...from our sunflower Luis and his pirate and princess friends. As Europeans, we have no idea about Halloween traditions, but here the spooky US-holiday is quite a big thing. And the babies loved it.
Winter is almost over and the first sunbeams are coming out. Beach time! Together with friends, we just spent some beautiful days at the beach in Maitencillo. A week after his first birthday little man now only needs one finger to hold onto. Not long before he's running off, with mum and dad chasing after him!
Luis is Weltmeister! Yes, the Germans won the world cup fair and square. We watched the finals at a German B&B in Southern Chile. When the referee blew the whistle, Luis showed off his latest trick: the infamous champion crawl!
But of course the weekend was not all about football fever...
Our original plan was hiking through Conguillo Park (like we did in March 2013). This time – middle of winter – we never even reached the park, because our 4WD got stuck in deep snow, some 20km from the main entrance! The only safe way was back down: retreat to civilisation, change of plans.
Now we were headed to the Corralco ski region, where roads are much more accessible. Luis' first snow man & first sleigh ride! It took him a while to take pleasure in that weird icy powder, but after the third sleigh ride he finally started smiling.
One rainy day we went to the thermal springs of Malalcahuello. This was Luis' first time in a big pool, and he loved it! Check out all the looks he threw at the ladies, what a player.
We are on our way to Easter Island again, this time with baby on board! Hopefully Luis would like our favourite destination as much as we do. The 5 hour plane trip went super smooth. No wonder: Luis was more comfortable than any business class passenger could ever be. Stretched out in his own little bed, he slept through the whole flight.
Rapa Nui is a small island, but on the third vacation here we are still discovering new things! Thanks to our early riser, one morning we even made it to the sunrise at Tongariki! Apart from the famous Moai formations, we did a whole day of cave exploring on the island's Northern coast. Some caves are big and easily accessible with a baby, while with others you had to rob through wet narrow passages of darkness, to reach a spectacular window in the cliff line. Of course Luis stayed on safe grounds here, while mama and papa both took a turn in the caves.
One of the most spectacular sites on Rapa Nui is Rano Raraku, the quarry where the Moai's were made. However Mr. Hertel Junior was only mildly interested and decided to take a nap in his cosy buggy, whilst mum and dad got soaked to the bones up there, with nowhere to hide from the tropical downpour.
Family picture at Rano Kau volcano, our favourite spot :-)
Our holiday ended on Anakena beach. Luis loved the white sand and the rustling palm trees. He even splashed his hand in the biggest bathtub he had ever seen. Rapa Nui – see you next time!
This morning we sang "Cumplemeses feliz" and gave our youngster an extra portion of hugs and kisses. Little Luis just turned six months! To mark the occasion, I've put together the dot-series, where you can watch in time lapse, how much he has grown and learned in that little time! The series started by chance, when I put Luis on our bathroom rug, to take a quick shower. Six months on, he is already too big for the rug, and won't t stay put anyway.
The "big trip" just turned into a mere flying visit to both our families. Our vacation plans collide with the kick-off of a major project, so the whole trip had to be cut short last minute... :-( Nonetheless we'll do a loop through Europe, proudly presenting you little Luis. Our globetrotting baby now has a Chilean and German passport (Dutch papers coming soon), and is ready to go. Everyone who is keen to meet him/us, please let us know and we'll find a way. Nos vemos!!!
The countdown for Europe is ticking! Just one month to go, and we still have no clue what travelling with Luis will be like. He has never spent a single night away from home. Would it work? It was about time we found out! Luis didn't care about our plans, and started his first travels with ...a nap.
Five hours later we arrived at Laguna Torca, where a rustic cottage awaited us, together with horses, dogs, chicken, and (of course) lamas. Rufus, the dog, followed us everywhere. Except into the territory of Rambo, the alpha lama, with whom Florian fought a daily battle of the egos, in order to get us through Rambo-land and into the breakfast room. What an adventure for Luis!
