Chile
Facts:-
Day 208 continued - Thursday 2nd February 2006 - arriving in Santiago
Some way after the international tunnel, down very steep and winding roads, we arrived at immigration (we had wondered what had happened to Argentinian immigration, but this complex housed the officials from both both countries). There was a long queue of traffic waiting to be processed and unfortunately we had to join the buses queue. It was a chaotic border crossing (especially given that it wasn't that busy!). Our driver tried to help us, but that only seemed to make everything more complpicated! But a little over an hour after arriving, we were speeding our way down an even steeper road, passing out-of-season ski lifts and heading further into Chile. We turned our watches back an hour and were soon stopping for a quick lunch of empanadas (once again using the wrong currency!)
Our route took us through endless miles of olive groves and vineyards, but Ian missed them all snoozing away!
Eventually, some 2 or 3 hours after our "scheduled" arrival time, we arrived in Santiago and took the metro to the Angamos hotel, tucked away in a back street, where we had pre-booked the cheapest double room we could find on the internet.
We had withdrawn some Chilean Pesos from a cashpoint, but still had some Argentinian ones to get rid of, so headed into the centre of town looking for a casa de cambio. That proved to be easy, so we enjoyed an enourmous ice cream in the sun in the plaza.
We walked up Cerro Santa Lucía and enjoyed a good view of the non-picturesque city. Then we checked that our Tahiti accommodation had been confirmed - it had :-) and booked ourselves our first night's accommodation in Auckland.
Back in the hotel, we drank some of our remaining Argentinian wine and watched most of the Bodyguard on TV. We had a filling pizza dinner, just around the corner, and were back in the hotel watching a bit of Premiership football before bed.
Day 209 - Friday 3rd February 2006 - on to Easter Island
We were up and out of the hotel before breakfast, leaving at 6:30am to get the metro back to the bus terminal. However, we only realised as we walked there that we had not checked the local time with anyone since arriving in Chile. As we came to more busy areas, we thought that there was too much activity for just after 6:30 in the morning. Sure enough when we reached the metro, our suspicions were confirmed it was already 7:45am. Now we were really late for our 9:30am flight!
Just to make matters worse, the airport bus didn't leave on time, but at least it made good progress to the airport, where we ran to thc check-in desks, arriving about 8:45am.
We spoke to a LAN Chile representative, explaining that we were very late, but he seemed unconcerned, telling us to stay at the back of the check-in line. Sure enough, we weren't the last to arrive and made it to the departure gate in plenty of time. We even had to wait for about 30 minutes as the flight departure was delayed.
On board, we didn't have seats together, but Ian managed to swap his seat so we did. We enjoyed LAN Chile's in flight entertainment for ages. It's amazing how interesting all it's options were after over 6 months with virtually no TV or computer games! Ian spent hours watching the Wallace and Grommit movie and then the Dukes of Hazzard before playing several of the games.
Our 5-hour flight arrived in Easter Island, seemingly after no time. Despite the number of time zones we had crossed, it was now only 1pm local time, which meant that the hottest part of our days here would be well into the afternoon!
At the airport, lots of people were met on the tarmac, many with garland wreaths. But no such welcome for us - as usual, we had decided to try and find some accommodation when we arrived. Sure enough in the arrivals lounge, there were several owners of small hostels and pensions offereing places to stay. After some previous on-line research, we had expected most of our options to be expensive and we weren't disappointed! Fortunately, we did find a double room with private bathroom for $15,000 Pesos (about $29), which seemed too good to turn down.
We even had a transfer from the airport thrown in too. Although this simply involved jumping in the back of a pick-up with 5 others staying at Residencial Apina Tupuna, sitting on our backpacks and holding on for the short ride.
We soon headed out to explore the small (and only) town on the island, Hanga Roa. As there were no street signs, even after wandering around, we still weren't sure we had found the main street - it turned out that we had - most shops were shut for most of the afternoon, even the supermarket was closed for 3 1/2 hours at lunch!
