Welcome to Chile! This is my 8th and final
country for this trip. That also means that in less than 2wks I will be back home to the real world, and back to work. Boo.
DAY 43 SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA
The drive from the border to San Pedro de Atacama (SPA) took about 30mins. It was a very quiet trip, with barely any conversation. We descended 2000m altitude back down to 2500m. My body is fully accustomed to the high altitude now, with zero effects yesterday at the 5000m we reached. Now it has to get accustomed to being closer to sea level!
The driver dropped us at the bus station and we went our separate ways. The Welsh guy & I are both staying in SPA for the next few days, while the French couple were heading straight to Calama, to fly to Santiago.
I walked to my hostel and the host was very friendly. He checked me in right away, which was awesome, given it was only 11.15am. I have a tiny single room, but that's ok, given the late night and early starts I’m going to have here.
I hung out in my room for a bit, checking emails & responding to messages from my yr 11s about their exam results next week.
Then it went to check out the town. It’s a small desert town, very dusty, and full of tourists. The Atacama Desert is a very popular destination.
I walked along the main street from one end to the other. I had to get some cash out at the ATM, then I bought a shot glass. I also checked out the supermarket. Prices here are similar to London pricing for food. I’m definitely going to be eating less in Chile!
I didn't buy anything but headed back to my hostel. On the way, I bought a meat empanada and a drink from a mini-mart. I definitely need to stick to Argentinean empanadas.
Then I hung out in my room, copying photos & videos from my phone & camera to my SSD, charging my camera battery and resting. I have a private astrophotography tour tonight from 10pm until about 2-3am, so won’t get much sleep later.
I went and had a burger for tea around 7pm so I had energy for tonight. It was quite good.
I was ready and waiting at 10pm for my guide to collect me. We drove about 30mins to Vallecito, in the Atacama Desert, to a rock formation that he knew of. During the drive he asked me about my photography and if I had requests. The general plan was to do some Milky Way shots, possibly a panorama of the full Milky Way arch.
We setup our cameras and he helped me to arrange a balanced composition. It was interesting seeing the difference between his photos and mine. He was using a crop sensor Fuji and I have a full frame Sony. After a few photos, he suggested he go into the shot & hold the torch up to create a light beam. This was fun, and gave a whole new dimension to the image.
After a while, we went to an abandoned, rusty bus called the magic bus. Again, we setup some compositions, and also used the torches to illuminate the bus. Here we also discovered some features on my camera that allowed me to change the contrast of the shadows & change the colour palette and temperature of the white balance. This was great as it allowed me to see more foreground and produce star shots that were now white/blue/purple, instead of orange/yellow.
Then we went to a third location, this one with a big lonely tree. The Milky Way as much lower in the sky now, so he taught me how to do a panorama. Basically, you take a series of photos then use Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to stitch them together. I took photos of the full Milky Way arch over the tree and when I get home, I’ll attempt to stitch them together.
Here
is my first ever panorama! I have to admit, I am extremely pleased with
this! I'm definitely getting this printed onto a big canvas one day.
Click on it to enlarge.
We also saw the Pleiades constellation below Jupiter, which I managed to capture, and the small & large Magellan clouds.
And then my battery died,
so we packed up and went back to SPA. It was 2.45am when he dropped me back
at my hostel. I learned so much and produced some pretty good photos.Now I have to learn how to edit them properly.
I set my alarm and went straight to bed. I was freezing by now.
DAY 44 SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA
I woke at 9am, feeling very groggy. I had to get up for breakfast though so I got dressed and went to the kitchen.
I had a choice of eggs or pancakes. I chose eggs. The lady also gave me a bowl of fruit salad and it was self serve hot drinks.
Then I went back to my room and got ready for a shower. My hair desperately needed a wash as it was full of dust from the salt flats tour. Fortunately, the shower was great, very hot with good pressure.
Then I literally just hung out at the hostel for several hours, uploading photos to my SSD, watching TV episodes and resting. I was pretty tired from last night.
About 2pm I decided to go out for some food. I found a place that serves llama and guanaco, so I went there. I got the llama grill, which has steak on the hot sizzle plates, and it came with chips & tomato. It was delicious!
Then I walked around the town for a while, looking in some shops. The weather was lovely and I would have quite enjoyed sitting outside in the sunshine with a drink. I could not find a single place that has outdoor seating however, so just went back to my hostel after a while.
