A tall Virgin, vomit spatulas and ice creams

Last entry before we head for home. Been having some really good days seeing more of Santiago. The sun has been out, and we are getting a nice tan to boot!

On Monday, we went to the Providenica district and hob-nobbed with the rich and wanna-be rich; had a look at some of the designer stores and didn't buy a thing! After that we went to ride the cable car to the summit of Cerro San Cristobal, and discovered it was closed for repairs. Not to be deterred, we walked it. Hard long walk, but great views from the top under a 14m high statue of the Virgin Mary. The funicular that taks you down was also closed, so a long walk back down too! Needed 'doble' helados (ice creams) that night.



Yesterday, we went to the world class Museo Chileno des Artes Pre-Colombino with many interesting and ancient displays. Our favorites were the long wooden spatulas used to induce vomitting by the shamans before they took hallucinogenic drugs (better on an empty stomach!), the death ritual displays and wooden statues from southern Chile (that look very much like some of the Easter Island statues...). Then we got a train and a bus to the outskirts of town to see the Parque por la Paz (Park for Peace) which is at the site of the Villa Grimaldi where several thousand people were tortured, and 266 executed, under the Pinochet regime in the 1970's. A powerful, but disturbing place to visit. It is off the usual tourist trail, which is a shame.



Today (our last day) we are going to visit the Museo Historico Nacional and do a bit more of the coffee/cake thing we do so enjoy. We'll quite possibly fit in another helado or two as well. Our flight leaves tonight!

Valparaiso .... ahhh Valparaiso

We had a great time in Valparaiso. The bed and breakfast we stayed in (The Yellow House - in the top left of the above picture) was wonderful, and the hosts were so nice. However, Valparaiso has a lot of unsafe areas, and there have been many muggings and violent crimes. Despite its cute and colorful appearance, it is a poor city on the whole, and we felt quite unsafe in most of the city, and had to avoid many of the areas. This was unusual for us, as we don't usually feel unsafe even in places which are reported to be dangerous. The vibe was quite different in Valparaiso, and it was disconcerting because of the colorful, cheerful looking buildings, and the strange fact that the higher you go up the hills, the poorer and more dangerous it got - strange as in most cities the areas with the better views are the more expensive. At some points, you could see groups of gangs waiting for the next tourist or rich person. We had to keep our eyes open!

On our second day, we took what ended up to be a private walking tour of the city with a friend of the bed and breakfast owners, which was great. We got to go into areas and houses we would not have been able to. This included accessing some of the old buildings which are now empty and gradually crumbling, that have carved doors, ornate ceilings and curling staircases of hardwood. The city had a big surge of foreign interest and capital in the late 1800's and early 1900's, when it served as a major port for South America, with an influx of German, British, American and Italian money and people. Grand houses and funiculars to access them were built. Then the Panama Canal opened, the area tanked, foreign investement disappeared, and Valparaiso has never recovered.

But the city is colorful and full of life. Another thing we really liked was some of the great street art and graffiti.

On our last day there, we got the train to the next door city - Vina del Mar - what a difference! Here was cafes and boutique shops and palm trees and beaches. How the other half live!

Although we enjoyed Vina del Mar, it was quite the same as many other places. We definitely had a unique experience in Valparaiso. We left feeling a bit sad for Valparaiso - it seems like it has such potential, but is stuck in poverty and has an uncertain future. But a great place to visit.

We are now back in Santiago, enjoying the city (and the safety!). More later!!

Volcanoes, hot springs, and 42 hills

Pucon was lovely. You can tell it's pretty much there for tourism... lots of expensive boutiques, cafes, and restaurants... but sometimes that is just what the doctor ordered, and it is in the most beautiful setting. The town is right on a large lake and there is a beautiful snow capped volcano looming over the other side of town. It's very green with mountains all around. The perfect spot to relax, take a nice stroll, sit on the lake shore, and drink lots of nice coffees.

Pucon is known for adventure sports... kayaking, rafting, zip-lining etc. We did none of these. Pucon is also known for a number of nearby hotsprings. Picture five natural stone pools of varying temperatures set alongside a river... sound of water rushing by... stars overhead... so peaceful... oh, yes, this we did.

We also tried yerba mate while in Pucon. This is a strong tea like beverage that you drink from a gourd while it's still very hot. It is quite bitter. You drink the whole cup through a special straw and then pass to the next person and the cup is refilled. Andy was less than enthused about the flavor... Evan thought it was great.

