Having grown up in Northern Labrador, my family would spend most of the summer at our summer cabin, while Dad fished the seasonal wild Atlantic salmon. Summer cabin meant no lights, no running water and days in boat checking the fishing nets. It also meant helping Mom wash clothes by hand with a scrubbing board and hand wringer.

Why am I telling you this, because for the last few days I have been without a working washing machine. This means washing clothes for five by hand and ringing out the water also by hand.

I am so glad that during the last visit to Canada, my Mom gave me the gift of a small scrubbing board.

You may be wondering why in this day and age I am washing by hand and not getting the current machine repaired or replaced.

If you have ever visited Chile or know anything of life here, you know continuous paved roads run from the north of Chile to about half way down to Puerto Montt.

After this is a mix of ferries and dirt and sometimes paved roads. The prices of goods here in the South are much much higher than in the North due to the trucks need to use this combination to get to where my family live.

In Coyhaique, the capital of this region, things are not quite as expensive as here in my community. So my next trip to Coyhaique will be to buy a new machine.