I pretty much did nothing the rest of the evening, except to sort my stuff out. I just watched TV shows and did some sudoku.
I have a very early start tomorrow (4am) so need to go to bed early. I got another blanket from reception to keep me warmer tonight. I wasn't very sleepy but needed to be asleep soon.
DAY 45 SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA
4am the alarm went off and I got up and got ready. We had to be ready by 4.30am as pick ups could be anywhere between 4.30-5.15am. I was off to the El Tatio geysers this morning.
I got picked up at 5am and ended up being second last to be collected. After the last people were on board, the guide gave information in Spanish, then the lights were turned off. This gave me a very bad feeling. I had booked a tour with an English-speaking guide, but I quickly got the feeling I was the only non-Spanish speaker on board.
After about 1.5hrs, we arrived somewhere, more Spanish instructions given and everyone got off the bus. I had no clue what was going on so I followed the people. Turns out it was to use the toilet then get back on the bus. The condensation on the window had frozen it was that cold. We were at 4300masl, and I found out later that it was -11°C. Absolutely freezing!
We drove through a checkpoint to the geysers. We got off the bus and the guide asked me where I'm from. She said her English was very basic but she would try to give me information about the geysers.
For the next hour, we walked around the geyser field. The guide gave me some explanations, which was good. My gosh, it was so ridiculously cold! I was frozen to the bone. Everything was cold and numb.
I was relieved when she said we were done & getting back on the bus. We drove to a nearby carpark to have breakfast. The guide & driver setup a little make your own sandwich station. They had French sticks, ham, salami, 2 type of cheese, avocado and they made scrambled eggs on a camp stove. We also had hot drinks of course. It was actually really good, and I had 2 sandwiches.
From here, things went downhill. Leaving the breakfast stop, the information came only in Spanish. We drove for a bit, then drove very slowly past this frozen lake while lots of information was given in Spanish. Then we stopped and got out for 5-10mins. Again, only Spanish information. I have no idea why we were there, or even where we were.
We got back in the bus and continued. Not long after, the bus moved to the left side of the road and drove extremely slowly, eventually stopping, next to a rock wall and everyone was looking out the windows at the rocks. Yep, Spanish information only again. Why is everyone looking at a rock wall? No clue.
A bit further on, we stopped yet again. This looked like a tiny community. I could see a church, toilets and a shop selling llama skewers. Why are we here? What's so important about this place? How long is the stop? No idea, and now I'm getting very annoyed and upset.
A guy in the back row, who is from Costa Rica, who speaks a different Spanish and English, got back in the bus with me & asked me if I walked around. I said no, I have no clue why we are even here because the guide is not explaining anything in English. He agreed, because regular Spanish and Chilean Spanish are very different and he didn't understand a lot of what she says. He was also annoyed that nothing is being given in English.
We were dropped off back in town, and I went straight to my hostel. I dropped all my layers of clothes as it was quite warm. Then I headed back out to get an empanada from a place that allegedly has amazing empanadas. I ended up choosing the mushroom, cheese & corn one. It was huge. I took it back to my hostel and curled up in bed for a bit.
I watched some TV episodes and tried to nap, but ended up giving up at 1.30pm. I ate the empanada, which was really nice, then got ready for my sunset trip.
I was picked up fairly close to the pickup window, and was given the front seat. We collected a few other people then drove out to the Valle de la Luna, the Valley of the Moon. Our first stop was the security gates, where we got some information & passed the checkpoint.
Then we drove to a dune. Here, we walked through the formations & the climbed the dune to see the huge crater on the other side. It is a very impressive landscape!
Then we drove to a place called the Three Mary’s. This is an eroded rock with 3 upright pillars. The whole area here is also covered in a layer of salt.
Next was a little quarry, where we saw huge salt crystals and shards of salt in the rocks. You could even hear the salt cracking as it expanded and contracted with the changing temperature.
Then we went to the snack stop. This was a nice place literally on the side of the road, overlooking a valley. We had some Pisco sour cocktail and nibbles. It was good.
Finally, we went to a huge area where everyone goes to watch the sunset. We were one of the last one’s there, so we couldn't get a front row seat but that was ok. It was a pretty sunset. I rather liked the colours on the mountains opposite the sunset actually.