After another night bus back up north, we write from a city called Valparaiso. It sits on the coast about an hour and a half west of Santiago. It is known for being a city built on 42 hills. It is also famous for its very colorful houses and the ramshackle funiculars that ferry people up and down the hills. These things combined make it unique enough to be classed a UNESCO world heritage site.

We arrived this morning and checked into our lovely and friendly B&B... they served us breakfast and briefed us on the city. We were warned to be cautious as all the old architecture makes for alot of dark alleyways and staircases where muggings occur. Following our hosts clear guidelines, we explored this unique city without incident.

In keeping costs low, we have often been shopping and eating at supermarkets. The supermarkets in Valparaiso have a unique way of using shopping baskets - here is the method modelled by granny A.

The best bus ride ever ... to Pucon

New life motto - If you have a choice between semi and full cama, always go for the full.

Feet first on the freeway/motorway is a more relaxing experience than is possible to imagine.
Here is a picture of Andy going full cama for the first time:




There were 9 of us in this luxury position (!) - it felt quite like I imagine flying first class on a plane would, as all the other passengers were looking in and trying to see who was doing the full. Even looking through the windows (we pulled the curtains closed naturally!). The one embarassing moment was when the conductor came around with chilled bottles of juice - Andy went for the pineapple, but had to give it back when he was asked to pay for it! Could almost see all the other full cama passengers nodding their heads and smiling at this new upstart in the full cama aisle....

Anyway, now we are in Pucon (though still not sure how to say it - Pu-son, Pu-con, Puke-on....) and it is really lovely - and we shall be going to explore the lake and the beach and the volcano and the hotsprings and the coffee shops ......... and relaxing ... aahhhh.

Lots of new photos added to the last few entries too!!

Back in Chile preparing for the full cama

Interestingly enough, this is being written in a food court in a mall in Santiago while we sip on Burger King sodas waiting for the 4:50pm showing of Rescate de Metro 123 (The Chilean version of the Taking of Pelham 123) ...... What happened????

Well, we got back into Santiago this morning from Argentina, and are killing some time before our night bus to southern Chile - we knew we wanted to go south for a while, but wasn't sure where - in the end we decided on the lake district region and are heading for Pucon. The only tickets left on the bus were the expensive ones (we couldn't buy tickets in Argentina) so we got those - however, the seats go pretty flat (it's a "full cama" versus our regular "semi-cama" so you can see we have splashed out) - I for one am very curious as to how it is going to feel to be doing 100km in a bus on a freeway at night flat out feet first!!! Another new experience!!

We had a great time in B.A. as we now call it.

Tango show was very good;

Evita museum also good; went to see her grave and many others in the fascinating Recoletta cemetry - we'll post some pictures soon - above ground mausoleums "city of the dead" and lots of old coffins and creepy old statues and the like.

Explored different neighborhoods, and liked San Telmo the best - got to visit there on Sunday morning for the crazy packed market.

We went to a huge city park on the water that was originally landfill for more construction but because of political disagreements, the area ended up going back to nature and so now is this cool urban park full of wildlife. Very nice.

Long bus ride back across Argentina and through the Andes this morning. Took a chance we could actually get bus tickets (which we did - hence the full cama tonight). We have been "treated" to endless movies on the buses - most of them pretty good ones like The Changeling and Doubt, but there have been some real crappy ones and also some possibly decent ones that are completely dubbed in Spanish with random Hollywood stars in them - strange one early this morning with Sally Field! You never know who will crop up next!. Unfortunately we have not yet had the luck of getting one of the buses showing Beverly Hills Chihuahua, so still don't know how that one ended .... did the chihuahuas escape from the underground cavern? Did they get renunited with their owners? Does anyone else care????

OK time for our movie (it's not all nose to the road hard travelling you know!) and then off to Pucon and it's lake and its volcano.
Until next time - with complete "full cama" details.

Viva Buenos Aires!

All went as planned, so this entry is, in fact, being written in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bus journey here took about 20 hours, but, you know what? It wasn't bad at all. Greyhound and National Express need to take a few pages out of the South American handbook to bus travel; we were served food and drinks and had movies to watch, and the seats were more comfortable than any airline seats we've experienced. It was very cool to go through immigration at the top of the Andes. The views were spectacular.