After asking in a couple of shops for some tourist information, we finally found the official information office. It was now 5:15pm on a Friday and we saw that it had closed at 5pm, not to open again until Monday morning. Great! So we were still none the wiser on details of the Tapati Festival that was taking place.
However, just a little along the coast from our first moai (the statues for which Easter Island is famous) sighting and some dive shops we saw a large stage, clearly set up for the festival, where a few bands were rehearsing. Also nearby, were representatives of the various "tribes". Some were carving small moai. Others were beating out a piece of leather with a wooden baton and others still were carving ornate wooden paddle. Many of the craftspeople were in traditional dress and had attraccted quite a crowd of tourist onlookers. We didn't really know what was going on, but later found out that the whole point of the festival was to elect a Tapati Queen. Each tribe nominates their candidate and participates in various activities (of which these traditional crafts were some) to earn points for her.
We wandered a little further north of town to a group of Moai standing by the shore on a Ahu (rock altar). There were two other solitary moai within a couple of hundred metres, one with white inset eyes.
Back in our room, we rested for a short while and then went out to check out the supermarket for dinner supplies (a peek at the menus of a few restaurants showed us we would really blow our budget by dining out too often here!). The choice in the supermarket was limited and expensive. So tuna pasta it was, suplemented by some very expensive green peppers ($700 Pesos, about $1.40 each) and onions from the farmers market opposite. However, we made a good meal from it and washed it down with a litre of Gato Negro red wine from a carton.
Now after nightfall, we wandered back down to town to see what the festival had to offer tonight. Unsurprisingly, it was very busy and all the seats in front of the stage had been taken, so we stood behind them. The first offerings were some solo singers with guitars, which went on, and on, and on... Then there were some groups singing. All this was interspersed with the MCs thanking all the festival sponsors in both Spanish and Rapa Nui, which took ages! By now we were vey tired and as nothing seemed particulalry exciting we made our way home.
Day 210 - Saturday 4th February 2006 - Orongo, Easter Island
We managed a bit of a lie-in before a rather disappointing breakfast on one small bread roll and some jam. We planned to walk to Orongo, the centre of the post-Moai bird-man religion and by the time we got going it was clearly going to be a very hot day.
We had bought oursleves a trekking map of the island, but in any case, there turned out to be a marked trail running right from our hostel to Orongo with several marked points of interest. This trail first took us along the coast to a small harbour with a Moai standing over it. We knew whilst doing this walk that there were a series of boat races taking place as part of the festival. Here, we saw one boat practising. But no sooner had we seen them and turned away to continue walking than we heard cries of alarm and a splash as the boat capsized!
The trail we took didn't seem to correspond closely to our trekking map, but the way-marker arrows were just about frequent enough for us to follow and we were soon making our way through some gardens and then up a wooded and then grassy hill. At the top, we were rewarded with a good view into the crater of Rano Kau volcano. We continued around the crater rim to a ranger station, where we paid our entry fee to the Parque Nacional Rapa Nui and received a pamphlet detailing interesting features along a short walk aroung Orongo. Unfortunately the pamphlet was only in Spanish, but Nikki translated most of it well enough. There were remains of various dwellings and the original site of a moai (now in the British Museum), but most impressive were the petroglyphs carved on a few rocks near the cliff edge and the view down to a couple of offshore islands (Motu Nui and Motu Iti).
Ian also wanted to see the crater from the far edge, so we took a long way back down. We walked for quite some while before picking up another track. Even then we couldn't see the crater at all, so Ian took a short walk off the track, finding the crater almost immediately. But Nikki had continued on and now Ian coudn't find her... After 5-10 minutes of looking he recognised Nikki - making out her black vest top in the distance, by now also sitting on the crater's edge. But, of course, it turned out to be someone else entirely! Fortunaltely, as he headed back the way he had come he did see Nikki, just a few yards from where he had reached the crater and as he had been walking around for over half an hour now, was grateful for some of the water that Nikki was carrying.