We then headed back to town. We were dropped off at the other end of the main road so I had about a 15min walk back to my hostel.
I had to pack everything and sort my stuff out as I am checking out early in the morning. Then I went to bed to try and sleep.
DAY 46 SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA TO SANTIAGO
I slept pretty badly, and I felt quite nauseous most of the night. I quickly got ready for my transfer and after a few trips to the toilet, I was finally picked up.
I was still feeling very sick, unsure whether I would need to vomit or go to the toilet or what else might happen.
The drive to Calama airport was quite quick, only an hour, although it was freezing when I arrived. Check in took a little while as it was completely self-service. Then I went through security and found my boarding gate. I just sat and waited, doing almost nothing else. No music, no TV shows, no reading, just sitting, feeling like death.
When I boarded I was told my seat was changed to 2F, which I discovered was premium economy. A nice surprise! Lots of space and less passengers. Unfortunately, I was too sick to eat the free food and make the most of it. I ended up vomiting in the toilet. The damn empanada! One of my favourite foods has been my downfall!
As soon as I got to Santiago, I collected my bags, getting very annoyed at this big group of Chilean men who all got luggage trolleys and lined them all up in front of the carousel so nobody else could access the carousel. Rude much?
I was planning to take a bus & train to my hostel but ended up taking an uber. It was a short ride, 20mins, so I was at my hostel at 12pm.
The staff wouldn't let me check in until 2pm, but offered to let me sit in the lounge. I curled up in one of the couches and slept.
At 2pm, I was finally able to check in. I got to my room about 2.15pm, changed into pjs and went to bed. From then on, I stayed in bed, sleeping almost the entire time, until I got up at 5.45am the next morning.
DAY 47 SANTIAGO TO RAPA NUI (EASTER ISLAND)
When I woke up, I was feeling a bit better. I knew I would need food so I took an apple from the hostel breakfast (starts at 6am which is awesome), checked out and ordered an uber.
Check in for Rapa Nui is done in 2 parts. First, you do the standard bag drop etc. which took a while. Then you go down to domestic departures, and you have to pass Rapa Nui immigration. You have to have completed an online entry form, have proof of booked & paid accommodation in a registered provider and have a return ticket. This took a long time. LATAM only fly 3 days a week, Monday/Friday/Sunday, at the moment, so flights are full now that tourism has resumed in Rapa Nui.
After this was security which was another queue, although this one moved faster. Then it was a walk to the gate, which took about 10mins. Given I arrived with more then 2hrs before my flight, I only had to wait at the gate a short time before boarding. Just enough time to eat my apple.
This plane was huge! Like the size of the planes that fly from Australia to London kind of huge. There was a big business section at the front (very fancy), then 2 economy sections. I was in row 15 so close to the front of economy. I sat down and hoped the seats next to me would remain free. Alas, that was wishful thinking. An older couple who spoke Spanish came along, looking at the seats & letters. They tried to say something to me, which I couldn’t understand, but I said A, B, C while pointing to the seats. They seemed confused and the person behind told them the same thing, several times in Spanish. I think they thought A was the aisle and I was in the wrong seat.
We took off quite late, almost 30mins late, so it was a long time sitting around. Finally, we were off. The older couple seemed very excited, and as the flight continued, I got the feeling this might be their first time on a plane. It’s a 6hr flight to Rapa Nui, which seemed to take forever. I watched some movies, I think I feel asleep, I ate the hot ham & cheese toasted sandwich and just rested. We had a lot of legroom which was nice.
I started to feel a bit icky as we approached the island, and I began to regret eating the sandwich, even though it was delicious. Rapa Nui has 1 runway, 1 gate, 1 baggage carousel and planes are boarded from & disembarked onto the tarmac. It took a while for my luggage to come through. Again, these rude Spanish-speaking people crowding right next to the edge of the carousel with luggage trolleys so nobody can actually access their bags. I couldn't even see half the bags coming! In the end I saw mine, then pushed my way through them to get my bag.
The host of my hostel, Kori, was waiting, along with a stack of other pickup drivers. I think almost all the accommodation offers airport pickup. There were meant to be 5 of us, but 2 didn't seem to be there, and there was nobody left inside so we left. There was an Italian guy and a Chilean girl, and me of course. I was feeling pretty bad now, so very glad to be sitting down in the van.
