December 25, 2007 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina
===================================
I must still be on Easter Island time zone. I could not get up at 7:30 AM. I finally got ready and made my way to breakfast by 8:20 AM. Really hard (I mean ROCK SOLID) baguettes with bread and jam for breakfast. Had whatever I could must the energy to chew on! I needed this as I had almost no dinner last night. I am thankful that these folks serve some breakfast rather than say - "Sorry, it´s Christmas, you are on your own today"!
The shuttle arrived around 9:20 AM. The main guide was a Spanish speaking girl with an English speaking translator who interpreted for those of us not fluent in Spanish. Bad, i mean really bad, English translation. At least, the tour company is trying. We had about 10 folks on our minibus.
Our first stop (after an hour) was a gas station in Trelew. We could use the bathrooms and buy something to eat. I got myself an energy bar and some juice bottles. We had a 2-hour drive to Punta Tombo from this Gas Station. I dozed most of the way. The final hour of the drive to Punta Tombo is on dirt road and is quite horrible.
We reached Punta Tombo around 12:30 and were given 40 minutes there! Many of these tour companies try to do too many things in 1-day (their way of being all things to all people - and failing miserably in all aspects) and do everything in a half assed way. We were able to do the short trail of 400 metres and not do the longer trail of 3 Kilometres (2 miles approx.).
The tour company could have started the tour at 7:30 AM from Puerto Madryn instead of waltzing around until 9:30 AM. The only excuse (from their viewpoint) is that they started late because of Christmas.
Anyways, we saw several hundred Magellanic penguins at Punta Tombo many of them with Babies. Thousands of pairs come to breed at Punta Tombo each year. I am sure we saw quite a few Penguins during our brief 45-minute stay. I took around 50 pictures.
We got back on the bus and travelled another 2 hours back to Trelew for a pit stop before heading to a place called Rawson - about 30 mins east of Trelew. Here we paid AEP 70 (US$25) to go on a boat ride to see Dolphins.
We spent an hour Chasing them. There were about 20 of us (from different buses) on a motorized dinghy. The captain was more interested in trying to send text messages than in spotting or chasing dolphins. We did spot some and I probably have 2 pictures. Overall, I think it was a waste of time and money.
From Rawson, we were to go to a place called GAIMAN to have Welsh tea. Because of poor planning we did not have enough time. Except for the Penguin colony, the day and the rest of the trips were a waste. If you are ever in the region, my advice is to keep your tour simple. If tour companies are not willing to do specialised tours, pooling resources to charter a taxi is not an expensive option.
The Penguin Colony is much closer to Trelew. Because of some scheduling conflicts, I had to do the Penguin colony from Puerto Madryn. (I will be spending 2 nights in Trelew after Puerto Madryn). Peninsula Valdes must definitely be done from Puerto Madryn. Ideally it should be done from Puerto Piramides. But the hotels in Puerto Piramides are few and they are expensive. I am talking more than US$100 per day for something that may approach 2 star standards!
As I had paid up a lot of cash for the boat trip and park entrance fees, I headed to the ATM in Puerto Madryn to get some cash. I ran into one of my tour buddies from the Punta Tombo trip and we decided to go in search of dinner. Like me, he had his last dinner 48-hours ago.
He was travelling from Israel and had been to a lot of places. He told me that he works in a Bank is Israel, but I think he works for MOSSAD or SHINBET :) The man refused to introduce himself by name and he does not have an e-mail! Sniff, Sniff, something ain´t adding up here.
I will stick with my secret agent theory until proven otherwise!
Many shops and restaurants were open in the evening. We found a restaurant and we both had an excellent dinner. I had an excellent Spinach Ravioli and he waxed eloquent on his beef!
I went to an Internet cafe (the hotel had a dialup connection) to download the memory cards to my portable hard drive. It cost me AEP 2.50 per hour. Seems to be getting Cheaper.
It looks like while most stores stay open on Christmas eve in the US but close on Christmas day, the reverse is true in Argentina. Almost everything was closed by 9 PM last evening and almost everything is open by 9 PM on Christmas day. Restaurants here stay open until 1 AM.
I head to Peninsula Valdes tomorrow morning. Upon my return from the tour, I will take a public bus to Trelew.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
December 24, 2007 - Santiago, Chile / Buenos Aires, Argentina / Puerto Madryn, Argentina
December 24, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
==========================
I woke up at 5:45 AM on my own. I lazed around until 6 AM waiting for the wake-up call. I did not want the Phone ringing incessantly while I was in the bathroom across the hallway!
I was ready (good shower head - not as great as Room 6 on the 3rd floor, though) by 6:45 AM. I had 2 baguettes and a Columbian coffee (It was instant - No Juan Valdez preparing it for me personally!) for breakfast. The shuttle to the airport arrived shortly after 7 AM. I reached the airport by 7:40 AM or so.
I waited (along with a dozen early birds) at the Aerolineas Argentinas counter for about 45 minutes. My travels in Argentina would be on Aerolineas Argentinas and its sister company Austral. The counter staff arrived around 8:45 or so. I checked my duffel bag and found that it weighed about 20.5 Kilos. This was OK. I was told that I would be issued paper tickets (for all legs my journey with Aerolineas) at the gate. 2 more branches would have to be cut.
Passport control was a breeze. Checked out the wine prices at the duty free shop. I don´t think they were cheap. COHIBA´s were expensive as always. I called home and friends as I had a lot of time to kill.
I was called at the gate and issued a stack of paper tickets. 8 trips in total all the way until March 13, 2008. Was told that my bookings were all good and there is no need to reconfirm.
I had (very smartly, I must add) taken the small bag (left behind in the Santiago hostel during my trip to Easter Island) as a carry on along with my camera bag. As the smaller bag had just a few clothes, it did not weigh much (and therefore did not show up as being heavy) and I was able to carry 2 bags on board. I need to use this ruse on 2 more flights until I reach El Calafate. From Calafate it will be 3 bus trips all the way to Ushuaia. After Dec 28th, my next flight will not be until January 24th, 2008!
The aircraft departed on time and was quite empty. I had all 3 seats to myself. As the flight headed east towards Buenos Aires, I was able to see quite a bit of Santiago from the air. Looked like a well planned and laid out city.
We crossed the majestic snow covered Andes mountain range. Of course, since my camera is packed away, the views will all be GRAND :( After crossing the Andes, we entered flatlands as far as the eye could see. Most of it appeared to be agricultural in nature as they were neatly tended squares and rectangles from above! I hope to cross the Andes mountains by road when I travel from Mendoza (in Argentina) to Santiago, Chile in March 2008. On return flight to the US is from Santiago.
I dozed for a bit and the next thing I knew was that we were close to Buenos Aires.
December 24, 2007 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
=================================
Many of the houses in Buenos Aires outskirts had pools. Must be a rich neighbourhood. The Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) is situated amidst a thick forest. At least that is the way it appears from above. One is traversing along a thick forest like area and the EZE airport suddenly appears into view. I had never seen such dense growth so close to an airport. Reminded me of my first impression of the CANCUN airport (Mexico).
Immigration was a breeze. US citizens do not require a VISA and unlike CHILE, there are no reciprocal fees required to be paid by US Citizens on landing here. I was so glad when my checked in bag did not come with added odours!
I got an bad exchange rate for my Traveller´s checks at the airport. I was given AEP 2.70 for a dollar. There are no American express counters either in Santiago or the Buenos Aires International airports!
A Taxi to Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP) was ARP 80 (80 argentine pesos - US$ 28) while a shuttle cost AEP 35. As I had ample time, I booked myself on the next shuttle to AEP.
The shuttle bus was a full sized bus. It goes through the city between the two airports and takes an hour. It passes the port on its way from EZE to AEP. The port looked massive. I had never seen so many shipping containers lined up in one place before! We passed the ferry terminal to Uruguay (Montevideo) as well. As the port ended, the Argentine sea comes into full view. (It is not called the Atlantic here).
On the right had side, folks can be seen fishing. On the right is the AEP airport. Perhaps someone´s catch can leak (YET AGAIN) into my checked in bag!
Easy check-in. I had time to kill and spent around 45 minutes at the airport internet. The Internet charges at the airport are AEP 4 per hour (US$1.30) or 7 centavos (US$0.02) per minute. A far cry from Rapa Nui prices.
The flight was packed. It was going to Ushuaia with a stopover in Trelew. I had a window seat and took in as much of Buenos Aires after takeoff. It looked like a massive city. I dozed on and off during the rest of the flight to Trelew. I saw huge tracts of farmland and then even bigger tracts of arid land. Out of this arid land lass, TRELEW (pronounced Tre-lay-oh) appears like an Oasis. This place and area were settled by early immigrants from Wales.
I waited next to the Shuttle to Puerto Madyrn. The driver arrived about 10 minutes later and we both looked at each other quizzically before he unfurled a placard. It had my name on it! In my urgency not to miss the shuttle, I had passed him right by. We had a laugh and I boarded the shuttle. The cost was AEP 20 (US$7).
From Trelew we headed Northeast on a long straight road. The 60 kilometre (40 mile) distance takes about 45 minutes to cover. On reaching Puerto Madryn, the shuttle drops people off at various hotels.
December 24, 2007 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina
===================================
Puerto Madryn appeared to be a nice large place. My hostel was set about 5 blocks away from the waterfront. The room appeared ok. I was paying AEP 105 (US$35) per night here. I would be staying here for 2 nights. The hotel accepts ONLY cash.
As I was running a bit low on Cash, I decided to go in search of an ATM. I was hoping to get a better exchange rate with an ATM withdrawal as well. My bank (in the US) had told me that BANELCO machines would accept the US bank issued cards. The first BANELCO machine refused to dispense any cash. The second BANELCO machine did. However, I was limited to a withdrawal of AEP 300 (US$100 approx.). The exchange rate was $3.14 which was terrific compared to the $2.70 I had obtained earlier in the day at Buenos Aires airport!
I headed back to the hotel to pay up for the rooms and plan by tours for the next 2 days. I wanted to do Peninsula Valdes on Christmas day and do a tour of Punta Tombo on Wednesday. However, the tour to Peninsula Valdes was sold out for tomorrow (Dec 25). I settled for Punta Tombo instead. I also made sure that the hotel folks booked me on a tour to Peninsula Valdes on Wednesday (26th). The 2 major tour companies here are Tito Botazzi and Ryan´s travel. My hostel was an agent was Tito Botazzi. Each tour costs around AEP 150 with an additional AEP 75 for a boat trip. Neither of the agencies collect the National Park fees. These have to be paid on the day of the tour - as you enter the park - and can vary from AEP 20 to 40. Be prepared to Carry cash.
I went next in search of a restaurant. Being Christmas eve, most of the restaurants were either closed or fully booked. This is very much a seafood town. I could not find a single restaurant. I then recalled that Aerolineas had given each passenger a big cake as it was Christmas eve. I remember eating one cake and saving the other one. This cake along with a can of coke turned out to be my dinner.
Many of the stores here were selling fireworks. Being Christmas, anyone can buy the firecrackers and can burst them anywhere. I like this place already despite my state of starvation! If Chennai (Madras) during Diwali has a base decibel level of 100, then Puerto Madryn during Christmas has a decibel level of 20 at best. Most fireworks start at midnight to usher in Christmas. I am sure Midnight mass in these places on these occasions are a sight to behold. I was too tired to go and stand in front of the local cathedral at midnight.
I spent some time on the Internet at the hotel. At AEP 2 per hour (US$.65) it is about as good as La Serena!
The shuttle
==========================
I woke up at 5:45 AM on my own. I lazed around until 6 AM waiting for the wake-up call. I did not want the Phone ringing incessantly while I was in the bathroom across the hallway!
I was ready (good shower head - not as great as Room 6 on the 3rd floor, though) by 6:45 AM. I had 2 baguettes and a Columbian coffee (It was instant - No Juan Valdez preparing it for me personally!) for breakfast. The shuttle to the airport arrived shortly after 7 AM. I reached the airport by 7:40 AM or so.
I waited (along with a dozen early birds) at the Aerolineas Argentinas counter for about 45 minutes. My travels in Argentina would be on Aerolineas Argentinas and its sister company Austral. The counter staff arrived around 8:45 or so. I checked my duffel bag and found that it weighed about 20.5 Kilos. This was OK. I was told that I would be issued paper tickets (for all legs my journey with Aerolineas) at the gate. 2 more branches would have to be cut.
Passport control was a breeze. Checked out the wine prices at the duty free shop. I don´t think they were cheap. COHIBA´s were expensive as always. I called home and friends as I had a lot of time to kill.
I was called at the gate and issued a stack of paper tickets. 8 trips in total all the way until March 13, 2008. Was told that my bookings were all good and there is no need to reconfirm.
I had (very smartly, I must add) taken the small bag (left behind in the Santiago hostel during my trip to Easter Island) as a carry on along with my camera bag. As the smaller bag had just a few clothes, it did not weigh much (and therefore did not show up as being heavy) and I was able to carry 2 bags on board. I need to use this ruse on 2 more flights until I reach El Calafate. From Calafate it will be 3 bus trips all the way to Ushuaia. After Dec 28th, my next flight will not be until January 24th, 2008!
The aircraft departed on time and was quite empty. I had all 3 seats to myself. As the flight headed east towards Buenos Aires, I was able to see quite a bit of Santiago from the air. Looked like a well planned and laid out city.
We crossed the majestic snow covered Andes mountain range. Of course, since my camera is packed away, the views will all be GRAND :( After crossing the Andes, we entered flatlands as far as the eye could see. Most of it appeared to be agricultural in nature as they were neatly tended squares and rectangles from above! I hope to cross the Andes mountains by road when I travel from Mendoza (in Argentina) to Santiago, Chile in March 2008. On return flight to the US is from Santiago.
I dozed for a bit and the next thing I knew was that we were close to Buenos Aires.
December 24, 2007 - Buenos Aires, Argentina
=================================
Many of the houses in Buenos Aires outskirts had pools. Must be a rich neighbourhood. The Ezeiza International Airport (EZE) is situated amidst a thick forest. At least that is the way it appears from above. One is traversing along a thick forest like area and the EZE airport suddenly appears into view. I had never seen such dense growth so close to an airport. Reminded me of my first impression of the CANCUN airport (Mexico).
Immigration was a breeze. US citizens do not require a VISA and unlike CHILE, there are no reciprocal fees required to be paid by US Citizens on landing here. I was so glad when my checked in bag did not come with added odours!
