Rapa Nui

After arriving from Rapa Nui late on the evening of Saturday 28th April, w e had a 'spare' day in Santiago before our flight home and we decided to use it to have a private tour to the hot springs situated in the Andes, 2.5 hour's drive from Santiago and close to the border with Argentina. We contacted Santiago Tours and booked a private tour of the Valle de Colina hot springs. Even at this short notice, they agreed to arrange a tour and we scheduled a pickup from the Hotel La Quinta close to the airport at 7 a.m. in the morning. After a brief sleep we grabbed a few bites for a short breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and arranged with the tour guide and driver to load our baggage into the van so that we could go straight to the airport on our return from the tour. We were extremely fortunate to have as our guide Consuelo a very personable and knowledgeable young lady who was in other times a teacher and an actress. The driver was also a very helpful and charming guy, J...

  It was a showery day with so with heavy bursts of rain interspersed with sun, it was typical island weather!! Maeva came to pick us up at 9.20 a.m. and we drove to the 'Quarry’ where most of the Moai were created and where almost all of them were found before being restored. The site is right by the coast and as this was a more windy and stormy day than before, the waves were crashing against the shore making for a wonderful backdrop to the hillside upon which many of the Moai stood silent witnesses to us and to history. We walked up the hill to see close-up a Moai which had unique features. From here the panorama was wonderful. At this point it might be of interest to learn more about the Moai, although much is shrouded in mystery and everything you read and learn about them is subject to some amount of conjecture and assumption. The trusty Wikipedia has this long entry and may be as good a guide as any. Moai - Wikipedia ...and another article with more photos and information. M...

  I have had a desire to follow this remarkable enterprise for some time since learning of the co-founder, Mahani Teave who combines work at the school with the work of a celebrated, largely self-taught, pianist.  Mahani Teave The school building was commenced 10 years ago and took about 1.5 years to complete. The ingenious design and construction were inspired by an architect/engineer from New Mexico, Mike Reynolds. It is based on ‘off the grid’ environmentally sustainable use of materials. This Wikipedia entry gives some idea of his rather bizarre career which is worth reading. Mike E Reynolds This entry in Architectural Digest has more information and pictures of some of his work Architect M. E Reynolds The walls of the school are constructed of discarded soda cans and glass bottles bound together by stucco and sealed with a water-resistant paint. 40,000 cans and 40,000 bottles were incorporated into the construction. 2,000 people from around the world volunteered to help w...

  We got up at the usual time but it was raining heavily, a real Polynesian rainstorm. Maeva called and suggested that we do not go out in the morning but wait until the afternoon. We agreed with this plan on the basis that the weather would get better as the day wore on. So, we drove the short distance to the Boulangerie restaurant for breakfast. Service was ‘island slow’!! But the food was very good and the coffee excellent. We sat awhile and watched the world go by. At one point a car passed chased by a pack of dogs!! No idea what had excited them so much about this particular car and they dodged death by being so close to the wheels, then as usual, they realized the pointlessness of their chase and gave up. Dogs are not cats!!! Then we went to the Post Office to have our passports stamped with 'Rapa Nui' but were redirected to the Information Office where a nice lady obliged. Then we decided to go to the museum, always a good option on a rainy day. The Rapa Nui Museum is sm...

  We awoke around 7.30 am and had some coffee and showered and dressed. Maeva was a bit late arriving due to us having missed some messages during the night. She arrived at about 9.30 in a small jeep which we will have use of for the next three days. We started off on our tour and our first stop was a group of 7 Moais on a platform in a large field. The weather was beautiful, and this was a spectacular opening scene for us. The silent stares of the moais were so impressive. They said that they would keep their secrets and that they stood the test of time as their human creators passed on. One interesting fact is that the ‘best’ Moai is in fact in the British Museum in London as it was stolen from the island and given as a gift to Queen Victoria. Note to self, write to King Charles lll and ask him to have it returned to its rightful place on Rapa Nui. The following link gives information about the TWO Moais stolen from Rapa Nui. Moai in the British Museum This is the Wikipedia entry...

  We were up early, at 4.30 a.m. and quickly got dressed and packed for our taxi pick up at 6 a.m. The hotel had coffee in the lobby for early risers  and the taxi arrived promptly at 6 a.m. The trip to the airport was quick and smooth and we were soon checked in for our flight to Rapa Nui. We found a lounge and were able to spend a comfortable couple of hours awaiting boarding. As with so many airports, the walk to the gate was very long! When we arrived, boarding had already started and it was clear that the plane would be full waiting in the line to board I could scarcely believe my eyes when I spotted the famous concert pianist and Rapa Nui native Mahani Teave with her family also waiting to board. When we were seated, she passed my seat and I told her that 95% of the reason we were coming to Rapa Nui was to see the music school she is a co-founder of. She was very gracious and said she would see me after we arrived. The flight was 5 hours and was very calm and comfortable...

Today we had booked a tour to Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar. which are a few miles north of Santiago on the coast. Valparaiso is a very important port and also cultural center. Our guide was Max and our driver was Fernando and we had a large Hyundai van which was quite comfortable. Max was a young guy of 29 who spoke good English and told us his future was to be in Japan where he wanted to start a tour business.  We drove along the highway and eventually stopped in Valparaiso after climbing one of the many hills which form the city’s backdrop. Our first real stop was in Poet’s Plaza where the statues of three of Chile’s most famous poets are situated. They are the famous Chilean poets and writers, Pablo Neruda who won the Nobel Prize, Gabriela Mistral who also won the Nobel Prize and Vicente Huidobro This are the Wikipedia entry for the Chilean poets: Pablo Neruda Gabriela Mistral Vicente_Huidobro After visiting the Plaza we walked a short distance up the hill to Neruda’s former home...

Last night we went to a Santiago restaurant called Panchita. This was some way away and we took an Uber to get there squeezing all five of us into this, no so big, car!! The food was very good and the Carmenere wine as good as always. We had a very interesting ceviche with salmon and Tiger’s Milk. Today we are going on an art tour walk in an area of Santiago called Bella Vista, which is especially noted for street art. We took an Uber to the meeting point and joined our guide, Sebastian. He told us he was from Valparaiso where his company is located and where he conducts many of his tours. In this case he came to Santiago’s especially for us. He explained the importance and relevance of street art and the difference between graffiti, muralists and street art. We walked the streets, and he pointed out particular examples of the works along the way. Much of it was extremely well executed and beautifully drawn. Quite a lot, also had some political point to make and the whole street art sc...

We are now just over a week away from our departure to Santiago and onward to Easter Island. So now it is a time to start looking at what to do in both places and also other things such as the varieties of food to eat and places to see.  …..and we are off…. This was a better start than usual and we were really ready when the Carmel car arrived which is almost a record!.We had managed to pack into two carryon bags which ,add things easier. The trip to Newark airport was uneventful and we were son able to check in and go through the TSA rigamarole. In the process I lost a multi-tool which    I had injudiciously packed along with my electronic stuff. Sad to see it go but it’s obviously did not meet TSA rules so it had to be abandoned.  After stopping briefly for a cold drink we made our way to the departure gate in the newly revamped Terminal A.. We had not been assigned seats on the plane from Newark to Atlanta which is the first leg of our trip to Santiago and then on...