Kori took us on a small tour of the town, showing us where the ATMs were, the artisan markets, the dive shops etc. Kori’s place is a large open house which he has converted into a hostel. We checked in & he gave us information about the island, the 3 recommended tour options and of course, information about the hostel. Then he took us to our rooms. The Chilean girl, Gabriela, and I are in the same room. There is another Chilean girl and British lady in the room too.
I had a rest for about an hour, then went into town to get money to pay Kori, since it is cash only. I stopped to get some cold water too, and discovered the supermarkets are very minimally stocked.
I felt awful by now, and when I got back Kori was checking in another group who just arrived from the airport on the second flight.
I sat on the couch and waited, and Gabriela came and sat with me. I paid and we both booked the full day tour for the next day. Then I went to bed.
A bit later Gabriela came in as well, and we talked for a while. Turns out she is a doctor, and she knows about my disease! I was so surprised since hardly any doctors in the UK or Aus know about it as it is a rare disease.
I ended up staying in bed until the next morning, trying to sleep off my stomach bug.
DAY 48 RAPA NUI
Boy did it rain last night! Heavy, heavy rain! And the roosters! Why do tropical islands always have roosters?
Tours only run on certain days of the week so most of us at the hostel were doing the full day tour today. We got up and I was feeling better. Gabriela told me I need to eat (I know, I know), so I ended up having a Chilean bread roll toasted with avocado on one half and guava paste on the other half. The bread is the best I have had in South America. It was so good & fresh & soft!
At 9am, the tour guide, Sebastian, came to collect us. There
were 7 of us in total. We walked to the bus, collected some more people, then
drove to the tour company’s office to pay. Cash really is king here!
Then we were joined by more people, and we were finally on our way. Sebastian had to say everything twice, Spanish and English. Most of the sites are protected, and you need both the national park ticket and a registered guide or local person with you at all times. There are also set pathways to follow and signs everywhere telling you where you cannot go.
First stop was Vaihu. This is a reconstructed village, used to show visitors what the original structures would have looked like if they were not eroded or destroyed. We saw the umu oven, the boat house, the greenhouse and the chicken coop.
Next was Akahanga. This is a site where the moai statues were pulled down by the indigenous people as a protest against the king. They are all built on a platform, and the statues range in height. Every statue is slightly different, as they are all done to represent a dead famous or powerful person. Underneath each statue is actually the skeleton of the person that the statue was commissioned for. It was interesting hearing about the moai statues.
Then we went to Tongariki. This is the most famous site in the island. It is in all the promo materials as it is the biggest monument currently standing. There are 15 statues in the platform. The tallest is 8.7m and the one with the hat is 8.1m, and weighs over 80 tons. That's massive! The whole platform is very well constructed. The statues were toppled by a huge tsunami in the 1600s and subsequently restored. Now they are mega famous!
The quarry, Rano Raraku, was next. This is actually the workshop where the moai were carved. It is also the largest collection of statues on the island. This was fascinating as they literally carved them into the side of the rock, then slid them down the mountain. You can see a moai half carved into the rock face which is 10m long, and several others in their way down the mountain. It is estimated that the statues take roughly 1yr to make. There are a couple of broken ones, including one who lost its head. Imagine spending a whole year carving those things only for it to break 10m down the mountain!
There is also 1 statues here that is unique and the only one of its kind in existence. It is more round and it has legs, sitting in a kneeling position. It is thought this is the oldest statue on the island, given its state of erosion, location & coverage by sediment.
From here we went to Te Pito Kura. Here is the biggest completed moai on the island, at over 9m tall. Unfortunately, it is no longer standing but you can imagine the size.
The ‘navel of the world’ is here as well. It is a round smooth stone which was brought to the island a long time ago.
Our last stop for the day was Anakena Beach. This is a beautiful little white sand beach with a platform of 7 moai. Most of these have hats on, which are red and constructed from scoria rock.
Then we had some free time. Gabi and I went and sat on the beach for a while. It was sheltered from the wind, so it was lovely in the sun.
We headed back to Hanga Roa and the bus dropped us off at the end of our dirt road. At the hostel, I messaged our host Kori to book activities for the next day, then Gabi and I went down to the dive shop. She is going to dive to see the underwater moai on Thursday and I wanted to see what it was about.