I got an bad exchange rate for my Traveller´s checks at the airport. I was given AEP 2.70 for a dollar. There are no American express counters either in Santiago or the Buenos Aires International airports!
A Taxi to Jorge Newbery Airport (AEP) was ARP 80 (80 argentine pesos - US$ 28) while a shuttle cost AEP 35. As I had ample time, I booked myself on the next shuttle to AEP.
The shuttle bus was a full sized bus. It goes through the city between the two airports and takes an hour. It passes the port on its way from EZE to AEP. The port looked massive. I had never seen so many shipping containers lined up in one place before! We passed the ferry terminal to Uruguay (Montevideo) as well. As the port ended, the Argentine sea comes into full view. (It is not called the Atlantic here).
On the right had side, folks can be seen fishing. On the right is the AEP airport. Perhaps someone´s catch can leak (YET AGAIN) into my checked in bag!
Easy check-in. I had time to kill and spent around 45 minutes at the airport internet. The Internet charges at the airport are AEP 4 per hour (US$1.30) or 7 centavos (US$0.02) per minute. A far cry from Rapa Nui prices.
The flight was packed. It was going to Ushuaia with a stopover in Trelew. I had a window seat and took in as much of Buenos Aires after takeoff. It looked like a massive city. I dozed on and off during the rest of the flight to Trelew. I saw huge tracts of farmland and then even bigger tracts of arid land. Out of this arid land lass, TRELEW (pronounced Tre-lay-oh) appears like an Oasis. This place and area were settled by early immigrants from Wales.
I waited next to the Shuttle to Puerto Madyrn. The driver arrived about 10 minutes later and we both looked at each other quizzically before he unfurled a placard. It had my name on it! In my urgency not to miss the shuttle, I had passed him right by. We had a laugh and I boarded the shuttle. The cost was AEP 20 (US$7).
From Trelew we headed Northeast on a long straight road. The 60 kilometre (40 mile) distance takes about 45 minutes to cover. On reaching Puerto Madryn, the shuttle drops people off at various hotels.
December 24, 2007 - Puerto Madryn, Argentina
===================================
Puerto Madryn appeared to be a nice large place. My hostel was set about 5 blocks away from the waterfront. The room appeared ok. I was paying AEP 105 (US$35) per night here. I would be staying here for 2 nights. The hotel accepts ONLY cash.
As I was running a bit low on Cash, I decided to go in search of an ATM. I was hoping to get a better exchange rate with an ATM withdrawal as well. My bank (in the US) had told me that BANELCO machines would accept the US bank issued cards. The first BANELCO machine refused to dispense any cash. The second BANELCO machine did. However, I was limited to a withdrawal of AEP 300 (US$100 approx.). The exchange rate was $3.14 which was terrific compared to the $2.70 I had obtained earlier in the day at Buenos Aires airport!
I headed back to the hotel to pay up for the rooms and plan by tours for the next 2 days. I wanted to do Peninsula Valdes on Christmas day and do a tour of Punta Tombo on Wednesday. However, the tour to Peninsula Valdes was sold out for tomorrow (Dec 25). I settled for Punta Tombo instead. I also made sure that the hotel folks booked me on a tour to Peninsula Valdes on Wednesday (26th). The 2 major tour companies here are Tito Botazzi and Ryan´s travel. My hostel was an agent was Tito Botazzi. Each tour costs around AEP 150 with an additional AEP 75 for a boat trip. Neither of the agencies collect the National Park fees. These have to be paid on the day of the tour - as you enter the park - and can vary from AEP 20 to 40. Be prepared to Carry cash.
I went next in search of a restaurant. Being Christmas eve, most of the restaurants were either closed or fully booked. This is very much a seafood town. I could not find a single restaurant. I then recalled that Aerolineas had given each passenger a big cake as it was Christmas eve. I remember eating one cake and saving the other one. This cake along with a can of coke turned out to be my dinner.
Many of the stores here were selling fireworks. Being Christmas, anyone can buy the firecrackers and can burst them anywhere. I like this place already despite my state of starvation! If Chennai (Madras) during Diwali has a base decibel level of 100, then Puerto Madryn during Christmas has a decibel level of 20 at best. Most fireworks start at midnight to usher in Christmas. I am sure Midnight mass in these places on these occasions are a sight to behold. I was too tired to go and stand in front of the local cathedral at midnight.
I spent some time on the Internet at the hotel. At AEP 2 per hour (US$.65) it is about as good as La Serena!
The shuttle
December 23, 2007 - Easter Island / Santiago, Chile
December 23, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
I woke up later than usual and headed for breakfast around 9 AM (I think). As I was the sole occupant at the breakfast table, Marianna invited me to have breakfast with her and her son (Nelson) in the Kitchen. We chatted about my travel plans in south America and her travel experiences in south America, especially Argentina. Both Marianna and Nelson told me that Argentina was far cheaper than Chile. I sincerely hope so!
After packing up, I was gazing out the door of my room when I realized that I could see the top of Rano Kau / Orongo from my room!
As Cecilia had taken a group of guests on a tour, she had instructed Marianna to call a taxi for me around noon to take me to the airport. The taxi arrived shortly after noon and I bid adieu to Marianna and her son Nelson. While the good bye with Marianna was more traditional (kissing on both cheeks) the goodbye with Nelson consisted of what he insisted was a Rapa Nui handshake. It reminded me of the Bronx/Harlem handshakes I had observed during my stay in NYC!
The ride to the airport was less than 15 minutes. As the fare was prepaid by Cecilia, I did not have to open my wallet.
Folks here leave their cars unlocked with the keys on the dashboard. Must be a great feeling. Then again this is perhaps the norm here. Where can one go after stealing the car? :)
One of the waitresses at Raa Cafe was a baggage screener here! Check-in was not complicated. I ran into Nil who was travelling on the same flight as well. I took a look at the souvenir shops at the airport and found out that Magnets and some t-shirts are cheaper in the airport than in town. Not that I was induced into buying anything.
We spotted Cecilia and Nil went outside to greet her while I kept an eye on our bags. Cecilia walked back with Nil and bid us goodbye. She came back after 10 minutes or so and gave us each a Rapa Nui souvenir. While I got a carved Wooded Moai as a necklace, Nil got a shell necklace.
I got a window seat on the plane. Although I had my camera ready, the plane did not do a loop of the island after take-off. I had a very good vegetarian lunch on the flight. I slept most of the way.
December 23, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
==========================
We landed in Santiago around 8:25 PM. As our flight originated from Tahiti, we had to go through Passport control. By the time we got our bags it was around 9:25 PM. I noticed that my bag had a visible wet stain on it. On closer inspection, it turned out that fish was placed on top of it (yet again)! Oh, the AGONY i have to experience YET AGAIN!
I bid adieu to Nil and took a shuttle to my Hotel (Hostal Rio Amazonas). This time I got a room on the second floor. After checking in and picking up my bag (from the Hotel´s locker room), I headed out to get some dinner.
The local soccer team (COLO COLO) had won the national title for the 4th time. Rowdy, flag waving fans were all around. These fans make American fans (of any sport) look timid! Riot police were out in force preventing these revellers from spilling onto the roads thereby blocking traffic. I need to watch a good soccer game while I am in South America. Hopefully the season is either still on and will commence before I depart South America.
All restaurants were barricaded against this mob. The restaurateur opened a small window within a large metal door to ensure that I was not a rowdy fan but a hungry man in search of food, before opening the larger iron door to let me in.
My main course was a plate full of boiled vegetables and 2 boiled eggs. After setting aside the 2 eggs, I proceeded to clean up the plate of veggies before having an ice-cream to finish up.
I got back to the hotel close to midnight. I spent an hour checking e-mail and responding to messages. It was free at this time of the night. I went to bed at 1 AM. I had a large 3-bed room to myself. The private bathroom was across the hall.
But for the creaking wooden floors and the traffic noise at Night, Rio Amazonas is an excellent place to stay.
=============================
I woke up later than usual and headed for breakfast around 9 AM (I think). As I was the sole occupant at the breakfast table, Marianna invited me to have breakfast with her and her son (Nelson) in the Kitchen. We chatted about my travel plans in south America and her travel experiences in south America, especially Argentina. Both Marianna and Nelson told me that Argentina was far cheaper than Chile. I sincerely hope so!
After packing up, I was gazing out the door of my room when I realized that I could see the top of Rano Kau / Orongo from my room!
As Cecilia had taken a group of guests on a tour, she had instructed Marianna to call a taxi for me around noon to take me to the airport. The taxi arrived shortly after noon and I bid adieu to Marianna and her son Nelson. While the good bye with Marianna was more traditional (kissing on both cheeks) the goodbye with Nelson consisted of what he insisted was a Rapa Nui handshake. It reminded me of the Bronx/Harlem handshakes I had observed during my stay in NYC!
The ride to the airport was less than 15 minutes. As the fare was prepaid by Cecilia, I did not have to open my wallet.
Folks here leave their cars unlocked with the keys on the dashboard. Must be a great feeling. Then again this is perhaps the norm here. Where can one go after stealing the car? :)
One of the waitresses at Raa Cafe was a baggage screener here! Check-in was not complicated. I ran into Nil who was travelling on the same flight as well. I took a look at the souvenir shops at the airport and found out that Magnets and some t-shirts are cheaper in the airport than in town. Not that I was induced into buying anything.
We spotted Cecilia and Nil went outside to greet her while I kept an eye on our bags. Cecilia walked back with Nil and bid us goodbye. She came back after 10 minutes or so and gave us each a Rapa Nui souvenir. While I got a carved Wooded Moai as a necklace, Nil got a shell necklace.
I got a window seat on the plane. Although I had my camera ready, the plane did not do a loop of the island after take-off. I had a very good vegetarian lunch on the flight. I slept most of the way.
December 23, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
==========================
We landed in Santiago around 8:25 PM. As our flight originated from Tahiti, we had to go through Passport control. By the time we got our bags it was around 9:25 PM. I noticed that my bag had a visible wet stain on it. On closer inspection, it turned out that fish was placed on top of it (yet again)! Oh, the AGONY i have to experience YET AGAIN!
I bid adieu to Nil and took a shuttle to my Hotel (Hostal Rio Amazonas). This time I got a room on the second floor. After checking in and picking up my bag (from the Hotel´s locker room), I headed out to get some dinner.
The local soccer team (COLO COLO) had won the national title for the 4th time. Rowdy, flag waving fans were all around. These fans make American fans (of any sport) look timid! Riot police were out in force preventing these revellers from spilling onto the roads thereby blocking traffic. I need to watch a good soccer game while I am in South America. Hopefully the season is either still on and will commence before I depart South America.
All restaurants were barricaded against this mob. The restaurateur opened a small window within a large metal door to ensure that I was not a rowdy fan but a hungry man in search of food, before opening the larger iron door to let me in.
My main course was a plate full of boiled vegetables and 2 boiled eggs. After setting aside the 2 eggs, I proceeded to clean up the plate of veggies before having an ice-cream to finish up.
I got back to the hotel close to midnight. I spent an hour checking e-mail and responding to messages. It was free at this time of the night. I went to bed at 1 AM. I had a large 3-bed room to myself. The private bathroom was across the hall.
But for the creaking wooden floors and the traffic noise at Night, Rio Amazonas is an excellent place to stay.
December 22, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
December 22, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
Post breakfast I picked up my laundry. Although the total was CLP 8300, as they did not have the required change, they knocked off 300 pesos thereby saving me $0.65! The clothes were washed, dried, folded and packed neatly into a plastic bag. All I had to do was stow this into my duffel bag.
I headed to an Internet cafe around 11 AM and spent 2 hours blogging and checking my e-mails. I was current with my blogs (I have since slacked off!). I have not bothered to check the news at all. I am quite oblivious to whatever is happening in the world. I don´t think I am missing much.
Post blogging, I tried (yet again) to do some souvenir shopping. HOTU MATUA´s favourite shop had some nice shirts with Rapa Nui designs. They were priced at US$40. I finally settled for a fridge magnet. My grand contribution to the souvenir industry at Rapa Nui was $5.
I met Cecilia at the hotel. She informed me that she would take me to her office after a few hours so I could settle the bill by using my credit card. I listened to some Spanish lessons on my IPOD for about 2 hours. Pimsleur´s living language is pretty good. Anyone interested in learning a language should check out the Pimsleur options first before trying out other language programs.
Cecilia picked me up at 3 PM and we headed to her office. On reaching the office, she punched some numbers into her calculator and showed me a total price of CLP 180000! (about $388) The receipt she had issued me on arrival last Sunday showed CLP 163,000 (about $350) for a 7-night stay. She attributed the difference to the 10% charge - ahem, supposedly - levied on all credit card transactions.
I told her that this was not told to me during our numerous e-mail exchanges and that if she had told me about the $35 extra charge, I would have carried adequate cash to pay her. We went back and forth for few minutes and finally agreed to split the difference and settled on a final charge of CLP 170000 (US$ 365) which worked out to an extra $2 per day of stay.
I still think this is a fast one pulled on by folks here. Restaurants and shops in Easter Island accept credit cards without any surcharges. Looks like this is yet another way of gouging the tourist. I was told my some fellow guests at Cecilia that car rental companies in Easter Island also pull this trick.
I got back to the hotel and tried to listen to more Spanish lessons and have a siesta at the same time. The convenience of a Walkman / IPOD. I got up around 6 PM and went through all the memory cards used so far (for taking pictures) - roughly about 17 GB - and selected a handful (2 dozen) to upload for avid readers of my blog to view.
I left the hotel around 8:15 PM and headed to Ahu Tahai for some sunset pictures. I tried a different location this time. This place was also less crowded. I setup my tripod and waited. I took a few pictures of the setting sun and the Silhouetted MOAI after 9 PM. On my way back, I looked up and saw that the moon was almost full and looked great.
I setup my tripod and camera yet again and took about a dozen pictures. It was after 10 PM when I finally reached the town centre and the only place open to east was - Cafe Raa! Had a vegetable sandwich and fresh juice (yet again). Towards the end of my meal, the French/Chilean couple (I have no idea what their names are!) joined me for coffee. While they had large slices of watermelon with their tea, I had chocolate brownie with ice cream along with my Cortado (that is coffee, water and milk - all in equal quantities).