One day we spent at the coast. The rolling sound of the waves lulled Luis to sleep wonderfully, while we enjoyed a nice walk along the rocky beach. When fishermen saw, how Luis was eating up his whole hand, they recommended us to use sea weed, a traditional teether. However I wasn't quite convinced about the rotten-fish-aroma of the weeds, and decided to better leave them ;-) On the way back to the cottage we drove past the salt fields of Boyeruca, and stocked up on sea salt for five years or more.
Last but not least, we had a beautiful lagoon directly at our door step. Every day we watched the swans and played with Luis in the reeds. He absolutely loved it! In the evenings we made a cosy fire, and after Luis' bedtime, mum and dad enjoyed the sauna (while keeping an eye on the baby phone through the sauna's window). Everything worked surprisingly well. Thus... Europe, here we come!
In December Luis met the first family members, apart from mum and dad. Florian's parents came to admire their third grandchild! This time even grandma Inge got onboard the long haul flight, to see the new addition to the Hertel clan. Proud grandpa Ludwig was also thrilled to meet him, since little Luis is his namesake and bears the Spanish version of his grandfather's name. It's been a great time for Luis – he received double the amount of hugs and kisses, as can be seen in the many pictures.
Inge and Ludwig also had to see something of Chile. We always love to take our guests into the colourful hills of Valparaíso, where the ocean breeze makes the summer heat a bit more bearable. In the pictures we are just stretching our legs in a typical Valparaiso art café. And, of course grandpa and grandma couldn't leave Chile without doing a wine tasting. Viña Casa del Bosque is one of our favourite places. They also serve a delicious lunch on their terrace. It goes without saying, that Luis, our gourmet of wine, commented on each barrel in the cellar. In his opinion one should use much more "gaga guga" and lay a bit low on "ui ui ii". Good to know Luis – we'll pass that on.
Hohoho! It's that time of year again! Our sixth Christmas in South America and we are still not accustomed to celebrating it in summer, with plastic tree and styrofoam snow. Still, nothing to complain since this time we had family over for the holiday season: Florian's parents and Anna's sister! Furthermore it was our first Christmas with little Luis! Santa Claus had a cool Hard Rock Cafe shirt for him and also brought some goodies for mum and dad.
A few days after Florians parents had left, my sister came to visit us. Again a double portion of love and cuddles for our little one!
On Christmas Eve Luis went on his first beach trip, together with his aunt, mum and dad. The weather was bleak, so we didn't bother about sun protection, until everybody got sunburnt - including Luis. He was red as a tomato! Lessons learned for mum and dad. Luis also showed his auntie all the cool places of Valparaíso, as only an insider can! And on the last day of her stay, we all went to the Mercado Central. In an unobserved moment, while we savoured some great Chilean seafood, Luis sneaked off with daddy's beer! Seems my milk has serious competition now ;-)
During my pregnancy I made some great new friends from around the globe. And how do you best find fellow future mamas in a city of 8 million people? Via Facebook! We met every week, and while our bellies grew to incredible dimensions, we ate chocolate... ;-) shared our experiences, and discussed those numerous cultural differences, that you come across, when living abroad. Look at those beautiful round bellies!!
A few months on and the pictures become crowded: our babies are born!
Playtime! Our cuties are about to discover the presence of their fellow playmates. Here we have little Annabelle, Luis, Ruby and Antonius. Luis looks like the oldest of the bunch, but that's just the effect of his mohawk hair and engineer-in-spe-outfit. Ruby is older and Antonius is bigger!
As a birthday gift for Luis, our good friend Amanda offered us a photo session with our little cutie. The best way to immortalise these special moments of us as a young family. Thanks Amanda, it was the best gift ever!
After so much hussle and bustle, Luis took a a well-deserved nap on his cosy lambskin...
Amanda:
"Was absolutely captivated by two month old baby Luis yesterday. With these gorgeously intense eyes he has a very direct and inquisitive stare. I just love his little mohawk too! Was a pleasure to photograph him and his beautiful mum!"