It was still a long walk back home, but we made it in time for a late lunch of empanadas and yoghurts and for Ian to hand wash most of our clothes. That evening, we had planned to eat there (the kebabs on sale looked great). But, obviously, as it was Saturday, there were no events - we could only guess that everyone had to be up bright and early in the morning for the next event on the schedule - church. So we decided to splash out on a restaurant meal. We went to Jardin de Mau, where Nikki had a tasty pineapple chicken dish, but Ian was disappointed with his recommended fish dish. And the beers were ridiculously expensive! We thought it was unlikely we'd be eating out again on Easter Island!
Day 211 - Sunday 5th February 2006 - cycling to Rano Raraku, Easter Island
We had arranged to pick up a couple of bikes at 9am from a shop that normally wasn't open on a Sunday, so we had to make sure we were not too late. These were the cheapest bikes we could find (5000 Pesos, about $9.50 each) and showed why in their condition - especially Ian's which only had 5 of its 15 gears in working order.
We picked up some more empanadas and headed off along the road to the south coast. After a few miles of uphill, it was steep downhill to the coasts. This was really appreciated as the day was already really hot. But we were worried about the return leg!
We stopped a few times along the coast - basically wherever we saw vans of tourists stopping and were rewarded with views of Moai in various states of repair (no Moai at all have survived intact and upstanding - all those now standing have been repositioned recently). At one such place there was a whole row of 7 or 8 Moai, all face down having been toppled. Here there was also a cave, apparently with roof paintings, but we didn't have our torches with us to check them out.
We had quite a lot more cycling ahead of us before we recognised the Rano Raraku volcano. this is where almost all the Moai were carved and from where they were transported to be erected one their Ahus. Of course, many of the Moai never made it to their Ahu - hundreds never even left the quarry and that was where we were headed for a look.
We had a quick look around before lunch, seeing that there were fallen and "walking" Moai all around, before eating lunch and heading down to the ranger station. But as it was Sunday the ranger station was closed and there was nowhere to get drinking water (at least not for less than 1000 Pesos - about $1.90 - for a half litre, which was at least 4 times what it should have been). So we would have to conserve our final litre well!
We continued looking around Rano Raraku, heading up to the crater's rim. Ian headed down into the crater for a close-up of some of the Moai half (or more) buried down there, while Nikki rested on top. Finally we looked at a few more Moai - many of these were still firmly fixed to the mountain. These included the 2 largest Moai (at up to 21m tall, they are more than twice the height of any Moai sucessfully erected!)
From the quarry we cycled a short way down to the coast at Tongariki, where there is an Ahu with 15 Moai stood in a row. It was certainly picturesque.
In the absence of enough water, we gave our legs some power with some energy sweets. This seemed to do the trick, as Nikki sped off pretty much all the way along the south coast without stopping. But the big hill we had whizzed down in the morning was too much. We both needed to stop a couple of times to rest and drink the last of our water. Just past the top, Ian went to try and get a closer look at some more Moai. After taking the wrong path and fighting through some very tall grass for a while, he made it to a rock, from where he could see that the Moai actually seemed to be modern replicas (and still some way off), so he headed back.
It was all downhill from here and we were soon back at our Residencial, where we each drank at least two litres of water straight away. One guy saw how thirsty we were and even gave us some of his chilled water from the freezer :-) It had been such a hot day, we both had a few sunburnt areas, so we relaxed in the shade and chatted to Sally and Rob (from Sheffield). They even shared their top-viewing tip for the festival - on top of the toilet block. We would have to try that out later!