On paying up and leaving the restaurant, we ran into Nil on her way into town for a drink on her final night in Rapa Nui. I agreed to accompany her provided we headed to my hotel first and dropped off my camera gear. We set off once again to the town centre towards midnight. Cafe Te MOANA was the only place open and it was filled with locals. It looks like the evenings (until 10 / 11 PM) are for tourists and the locals come out after that. We had a decent cabernet-sauvignon and chatted a bit about our travels and interesting experiences on these travels.
I got back to the hotel around 2 AM and went to bed shortly thereafter.
=============================
Post breakfast I picked up my laundry. Although the total was CLP 8300, as they did not have the required change, they knocked off 300 pesos thereby saving me $0.65! The clothes were washed, dried, folded and packed neatly into a plastic bag. All I had to do was stow this into my duffel bag.
I headed to an Internet cafe around 11 AM and spent 2 hours blogging and checking my e-mails. I was current with my blogs (I have since slacked off!). I have not bothered to check the news at all. I am quite oblivious to whatever is happening in the world. I don´t think I am missing much.
Post blogging, I tried (yet again) to do some souvenir shopping. HOTU MATUA´s favourite shop had some nice shirts with Rapa Nui designs. They were priced at US$40. I finally settled for a fridge magnet. My grand contribution to the souvenir industry at Rapa Nui was $5.
I met Cecilia at the hotel. She informed me that she would take me to her office after a few hours so I could settle the bill by using my credit card. I listened to some Spanish lessons on my IPOD for about 2 hours. Pimsleur´s living language is pretty good. Anyone interested in learning a language should check out the Pimsleur options first before trying out other language programs.
Cecilia picked me up at 3 PM and we headed to her office. On reaching the office, she punched some numbers into her calculator and showed me a total price of CLP 180000! (about $388) The receipt she had issued me on arrival last Sunday showed CLP 163,000 (about $350) for a 7-night stay. She attributed the difference to the 10% charge - ahem, supposedly - levied on all credit card transactions.
I told her that this was not told to me during our numerous e-mail exchanges and that if she had told me about the $35 extra charge, I would have carried adequate cash to pay her. We went back and forth for few minutes and finally agreed to split the difference and settled on a final charge of CLP 170000 (US$ 365) which worked out to an extra $2 per day of stay.
I still think this is a fast one pulled on by folks here. Restaurants and shops in Easter Island accept credit cards without any surcharges. Looks like this is yet another way of gouging the tourist. I was told my some fellow guests at Cecilia that car rental companies in Easter Island also pull this trick.
I got back to the hotel and tried to listen to more Spanish lessons and have a siesta at the same time. The convenience of a Walkman / IPOD. I got up around 6 PM and went through all the memory cards used so far (for taking pictures) - roughly about 17 GB - and selected a handful (2 dozen) to upload for avid readers of my blog to view.
I left the hotel around 8:15 PM and headed to Ahu Tahai for some sunset pictures. I tried a different location this time. This place was also less crowded. I setup my tripod and waited. I took a few pictures of the setting sun and the Silhouetted MOAI after 9 PM. On my way back, I looked up and saw that the moon was almost full and looked great.
I setup my tripod and camera yet again and took about a dozen pictures. It was after 10 PM when I finally reached the town centre and the only place open to east was - Cafe Raa! Had a vegetable sandwich and fresh juice (yet again). Towards the end of my meal, the French/Chilean couple (I have no idea what their names are!) joined me for coffee. While they had large slices of watermelon with their tea, I had chocolate brownie with ice cream along with my Cortado (that is coffee, water and milk - all in equal quantities).
On paying up and leaving the restaurant, we ran into Nil on her way into town for a drink on her final night in Rapa Nui. I agreed to accompany her provided we headed to my hotel first and dropped off my camera gear. We set off once again to the town centre towards midnight. Cafe Te MOANA was the only place open and it was filled with locals. It looks like the evenings (until 10 / 11 PM) are for tourists and the locals come out after that. We had a decent cabernet-sauvignon and chatted a bit about our travels and interesting experiences on these travels.
I got back to the hotel around 2 AM and went to bed shortly thereafter.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
December 20-21, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
December 20, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
I met a new French (he) / Chilean (she) couple at breakfast. They were stopping at Easter Island for a few days enroute to Tahiti. This trip was their much delayed honeymoon after their marriage in July. Both spoke French, English and Spanish.
Marianne told me that there would be a tour today at 2:30 PM. As I did not feel like exerting myself until then, I decided to run some errands. I went to the Post office to mail some more cards (I did have the correct change now!) and then went to an Internet cafe to transcribe my diary onto my blog.
I spent about 3 hours blogging and when I was finished, I asked the manager for a discount on being a power internet user! He knocked off CLP 700 off my charges. [Looks like discounts are for the asking - up to a reasonable point] As it was close to 1:30PM and most of the restaurants close by did not have anything vegetarian, I settled on a diet of cookies and juice for lunch. I hoped this would hold me up until 7:30 PM - the time by which I expected to return from the 2:30 PM tour.
Cecilia arrived at 2:30 and the French/Chilean couple and I set off from Hanga Roa towards Anakena beach. After a few Kilometres we veered off to the right onto a road that ran along the eastern coast.
Our first stop was Hanga Tee (VAIHU) where we saw a few toppled MOAI. When one of the warring tribes emerged victorious, they usually set about toppling the MOAI erected by the losing tribe. Cecilia showed us a few stone ovens from those times. Using the abundant sunshine that heated the volcanic rocks, the islanders cooked their catch (mostly fish).
The waves on the eastern coast were quite spectacular. The crashing waves created large sheets of water sprays - some as high as 10 metres. Made for good Photographs.
We headed next to AKAHANGA where we were shown a cave inhabited by some member of a tribe. The temperatures insides these caves are nice without being tool cold. The interiors of these caves are not damp or moist either.
We spent a few minutes here and set off towards RANO RARAKU. We reached RANO RARAKU after 15 minutes of driving. This MOAI on Easter Island were quarried from this dormant volcano. Cecilia told us that the hike around this place would take an hour approximately and told us that she would wait for us in the van.
As we started the hike, we observed quite a few MOAI on the outer slopes the volcano. The first MOAI we encountered required a reasonable climb. From here the path was more or less of even gradient as we observed many MOAI - some still not taken out from their Rocky perches after being carved. One of the reasons given is that the practice of MOAI creation died out and these MOAI were left as is. It would also explain the many top knots (for the MOAI) sitting on the slopes of PUNA PAU.
Many of the MOAI here are over 5 metres tall with the tallest over 20 metres in height.
The gradient gradually increased as we headed towards the rim of the Volcano. As I was wearing my sandals (yet again), I had doubts about its grip on the gravel / sandy path. I think the sandals are fine. My heart might be the one losing its grip with advancing age!
I spoke to many of the folks returning after visiting the rim of the Volcano and they encouraged me by saying that the rim was hardly 3-5 mins away. They do have wooden railings near some treacherous parts of the path to the Volcano´s rim. I reached the rim of the Crater slowly but steadily. The French/ Chilean couple had long disappeared ahead of me.
On reaching the rim, I was presented with a fantastic sight. There was a lake in the centre of the crater. Red volcanic sand could be seen on the shores of this lake. We could also see many Horses grazing near the shore of this lake. There were quite few MOAI on the inside walls of the crater. RANO RARAKU probably went extinct about 200+ million years ago therefore the MOAI builders risked nothing by quarrying this Volcano.
After taking my pictures, I decided to explore an alternative path on the way down. While the right side appeared headed to the higher elevations of the Volcano´s rim, the left side of the path appeared to be headed down on a reasonably wide grassy path. On following this path for about 50 metres or so, I came closer to the lake´s elevation. From here I navigated short descent to reach the level of the lake and the Grazing horses. Much as the horses have better grip than my sandals, they could not be expected to climb the volcano the same way we did. There had to be an alternative path into and out of the volcano.
After taking a few pictures, I turned around to see my reasoning validated. There was a 10-feet break in the crater wall and I could see a narrow passage headed out. I presumed that this must be the way for the horses to come in and go out an started to follow it. Within 5 minutes, I was outside the crater on the Volcano´s outer slope! The gradient was easy and the path wide. As I continued walking I started encountering many of the MOAI I had observed on the way up to the rim.
As I was level with many of these MOAI, I stopped to take in their gaze and the effort that must have gone into carving these statues. I took many pictures along the way. As we were a small group of 3 people, there was no risk of delaying the group because of my stopping to admire (and take pictures) of each MOAI. I took as many pictures of these MOAI as there were far more here than at other places on Easter Island. I reached the entrance to RANO RARAKU about 70 minutes after we started the hike.
Once again, talk about doing things the hard way the first time!
My tour companions showed up about 10 minutes later. We headed to our final stop of AHU TONGARIKI which is a fantastic setting of 15 MOAI in a row facing the setting sun. As we reached AHU TONGARIKI close to 6 PM, the lighting was perfect for taking pictures. I took about 2 dozen pictures (It´s digital after all) and got back to the van.
We headed to Hanga Roa and reached the hotel around 7 PM. As I was planning to see a cultural show at 9 PM this evening, I decided to have an early dinner. As I had not had a proper lunch, this made even more sense. I visited the empanada place on Atamu Takena and had 2 vegetable empanadas (I was hungry!).
After dinner, I visited the KARI KARI cultural centre and paid CLP 10,000 (US$ 20) for the program. One can also pay US$20 in cash. I do not think they accept credit cards.
The show is held in a small tent that has 8 rows of seating to seat about 120 people. The first row of 16 seats was reserved for tour groups. I took a seat in the second row. The view was quite decent. As I had planned to use a flash to take pictures, it made sense to sit as close to the stage as possible. Presently a small group of Japanese tourists occupied the first row of seats.
The program started at 9 PM with musicians performing a few traditional numbers. This was followed by dancers (male and female) in grass skirts - including some with painted faces - performing a few traditional dances set to music. Having seen a similar performance in New Zealand (by MAORI groups) back in 2001, this performance had a familiarity.
There were certainly a few notable differences:
The performers here were professional (they were part of the KARI KARI ballet ensemble) and out their hearts into this performance. After about 20 minutes every performer was drenched in sweat from head to toe.
The second biggest difference was that there were no MARTIAL (fighting) dances performed by the male dancers. The MAORIS have MARTIAL dances - Witness the Haka in Rugby games, if you can (definitely s sight to behold!)
The program lasted an hour and towards the end audience members were invited to join the dancers on the stage (this was quite similar to the MAORI performance in NZ as well). I was passed. Just as well!
At the end of the program, we were invited to take pictures with the performers. I took the opportunity to take a picture with the dancers and the musicians. Nil who was to have joined me for this performance, joined me at the end of the performance (she had mistaken waited at another place for this performance!) and we went out for a drink.
Being a Thursday, Hanga Roa was in a party mood. Many of the locals had set up boom boxes and were merrily drinking away. We had a barely quaffable organic Chilean wine. We did a bit of people watching while quaffing away.
The Rapa Nui folks are a fat lot. The only lean ones are the Ballet dancers and children until their early teens. Older Rapa Nui folks are slim as well. But most folks in the age group of 20-60 are mostly fat. This could be due to a number of factors: A heavily meat based (despite it being sea food) diet. A laid back life style that hardly allows for much exercising. The third factor could be genetics. Most Polynesians I have seen are robust (= FAT!).
People here invariably choose friendship and bonding over tending to business. They would shutter shop in seconds, if their friends show up and invite them to go fishing or surfing! Come to think of it, this is not a bad thing. What have we achieved by slaving away in cubicles? An endless mortgage?
I digress. We found out that there was a live performance by a local group called TOPA TANGI taking place at a nearby bar. We headed there and paid the entrance fee of CLP 2500 (US$6). This entitled us to a free drink. I had a PISCO COLA.
It was 11:30 PM. The place was slowing getting packed with more and more locals. Cecilia showed up with a friend. Most locals were smartly dressed. Cecilia and her friend were dressed as if going to a new year´s eve ball at the Ritz Carlton! As for the dress code of the tourists, the less said the better.
The program started after midnight! More and more, the Rapa Nui folks start their parties really late. Many of them have dinner close to Midnight and start their parties at 1 AM. No wonder restaurants need to close early, as those folks can have a nice dinner later and head out to party!
The songs were local favourites and many of the locals sang along as well. For some numbers the locals went to the front of the stage and danced. For some other numbers, some members of the KARI KARI ballet performed some traditional dances. Although I was invited to dance by Cecilia, I declined.
This was a good performance. Although after 20 minutes all songs appear to have the same beat and perhaps even lyrics! In all fairness, if one starts to listen to Albums by groups such as the Eagles or Jethro Tull, the songs start to have the same monotony after a few numbers!
The performers decided to take a break after 45 minutes. It was close to 1 AM. The DJ started playing some local numbers and then moved on to some disco numbers and even a badly done rendition of Pink Floyd´s "Dark side of the Moon"! Nil and I decided we had had enough culture for an evening. We excused ourselves and said goodnight to Cecilia and headed to our hotels.
Walking back at night is quite safe in Easter Island. Crime is not an issue. Even the stray dogs you encounter ignore you (if you choose to ignore them)! The moonlit night over the pacific was quite nice. I went to bed close to 2 AM.
Cecilia and the 2 Chilean couples had taken it upon themselves to find a Chilean woman for me. With 3 days to go before I head to Santiago and then to Argentina, not sure whether it will work out in time!
December 21, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
Today and tomorrow are free days. Nil met me at Cecilia´s after breakfast and we headed out on a hike along the south western coast of Hanga Roa until the Start of the ANA KAI TANGATA trail. The trail continued to RANA KAU Volcano and ORONGO. Neither of us were up to spending 4 more hours doing this hike! We decided to head back to the centre of Hanga Roa. The entire hike and return to Hanga Roa took us a good 2 hours.
We refreshed ourselves with a fresh pineapple juice and watched the surfers enjoying themselves along the Hanga Roa beach. Despite the abundance of Coconut trees, Coconut juice is not on offer here at restaurants or at Sandwich shops.
I visited the entel Chile office and called the toll-free number of Aerolineas Argentinas. After returning to Santiago by LAN CHILE, I was taking Aerolineas Argentinas for a month (for about 4 trips within Argentina). Aerolineas requires re-confirmation of bookings 72 hours before departure! After confirming that all was well with by bookings, we visited a tour agency and inquired about tours to POIKE. We were told that the only way to tour POIKE was to do it by ourselves. There were no organized tours available.