Unfortunately, the dive shop said I would have to do a refresher course since it has been more then 6mths since I last dived. This I didn't want to do, it’s an extra 60,000CLP, which is like $70USD, so I am skipping it. We then saw the turtles in the harbour, with one small one and a huge one.
Then we decided to go get our coats and watch the sunset.
Several others from the hostel joined us, but by the time we got to the sunset
point, we only had 10min to spare.It was a beautiful sunset.
We headed back to the hostel and I discovered I had messages from Kori and from my astrophotography tour organiser. They wanted to go at 8pm, and it was 7.20pm. Yikes! I was also confused as I had booked a tour which involved shooting the stars in the dark and ending with shooting the sunrise over Tongariki. Apparently, the Milky Way and the sunrise are at opposite times if the night, so because I mentioned about thy Milky Way in the email, they decided we should go at night. I was collected at 8.40pm and the photographer is actually a Kiwi. He married a Rapa Nui woman and moved here 15yrs ago.
We went to Anakena Beach first, and took some photos with the moai and the sky. Unfortunately, the moon was bright and there were lots of clouds. We still got a few photos, although he said I would need a lot of post-processing to bring the Milky Way out, something I don't know how to do yet.
Then we went around the back of the statues and shot from behind. This gave photos with the core of the Milky Way.
Eventually, when the clouds were not cooperating, we packed up and moved to a different location. This location was by the side of the road, and had 1 moai on a hill. We got a few photos here, but more side on, until the clouds ruined it.
Last stop for the night was Ahu Akapu. This was a seaside location, and the moon was very bright behind the statue. I took a few silhouette style photos and we left.
I have to admit, the photos are nothing what I imagined getting, so I am a little disappointed in the tour, especially given it cost almost $400USD. I will have to watch some YouTube tutorials on how to edit these photos and maybe I will get one that I like enough to print on a canvas. I really wanted a Milky Way over Tongariki, that would have been perfect.
DAY 49 RAPA NUI
This morning the bloody roosters and dogs woke us up early. I swear we are going to have rooster for dinner if they don't stop.
I washed my hair, got ready and went down for breakfast. Most of us from yesterday were doing the 2 half day tours today so breakfast was busy.
We were picked up at 9am again and went to the office to pay. The group was slightly smaller today, so we had a smaller van. The morning tour was all about the birdman competition. We drove up the volcano to the crater rim for our first stop. The birdman procession marches up the trail to this point, before going along the rim to the ceremonial village of Orongo.
The crater is filled with rainwater, and has, at times, been a source of drinking water.
Then we continued to the village of Orongo. This village was only used once a year during the birdman competition in September. The houses are round or oval and made of stone instead of wood, and they all face the little motu island.
For the birdman competition, there were 10 clans on the island and each clan provided 1 competitor. They had to descend the 300m unstable & step cliff to the sea, swim across to the islands, wait for the sooty terns to lay the first egg of the season, collect the egg then return to the village. The winner meant their clan was the ruling clan for the next year. People died and eventually the competition stopped.
Next was Vinapu, a site with 2 big platforms. One platform was made in the standard form, and the newer platform was constructed with the intention to be perfect. The rocks were so precisely carved that fit together perfectly. The difference is significant.
We were then dropped off in town, and we went back to the hostel for lunch. I got an instant noodle soup bowl and then we just chilled until 2.30pm.
Back on the bus, we began our second tour. First stop was actually one of the places I went last night, Ahu Huri A Urenga. This is one of the few moai located more inland.
Then we went to Puna Pau. This is a quarry workshop for constructing the red hats. The hats were roughly made here, then moved & rolled around the island to the statues before being finished & installed. We went to the top of the cinder cone which had a view of the quarry and also the town.
We then continued to Ahu a Kivi, which is a large platform of medium sized moai, that has been restored. This was cool.
Last stop for the day was Tahsi, the sunset stop. There are 3 platforms here, 2 with one moai each and one platform with five moai. The was meant to be a sixth but nearby, there is a moai on the ground face down, broken in 4 pieces. Imagine that you have just spent a year carving this thing, and transported it 18km across the island, for it to fall and break just 50m from the platform. How devastating!
Here is also the only moai on the island with eyes. Every moai had eyes carved after it was positioned on the platform, and they were made of white coal with red scoria or black obsidian for irises. This statue has been restored with eyes, which make it look like it had googly eyes.
