Fly Fishing in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho 2016

Visiting our friends and family this past July and August also allowed me to spend time fly fishing in some beautiful parts of the Pacific Northwest.

Fly fishing is a great approach to travel and an outdoor-centric life because you can cast a fly to some type of fish just about any place that has water. Our trip to the States provided an opportunity for me to visit me some of my favorite waters and to discover some new ones, including a gorgeous stretch of the South Fork of the Snoqualmie that can be scrambled down to during a nasty I-90 traffic jam.

Last year I got in a lot of Salmon fishing, but this year I got into some species missing from my last visit, like the sea run cutthroat, alpine lakes brook trout, and the common carp.

I also encountered a fish I haven't caught with fly rod before, the catfish.

Some familiar Northwest characters like the small mouth bass and rainbow trout.

Ben on Idaho's Teton river.

Eastern Washington Common Carp

Even Kristi spent a few hours casting a fly. 

Central Oregon Landscape

Surprise Lake Brook Trout

Desert Lakes camping in Eastern Washington

Southern Oregon Rainbow

Ben catches (and imitates) a Snake River system common carp

Eastern Washington Landscape

Our neighborhood from above!

This video was shot by our friend Kevin. Check his work out at: KO Productions



Mahboula Block 1 from KO Productions on Vimeo.

Washington, Oregon, and Idaho 2016

We got to spend 6 glorious weeks in the Pacific Northwest before our big move to Kuwait.  We saw lots of family and friends, drank a lot of beer, ate a lot of food, and spent time outside enjoying our beautiful home. 

We started our summer with a trip to Sequim, WA to reunite with a group of friends from Paraguay. 

We did some hiking, ate some great food and held an international beer tasting.

We then took a camping trip to Eastern Washington to the Quincy Lakes Wildlife Refuge. We also drove to Central and Southern Oregon for some time with Jenn, Danny, and Sophia, and Kristi's family. 

To celebrate our 4th anniversary, we took a backpacking trip to Surprise Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.  The weather was perfect, with plenty of ripe huckleberries.

We went to a Sounders game while in Seattle and watched them lose to the LA Galaxy.  This has been a bit of a rough season, but the crowd was no less supportive or energetic than if we had been winning.

Our final stop before our flight to Kuwait was a family trip to Idaho to see Matt's cousin Scott get married.  We hiked, fished, and spent a lot of time catching up with family.

Year 3 in Photos

Our third year in Paraguay was a great one. We are excited to move on to our next adventure, but will always have fond memories of the strange, isolated, and beautiful place that is Paraguay.

The number one word used to describe Paraguay is Tranquilo - often there is just not much going on. We found lots of ways to occupy ourselves, but hanging out in the backyard by the grill and the pool was always an easy, enjoyable option. 

We also loved getting out of the city and found kayaking Paraguay's many rivers to be another great pastime. The rivers are the original highways of Paraguay and getting in a boat is a great way to enjoy fishing, see wildlife and experience parts of the countryside that are otherwise inaccessible. 

Rio Ypané, Paraguay

Ben paddling the Rio Paraguay near Conceptión, Paraguay

Kristi works some magic in our kitchen. Cooking was another enjoyable pastime that kept us occupied when living in South America. A very limited national palette was further incentive to take on new cooking projects.

Baking Chipa (a traditional Paraguayan Bread) in our brick oven called a Tatakua ("fire hole" in Guaraní). We also figured out how to use it for smoking fish and pork.

When eating local food, lomito (Arabe pictured above, or sandwich) is a great unhealthy option.

Korean is another delicious option for eating out in Asunción.

Local fish dishes, like this piranha soup, are another good culinary option in Paraguay.

Finding good beer is another challenge to living in South America. Fortunately, craft beer is quickly becoming more popular. Left: two of Paraguay's better artisanal beers Herken Pale Ale and Sajonia Pale Ale. Right: imported beers are also showing up. This Lagunitas IPA was Kristi's birthday miracle we stumbled across at Ninjas con Apetito in Asunción.

 

We also took two trips to Brazil this past year, which among other things involved visiting lots of nice beaches, like this one in Florianópolis.

Or this one near Salvador

Old Salvador

 Kristi Swimming in Parque Chapada Diamantina.

River scene, northern Patagonia

Pet coati Ben met while camping with a fishing family on the Paraguay River

 Poolside at hotel Altagracia in Caacupé

 Ilha do Campeche, Brazil

Driving the Paraguayan back roads in our tiny Toyata Vitz is something I will not miss. We were able to go a surprising number of places, but would have much better off if we could have afforded a car with more clearance. 

 Capybaras, the world's largest (cutest?) rodent

 Cows

Foz do Iquazu

 Road side vegetable stand near San Estanislao, Paraguay

 Kristi with our small friend Juniper

Exploring the Paraguayan Chaco

 Camping on the Rio Aquidabán

 Road side scene ruta 9

Dorado flies, Paraña River

 Rural scene in northern Patagonia

Peccary for sale in the Paraguyan Chaco (also the reason wildlife is rarely encountered).

 River scene, Paraguay River near Asunción.

 Esteros del Iberá, Argentina

Rural Scene, Ayolas, Paraguay

  Flooded cattle ranch in the Chaco Paraguay