We headed to our respective hotels for a siesta. I woke up around 4:30 Pm and took my clothes to a local laundry. The laundry charged me CLP 2500 (US$5.25) per kilo for washing and drying. The laundry does not offer an option of doing it on your own (at a cheaper price).To think the Cecilia´s place wanted to Charge me CLP 5000 (US$11) to do this! I think there needs to be a limit to greed. As I am firm believer in "Cleanliness being next to Godliness", the price - although more expensive than Santiago - was not a deterrent. This way, I would not have to revisit a Laundromat until I am well into Patagonia.
I blogged for about 2 hours and copied photos from my memory cards to my external hard drive. I visited the RAA cafe on Atamu Takena and had a delicious (and perhaps the most expensive - CLP 6500 - US$15) vegetable soup with coconut milk as a base. I followed it up with a fruit salad and a Chilean coffee (called CORTADO).
I wondered about the reaction of many of the islanders (who had never travelled outside of Easter island) when they encounter a live Elephant, a Camel, Giraffe or any of the big cats. I think many of us are fortunate to have seen and observed many of these things first hand.
The nights are getting a bit chilly here. Not sure if Summer in Mainland Chile equates to cooler nights on Easter Island:) The foul fish smell emanating from my checked in bag had more or less disappeared. I gave it a rinse anyways and left it to dry.
Tomorrow is my last full day on Easter Island. I have seen whatever I wanted to see and have enjoyed my stay here. What started as an obsession during a trip to the Galapagos (in 1999) - when one of the Australian couples talked about their visit to Easter Island and its great culture and history - has finally become a reality.
To recap, here are the MUST see / do activities when visiting Easter island (in order of Priority)
(a) Visiting the RANO KAU Volcano (and its lake) and ORONGO Ruins
(b) Visiting the RANO RARAKU Volcano and its lake
(c) Visiting the magnificent MOAI at AHU TONGARIKI and AHU AKIVI
(d) Watching the Sunset at AHU TAHAI
(e) Walking along the South Eastern coast - Hangao Roa to Hanga Omohi
I would definitely recommend a 5-day stay here.
=============================
I met a new French (he) / Chilean (she) couple at breakfast. They were stopping at Easter Island for a few days enroute to Tahiti. This trip was their much delayed honeymoon after their marriage in July. Both spoke French, English and Spanish.
Marianne told me that there would be a tour today at 2:30 PM. As I did not feel like exerting myself until then, I decided to run some errands. I went to the Post office to mail some more cards (I did have the correct change now!) and then went to an Internet cafe to transcribe my diary onto my blog.
I spent about 3 hours blogging and when I was finished, I asked the manager for a discount on being a power internet user! He knocked off CLP 700 off my charges. [Looks like discounts are for the asking - up to a reasonable point] As it was close to 1:30PM and most of the restaurants close by did not have anything vegetarian, I settled on a diet of cookies and juice for lunch. I hoped this would hold me up until 7:30 PM - the time by which I expected to return from the 2:30 PM tour.
Cecilia arrived at 2:30 and the French/Chilean couple and I set off from Hanga Roa towards Anakena beach. After a few Kilometres we veered off to the right onto a road that ran along the eastern coast.
Our first stop was Hanga Tee (VAIHU) where we saw a few toppled MOAI. When one of the warring tribes emerged victorious, they usually set about toppling the MOAI erected by the losing tribe. Cecilia showed us a few stone ovens from those times. Using the abundant sunshine that heated the volcanic rocks, the islanders cooked their catch (mostly fish).
The waves on the eastern coast were quite spectacular. The crashing waves created large sheets of water sprays - some as high as 10 metres. Made for good Photographs.
We headed next to AKAHANGA where we were shown a cave inhabited by some member of a tribe. The temperatures insides these caves are nice without being tool cold. The interiors of these caves are not damp or moist either.
We spent a few minutes here and set off towards RANO RARAKU. We reached RANO RARAKU after 15 minutes of driving. This MOAI on Easter Island were quarried from this dormant volcano. Cecilia told us that the hike around this place would take an hour approximately and told us that she would wait for us in the van.
As we started the hike, we observed quite a few MOAI on the outer slopes the volcano. The first MOAI we encountered required a reasonable climb. From here the path was more or less of even gradient as we observed many MOAI - some still not taken out from their Rocky perches after being carved. One of the reasons given is that the practice of MOAI creation died out and these MOAI were left as is. It would also explain the many top knots (for the MOAI) sitting on the slopes of PUNA PAU.
Many of the MOAI here are over 5 metres tall with the tallest over 20 metres in height.
The gradient gradually increased as we headed towards the rim of the Volcano. As I was wearing my sandals (yet again), I had doubts about its grip on the gravel / sandy path. I think the sandals are fine. My heart might be the one losing its grip with advancing age!
I spoke to many of the folks returning after visiting the rim of the Volcano and they encouraged me by saying that the rim was hardly 3-5 mins away. They do have wooden railings near some treacherous parts of the path to the Volcano´s rim. I reached the rim of the Crater slowly but steadily. The French/ Chilean couple had long disappeared ahead of me.
On reaching the rim, I was presented with a fantastic sight. There was a lake in the centre of the crater. Red volcanic sand could be seen on the shores of this lake. We could also see many Horses grazing near the shore of this lake. There were quite few MOAI on the inside walls of the crater. RANO RARAKU probably went extinct about 200+ million years ago therefore the MOAI builders risked nothing by quarrying this Volcano.
After taking my pictures, I decided to explore an alternative path on the way down. While the right side appeared headed to the higher elevations of the Volcano´s rim, the left side of the path appeared to be headed down on a reasonably wide grassy path. On following this path for about 50 metres or so, I came closer to the lake´s elevation. From here I navigated short descent to reach the level of the lake and the Grazing horses. Much as the horses have better grip than my sandals, they could not be expected to climb the volcano the same way we did. There had to be an alternative path into and out of the volcano.
After taking a few pictures, I turned around to see my reasoning validated. There was a 10-feet break in the crater wall and I could see a narrow passage headed out. I presumed that this must be the way for the horses to come in and go out an started to follow it. Within 5 minutes, I was outside the crater on the Volcano´s outer slope! The gradient was easy and the path wide. As I continued walking I started encountering many of the MOAI I had observed on the way up to the rim.
As I was level with many of these MOAI, I stopped to take in their gaze and the effort that must have gone into carving these statues. I took many pictures along the way. As we were a small group of 3 people, there was no risk of delaying the group because of my stopping to admire (and take pictures) of each MOAI. I took as many pictures of these MOAI as there were far more here than at other places on Easter Island. I reached the entrance to RANO RARAKU about 70 minutes after we started the hike.
Once again, talk about doing things the hard way the first time!
My tour companions showed up about 10 minutes later. We headed to our final stop of AHU TONGARIKI which is a fantastic setting of 15 MOAI in a row facing the setting sun. As we reached AHU TONGARIKI close to 6 PM, the lighting was perfect for taking pictures. I took about 2 dozen pictures (It´s digital after all) and got back to the van.
We headed to Hanga Roa and reached the hotel around 7 PM. As I was planning to see a cultural show at 9 PM this evening, I decided to have an early dinner. As I had not had a proper lunch, this made even more sense. I visited the empanada place on Atamu Takena and had 2 vegetable empanadas (I was hungry!).
After dinner, I visited the KARI KARI cultural centre and paid CLP 10,000 (US$ 20) for the program. One can also pay US$20 in cash. I do not think they accept credit cards.
The show is held in a small tent that has 8 rows of seating to seat about 120 people. The first row of 16 seats was reserved for tour groups. I took a seat in the second row. The view was quite decent. As I had planned to use a flash to take pictures, it made sense to sit as close to the stage as possible. Presently a small group of Japanese tourists occupied the first row of seats.
The program started at 9 PM with musicians performing a few traditional numbers. This was followed by dancers (male and female) in grass skirts - including some with painted faces - performing a few traditional dances set to music. Having seen a similar performance in New Zealand (by MAORI groups) back in 2001, this performance had a familiarity.
There were certainly a few notable differences:
The performers here were professional (they were part of the KARI KARI ballet ensemble) and out their hearts into this performance. After about 20 minutes every performer was drenched in sweat from head to toe.
The second biggest difference was that there were no MARTIAL (fighting) dances performed by the male dancers. The MAORIS have MARTIAL dances - Witness the Haka in Rugby games, if you can (definitely s sight to behold!)
The program lasted an hour and towards the end audience members were invited to join the dancers on the stage (this was quite similar to the MAORI performance in NZ as well). I was passed. Just as well!
At the end of the program, we were invited to take pictures with the performers. I took the opportunity to take a picture with the dancers and the musicians. Nil who was to have joined me for this performance, joined me at the end of the performance (she had mistaken waited at another place for this performance!) and we went out for a drink.
Being a Thursday, Hanga Roa was in a party mood. Many of the locals had set up boom boxes and were merrily drinking away. We had a barely quaffable organic Chilean wine. We did a bit of people watching while quaffing away.
The Rapa Nui folks are a fat lot. The only lean ones are the Ballet dancers and children until their early teens. Older Rapa Nui folks are slim as well. But most folks in the age group of 20-60 are mostly fat. This could be due to a number of factors: A heavily meat based (despite it being sea food) diet. A laid back life style that hardly allows for much exercising. The third factor could be genetics. Most Polynesians I have seen are robust (= FAT!).
People here invariably choose friendship and bonding over tending to business. They would shutter shop in seconds, if their friends show up and invite them to go fishing or surfing! Come to think of it, this is not a bad thing. What have we achieved by slaving away in cubicles? An endless mortgage?
I digress. We found out that there was a live performance by a local group called TOPA TANGI taking place at a nearby bar. We headed there and paid the entrance fee of CLP 2500 (US$6). This entitled us to a free drink. I had a PISCO COLA.
It was 11:30 PM. The place was slowing getting packed with more and more locals. Cecilia showed up with a friend. Most locals were smartly dressed. Cecilia and her friend were dressed as if going to a new year´s eve ball at the Ritz Carlton! As for the dress code of the tourists, the less said the better.
The program started after midnight! More and more, the Rapa Nui folks start their parties really late. Many of them have dinner close to Midnight and start their parties at 1 AM. No wonder restaurants need to close early, as those folks can have a nice dinner later and head out to party!
The songs were local favourites and many of the locals sang along as well. For some numbers the locals went to the front of the stage and danced. For some other numbers, some members of the KARI KARI ballet performed some traditional dances. Although I was invited to dance by Cecilia, I declined.
This was a good performance. Although after 20 minutes all songs appear to have the same beat and perhaps even lyrics! In all fairness, if one starts to listen to Albums by groups such as the Eagles or Jethro Tull, the songs start to have the same monotony after a few numbers!
The performers decided to take a break after 45 minutes. It was close to 1 AM. The DJ started playing some local numbers and then moved on to some disco numbers and even a badly done rendition of Pink Floyd´s "Dark side of the Moon"! Nil and I decided we had had enough culture for an evening. We excused ourselves and said goodnight to Cecilia and headed to our hotels.
Walking back at night is quite safe in Easter Island. Crime is not an issue. Even the stray dogs you encounter ignore you (if you choose to ignore them)! The moonlit night over the pacific was quite nice. I went to bed close to 2 AM.
Cecilia and the 2 Chilean couples had taken it upon themselves to find a Chilean woman for me. With 3 days to go before I head to Santiago and then to Argentina, not sure whether it will work out in time!
December 21, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
Today and tomorrow are free days. Nil met me at Cecilia´s after breakfast and we headed out on a hike along the south western coast of Hanga Roa until the Start of the ANA KAI TANGATA trail. The trail continued to RANA KAU Volcano and ORONGO. Neither of us were up to spending 4 more hours doing this hike! We decided to head back to the centre of Hanga Roa. The entire hike and return to Hanga Roa took us a good 2 hours.
We refreshed ourselves with a fresh pineapple juice and watched the surfers enjoying themselves along the Hanga Roa beach. Despite the abundance of Coconut trees, Coconut juice is not on offer here at restaurants or at Sandwich shops.
I visited the entel Chile office and called the toll-free number of Aerolineas Argentinas. After returning to Santiago by LAN CHILE, I was taking Aerolineas Argentinas for a month (for about 4 trips within Argentina). Aerolineas requires re-confirmation of bookings 72 hours before departure! After confirming that all was well with by bookings, we visited a tour agency and inquired about tours to POIKE. We were told that the only way to tour POIKE was to do it by ourselves. There were no organized tours available.
We headed to our respective hotels for a siesta. I woke up around 4:30 Pm and took my clothes to a local laundry. The laundry charged me CLP 2500 (US$5.25) per kilo for washing and drying. The laundry does not offer an option of doing it on your own (at a cheaper price).To think the Cecilia´s place wanted to Charge me CLP 5000 (US$11) to do this! I think there needs to be a limit to greed. As I am firm believer in "Cleanliness being next to Godliness", the price - although more expensive than Santiago - was not a deterrent. This way, I would not have to revisit a Laundromat until I am well into Patagonia.
I blogged for about 2 hours and copied photos from my memory cards to my external hard drive. I visited the RAA cafe on Atamu Takena and had a delicious (and perhaps the most expensive - CLP 6500 - US$15) vegetable soup with coconut milk as a base. I followed it up with a fruit salad and a Chilean coffee (called CORTADO).
I wondered about the reaction of many of the islanders (who had never travelled outside of Easter island) when they encounter a live Elephant, a Camel, Giraffe or any of the big cats. I think many of us are fortunate to have seen and observed many of these things first hand.
The nights are getting a bit chilly here. Not sure if Summer in Mainland Chile equates to cooler nights on Easter Island:) The foul fish smell emanating from my checked in bag had more or less disappeared. I gave it a rinse anyways and left it to dry.
Tomorrow is my last full day on Easter Island. I have seen whatever I wanted to see and have enjoyed my stay here. What started as an obsession during a trip to the Galapagos (in 1999) - when one of the Australian couples talked about their visit to Easter Island and its great culture and history - has finally become a reality.
To recap, here are the MUST see / do activities when visiting Easter island (in order of Priority)
(a) Visiting the RANO KAU Volcano (and its lake) and ORONGO Ruins
(b) Visiting the RANO RARAKU Volcano and its lake
(c) Visiting the magnificent MOAI at AHU TONGARIKI and AHU AKIVI
(d) Watching the Sunset at AHU TAHAI
(e) Walking along the South Eastern coast - Hangao Roa to Hanga Omohi
I would definitely recommend a 5-day stay here.
