Blogs from Easter Island, Chile, South America - page 19

First taste of South America Arriving at the little airport at Easter Island we were soon donning floral garlands and shepherded into a minivan with 2 French girls and another Brit with his surf board. We felt instantly welcomed into the Ana Rapu guesthouse and then a little deserted by the host who we then did not see for a few days. We had 5 days to see the sights of Easter Island, plenty of time for a bit of relaxation as well. Hanga Roa There is only one town on Easter Island, Hanga Roa, where the 4,000 inhabitants and their many dogs and horses live (along with millions of nocturnal cockroaches - are they always nocturnal?). Its quite a small town with a few tourist shops and cafes and only some of the roads ... read more

Paso fugaz por Santiago de Chile, lo justito para hacer los recaditos pertinentes, la tienda de campaña para Polinesia, la libreria andante, y para vivir en primera persona la crisis del gobierno chileno con el plan Transantiago, un plan de cambio radical del sistema de transporte en la capital que ha provocado el segundo cambio de ministros en poco tiempo. En resumen, un caos total en medio de la ciudad, colas interminables en las estaciones de autobuses bajo la lluvia, con viejecitas atropelladas por las puertas traseras, intentando subirse al unico bus que paso en la ultima hora. Quedamos para cenar con Alberto, madrileño-toledano expatriado de Endesa en Chilectra en Santiago desde hace una año, su novia Marisa, bonaerense, residente en Santiago tambien desde hace cinco años y empleada de Banca Mayorista del Santander Santiago, y ... read more

Lake Indoon Day 1—Day 3 23-2-2007 to 25-2-2007 Spent a few days camped up at Lake Indoon near Eneabba / Leeman. Water was low and a bit on the nose unfortunately—not surpising really given it’s the end of summer. We were visited by bees at our camp one morning once they smelt the fresh water we used for washing up and we were inundated with the little critters . Although being crawled over by bees I tipped out what little fresh water we had in our washing up bucket and then we left for the morning to visit the Stockyard Gully caves. We hoped the bees would be gone once we returned else we would be requiring the services of one of the local beekeepers! The caves were a nice and cool retreat on a pretty ... read more

Our final two stops before New Zealand took us to the islands of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Moorea (just off Tahiti). After thinking it would never happen to us, we got upgraded to business class on the first leg of the journey! Much excitement ensued as we were presented with delightful meals on white bone china crockery, and lots of fun buttons to press which moved the seat backs to near-horizontal. The flight passed swiftly and we slipped from our ridiculously large seats and walked into the matchbox airport in Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui's one and only town (village in truth). The island is home to just 3000 people and is most well known for the mysterious Moai heads which can be found all over the place. There were two tribes about 1000 years ago ... read more

Tervehdys Paasiaissaarelta. Tultiin tanne pari paivaa sitten hieman vasyneina pitkasta lentorupeamasta. Eka paivana kerettiin tekemaan pieni kavelylenkki ja kaymaan kaupassa ennen aikaista sankyynmenoa. Seuraavana paivana aloitettiin sitten jo saareen tutustuminen. Meikalainen paatyi siina sitten tekemaan oikein kunnollisen saarikierroksen, kun tapasin pari samassa paikassa majoittuvaa tsekkia, jotka houkuttelivat mukaansa sanoen, etta oltiin tavatessamme jo puolimatkassa. No melkein ainakin oltiin. Kavelya ei kilometreissa tullut kuin ehka sellaiset 14 km, mutta aikaa saatiin kulumaan yhteensa sellaiset yhdeksan tuntia. Kavaistiin parissa laavaluolassa ja katselemassa niita kivipatsaita, joista tama saari on niin kuuluisa. Ihan kivaa muuten, mutta rankat sadekuurot vahan veivat intoa kavelysta. Eilen lyottaydyttiin yhteen sveitsilais-saksalaisen pariskunnan kanssa, jotka olivat v... read more