We got a hotel deal on Expedia and are right smack in the middle of it all for a very good price... the hotel is "4 stars" but aging... not so well... was probably very glam in the 60's, but it is nice enough and the location is brilliant.

We arrived this morning and spent most the day wandering around; highlights include: balcony of Casa Rosada (Evita balcony), Palicio del Congreso, and coffee at Cafe Tortoni (most famous and historic cafe in the city).

We gatecrashed an art gallery showing tonight and helped ourselves to free glasses of cava and red wine... nice, though were a bit nervous we'd be approached for an interview by the tv reporter; were practicing what we'd say: "Si, muy bueno, muy bueno" was the extent of it.

It really is a fantastic city.. very comparable to London or Barcelona.
Quite got into the whole Evita thing, so tomorow we are going to the Evita Museum and to find her grave. Plan to go to a tango show in the evening.

Hasta luego.

C-C-C-Changes .... and a slightly crazy plan B

We have spent the last three days exploring La Serena and it's surrounding countryside. At the moment, the desert is in bloom, a rare event (every few years) that only occurs when there is sufficient winter rainfall ... this year there was, so we've been treated to all kinds of desert flowers on our explorations.

We spent a day at, getting to and getting back from the penguin reserve at Isla Damas and Isla Choros. Saw many penguins!!! as well as dolphins, sealions, pelicans, albatrosses and commorants on our boat trip around the islands. Very nice.

The next day we spent exploring La Serena more and making some big changes to our plans .... more on that in a moment.

Today we went out into the Elqui Valley, and toured little Andean villages, went to a pisco winery, saw Gabriela Mistral's house (nobel prize winner) and drove through the valley - which is renowned for it's magnetic forces and healing energy and suposedly UFO sightings ......

And now for some news. Unfortunately the chinchilla project has not worked out - a disappointment but in the end for the best. The situation got very strange and we had little/no support. It got to sound a bit dangerous actually as it was sort of up to us to get out to this very isolated spot in the middle of no-where .... anyway long story short, it has sort of collapsed. A shame, but time for a plan B. So what should we do with the extra time we now have? Towards the end of our time here we have planned to head to more southern Chile and the coast, so we didn't want to go there yet. Sowhat should we do with these extra days??? ...... well, what else could we do???? but go on a long distance bus across the Andes to Argentina and Buenos Aires for a few days!!!! Bet you didn't expect that!! We leave tonight on the night bus to Santiago, and catch the morning bus to Buenos Aires which crosses the Andes!!! How fab!!! So, hopefully if this slightly crazy scheme works out, our next blog should be from the other side of the continent!!!! Pretty good plan B, eh?

Wish us luck!!!!!

Goodbye Rapa Nui, Hello La Serena

First of all, be sure to view the photos recently added to the last few blog entries.

Yesterday was our final day on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). We had one last walk along the sea front and said goodbye to the first Moai we saw when we arrived. Our host at Te Ora, Sharon, performed a lovely gesture by giving each of us who was leaving a necklace with a shell attached; this is to bring you home safely. If we ever return to Rapa Nui, we are to return the shell to the beach. Attached to the shell is a feather; this is to ensure a safe flight. It was really special for Sharon to include us in a Rapa Nui tradition. Quite emotional, actually.

After returning to Santiago, we checked back in to Hostal Rio Amazonas and went out for a meal at patio Bella Vista; this is a nice big courtyard surrounded by various restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops... may have mentioned it before... lovely.

We write this blog from La Serena. The bus journey here took about 6 hours (2 hours shorter than we thought) and actually went fairly quickly. The bus was very comfortable and the conductor professional and attentive. The countryside views were beautiful and varying. Some desert-like terrain with cactus plants, many hills, mountains, beaches, and ocean views... nice ride all in all. La Serena runs at a much slower pace than Santiago. It has lovely colonial architecture and an attractive center plaza. Our Hostal is called El Punto and is an adobe like building arround a couple of courtyards and patios. It is very attractive. We spent the evening wandering around the center of town with its shops and cafes; yes we did sit down and have a nice coffee.

Tomorrow we are booked to go on a tour to the Humboldt Penguin Reserve; this is dependent on weather, so we shall see. This is the first day we have not had wine in Chile. That is a part of the culture we have no problem adapting to. We are going to try to fit in a short trip to wine country at some point because, as stated, this part of Chilean culture suits us quite well.