Friday, December 21, 2007
December 18-19, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
December 18, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
During breakfast, I learned a few words of Rapa Nui (the language spoken in Easter Island) from the manager (Marianna) of the hotel. Not that I remember any of it now (3 days later). Marianna is a very distinctive Polynesian lady. She told me that there are quite a few similarities between Rapa Nui, Tahitian and Maori. I was not surprised by that as these three cultures share many common traits.
Cecilia arrived a few minutes after 9 AM. She had another passenger who was to accompany us on today´s tour. Her name was Nil (short for Cornelia) and she was a German. She was a first assistant director by profession and was taking a week´s break in Easter Island after finishing up a 2-month film assignment in Chile. The film was for German Television. Since she spoke very good English I was able to gather all this information within 10 minutes! She had been to Easter island before and had spent 5-weeks here. Not sure if I can handle 5-weeks of vacation on Easter Island.
We set off on our tour. Our first stop was at Anakena Beach about 30 minutes away. Cecilia dropped us off at the beach and told us that she would be back to pick us up at 3 PM. We saw a few MOAI near the beach. After spending around 20 minutes, we decided to go in search of the PINK beach (OVAHE). We set of on a route to the beach described in one of the guidebooks as ´rocky´. We assumed a pebble strewn path. It started off as an easy climb. After crossing the first hill, there was no sight of the pink beach. We climbed a second hill and still there was no sight of OVAHE. Having set out to find the place, neither of us felt like returning to base now.
Continuing on the path set us close to the cliff´s edge. I took my time walking this path carefully. After climbing down about 20 metres on to a sandy / rocky ledge, we spotted the beach. We were still about 30 metres or so above the beach and needed to find a way to reach the beach and feel the waters and the pink sand. We spotted a narrow path that appeared to be heading to the beach. This path was sand and gravel. The slipper kind. I hate these. I am never sure of the efficiency of my sandals in these situations and would prefer rocky ascents/descents to gravel ascents/descents.
I took almost 20 minutes descending the 30 metres to the beach level. The Spanish couple who usually trail me in hiking by quite a distance, were virtually breathing down my back during this descent! Of course, on getting down to the beach level, we all had a good laugh about our ´adventure´. Much as I hate these, will I avoid these in the future? I very much, doubt it as my sense my adventure will invariably triumph caution!
The OVAHE beach was really beautiful and the sands were really pink. Jose, Sylvie and Nil promptly went for a swim. I walked around taking pictures and waded into the water from time to time. A few folks were snorkelling and one intrepid fellow was trying to follow the ancient Polynesian way by trying to harpoon a fish in these shallow waters.
After spending around 30 minutes, we decided to take an alternative route (also recommended in the guide book) back to Anakena beach. This alternative path out of OVAHE put us on a paved (black top) road after less than half a mile of walking with no climbing. From this point on, Anakena beach was 750 metres away! Talk about doing things the hard way (the first time).
Cecilia had also provided us with a picnic basket. There were Cheese sandwiches (vegetarian). I had a banana and a sandwich. After commencing my visit to Chile, I have started eating lots of fruits and consuming fruit juices as opposed to sodas. Post lunch, the trio went for a swim on Anakena beach. It was hardly 1 PM and I had 2 hours to kill (at least). I spent the first hour taking a long walk around the beach. I spent the second hour, sitting in the shade of palm trees at the beach watching life pass me by.
During my beach walk, I did spot a few decayed and rotting fish around the fringes of the beach. Not sure how people can swim in the waters. To get rid of the fine sand, I wanted to wash my hands and face. When I tried to use the toilettes, I was told that there was an entry fee of CLP 500. It looks like folks in Easter Island picture tourists as a $ sign with a big grin! There is a limit to being intrepid / making money. I did not bother to hide my disgust and turned away. After all there was no urgency for me to use the bathroom!
Anakena Beach is perhaps the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool and many tourists visit here. I would strongly advice that picture taking be the sole activity at Anakena and swimming activities be done at OVAHE.
We all dozed on the drive back. As this was my second afternoon in a row without a siesta, it showed!
Cecilia drove us to PUNA PAU. This was the quarry where the RED top knots (or turbans) for the MOAI (Stone statues) were carved. These were then moved to the location of the statues and set on top of the statues. There were a few finished top knots lying around at PUNA PAU. The colour comes from the RED Volcanic rock that is characteristic of PUNA PAU. There is a good view of Hanga Roa from the top of PUNA PAU. I think the view from ORONGO (of Hanga Roa) is far better.
We set off next to Ahu Akivi. This is a spectacular setting where 7 MOAI face the setting sun. I took lots of Pictures. We even came across a Chief of one of the local tribes. The current Rapa Nui people belong to half-a-dozen clans and each clan had a chief. Many of the ancient practices and customs are still adhered to here. So while administered by Chile, the tribes have their own leaders and speak their tongue. Needless to say all of them are at least bi-lingual (Rapa Nui and Spanish). AHU AKIVI is a must see along with ORONGO and RANO KAU.
We headed next to ANA TE PAHU. This was a set of caves with some of these caves serving as underground cisterns (in the past). Many folks constructed houses in these caves and there were signs of ancient habitation and even cooking practices. We did see a small grove of banana trees in one of these caves (that had an opening to the sky).
We headed back to the City centre and were eventually dropped off at the hotel. I wanted to do some work on the computer and headed to an internet cafe nearby. I copied the completed memory cards (from my camera) to my 160-GB hard drive. 13 days so far and I have taken pictures in excess of 12 GB. I shall try and upload some shortly.
I also sent some requests to the hotels in El Calafate (Argentinean Patagonia) and Puerto Natales (Chilean Patagonia) inquiring about bus transfers between various places in Patagonia. As the Internet company was charging quite a bit less for Phone calls to the US (CLP 300 - $0.65 approx per minute), I made a few calls to friends and family. I went back to the same cafe (as yesterday) again for a vegetable Sandwich and watermelon juice.
I made some purchases (bottled water and cookies) on the way back to the hotel.
There are way too many stray dogs in Chile. Many of these are constantly barking (I mean - all day and all night with little respite). This racket most certainly disrupts my nightly sleep not to mention my siesta as well. Of course, there is always the risk of being bitten by one of these animals. (who knows the state of mind of these creatures?)
My advice is to carry a TASER gun when travelling to Chile. While La Serena, San Pedro de Atacama and Easter Island are horrible in that aspect (with large numbers of Stray dogs), Santiago is not that bad. I did not spot any stray dogs during my 18-hour stopover there.
It is 12:40 AM here as I write this listening to my IPOD and the barking of the dogs still permeates the music. Much as I like pets, I cannot stand this incessant barking!
December 19, 2008 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
I was the first at the breakfast table. Jose and Sylvie joined me a bit later. We chatted a bit. Chileans are not shy about asking how much you make. I was asked this question at La Serena and now here. I don´t have a problem telling as long as the conversation continues in general. I do not want my earnings to be a conversation stopper. It should not be - considering that I will be earning a grand total of ZERO - in any currency - at least over the next 8 months!
After revealing what I used to make, I explained that Uncle sam takes a nice chunk in taxes and that health insurance and apartment rental costs in NYC take up another significant chunk leaving me with not a lot of money. That explanation usually puts things in perspective. Jose and Sylvie (as doctors) make around US$7000 per month enabling them to lice comfortably with their 4 kids in Vina del mar (Close to Santiago).
Easter islanders get free University education. For other Chileans, the cost would be around US$6000 per year. There is no University in Easter Island and Islanders must go to mainland Chile for University education.
Cecilia informed me that there would be no tours today. For the first time in 13 days, today turned out to be a rainy day. I visited the archaeological museum. It was located closed to my hotel and I had an opportunity to try on the poncho I had purchased before my departure to Chile! It was good.
The museum charges an entry fee of CLP 1000. Although the exhibition panels are in Spanish, the museum provides booklets in different languages that explain the panels. This greatly helps non-Spanish speakers appreciate the exhibit. This is a small, but effectively organized museum. I spent an hour here.
The museum shop had heavily overpriced souvenirs. I left the souvenirs to be polished and admired by the museum staff. The rain had stopped by now. I purchased a few postcards. I visited the artisans workshop and market located close to the church. I found more overpriced items here.
I visited the local church and took a long walk around town. I went to Hanga Roa harbour to inquire about boat tours around the island. At the present time, circumnavigation of Isla de Pascua does not exist and a private boat trip would take a few hours and set me back a few hundred dollars! I watched the surfers enjoying the choppy sea caused by the bad weather. Some of these guys are quite good. What do I know! As long as they manage to stay upright for a few seconds, I think it is good.
I visited the ´Queen´of empanadas and had a vegetarian empanada for Lunch. Being a rainy day, the internet cafe was full at 3 PM. I took my completed postcards to the Post office. They could not change my CLP 20000 (US$40) bill for postage worth CLP 670 (US$1.5)! I wandered around from store to store for 20 mins before being able to break my CLP 20000 bill. I went back to the Post office to pay the CLP 670 postage so that my cards can reach the intended recipients.
I had a siesta at the hotel from 4:45 to 7:30! I left the hotel at 8 PM to see the sunset. As the rain continued, there was no sunset possible.I visited the internet cafe again and blogged for an hour. Dinner consisted of a delicious 4-scoop ice-cream. Nil joined me at dinner and we chatted until the restaurant closed (11:15 PM)
Unlike mainland Chile, most restaurants in Easter Island close by 10 PM or so. Restaurants in mainland Chile are open until about 1 AM.
I hope I get to do a tour tomorrow (Dec 20).
=============================
During breakfast, I learned a few words of Rapa Nui (the language spoken in Easter Island) from the manager (Marianna) of the hotel. Not that I remember any of it now (3 days later). Marianna is a very distinctive Polynesian lady. She told me that there are quite a few similarities between Rapa Nui, Tahitian and Maori. I was not surprised by that as these three cultures share many common traits.
Cecilia arrived a few minutes after 9 AM. She had another passenger who was to accompany us on today´s tour. Her name was Nil (short for Cornelia) and she was a German. She was a first assistant director by profession and was taking a week´s break in Easter Island after finishing up a 2-month film assignment in Chile. The film was for German Television. Since she spoke very good English I was able to gather all this information within 10 minutes! She had been to Easter island before and had spent 5-weeks here. Not sure if I can handle 5-weeks of vacation on Easter Island.
We set off on our tour. Our first stop was at Anakena Beach about 30 minutes away. Cecilia dropped us off at the beach and told us that she would be back to pick us up at 3 PM. We saw a few MOAI near the beach. After spending around 20 minutes, we decided to go in search of the PINK beach (OVAHE). We set of on a route to the beach described in one of the guidebooks as ´rocky´. We assumed a pebble strewn path. It started off as an easy climb. After crossing the first hill, there was no sight of the pink beach. We climbed a second hill and still there was no sight of OVAHE. Having set out to find the place, neither of us felt like returning to base now.
Continuing on the path set us close to the cliff´s edge. I took my time walking this path carefully. After climbing down about 20 metres on to a sandy / rocky ledge, we spotted the beach. We were still about 30 metres or so above the beach and needed to find a way to reach the beach and feel the waters and the pink sand. We spotted a narrow path that appeared to be heading to the beach. This path was sand and gravel. The slipper kind. I hate these. I am never sure of the efficiency of my sandals in these situations and would prefer rocky ascents/descents to gravel ascents/descents.
I took almost 20 minutes descending the 30 metres to the beach level. The Spanish couple who usually trail me in hiking by quite a distance, were virtually breathing down my back during this descent! Of course, on getting down to the beach level, we all had a good laugh about our ´adventure´. Much as I hate these, will I avoid these in the future? I very much, doubt it as my sense my adventure will invariably triumph caution!
The OVAHE beach was really beautiful and the sands were really pink. Jose, Sylvie and Nil promptly went for a swim. I walked around taking pictures and waded into the water from time to time. A few folks were snorkelling and one intrepid fellow was trying to follow the ancient Polynesian way by trying to harpoon a fish in these shallow waters.
After spending around 30 minutes, we decided to take an alternative route (also recommended in the guide book) back to Anakena beach. This alternative path out of OVAHE put us on a paved (black top) road after less than half a mile of walking with no climbing. From this point on, Anakena beach was 750 metres away! Talk about doing things the hard way (the first time).
Cecilia had also provided us with a picnic basket. There were Cheese sandwiches (vegetarian). I had a banana and a sandwich. After commencing my visit to Chile, I have started eating lots of fruits and consuming fruit juices as opposed to sodas. Post lunch, the trio went for a swim on Anakena beach. It was hardly 1 PM and I had 2 hours to kill (at least). I spent the first hour taking a long walk around the beach. I spent the second hour, sitting in the shade of palm trees at the beach watching life pass me by.
During my beach walk, I did spot a few decayed and rotting fish around the fringes of the beach. Not sure how people can swim in the waters. To get rid of the fine sand, I wanted to wash my hands and face. When I tried to use the toilettes, I was told that there was an entry fee of CLP 500. It looks like folks in Easter Island picture tourists as a $ sign with a big grin! There is a limit to being intrepid / making money. I did not bother to hide my disgust and turned away. After all there was no urgency for me to use the bathroom!
Anakena Beach is perhaps the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool and many tourists visit here. I would strongly advice that picture taking be the sole activity at Anakena and swimming activities be done at OVAHE.
We all dozed on the drive back. As this was my second afternoon in a row without a siesta, it showed!
Cecilia drove us to PUNA PAU. This was the quarry where the RED top knots (or turbans) for the MOAI (Stone statues) were carved. These were then moved to the location of the statues and set on top of the statues. There were a few finished top knots lying around at PUNA PAU. The colour comes from the RED Volcanic rock that is characteristic of PUNA PAU. There is a good view of Hanga Roa from the top of PUNA PAU. I think the view from ORONGO (of Hanga Roa) is far better.
We set off next to Ahu Akivi. This is a spectacular setting where 7 MOAI face the setting sun. I took lots of Pictures. We even came across a Chief of one of the local tribes. The current Rapa Nui people belong to half-a-dozen clans and each clan had a chief. Many of the ancient practices and customs are still adhered to here. So while administered by Chile, the tribes have their own leaders and speak their tongue. Needless to say all of them are at least bi-lingual (Rapa Nui and Spanish). AHU AKIVI is a must see along with ORONGO and RANO KAU.
