Farewell South America

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Despite my high hopes, the weather has not cleared enough for us to explore Oranga so I do not get to see the volcano and the launch point for the Easter Island egg hunt. We have a last wander around town exploring as far as the cemetery in the drizzle. All through the town, along the shore line yiu can see moai and other remains. In some places these have been rebuilt and a couple seem to be new, presumably for the benefit of us tourists.



The cemetery is quite large and very colourful. Many of the plots have quite unique headstones and things representing the person within. There are even some small Moai type statues. There are lots of flowers everywhere and I get the feeling that people visit often, not just once a year.



We arrive at the airport, check in and then go and sit outside and watch the preparations for the incoming flight. There are a group of ladies who have armfuls of leis that they sell to guides and others coming to welcome passengers. For some reason, maybe because the airport is so small, people are not allowed into the arrivals area to meet passengers so they all mill around outside until the arrivals almost ceremoniousky appear through the doors.

The departure lounge is equally low key with a small garden and low fence stopping you from wandering onto the runway. There is no air bridge or anything fancy so eventually we are waved out towards the plane and off we go - back to Santiago and then a couple of hours later to Auckland.



This trip has been a like degustation meal, little samples of so many very different things, all of which have been delightful and have left me feeling totally stuffed but wanting more. I have loved all the different sights and adventures, the different histories and cultures and the opportunities for so many photos! It would be good to get back to places like Chile and Ecuador and explore further afield but there is always so much to see. So now, back to the routine and time to king about the next adventure.

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