AK Monthly Recap: November-December 2023

I’ve been doing monthly recaps since I first set out to travel more than 13 years ago — but this is the first time ever I’ve ever missed a month. I pride myself on recapping every month without failure, so this one hurt!

That said, it was planned. Charlie and I scheduled our big South American honeymoon for November and December, and though we scheduled in two “work breaks” in Puerto Varas and Buenos Aires, I knew I would have to prioritize other work first.

So I hope you don’t mind you have this double recap — as well as the best of the year posts, which have been postponed to January. QUITE A LOT happened over the past two months.

Let’s take a look at our South American adventure!

Destinations Visited

• Prague, Czech Republic
• Santa Cruz, Palmilla, San Pedro de Atacama, Laguna Flamingos, Termas de Puritama, Socaire, Lagunas Altiplánicas, Piedras Rojas, Puerto Varas, Frutillar, Puerto Octay, Las Cascadas, Petrohue, Puerto Montt, Torres del Paine National Park, Lake Grey, Valparaíso, and Santiago, Chile
• El Calafate, Perito Moreno Glacier, El Chaltén, Buenos Aires, and Valle de Uco, Argentina
• Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
• Revere, Beverly, Salem, and Danvers, Massachusetts, USA
• Portsmouth and Salem, New Hampshire, USA

Highlights

Finally, it was honeymoon time! But because these are two months, let’s go in order:

I FINALLY got my Czech license! Third time was the charm! I did my third test, which was my final chance. If I failed, I would need to take driving school over again (which was NOT happening).

I did my test and I was pretty good. Not perfect — but good enough to pass. They gave me my paperwork and encouraged me to continue practicing driving manual with my husband, LOL.

I spent the first half of November home alone with the kitties while Charlie was away in Portugal. And while it seems like they love him more than me, they were SO clingy and loving, even both sleeping next to me at night.

When Charlie got back we had a special dinner at Kampa Park, one of the best restaurants in Prague, to celebrate me passing my driver’s test. It was lovely, start to finish, and a great spot if you want to splurge with a view of the Charles Bridge.

And then the honeymoon! We flew business class on KLM to Santiago (love the cheese, got…