We headed next to ANA TE PAHU. This was a set of caves with some of these caves serving as underground cisterns (in the past). Many folks constructed houses in these caves and there were signs of ancient habitation and even cooking practices. We did see a small grove of banana trees in one of these caves (that had an opening to the sky).
We headed back to the City centre and were eventually dropped off at the hotel. I wanted to do some work on the computer and headed to an internet cafe nearby. I copied the completed memory cards (from my camera) to my 160-GB hard drive. 13 days so far and I have taken pictures in excess of 12 GB. I shall try and upload some shortly.
I also sent some requests to the hotels in El Calafate (Argentinean Patagonia) and Puerto Natales (Chilean Patagonia) inquiring about bus transfers between various places in Patagonia. As the Internet company was charging quite a bit less for Phone calls to the US (CLP 300 - $0.65 approx per minute), I made a few calls to friends and family. I went back to the same cafe (as yesterday) again for a vegetable Sandwich and watermelon juice.
I made some purchases (bottled water and cookies) on the way back to the hotel.
There are way too many stray dogs in Chile. Many of these are constantly barking (I mean - all day and all night with little respite). This racket most certainly disrupts my nightly sleep not to mention my siesta as well. Of course, there is always the risk of being bitten by one of these animals. (who knows the state of mind of these creatures?)
My advice is to carry a TASER gun when travelling to Chile. While La Serena, San Pedro de Atacama and Easter Island are horrible in that aspect (with large numbers of Stray dogs), Santiago is not that bad. I did not spot any stray dogs during my 18-hour stopover there.
It is 12:40 AM here as I write this listening to my IPOD and the barking of the dogs still permeates the music. Much as I like pets, I cannot stand this incessant barking!
December 19, 2008 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
I was the first at the breakfast table. Jose and Sylvie joined me a bit later. We chatted a bit. Chileans are not shy about asking how much you make. I was asked this question at La Serena and now here. I don´t have a problem telling as long as the conversation continues in general. I do not want my earnings to be a conversation stopper. It should not be - considering that I will be earning a grand total of ZERO - in any currency - at least over the next 8 months!
After revealing what I used to make, I explained that Uncle sam takes a nice chunk in taxes and that health insurance and apartment rental costs in NYC take up another significant chunk leaving me with not a lot of money. That explanation usually puts things in perspective. Jose and Sylvie (as doctors) make around US$7000 per month enabling them to lice comfortably with their 4 kids in Vina del mar (Close to Santiago).
Easter islanders get free University education. For other Chileans, the cost would be around US$6000 per year. There is no University in Easter Island and Islanders must go to mainland Chile for University education.
Cecilia informed me that there would be no tours today. For the first time in 13 days, today turned out to be a rainy day. I visited the archaeological museum. It was located closed to my hotel and I had an opportunity to try on the poncho I had purchased before my departure to Chile! It was good.
The museum charges an entry fee of CLP 1000. Although the exhibition panels are in Spanish, the museum provides booklets in different languages that explain the panels. This greatly helps non-Spanish speakers appreciate the exhibit. This is a small, but effectively organized museum. I spent an hour here.
The museum shop had heavily overpriced souvenirs. I left the souvenirs to be polished and admired by the museum staff. The rain had stopped by now. I purchased a few postcards. I visited the artisans workshop and market located close to the church. I found more overpriced items here.
I visited the local church and took a long walk around town. I went to Hanga Roa harbour to inquire about boat tours around the island. At the present time, circumnavigation of Isla de Pascua does not exist and a private boat trip would take a few hours and set me back a few hundred dollars! I watched the surfers enjoying the choppy sea caused by the bad weather. Some of these guys are quite good. What do I know! As long as they manage to stay upright for a few seconds, I think it is good.
I visited the ´Queen´of empanadas and had a vegetarian empanada for Lunch. Being a rainy day, the internet cafe was full at 3 PM. I took my completed postcards to the Post office. They could not change my CLP 20000 (US$40) bill for postage worth CLP 670 (US$1.5)! I wandered around from store to store for 20 mins before being able to break my CLP 20000 bill. I went back to the Post office to pay the CLP 670 postage so that my cards can reach the intended recipients.
I had a siesta at the hotel from 4:45 to 7:30! I left the hotel at 8 PM to see the sunset. As the rain continued, there was no sunset possible.I visited the internet cafe again and blogged for an hour. Dinner consisted of a delicious 4-scoop ice-cream. Nil joined me at dinner and we chatted until the restaurant closed (11:15 PM)
Unlike mainland Chile, most restaurants in Easter Island close by 10 PM or so. Restaurants in mainland Chile are open until about 1 AM.
I hope I get to do a tour tomorrow (Dec 20).
Thursday, December 20, 2007
December 17, 2007 - Easter Island , Chile
December 17, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
I woke up late and had to hurry as breakfast closed by 9:30 AM. Breakfast consisted of fresh juice, coffee/tea and buns. (Ah, the things I´ve resorted to stuffing myself with in the name of breakfast!). The Chilean Couple (manolo, wife and daughter) joined me for breakfast. We greeted another Chilean couple also staying at Cecilia´s. "Hola" is such a nice simple greeting. Not sure what the TAMIL equivalent could be. "Vanakkam" just does not happen outside the Tamil TV newscasts. "Nalla Kaalai" (Buenos Dias / Good Morning) sounds quite idiotic anyways!
Manolo decided to assume the role of the host proffering milk, tea, coffee and so on. I told them that I wanted to visit the Cernatur (Chilean tourist) office. He told me to hold on as he wanted to join me as well. After a few minutes, he joined me and told me to jump into a Jeep he had rented for the duration of his stay. Given his pregnant wife and his 5-year old, I guess it made sense. His wife and daughter joined presently and we set off for the town centre.
We stopped off at Entel Chile and a bank before heading to the Serntur Office. At ENTEL Chile, I inquired about Mobile Phones but decided against it as it would mean getting a NEW Mobile number again. Micaela kept conversing with me. From time to time, her dad interpreted her queries, so I could reply to her! While at the Entel Chile office, I watched Tomka Tomisic on TV again!
After obtaining a local MAP at the Sernatur office, I was all set. I thanked Manolo for his help and set off on my own. We promised to catch up later in the day. I walked north along HANGA ROA beach for about 90 minutes and almost reached the North-western part of the Island at Hanga Omohi.
Due to the overwhelming requests for pictures, I switched my camera shooting more to RAW+JPEG. This would certainly give me a lesser number of pictures per memory card, but would enable me to upload pictures to websites like Shutterfly or possible even attach it to my blog.
The setting was quite serene. As my walk was all along the coast, there was always a nice breeze keeping me cool. With the exception of the sounds of the Waves crashing on the rocky coastline below, there was not a sound to be heard. The walk was quite easy as well across mostly green pastures with the occasional walk on some rocks. At the northern end of the Island, I was the sole human. Using my backpack (Lowepro Fastpack 200) as a beanbag, I was able to take some pictures of myself. (I did not carry a tripod as it was such a sunny day).
I walked back along a dirt track (rather then the coastal trail) and took a shorter route (by accident, of course) to get back to the hotel. It was close to 1:30 PM. I rested and spent time labelling my pictures. As I was thinking of setting out again around 2:30 to get some lunch, Cecilia knocked on my door and asked if I was ready for the tour! She had apparently presumed that I had caught her Spanish gabbing from the day before when we were being driven to the hotel from the airport. Who does she think she is? Tomka Tomisic (for me to hang on to every word she says!)
I grabbed my camera bag and we headed out. The other Chilean couple (Jose and Sylvie) joined us for the tour. This would be one of the half-day tours I am being provided gratis.
We headed past the airport to ORONGO hill. We stopped at a viewpoint close to the top of the hill with an excellent view of the island. After taking a few pictures we continued on to RANO KAU volcano. This was a spectacular sight. My visit to Easter island has definitely been rewarded. After taking a few pictures, the three of us started on a short hike along the rim of the volcano for about 200 metres or so where Cecilia picked us up again in her minivan.
This has been perhaps the stress free (despite being on the rim of a dormant volcano) and spectacular hikes I have ever done!
We continued onto the ORONGO trail office. The fee of US$10 is payable only in US$. The cashier, however, would not give me back change in US$ for my $20 bill! Between Cecilia and myself we cobbled a few singles for $10 and paid my entrance fee.
We were given nice maps of Rapa Nui and the Orongo Trail. The trail would take approximately 30 mins and would take us around a ceremonial village related to the Make-Make cult and their Tanguta-Manu competition. The village was set along the rim of the Rano Kau volcano as well. Though many of the status are in museums in Chile or elsewhere in the world, the trail showcased some excellent Petro glyphs.
The locals cultivate fruits even today on the inside slopes of the volcano. It was quite extraordinary to see the walls of a collapsed volcano being covered in green vegetation. while the bottom of the volcano contain many small pools of water. A part of the cone had broken giving an excellent view of the azure pacific.
In short, this was an excellent excursion. From orongo, we headed to our final stop at VINAPU. Some of the construction here is similar to Macchu Picchu (where huge stones and cut and joined to perfection without the use of any cement / or equivalent glues). At VINAPU, we spotted a few female MOAI. We headed back to the city centre. Cecilia wanted to take us to a nice empanada place, but it was closed. We settled for an alternative empanada place, but the vegetarian choices were limited and I settled for a Cheese empanada. This empanada substituted for lunch (rather late at 6 PM).
The Chilean couple and I were interested in seeing the movie ´Rapa Nui´being shown at 9 PM at a local hotel. I got back to the hotel, showered and spent time writing my diary. I think I am getting sunburnt. I never thought I´d say this: I want 60 degree Fahrenheit weather from now on. I think I have had enough of 25 Degree Centigrade weather!
The ticket prices for the movie was CLP 3000 (US$ 6.5). Although the movie is based very much on facts, the dramatization was rather poor. It has served and continues to serve as a good publicity for Easter Island.
Tomorrow we go to Anakena Beach. I will need to see what I can do there, as I do not swim. The Chilean couple are doctors. Jose is a traumatologist (Bone) and Sylvie is a dentist. Not sure why all dentists have BAD TEETH. Sylvie was no exception!
=============================
I woke up late and had to hurry as breakfast closed by 9:30 AM. Breakfast consisted of fresh juice, coffee/tea and buns. (Ah, the things I´ve resorted to stuffing myself with in the name of breakfast!). The Chilean Couple (manolo, wife and daughter) joined me for breakfast. We greeted another Chilean couple also staying at Cecilia´s. "Hola" is such a nice simple greeting. Not sure what the TAMIL equivalent could be. "Vanakkam" just does not happen outside the Tamil TV newscasts. "Nalla Kaalai" (Buenos Dias / Good Morning) sounds quite idiotic anyways!
Manolo decided to assume the role of the host proffering milk, tea, coffee and so on. I told them that I wanted to visit the Cernatur (Chilean tourist) office. He told me to hold on as he wanted to join me as well. After a few minutes, he joined me and told me to jump into a Jeep he had rented for the duration of his stay. Given his pregnant wife and his 5-year old, I guess it made sense. His wife and daughter joined presently and we set off for the town centre.
We stopped off at Entel Chile and a bank before heading to the Serntur Office. At ENTEL Chile, I inquired about Mobile Phones but decided against it as it would mean getting a NEW Mobile number again. Micaela kept conversing with me. From time to time, her dad interpreted her queries, so I could reply to her! While at the Entel Chile office, I watched Tomka Tomisic on TV again!
After obtaining a local MAP at the Sernatur office, I was all set. I thanked Manolo for his help and set off on my own. We promised to catch up later in the day. I walked north along HANGA ROA beach for about 90 minutes and almost reached the North-western part of the Island at Hanga Omohi.
Due to the overwhelming requests for pictures, I switched my camera shooting more to RAW+JPEG. This would certainly give me a lesser number of pictures per memory card, but would enable me to upload pictures to websites like Shutterfly or possible even attach it to my blog.
The setting was quite serene. As my walk was all along the coast, there was always a nice breeze keeping me cool. With the exception of the sounds of the Waves crashing on the rocky coastline below, there was not a sound to be heard. The walk was quite easy as well across mostly green pastures with the occasional walk on some rocks. At the northern end of the Island, I was the sole human. Using my backpack (Lowepro Fastpack 200) as a beanbag, I was able to take some pictures of myself. (I did not carry a tripod as it was such a sunny day).
I walked back along a dirt track (rather then the coastal trail) and took a shorter route (by accident, of course) to get back to the hotel. It was close to 1:30 PM. I rested and spent time labelling my pictures. As I was thinking of setting out again around 2:30 to get some lunch, Cecilia knocked on my door and asked if I was ready for the tour! She had apparently presumed that I had caught her Spanish gabbing from the day before when we were being driven to the hotel from the airport. Who does she think she is? Tomka Tomisic (for me to hang on to every word she says!)
I grabbed my camera bag and we headed out. The other Chilean couple (Jose and Sylvie) joined us for the tour. This would be one of the half-day tours I am being provided gratis.
We headed past the airport to ORONGO hill. We stopped at a viewpoint close to the top of the hill with an excellent view of the island. After taking a few pictures we continued on to RANO KAU volcano. This was a spectacular sight. My visit to Easter island has definitely been rewarded. After taking a few pictures, the three of us started on a short hike along the rim of the volcano for about 200 metres or so where Cecilia picked us up again in her minivan.
This has been perhaps the stress free (despite being on the rim of a dormant volcano) and spectacular hikes I have ever done!
We continued onto the ORONGO trail office. The fee of US$10 is payable only in US$. The cashier, however, would not give me back change in US$ for my $20 bill! Between Cecilia and myself we cobbled a few singles for $10 and paid my entrance fee.
We were given nice maps of Rapa Nui and the Orongo Trail. The trail would take approximately 30 mins and would take us around a ceremonial village related to the Make-Make cult and their Tanguta-Manu competition. The village was set along the rim of the Rano Kau volcano as well. Though many of the status are in museums in Chile or elsewhere in the world, the trail showcased some excellent Petro glyphs.
The locals cultivate fruits even today on the inside slopes of the volcano. It was quite extraordinary to see the walls of a collapsed volcano being covered in green vegetation. while the bottom of the volcano contain many small pools of water. A part of the cone had broken giving an excellent view of the azure pacific.