Our group from the hostel stayed here to watch the sunset. I had a big bag of chips that we shared.
Then we headed back to the hostel where we remained for the night. We tried to see the dance show but it was sold out. I played with some neighbourhood cats and eventually we put a movie on. It was called Rapa Nui, and was released in 1994. It was interesting seeing all the information we learned about the birdman competition put into film.
DAY 50 RAPA NUI
So today was a big day in the lives of my students. It's GCSE exam results day! At 8am London time (1am Rapa Nui time) the boys will receive an email with the results. These determine which A Level subjects they can do, and also if they can remain at our school as we require minimum grades for admission into the Sixth Form. So, I set my alarm for 12.55am because I'm a nice teacher and wanted to be there for my boys.
When I woke up, I sent the boys a Teams message, and then waited. I asked them to let me know how their results went, because I don't have access to them & I want to congratulate or support them. My first message came at 1.05am and they continued in dribs and drabs until nearly 8am. There was a mixed bag of responses and emotions, some very happy, some upset and everything in between. I was so happy for them and almost in tears for one of them. It’s heartbreaking knowing they are on the other end of the text message pretty much in tears themselves and there's nothing you can do to help, other than send a message.
I slept in between messages, and eventually got up at
8.30am. I went down to breakfast which was quiet as most people had gone out
or were still in bed. There were no island tours today so people were doing things like renting bikes, going diving etc.
After breakfast, I showered and got ready and went down to Ahu Tahai, the sunset point. The sun was shining right onto the front of the googly eyed moai and I wanted a better photo than I got yesterday with the sunset. I took a ton of photos of course.
I also had a walk through the cemetery. It is a very pretty place, with very decorative grave. There is one that is a boat!
I continued walking along the coast towards town. It was a lovely walk in the sunshine. I took photos of some stone sculptures, and some more moai that I found along the way. I think these are replicas as they are not fenced, protected or surrounded by signs.
I went and visited the turtles in the bay again, and walked all the way to the swimming hole. There are 2 swimming holes and a little beach along the way.
I headed back to the main road and walked along, almost to the airport. This means I literally walked from one end of town to the other. I stopped at a food truck park for lunch. I misunderstood the menu and thought I was ordering loaded fries, with chicken, bacon, BBQ sauce & cheese. What I actually ordered was an empanada with those fillings inside. I was trying to avoid empanadas for obvious reasons, but I don't have a choice now. It was very nice though.
I walked back towards the main area, stopping to get a shot glass and some cash out. ATMs are extortionate here, cost me 8500 CLP as the fee, which is £9!
Then I got an ice cream (raspberry cream) and went back to my hostel.
The girls had organised for us to go to Anakena Beach so we got changed and ready. Our taxi driver took 5 of us (squashed into the car) to the beach & picked us up later for 30,000 CLP, which works out to be $11 each for the 30min trip.
Anakena is beautiful, but unfortunately when we arrived, some huge clouds also arrived. It was chilly with the breeze and no sun. We had a couple of breaks with sun but for the most part, it was cool.
We headed back to the hostel at 5.30pm and I packed my things, since I'm leaving tomorrow. Kori went fishing today so is putting on a fish BBQ for people, so I decided to order pizza. It took forever to arrive! Island time clearly.
The previously quiet, and now loud & outgoing Chilean girl in our room is making micheladas for people tonight so I am having Fanta. A michelada is a beer cocktail, usually with salt, lemon & fruit flavouring, and in Mexico they add chilli. Eww. Alcohol variety on this island is low, so it's beer or wine or whole bottles of spirits. No premix, ciders etc.
After a very long wait & another call to the pizza shop, my pizza finally arrived. The fish had been cooking on the BBQ for a while and the micheladas were being made. I ate half my pizza, which was quite good, then stashed the rest for tomorrow. I hung out with the others for a short while, then at 9.30pm I went and got ready for bed.
I fell asleep quite quickly as I was very tired.
DAY 51 RAPA NUI TO SANTIAGO
I slept well and was up at 5.50am this morning as I had a sunrise tour this morning. I quickly got ready and waited for my pickup.
When the van arrived, one of the Chilean ladies from the day tours was the. She is the naughty Chilean who literally walked straight past the ‘no entry’ sign to go stand on top of the ancient, historically significant cave to pose for photos. We also picked up an American couple who had travelled with this tour company on a previous day.
