7th August – We arrive in Santiago airport, and get a cab to Providencia, a suburb in Santiago, to go to our apartment. Thank Christ there is a key for us at the door!! The owner of the apartment we have rented for the week, Fernando, has been so obliging. We have arrived to a bottle of red wine (good man), and Shane takes off to grab a bite to eat. He comes back with a bag of potato chips from the local servo, as it turns out there is nothing else open here until tomorrow. Have awoken in daylight to see we are surrounded by the snow capped peaks of the Andes!! Today, Fernando has paid us a visit to check that everything is ok- we have free Wi-Fi, mobile phone, and even free calls ... read more

Its Groundhog Day!!! We left Auckland at 14.00 Thursday, crossed the dateline, arrived in Papeete for our change over flight to Easter Island and arrived in Easter Island at 8.30am Thursday morning. Gained an entire day and a half! From here on too, if Shane has anything to add (or put a different spin on) he will! Our host, Jerome, met us at the airport and took us back to his B & B where we met a French couple, Sabine and Jean Luc, and we immediately took off on a half day tour. Our bus gingerly made its way up and down the corrugated roads toward the peak of the Rano Kau volcano – its crater lake is a cauldron of reeds. This is where the bird cult rituals were performed. Competitors raced to retrieve ... read more

Bags are packed- 1 more sleep!!!... read more