In short, this was an excellent excursion. From orongo, we headed to our final stop at VINAPU. Some of the construction here is similar to Macchu Picchu (where huge stones and cut and joined to perfection without the use of any cement / or equivalent glues). At VINAPU, we spotted a few female MOAI. We headed back to the city centre. Cecilia wanted to take us to a nice empanada place, but it was closed. We settled for an alternative empanada place, but the vegetarian choices were limited and I settled for a Cheese empanada. This empanada substituted for lunch (rather late at 6 PM).
The Chilean couple and I were interested in seeing the movie ´Rapa Nui´being shown at 9 PM at a local hotel. I got back to the hotel, showered and spent time writing my diary. I think I am getting sunburnt. I never thought I´d say this: I want 60 degree Fahrenheit weather from now on. I think I have had enough of 25 Degree Centigrade weather!
The ticket prices for the movie was CLP 3000 (US$ 6.5). Although the movie is based very much on facts, the dramatization was rather poor. It has served and continues to serve as a good publicity for Easter Island.
Tomorrow we go to Anakena Beach. I will need to see what I can do there, as I do not swim. The Chilean couple are doctors. Jose is a traumatologist (Bone) and Sylvie is a dentist. Not sure why all dentists have BAD TEETH. Sylvie was no exception!
December 16, 2007 - Santiago / Easter Island, Chile
December 16, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
==========================
I had a disruptive night´s sleep. At 2:30 AM, my cell phone rang and a Spanish voice at the other end said Hola. After 30 seconds of holas and hellos, he hung up!
Despite my room being on the 3rd floor and despite the windows being shut, the traffic noise was horrible. Thank god, I had bought some good earplugs with me. Of course, I did not hear the Alarm clock in the morning because of these ´fantastic´earplugs!
I woke up around 5:40 AM and was ready by 6:30 AM. The hostel has the following positives: Great location, good sized rooms, excellent decor, good sized bathrooms and perhaps the best shower head I have used in a long, long time (I am talking years here!). All this for a price of CLP 17000 (US$ 35) per night. But for the horrendous traffic noise, I cannot find anything negative to say.
I left my small bag at the hostel locker room which was a big room with lots of bags in it. The room is presumably locked. Nothing valuable for me there. The inconvenience would be losing my clothes including my winter gear.
The shuttle to the airport arrived at 7 AM. Prior to reaching the airport, the shuttle pulled into their company offices (near the airport) where we paid our fares. Mine was CLP 4500 (US$10 approx.)
I did an electronic check-in and dropped off my bag. I think it was around 16 Kilos. Residents of Chile are allowed 40 Kilos per person, while tourists are allowed only 20 Kilos per person as checked-in luggage. Ah, the discrimination we tourists put up with despite bringing in valuable foreign exchange. I think airline baggage rules should be uniform across airlines/countries. I am sure this will be implemented right away!
On traffic in Chile:
------------------
In La Serena and San Pedro de Atacama, drivers heeded the STOP signs in a way that can only be described as complete reverence - compared to the driver of North eastern US! They would come to a complete halt at the stop sign, look all around for signs of life and then move forward after ensuring that there are none! The only activity missing was stopping and restarting the engine as well!
Roads in Chile are similar to that of India. There are 2 keys to good traffic discipline here: (1) There are very little 2 wheelers in Santiago (Motorcycles, Scooters etc.) (2) There are no push / pull carts (whether the pushing is done by a human or an animal)
I think this (banning 2 Wheelers and push carts) should be tried as an experiment in at least 1 small city in India to see if it reduces traffic and pollution while helping disciplined driving.
The aircraft to Isla de Pascua (Easter Island in Spanish) was a B767-300. It had a 2-3-2 seating in economy.
Not much to see during the plane ride except for an endless expanse clouds with intermittent glimpses of the Pacific. Each of the seats on the plane have their own TV and program choices. I listened to some Aerosmith, watched the SIMPSONS movie (again) as well as an episode of the Simpsons. Apart from Ogling at Tomka Tomicic from time to time (on Chilean TV), this was my sole sampling of Television.
For the first time on Lan Chile, we were served something other than the standard issue snack pack (consisting of a Biscuit, a Cake and a packet of peanuts). LAN served me a sandwich which was filled with mushrooms. I skipped it and had some fruits, tortilla with Jam and some fruit juice.
I was seated on the right side of the plane and could not see Easter Island from the air as the pilot made an East-West landing enabling the folks on the Left side of the plane to observe the island from the air.
December 16, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
Easter Island is 2 hours behind mainland Chile. That puts it in the same time zone as the East Coast of the US (right now).
I took a few picture of the plane as I got off. The runway (despite being extended for a potential landing of a US Space shuttle) is quite small forcing the plane to taxi all the way to the end, before making a U-turn to head to the terminal. The terminal happens to be a shed. They do have baggage carousels though!
A whole lot of hotel operators and private hostel operators set up shop in the baggage carousel area inducing unsuspecting passengers with pretty pictures of their places. I introduced myself to Cecilia Cardinali (of Chez Cecilia) and was promptly greeted with a garland around my neck. Yes, this is quite similar to what you see in movies about Hawaii, Polynesia etc.
I got my bag and went outside to sit in Cecilia´s Car. She was trying to woo as many guests as possible. I watched the locals and tourists in an endless parade for about 30 minutes. Needless to say many of the locals have very distinctive Polynesian features.
Cecilia finally came to the van with a Chilean couple and their young daughter in tow. We headed out of the airport. The drive to Cecilia´s place took about 15 mins. (We were driving at about 20 MPH)
The setting is quite decent. I have a good view of the ocean from my cabin. However, of all the places I have stayed so far in Chile, this is the LEAST Impressive. The room was OK but smelled of fish!. The bathroom was dark and dingy and the flush would not work! And I was paying $50 per night for a total of $350 for a 7-night stay!
The Chilean gent (Manolo) spoke a bit of English and told me to seek him out for any help. He was a scuba diving buff and had come to Easter Island to Scuba dive for 5-days. Their 5 year old daughter (Micaela) was trying to engage me in conversation, but I could not decipher most of what she was saying. With the difficulty I have understanding Adult Spanish, deciphering kid Spanish was definitely not possible!
The Mobile phone does not work as MOVISTAR does not operate here. ENTEL Chile does operate here. I hope I can use Cecilia´s Internet and find a Telefonica Land line so I can call folks back home.
Both my guide book and Cecilia claim that Vegetarians should not have problems on this Island. We shall see.
We were told to relax for the rest of the day. As part of the 1-week package which was to cost me CLP 163,000 (US$ 350), I was to be given 2 half-day tours and 1 full-day tour of the island.
I told Cecilia that as per our agreement, I would be paying ONLY by credit card. She made some story about waiting for a long time to collect the payment, but as I was short on cash, I did not have any other option.
I set out with my Camera at 2 PM. I encountered my first sticker shock when a small bottle of water (500 ml) cost me CLP 1000 (US$2.15). A big bottle of water (1000 ml) used to cost me CLP 800 ($1.8) even in San Pedro de Atacama.
I wandered into and out of a number of restaurants as I was unimpressed by the ´vegetarian´offerings. I took a long walk along HANGA ROA beach (Av. Aspina) taking pictures along with way. A very nice setting. I wandered for close to an hour. I found a Mercado (Market) and had a box of fruit juice and a Kit kat! Although everyone I asked kept pointing in 1 direction or the other to some of the recommended restaurants I was looking for, I could not locate these restaurants. I finally found a small restaurant and had an empanada with Tomato and Oregano. It was a bit salty but filling enough to keep me going for a few hours.
I headed back to the hotel by 5 PM. As the Sun was still high in the sky, I decided to venture out for pictures of the Sunset after 7:30 PM. I dozed on and off until then in my room. I left the hotel at 7:45 PM and reached the MOAI close to my hostel (AHU TAHAI) by 8 PM. The Sun was still quite high in the sky. I took a few pictures and found a nice place and parked myself there and set up my tripod. I did observe a few wannabies with their 70-200 mm lenses trying to show off. Oh well! Since they have paid for it, they need to flaunt it!
The sunset was close to 9 PM. I took a few good pictures. I came back to the hotel, left my camera gear and went in search of a restaurant for dinner. I found a cafe and the folks there were quite helpful. I ordered a vegetarian sandwich and a watermelon juice. Both were good. Even this meagre dinner set me back by CLP 6600 (US$ 14). For his price, I usually have had a very good dinner including wine at San Pedro de Atacama. The sights had better be good !
I dropped by an internet cafe next door and sent a few quick messages to friends and family. 15 mins of Internet usage cost me CLP 400 (US$ 1 almost). I had paid CLP 400 for a full-hour of internet use at La Serena!
I walked back to the hotel. There are some sections of the way that are pitch dark and a torch is definitely required.
On returning to the room, I concluded that the FISHY smell was emanating from my checked in baggage. It looks like some FISH packages (that were being transported to Easter Island from Santiago) had leaked and dripped onto my bag. I am hoping that airing for a few days will make the smell disappear.
It is 12:15 AM here. (2:15 AM Chilean Mainland time). For a person who woke up at 5:30 AM, I am doing quite well.
Full employment is the norm here. You have folks mopping floors in department stores in Santiago knowing fully well that they would have to redo the floor again in 5 minutes. In bank and other offices, you have folks to open and close doors.
==========================
I had a disruptive night´s sleep. At 2:30 AM, my cell phone rang and a Spanish voice at the other end said Hola. After 30 seconds of holas and hellos, he hung up!
Despite my room being on the 3rd floor and despite the windows being shut, the traffic noise was horrible. Thank god, I had bought some good earplugs with me. Of course, I did not hear the Alarm clock in the morning because of these ´fantastic´earplugs!
I woke up around 5:40 AM and was ready by 6:30 AM. The hostel has the following positives: Great location, good sized rooms, excellent decor, good sized bathrooms and perhaps the best shower head I have used in a long, long time (I am talking years here!). All this for a price of CLP 17000 (US$ 35) per night. But for the horrendous traffic noise, I cannot find anything negative to say.
I left my small bag at the hostel locker room which was a big room with lots of bags in it. The room is presumably locked. Nothing valuable for me there. The inconvenience would be losing my clothes including my winter gear.
The shuttle to the airport arrived at 7 AM. Prior to reaching the airport, the shuttle pulled into their company offices (near the airport) where we paid our fares. Mine was CLP 4500 (US$10 approx.)
I did an electronic check-in and dropped off my bag. I think it was around 16 Kilos. Residents of Chile are allowed 40 Kilos per person, while tourists are allowed only 20 Kilos per person as checked-in luggage. Ah, the discrimination we tourists put up with despite bringing in valuable foreign exchange. I think airline baggage rules should be uniform across airlines/countries. I am sure this will be implemented right away!
On traffic in Chile:
------------------
In La Serena and San Pedro de Atacama, drivers heeded the STOP signs in a way that can only be described as complete reverence - compared to the driver of North eastern US! They would come to a complete halt at the stop sign, look all around for signs of life and then move forward after ensuring that there are none! The only activity missing was stopping and restarting the engine as well!
Roads in Chile are similar to that of India. There are 2 keys to good traffic discipline here: (1) There are very little 2 wheelers in Santiago (Motorcycles, Scooters etc.) (2) There are no push / pull carts (whether the pushing is done by a human or an animal)
I think this (banning 2 Wheelers and push carts) should be tried as an experiment in at least 1 small city in India to see if it reduces traffic and pollution while helping disciplined driving.
The aircraft to Isla de Pascua (Easter Island in Spanish) was a B767-300. It had a 2-3-2 seating in economy.
Not much to see during the plane ride except for an endless expanse clouds with intermittent glimpses of the Pacific. Each of the seats on the plane have their own TV and program choices. I listened to some Aerosmith, watched the SIMPSONS movie (again) as well as an episode of the Simpsons. Apart from Ogling at Tomka Tomicic from time to time (on Chilean TV), this was my sole sampling of Television.
For the first time on Lan Chile, we were served something other than the standard issue snack pack (consisting of a Biscuit, a Cake and a packet of peanuts). LAN served me a sandwich which was filled with mushrooms. I skipped it and had some fruits, tortilla with Jam and some fruit juice.
I was seated on the right side of the plane and could not see Easter Island from the air as the pilot made an East-West landing enabling the folks on the Left side of the plane to observe the island from the air.
December 16, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
=============================
Easter Island is 2 hours behind mainland Chile. That puts it in the same time zone as the East Coast of the US (right now).
I took a few picture of the plane as I got off. The runway (despite being extended for a potential landing of a US Space shuttle) is quite small forcing the plane to taxi all the way to the end, before making a U-turn to head to the terminal. The terminal happens to be a shed. They do have baggage carousels though!
A whole lot of hotel operators and private hostel operators set up shop in the baggage carousel area inducing unsuspecting passengers with pretty pictures of their places. I introduced myself to Cecilia Cardinali (of Chez Cecilia) and was promptly greeted with a garland around my neck. Yes, this is quite similar to what you see in movies about Hawaii, Polynesia etc.
I got my bag and went outside to sit in Cecilia´s Car. She was trying to woo as many guests as possible. I watched the locals and tourists in an endless parade for about 30 minutes. Needless to say many of the locals have very distinctive Polynesian features.
Cecilia finally came to the van with a Chilean couple and their young daughter in tow. We headed out of the airport. The drive to Cecilia´s place took about 15 mins. (We were driving at about 20 MPH)
The setting is quite decent. I have a good view of the ocean from my cabin. However, of all the places I have stayed so far in Chile, this is the LEAST Impressive. The room was OK but smelled of fish!. The bathroom was dark and dingy and the flush would not work! And I was paying $50 per night for a total of $350 for a 7-night stay!
The Chilean gent (Manolo) spoke a bit of English and told me to seek him out for any help. He was a scuba diving buff and had come to Easter Island to Scuba dive for 5-days. Their 5 year old daughter (Micaela) was trying to engage me in conversation, but I could not decipher most of what she was saying. With the difficulty I have understanding Adult Spanish, deciphering kid Spanish was definitely not possible!
The Mobile phone does not work as MOVISTAR does not operate here. ENTEL Chile does operate here. I hope I can use Cecilia´s Internet and find a Telefonica Land line so I can call folks back home.
Both my guide book and Cecilia claim that Vegetarians should not have problems on this Island. We shall see.
We were told to relax for the rest of the day. As part of the 1-week package which was to cost me CLP 163,000 (US$ 350), I was to be given 2 half-day tours and 1 full-day tour of the island.
I told Cecilia that as per our agreement, I would be paying ONLY by credit card. She made some story about waiting for a long time to collect the payment, but as I was short on cash, I did not have any other option.