We drank the last of our wine from Mendoza and then headed out down to the festival. Nikki saved our places on top of the toilet block (it was actually really pleasant - the concrete roof was at road level and retained the heat from the sun well, whilst the toilet entraces were below us, so we could dangle our feet over the edge - all that and a view of the stage!) and Ian went in search of the best kebab deal available. We shared a couple of kebabs and a beer while watching some large dance groups - mainly children and then teenagers. One boy, who must have been "large" for his age, was dancing with the "children" and thoroughly enjoying himslef, parading around in front of everyone dressed in only a thong and some body paint - it also kept the crowd amused!
Sally and Rob joined us a little later and we chatted while eating their biscuits and watching, bemusedly, as the potential festival queens introduced themselves. Apparently each candidate was wearing a skirt that had been specially made for her for the festival by the women of her "tribe". In order to show off the skill of the crafstpeople who had made the skirt, each candidate took of their skirt and paraded it around the front of the stage so the audience could get a good view. But we suspect that most of the men were simply focusing on the bikini-clad girl holding the skirt instead!
A little later, there was another dance troupe. This time mostly of older men. They performed several dances, including a "haka"-like display. The evening seemd to wind down, so we headed home, but shortly afterwards, we heard the music pick up again, so we must have missed somthing else.
Day 212 - Monday 6th February 2006 - diving, Easter Island
We had checked out the dive shops in Hanga Roa a few days earlier and decided to do a dive in the bay with Orca Diving Centre. By 11am we were getting suited up. Then it was only 5 minutes in a small boat before we were dropped off at "the Wall".
There were only 4 divers with Christian, our dive leader, and as soon as we started descending, we could see that the visibility was great. We saw lots of trumpet fish and trunk fish and a few eels, although as usual, they were all hiding in little rocky crooks and crevices. We enjoyed over 40 minutes under the waves, and it was difficult to decide whether to dive here again (it would obviously be way over our budget). We were keen to dive and see the submerged Moai, until we were told it was a fibreglass replica, and we ended up deciding one dive at Easter Island was enough.
So, after all that serious activity and a few more empanadas for lunch, we snoozed the afternoon away in our room.
In an attempt to stick somewhere near budget, we ate tuna pasta again for dinner - but given the (poor) quality and (high) price of the fresh vegetables, even after the latest ship had docked and been unlaoded - only with a little veg.
We chatted some more to Sally and Rob by candle-light - the power had failed - over chocolate ice cream - what a treat! and red wine
Day 213 - Tuesday 7th February 2006 - walking to the Seven Moai, Easter Island
We wanted to visit the museum in Hanga Roa so, after breakfast, followed the signs from the centre of town. The route was longer than seemed necessary, but the museum was full of information. All the exhibiits and explanatory panels were in Spanish, but we were given a booklet giving us a full English translation.
We learnt lots about the history and culture of Rapa Nui, although some of the displays repeated some of what we had read from the souvenir book we had purchased a couple of days earlier. An hour was long enough for us, which as it happened coincided with the museum being closed for lunch.
We wanted to walk to an Ahu with seven Moai on (known as the Siete Moais or "Seven Moai"!), but our trekking map didn't provide us with enough detail to work oout exactly where we were in relation to the trail we wanted to follow. Unfortunately the assistant in the museum was of little help either. In any case, we set off along a road that seemed to be in roughly the right direction.
We were encouraged by the fact that the road at least had some traffic on it, so it probably went somewhere! However, after a while it turned back out towards the sea, and as we wanted to be a short distance inland we took a smaller track to the left. This track soon seemed to finish in a small field where some cows were grazing, but as we wandered further, saw that a trail did indeed head on. By now, we were pretty sure we weren't on the trail we had wanted to be on, but we would estimate where we were from the small hills around us and continued on. After an hour or so, we reached a wider track, which we followed for a few hundred metres, before heading off up an uphill track (it turned out we should have simply continued on here!). Unfortunately the path we were now on continued to take us towards the coast, so we turned inland and up (and up and up!). Eventually we were high enough to get a great view of Hanga Roa bay and tried to work out where we were in relation to the Seven Moais.