We stopped just out of town and the guide pointed out some constellations.
Then we continued to Tongariki. Many other people were there already. We had to show our tickets again, then the guide wanted to go to a place with a side view of the statues as the sun was rising behind the hill. I wanted a front view of the statues so he let me go off on my own. I found a great spot, right in front of the middle moai, and set up by camera. I took a ton of photos of course, on both phone & camera. It was a really beautiful sunrise.
Here's one from my phone:
I went back to the others when the colour in the sky was gone. I was given a coffee and some po‘e, which is a local cake. This one was banana flavour and very good.
We then went for a walk and took some photos by the moai, including a jumping one, and some from behind.
I also took some with the sun rays coming between and behind the moai.
Then we needed to leave. We did stop at a seaside location to see a natural pool. It was very pretty.
Back at the hostel, there was no breakfast left so I ate the rest of my pizza. Then I finished packing and took my stuff downstairs.
6 of us then walked to the museum. It's about a 25min walk, but the weather was spectacular, so it was nice. The museum is small but extremely detailed with information. They have a female moai, tools and they even have the only moai eye to ever be found, which was really cool.
There is also a small exhibition by a local man who decorates cow skulls.
5 of us then left the Italian guy, as he was very interested in the museum, and walked along the coast back to town.
Outside the dive shops, we saw the turtles again, then I said goodbye to everyone. I needed to head back to my hostel to go to the airport.
My host, Kori, drove me to the airport. He really makes his guests feel at home and since there are limited flights & activities, you sort of form family groups and do everything together. For us, there were 8 of us who formed a group, which was nice. Kori gave me a shell necklace as a parting gift (I've read most accommodation places to this, as well as the leis on arrival), which was very kind, then I went to check in. It’s a very quick process here, and my passport was checked to make sure I had the right to enter Chile mainland.
Boarding was very easy, and it was a full flight. We departed a bit late but the flight went smoothly. I was confused when the TV screens said 3hrs to arrival, it took 6hrs to get TO Rapa Nui, but only 3hrs to come back? Well it actually took about 3.5hrs but dang, those tail winds must be very strong! We arrived ahead of schedule which was nice.
I booked a shared shuttle and was fortunate enough to get one leaving straight away. I was asked to sit in the front so 2 friends could sit together. The driver wanted to practice his English so he talked to me the whole hour. It was nice, otherwise it would have been a silent hour.
At my hostel (same one a last week), I was given a bed in
the same dorm room which was nice. I was starving, and the staff told me
everything in the area would be closed due to the protests & violence on
the streets in the area on Friday & Saturday nights (police & riot vehicles
everywhere), so I went upstairs to the rooftop bar. The only thing he could
make at 10.30pm, just before closing time, was a burger, so I had that with a
raspberry mojito. I was so hungry I didn't even take a photo!
Then I went back to my room, changed and went to bed.
DAY 52 SANTIAGO
I actually slept quite well, which was good. I woke up when one of my students messaged me at 8am. I bummed around for a bit, then showered and went down to breakfast. Definitely not as good as the breakfast at Rapa Nui, but free food is always good.
I went back to my room and hung out a bit more
before I
decided to go souvenir shopping. First stop was the central market. On
the way, however, I passed a good-sized supermarket so I went snack
shopping. I got some
chocolate & lollies for the plane and my long layover in Sao Paulo. I
also
bought some Lipton’s teabags as I can't get them in London & quite
like the
chamomile & honey tea at night.One thing I noticed was that they
lock the chocolate blocks away!
Continuing along the street, I found what I thought was the market. Turns out I walked straight into the fish market. It was so stinky and gross! I tried to hold my breathe but couldn't make it to the exit. The stench was awful. I finally made it to another section, but this was fish restaurants. Not as bad but still smelly. I ended up in another fish section before I managed to find an exit.
I walked down a pedestrian mall for a while until I reached Plaza des Armas, a big public square with fancy buildings.
I decided to try a different market so I walled 15mins to this one. Success! After looking in almost every stall, I finally found a Santiago shot glass. Almost all the souvenirs were the same in every stall. Fortunately, I don't need anything else, and both my bank accounts and luggage weight limits all say no!