Aaah - it's all about Easter Island

Today's entry is dedicated to a dear friend and companion - Smoke - we will miss you.

Boy oh boy .... since out last installment we have been busy with all things Easter Island. The 09-09-09 day - we woke to absolute pissing down torrential rain. Sat around for an hour or two, and then thought F it, and got on our rain gear and headed off as planned to do the hike up the volcano to the Orongo village and center of the birdman cult - where each year different tribes would send their hot-shot tough dude to swim out to an island through shark infested waters to get and bring back the first sooty tern egg of the year. Which ever tribe got the egg basically called the shots for the whole year. Anyway ... it was a great hike, we got completely soaked and got to view all the sites alone .... well actually the area was closed (may be why it was deserted...), but we thought as we had hiked through a rainstorm that the rules didn't really apply ... The best part was the inside of the crater - full of vegetation and a riot of color - spectacular - neither of us had ever seen anything like it before. On our return spent the rest of the evening drying out ... Great day to turn 40!!! Brilliant.

Today ... gorgeous weather - hiked out to several sites - 8 hours worth of hiking to the top knot quarry (where the huge red headdressed that many of the moai (statues) have were carved), to an ahu with the famous Inca walls (leading to much speculation about whether the Easter Islanders had sailed to Peru or vice versa), and to a great site called Ahu Akivi with seven moai facing out towards the ocean. Ate our lunch here, then long hike back to the coast and down past more statues and platforms into town. It was about a 24km hike (?10+ miles) and really good (if a bit on the tiring side). A couple of miles were added in due to the fact that our take on a path was "dirty muddy little side track thing" and the map's take was apparently "main road back into town". Our reward was sitting at a coastal cafe drinking cafe con leches and eating home made ice cream (pear flavor!!!!) with another moai or two looking on.

Tomorrow we leave for Santiago for the night and then get a long distance bus to La Serena, an old colonial town in Northern Chile where we'll be for four days, and where we'll hopefully get to see the penguin colony!!!

We are having a great time - getting quite used to our nightly bottle of wonderfully cheap Chilean red wine looking at the stars above - quite different from what we're used to seeing.
As they say here, "Ciao" for now.

09-09-09

"There's so much magic in this day - I want to shout it out, I want to laugh out loud, I want to shout it out" (Donna Lewis)

4..0..

Aha!

Ahu, Moai, and Hotu Matua

So the tour of the island was brilliant! Our guide, Sabrina, was lovely and had loads of knowledge about the sites and island history. She was familiar with all the theories around the history of different places and also offered her own thoeries (these usually seemed more plausible than those put forth by the "experts").

Our first stop on the tour was an unrestored ahu (platform) called Ahu Hanga Tee. Part of the islands history involves a civil war and the toppling of each of the two tribes moai (statues), so this is one of those toppled and not put to right again. It's really good to see the moai both ways as it gives a clearer picture of the history. Our second site was similar in its history and was called Ahu One Makihi.



Next was a truly spectacular site. 15 Restored Moai stood on their platform side by side at Ahu Tongariki. Great photo opportunities here. From this site, if you look inland, you can see the quarry where 95% of the moai were carved. Many can be seen in their partially finished state... a hillside of human carved stone... it is amazing to wonder how they moved them from the quarry to their various places on the island.

We went to the quarry itself next. We got to see moai in all different phases of construction: partially carved, laying down, standing, just about finished... Sabrina explained how they carved the statues... this much is known. How they were transported is very much a mystery. She filled us in on all the ideas around the moai transportation, but none of them seem to very plausible and all adds up to mystery. We brought our own lunch, so Sabrina discreetly instructs us on how to go inside the crater (the quarry is on the edge of a volcano) while she takes the others for their lunch. There is a reed filled lake inside, and some moai around the edges. It is serene, peaceful, and magical.

We go to Ahu Te Pito Kura next. This site has two important features. The first is a moai which was the largest to ever stand on the island, and, while now toppled, it was still erect when Captain Cook landed here. The second is a magnetic stone which is said to have been brought by Hotu Matua, the island's founder. It does, in fact, mess with Sabrina's compass as she holds it up to the stone.

We end our day at Anakena beach, a lovely white sand spot beneath a coconut grove. Located here are two more ahu and some moai. No, Sabrina informs the group, this is not for the sake of the tourists. Anakena is a sacred spot as the legendary founder of the island and the Rapa Nui people, Hotu Matua, landed here.

