yes, I know this “update” is extremely late, like 14+ months late, but I wanted to say a few things before I jumped into sharing all about our amazing trip to Argentina.

It was 2023. Roger had just celebrated his first birthday. In case you are wondering how we possibly had the time to travel for essentially 4 months straight, Ross was given 4 months of paternity leave that he had to use by the time the baby turns one.

I realize that is quite a lot of leave for most people in the United States who are barely guaranteed any maternity or paternity leave at all. We are very thankful for this time and (hopefully) used it to its fullest. I don’t know many people who would take their entire paternity leave and use it as a chance to travel, again emphasizing that travel is something that we (but especially Ross) prioritize almost over anything else.

So with four months of time, the rarest commodity these days, we used it to visit Taiwan and then spent two full months birding all over Australia. We came home to throw a celebration for Roger’s first birthday. Immediately after the birthday party Ross flew to Newfoundland to go on a moose hunt with his dad. (If you’ve never had moose, it is a fantastic source of protein and is most delicious. Better than beef, truly. The moose Ross brought home filled our entire deep freezer and we will continue on our quest to not have to buy any meat from grocery stores at all.)

Originally Ross wasn’t supposed to get home until the day before we were set to leave for Argentina, but he and his dad both did well and got home 48 hours earlier than planned. We had just enough time to pack together before jetting off to Argentina for a little over 3 weeks.

If I’m being honest, I really did not want to go back to travelling so soon after I had settled back in to everyday life back at home. Mentally and physically we had just conquered a lot and I was ready for a break. But the time off was precious and could not be postponed. We had no choice but to leave when we did.

And while I think my concerns were valid and justified, Argentina was absolutely amazing. Like, beyond anything I was expecting, amazing. The kind of amazing that if you are looking for a trip to take, Northwest Argentina might be it. The sights were OUT OF THIS WORLD. The trip was inexpensive, the food was delicious, and the people we met were just the sweetest, most hospitable people I’ve met in a long time. I had a fantastic trip and when I look back now, the fears I had about leaving so soon after getting home are replaced with only memories of a trip I had the privilege to go on.

It takes me a bit longer to sit down and finish blog posts when I am at home because I am distracted by family and “real” life. Also, I do not get paid to have this blog, it is merely a tool for me to document our adventures and hopefully relive them someday.

While I’m on the topic of “real life” I must at least mention that things have been quite busy over here! In case you missed it via social media, we had another baby! And he is now 5 months old! It’s high time I officially introduce everyone to Harvey Leon Gallardy. Born July 2, 2024 weighing 9lbs 1.5oz and 21 inches long.

Before you ask, yes, Ross will be getting another 4 months of paternity leave. And yes, another big trip is already in the works –we are planning to take both boys to China in early 2025!

When we visited Argentina, Roger was an only child. He had just turned one and now 2024 is almost over.

So I just wanted to give everyone a little update that the most amazing trip to Argentina is about to hit the blog, 14 months late. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a million more times, but even if I’m so behind, I still want to get it out there. Just last week I was reading Roger stories from the blog about our time in Africa. Someday I want to share Argentina with him. He was young when we travelled and he will have no recollection of it, but he was there and I want to be able to read him these stories and show him pictures from our time there.

I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoyed writing about it. More to come soon!

-Melissa