I went in search of food next. Gabi told me there wasn't much specific Chilean food, most things have been taken & adapted from the other South American countries, so I decided to have a burger. There was a nearby restaurant with good reviews so I went there and had a BBQ chicken, bacon & cheese burger. It was really good.
Then I headed back to my hostel to chill. I had tons of photos on my phone & camera to upload to my SSD hard drive, so I spent a little bit of time doing that and sorting out some luggage again.
At 5.30pm I went to go see about taking the funicular up to San Cristobal to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the ticket place was closed so you could only buy tickets online, which they provide big info boards & QR code for, but I couldn't work out which ticket to get as I couldn't find the station on the map where the tickets departed from (I was at the zoo station). I gave up since there was nobody to help.
I went to a nearby restaurant to have my final meal in South America, and in Chile. I chose a chorrillana, which is a Chilean dish of fries with toppings. My topping was creamy beef & mushroom side. I also got a pink lemonade. Both were absolutely delicious.
I had previously seen a waffle shop so I got a waffle on the way back. It had Nutella, dulce de leche, strawberries, bananas and Chantilly cream. It was so good!
Back at the hostel, I showered and packed almost everything. I have to get up at 2am so I can be at the airport by 3am. I can't even check in online which is stressing me out a bit.
I watched 1 tv episode while writing this, then went to bed.
DAY 53 SANTIAGO TO LONDON
It took me a while to go to sleep, and when the alarm when off, I was very groggy. I got up and got ready as quickly & quietly as I could. I checked out, ordered an uber, and was at the airport at 2.50am.
I was able to check in using self service and dropped my suitcase before heading to security & immigration. The queue was massive. 4 snake rows, about 50m each. There were a few officers on though, so it took about 40mins. I got my stamp to leave and joined the not-as-long x-ray scanning queue. By 4am I was through and in duty free. There was a Starbucks right outside so I got a coffee and began walking to my gate. The screens said ‘go to gate’ and it was a ‘20min walk’ to the gate so I wanted to get there early. Turns out, 20mins must be walking slower than a snail going backwards! I was there in less than 10mins.
The first flight was to Sao Paulo and went over the Andes. The views from the plane were absolutely spectacular: snowy covered peaks in the sunrise.
At Sao Paulo I had a very long wait of 6hrs. Mostly, I sat down, watched some tv episodes and tried to upload some photos to my blog. I did few laps of the shops, got myself some Brazilian snacks (coxinha, quindim & brigadeiro).
Finally it was time to board. By now it was pouring with rain, so it was fascinating watching planes take off & land on the waterlogged runway. The flight was a 12hr direct flight to London with British Airways. No luggage restrictions here (2x 23kg carry on) so I wasn’t worried carrying on my 2 very heavy backpacks!
We were served a hot meal and then they prepared the cabin for sleep. I watched some movies, and attempted to shut my eyes for a bit.
DAY 54 LONDON
I didn’t manage to get some sleep unfortunately, but I am heading home so I can rest later. The flight did seem to take forever, but I always find the journey home always takes the longest. I just want to get home as quickly as possible but time doesn’t go faster to accommodate that.
I love flying into Heathrow Airport. I always get to use the e-gates, with little to no queues, so I am at baggage claim just a few minutes after disembarking. Today was even better in that my suitcase was one of the first ones out. This means that I was on the Piccadilly line leaving the airport 20mins after landing and home in less than an hour.
I have had an incredible 8wks in South America. I have eaten amazing food, had exciting experiences, seen spectacular scenery, and met wonderful people. I highly recommend visiting South America at least once in your life. Each country has been very different to the last, and they all have good & bad points. I’m not sure I could pick 1 single country/place as my favourite, but Peru (colours, scenery, alpacas/llamas), Colombia (coffee), Easter Island (beautiful, moai), Salar de Uyuni & Atacama Desert would definitely be my top places.
I compiled some stats for my trip, which I found mildly interesting:
*8 countries
*Temp range -11C to +47C
*Transport - plane, helicopter, bus, train, cable car, bicycle, feet, minivan, boat
*775,000 steps
*550km walked
*1803 floors of elevation
No wonder I was so tired when I got home! What a trip!
Hit me up if you’re planning a trip and I’ll share any tips, advice & recommendations that I have for the places you are going.
I really hope you have enjoyed reading about my South American adventures!!
Stay tuned for my next adventure…….A Swiss White Christmas!