After a cup of joe back at the cabin, we head into the village for a grocery shop. Our plan is to have a nice meal of bread, cheese, tomatoes, and wine in the cabin tonight. That is exactly what we did... lovely!

Today is yesterday's opposite as yesterday was warm, sunny, and perfect for a day out. Today the rain is pretty much torrential and we have been indoors the whole time. It makes for a very cozy environment as we sit in our cabin watching the waves crash against the rocks at the shoreline below. Perhaps it will let up enough to venture out in a bit... perhaps not. Either way, this island seems to have cast some sort of spell on us... and that is just fine.

Rapa Nui days

Wow! We mean WOW!

We are here on Easter Island (real name Rapa Nui). It is the remotest inhabited place on Earth. Over 5,000 miles to any other place. A little rock in the middle of a big ocean, as our host told us today. Even the animated map on the plane was basically just a picture of a plane on a blue background! After nearly 6 hours flying from Santiago (on a much nicer plane (LAN Air) than our American Airlines plane from Miami), we touched down on the island, and were met by our host's assistant with flower leis. Yes, we have gotten lei'd on Easter Island ... first time for both of us..... :).

We are staying in a delicous little cabin on the bay on the outskirts of the only town on the island (Hanga Roa). The town is pretty small, a few shops and cafes - mainly in shacks or small buildings. Food is very expensive as it all has to be imported. The weather has been quite changable, to say the least. One moment sunny, the next really stormy, the next hard rain. We have just been trying to plan our trips between storms! Works out most of the time .....!

But we have already been exploring over the last day and a half - to some of the moai (huge head statues on ceremonial platforms)- Ahu Akapu, Ahu Tahai and Ahu Tatutira, along the coastline, around the town, and to a cave with ancient rock paintings - Ana Kai Tangata (which means cave where men are eaten!). It's been great to see some real life moai standing proudly looking over the island. Some of them are huge and we haven't even seem the biggest ones yet!

We have been enjoying the local food too (found the coffee shop with murderously high-priced espressos (just the two each ...)), have eaten ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice) (really good), and Evan had his first drink of Pisco Sour (the local liquor). Have been befriended by several of the town's dogs, including our host's dog, Michigan, and apparently already seen as push-overs in the dog community with the cookie handouts starting today (well one dog walked with us all the way to the man eating cave, hung out in the cave while we took pictures, and then all the way back into town...).

The island is relatively deserted of tourists, and we have pretty much had the sights to ourselves. Tomorrow we are heading off on an island tour to see more of the sites, including the quarry where the statues were carved, and the stone that represents the center of the world. We are also enjoying the relaxed island vibe, palm trees, beaches and chilled out locals.
It feels really remote on the island, and you can get a taste of how isolated the original people were. In one sense, it is quite disturbing to think about, but in another way, is also quite peaceful. There is the sense that this is all there is. An island that is 11 miles by 4 miles in the middle of nowhere. Incredible really.

Cafe culture alive and well

We can access wi-fi at our Santiago hotel, so thought while we could, we would add some pictures of our two days in Santiago. Had a blast of a day today. We decided to get our long distance bus tickets reserved for La Serena for when we return from Easter Island as it is in the middle of a holiday (Chilean Independence Day?) so we travelled the metro and got our tickets reserved, Andy's Spanish coming back fairly well, although the money is all in thousands of pesos, so the numbers are a bit confusing.

We spotted a poster for an Easter Island exhibit on the metro!! So decided to head there, and although it was all in Spanish, we got the gist (sort of...). Next a self-guided walking tour that included Palacio de la Moneda (where Allende was overthrown and died in the 1973 coup) -

the Plaza de Armas (the original square of the city) -

where we stopped for empanadas in a very busy local joint (quite fun once we figured out how to pay and order) -

and a short hike through the Cerro Santa Lucia park to the top of the hill, with great views of the city and the surrounding Andes -

We got organized for the Easter Island flight tomorrow, which are often overbooked, and got our window seats reserved (YES!!). Oh, and of course, several opportunities for coffee shops and relaxing into the cafe culture again! It comes so easily to us!!!

Off to Bella Vista tonight for some more nice nibbling and people watching.

Having a GREAT time. Santiago is a very mellow, easy going but cosmopolitan city (with lots of coffee shops, restaurants and ice cream palors), so it's all good!