It was well past time for lunch, so we tucked into the left overs from last night's tuna pasta, while enjoying the view. Now, having (at least we hoped) found our bearings, we headed along a small farm track, eventually onto the main track down the mountain. However, we still couldn't see the Seven Moai. Eventually, however, they came into view. After taking the obligatory photos and resting for a while, we headed back home. It was hot and we were tired, but we still had a long walk ahead of us. Now, we knew which route to take, so with almost no wrong turns, arrived back in Hanga Roa after a couple of hours with sore feet. We stopped for a swim near town in one of the semi-natural swimming areas. But the swell of the ocean was far too much to actually allow swimming and Nikki managed to stand on something that stuck into her foot (maybe an urchin), so we just soaked our feet for a while before heading back.
Once back, Ian went in search of a quad bike to hire for the following day (we had enquired about prices earlier in the day). After a couple of attempts and a visit to the bank (with a different cash card - our trusty Nationwide cards had not been accepted by the only cashpoint on Easter Island and we were in danger of paying a 10% surcharge for using our credit cards instead!), he sucessfully booked one.
We wanted to go back to the Moai just north of Hanga Roa (Tahai) to view sunset, so Nikki headed there with the camera. However, Ian had to collect the quad bike (we wanted to make an early start in the morning) and joined her just as the sun was finally dipping behind the Moai. Unfotunately there was probably too much cloud for great sunset photos, but we enjoyed some wine with the view anyway.
We returned to our usual spot on top of the toilets for more kebabs and another evening's entertainment at the Tapati festival. Tonight we were treated to some more dancing, but mostly some plays telling traditional stories of Rapa Nui creation and other events.
Day 214 - Wednesday 8th February 2006 - Quad-biking around Easter Island and on to Tahiti
We were up at 6:30am and clambering onto the quad bike in the dark and cold, wearing shorts, sandals and (to keep warm) our waterproof jackets. We both enjoyed "razzing" along the dark and quiet roads back out to Tongariki (where the 15 Moai stand in a row), where we waited (with a small crowd of other tourists) for sunrise.
It was still somewhat cloudy, but the sun was soon on the horizon behind the Moai and we were snapping away with our little camera and tripod. We stayed there watching the sun rise for about an hour, probably seeing the best colours about 20 minutes after sunrise, with light defracting through the layers of cloud producing pretty red and pink hues.
We returned to our Residencial and climbed back into bed to get warm! We fell asleep and awoke only an hour later, ate breakfast and then had to pack our bags and vacate our room. We were able to leave our backpacks in the Residencial and were soon back on the quad-bike heading across the island to Anakena. Once again the roads were mostly traffic free and we enjoyed the ride over the best beach on the island. However, one of the best features of the beach, once again was the Moai. There were a couple of Ahus and several Moai with pukoas (hats) just a 100m or so from the shore.
We then settled down on the stunning white sandy beach for some serious sunbathing. From time to time we popped into the clear blue sea to cool off - and even for a bit of a swim. Later on, we tucked into some picnic sandwiches (unfortunately for Ian it must have been a "bad empanada day" as neither of the bakeries in town had any :-(
We had to leave the beach by 5pm at which time (given the strange mismatch between the time and how high the sun was, given the distance across the Pacific) the sun was still really strong. Nikki drove all the way back to Hanga Roa, where we showered, ate tuna pasta (again!) and then loaded the backpacks onto the racks of the front and back of the quad-bike and headed to the airport.
Arriving at the airport by quad-bike was certainly a first for us, we wish we had taken a photo! Ian left Nikki there, checking the bags in, while returning the quad-bike (quite difficult, as the shop we hired it from was completely locked and shuttered up!) But he was soon back at the airport - it was only a 20 minute walk.
Once through immigration, Easter Island airpoort was like no other airpoirt we have seen. We followed several others out into a small garden and waited for our flight sitting on the grass under a palm tree!
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