I set out with my Camera at 2 PM. I encountered my first sticker shock when a small bottle of water (500 ml) cost me CLP 1000 (US$2.15). A big bottle of water (1000 ml) used to cost me CLP 800 ($1.8) even in San Pedro de Atacama.
I wandered into and out of a number of restaurants as I was unimpressed by the ´vegetarian´offerings. I took a long walk along HANGA ROA beach (Av. Aspina) taking pictures along with way. A very nice setting. I wandered for close to an hour. I found a Mercado (Market) and had a box of fruit juice and a Kit kat! Although everyone I asked kept pointing in 1 direction or the other to some of the recommended restaurants I was looking for, I could not locate these restaurants. I finally found a small restaurant and had an empanada with Tomato and Oregano. It was a bit salty but filling enough to keep me going for a few hours.
I headed back to the hotel by 5 PM. As the Sun was still high in the sky, I decided to venture out for pictures of the Sunset after 7:30 PM. I dozed on and off until then in my room. I left the hotel at 7:45 PM and reached the MOAI close to my hostel (AHU TAHAI) by 8 PM. The Sun was still quite high in the sky. I took a few pictures and found a nice place and parked myself there and set up my tripod. I did observe a few wannabies with their 70-200 mm lenses trying to show off. Oh well! Since they have paid for it, they need to flaunt it!
The sunset was close to 9 PM. I took a few good pictures. I came back to the hotel, left my camera gear and went in search of a restaurant for dinner. I found a cafe and the folks there were quite helpful. I ordered a vegetarian sandwich and a watermelon juice. Both were good. Even this meagre dinner set me back by CLP 6600 (US$ 14). For his price, I usually have had a very good dinner including wine at San Pedro de Atacama. The sights had better be good !
I dropped by an internet cafe next door and sent a few quick messages to friends and family. 15 mins of Internet usage cost me CLP 400 (US$ 1 almost). I had paid CLP 400 for a full-hour of internet use at La Serena!
I walked back to the hotel. There are some sections of the way that are pitch dark and a torch is definitely required.
On returning to the room, I concluded that the FISHY smell was emanating from my checked in baggage. It looks like some FISH packages (that were being transported to Easter Island from Santiago) had leaked and dripped onto my bag. I am hoping that airing for a few days will make the smell disappear.
It is 12:15 AM here. (2:15 AM Chilean Mainland time). For a person who woke up at 5:30 AM, I am doing quite well.
Full employment is the norm here. You have folks mopping floors in department stores in Santiago knowing fully well that they would have to redo the floor again in 5 minutes. In bank and other offices, you have folks to open and close doors.
December 15, 2007 - San Pedro de Atacama / Santiago, Chile
December 15, 2007 - San Pedro de Atacama
===============================
I was ready by 7:30 AM and finished breakfast by 8. The shuttle arrived promptly at 8:30 AM. I was the first passenger to be picked up. After picking up a dozen more passengers, it headed to Calama Airport (75 mins away). One of the pickup stops was Hosteria San Pedro. Looked like an excellent (and very expensive) place. If you have the money to burn, might be a good place to do it.
I took a final look at the Atacama desert landscape as we rode to Calama. We reached the airport by 10 AM. In addition to the shuttle fare of CLP 7000 (US$15), I tipped the driver CLP 1000 (I was compensating for not tipping on the way in to San Pedro - Yes, it was the same driver)
After waiting in line for 15 mins and reaching the LAN airlines counter, I was told to do a electronic check-in and print my boarding passes before they would check my luggage! Wish they would tell this in advance so people don´t stand in line for 15 mins and then crowd up the electronic check-in machine afterwards! I was not charged any excess baggage fee. Saved myself some $.
I called Hotel Rio Amazonas (in Santiago) from Calama airport to confirm my booking. It was all set and they even told me the shuttle company to take from the airport to the hotel door. The cost of the shuttle would be CLP 4500 (US$10 approx.)
The flight to Santiago from Calama was quite packed. I ran into the French couple who had accompanied me on a few excursions at San Pedro de Atacama. They were heading to Puntas Arenas (which I would reach a few weeks later).
LAN in-flight announcements are in Spanish and English even on domestic flights.
Road across Chile are quite good. GOOD black topped roads exist even in remote places. There is a company called TUR-BUS that apparently has executive class seats (yes in a bus) that can recline 180 degree. Must be great for travelling long distances (overnight trips) as long as it does not cost as much as an AIRLINE BUSINESS Class ticket!
December 15, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
=====================
On reaching Santiago, I found that there was no one manning the TRANSVIP shuttle desk. An adjacent shuttle company offered similar a shuttle service to my hotel for CLP 4800 (an additional 300 pesos - 70 cents). I took it. We had about 5 passengers on our shuttle. We dropped a few off at their respective destinations before I was dropped at my hotel. I observed on the way that the Estacion Central (Central Station) is a gorgeous building (reminding one of the train station of the early 20th century).
The hostel is located on a nice boulevard next to the Argentine Embassy. Too bad that I don´t need a visa! The folks at the front desk are quite helpful. They insisted on speaking to me in English even when I was willing to speak to them in Spanish. Maybe they want to improve their English, whereas I want to improve my Spanish. (or better yet, they do not want to see me butcher their language and are therefore willing to take the extra effort to converse with me in Ingles!)
There was a Laundromat close by. A small load costs CLP 4200 (US$9 approx). This includes a wash and fold by the folks at the laundry. If you want to sit there for 2 hours and do the wash and fold yourself, you can save yourself around $600 pesos or so (approx US$ 1.50 or so). I preferred that they do the wash and fold as it gives me time to run some other errands.
The hostel was Ok with my leaving a small bag behind for a week. After spending a week in Easter Island, I will overnight in Santiago (at the same hostel) before heading to Argentina. I plan to leave all my Winter Wear (taken for the purposes of spending time in Patagonia and Antarctica) along with some other clothes behind for a week. Hopefully that will reduce the weight of my check-in bag significantly.
I went in search of a small bag! I took a metro to Plaza Armas (2 stops away). Like the New York System, the metro levies a flat fee for travel. It does not matter whether you travel for 2 stops or 20. The fare is the same (CLP 380 - US$ 0.75 approx.). It is a nice metro system. Despite the fact that Cell phone work underground, I did not see a single person gab on the phone while travelling underground.
The area around Plaza Armas is a big shopping mall. Being close to Christmas, festivities abound. Folks dressed in Red & White greet visitors to stores. The food court has live performances of Christmas songs (yes, Feliz Navidad is among those sung). There was a big police presence here with the policemen and policewomen wearing bullet-proof vests and some handling sniffer dogs.
Many of the fancy stores were selling bags for CLP 12000 ($25) or more. For a bag that I may not use again, I did not want to spend that much. I found a smaller store selling a gym bag equivalent for CLP 6000 (US$ 13). I bargained it down to CLP 5500 (US$ 12) and was quite thrilled! (Am never good at bargaining anyways. If they had insisted that they would not reduce the price, I would have bought it anyways as the other stores were selling bags for twice as much!)
The Christmas tree at the Plaza Armas was lit up with Coco-Cola signs. Perhaps the next generation will associate Christmas more with COKE than with J.C.! A pharmacy was selling ´Todos Medicamentos´for 10% less. Now, there is an incentive to fall sick!
I got back to the hotel. Picked up my laundry. They had done a good job of washing and folding my clothes. The laundry also offers an Ironing service. I did not avail myself of that (I know that those who know me well, would be shocked by such a cavalier attitude!) I packed all my unwanted stuff into the smaller bag.
The girl at the front office recommended an Indian restaurant. I took a metro to Santa Ana. As I turned the corner of Santo Domingo and San Martin streets, the overpowering smell of Curry enveloped me! The Hotel Majestic is a BEST WESTERN hotel. The restaurant within the hotel (Restaurant Majestic) serves Indian Cuisine. The restaurant had a good ambience. But for the elephants on the Wallpaper, this place could easily be mistaken for a middle eastern restaurant. The hostess was quite surly though.
Good food. I ordered a spicy Veg Kolhapuri. It went extremely well with a GRAN TARAPACA Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2006 which was light yellow in colour, with a light (citrus) nose, light bodied and had a refreshing medium finish. I finished my dinner with a Kulfi Alamendros (Kulfi with Almonds). The first $30+ dinner. With the exception of the surly hostess, all was OK.
To think that I would have to survive on BLAND Italian food for another 2 months at least before I may have an opportunity to taste Indian food either in Rio / Sao Paolo or Buenos Aires.
I cannot for the life of me fathom how people can live without SPICY food.
===============================
I was ready by 7:30 AM and finished breakfast by 8. The shuttle arrived promptly at 8:30 AM. I was the first passenger to be picked up. After picking up a dozen more passengers, it headed to Calama Airport (75 mins away). One of the pickup stops was Hosteria San Pedro. Looked like an excellent (and very expensive) place. If you have the money to burn, might be a good place to do it.
I took a final look at the Atacama desert landscape as we rode to Calama. We reached the airport by 10 AM. In addition to the shuttle fare of CLP 7000 (US$15), I tipped the driver CLP 1000 (I was compensating for not tipping on the way in to San Pedro - Yes, it was the same driver)
After waiting in line for 15 mins and reaching the LAN airlines counter, I was told to do a electronic check-in and print my boarding passes before they would check my luggage! Wish they would tell this in advance so people don´t stand in line for 15 mins and then crowd up the electronic check-in machine afterwards! I was not charged any excess baggage fee. Saved myself some $.
I called Hotel Rio Amazonas (in Santiago) from Calama airport to confirm my booking. It was all set and they even told me the shuttle company to take from the airport to the hotel door. The cost of the shuttle would be CLP 4500 (US$10 approx.)
The flight to Santiago from Calama was quite packed. I ran into the French couple who had accompanied me on a few excursions at San Pedro de Atacama. They were heading to Puntas Arenas (which I would reach a few weeks later).
LAN in-flight announcements are in Spanish and English even on domestic flights.
Road across Chile are quite good. GOOD black topped roads exist even in remote places. There is a company called TUR-BUS that apparently has executive class seats (yes in a bus) that can recline 180 degree. Must be great for travelling long distances (overnight trips) as long as it does not cost as much as an AIRLINE BUSINESS Class ticket!
December 15, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
=====================
On reaching Santiago, I found that there was no one manning the TRANSVIP shuttle desk. An adjacent shuttle company offered similar a shuttle service to my hotel for CLP 4800 (an additional 300 pesos - 70 cents). I took it. We had about 5 passengers on our shuttle. We dropped a few off at their respective destinations before I was dropped at my hotel. I observed on the way that the Estacion Central (Central Station) is a gorgeous building (reminding one of the train station of the early 20th century).
The hostel is located on a nice boulevard next to the Argentine Embassy. Too bad that I don´t need a visa! The folks at the front desk are quite helpful. They insisted on speaking to me in English even when I was willing to speak to them in Spanish. Maybe they want to improve their English, whereas I want to improve my Spanish. (or better yet, they do not want to see me butcher their language and are therefore willing to take the extra effort to converse with me in Ingles!)
There was a Laundromat close by. A small load costs CLP 4200 (US$9 approx). This includes a wash and fold by the folks at the laundry. If you want to sit there for 2 hours and do the wash and fold yourself, you can save yourself around $600 pesos or so (approx US$ 1.50 or so). I preferred that they do the wash and fold as it gives me time to run some other errands.
The hostel was Ok with my leaving a small bag behind for a week. After spending a week in Easter Island, I will overnight in Santiago (at the same hostel) before heading to Argentina. I plan to leave all my Winter Wear (taken for the purposes of spending time in Patagonia and Antarctica) along with some other clothes behind for a week. Hopefully that will reduce the weight of my check-in bag significantly.
I went in search of a small bag! I took a metro to Plaza Armas (2 stops away). Like the New York System, the metro levies a flat fee for travel. It does not matter whether you travel for 2 stops or 20. The fare is the same (CLP 380 - US$ 0.75 approx.). It is a nice metro system. Despite the fact that Cell phone work underground, I did not see a single person gab on the phone while travelling underground.
The area around Plaza Armas is a big shopping mall. Being close to Christmas, festivities abound. Folks dressed in Red & White greet visitors to stores. The food court has live performances of Christmas songs (yes, Feliz Navidad is among those sung). There was a big police presence here with the policemen and policewomen wearing bullet-proof vests and some handling sniffer dogs.
Many of the fancy stores were selling bags for CLP 12000 ($25) or more. For a bag that I may not use again, I did not want to spend that much. I found a smaller store selling a gym bag equivalent for CLP 6000 (US$ 13). I bargained it down to CLP 5500 (US$ 12) and was quite thrilled! (Am never good at bargaining anyways. If they had insisted that they would not reduce the price, I would have bought it anyways as the other stores were selling bags for twice as much!)
The Christmas tree at the Plaza Armas was lit up with Coco-Cola signs. Perhaps the next generation will associate Christmas more with COKE than with J.C.! A pharmacy was selling ´Todos Medicamentos´for 10% less. Now, there is an incentive to fall sick!
I got back to the hotel. Picked up my laundry. They had done a good job of washing and folding my clothes. The laundry also offers an Ironing service. I did not avail myself of that (I know that those who know me well, would be shocked by such a cavalier attitude!) I packed all my unwanted stuff into the smaller bag.
The girl at the front office recommended an Indian restaurant. I took a metro to Santa Ana. As I turned the corner of Santo Domingo and San Martin streets, the overpowering smell of Curry enveloped me! The Hotel Majestic is a BEST WESTERN hotel. The restaurant within the hotel (Restaurant Majestic) serves Indian Cuisine. The restaurant had a good ambience. But for the elephants on the Wallpaper, this place could easily be mistaken for a middle eastern restaurant. The hostess was quite surly though.
Good food. I ordered a spicy Veg Kolhapuri. It went extremely well with a GRAN TARAPACA Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2006 which was light yellow in colour, with a light (citrus) nose, light bodied and had a refreshing medium finish. I finished my dinner with a Kulfi Alamendros (Kulfi with Almonds). The first $30+ dinner. With the exception of the surly hostess, all was OK.
To think that I would have to survive on BLAND Italian food for another 2 months at least before I may have an opportunity to taste Indian food either in Rio / Sao Paolo or Buenos Aires.
I cannot for the life of me fathom how people can live without SPICY food.
Friday, December 14, 2007
December 13-14, 2007 - San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
December 13, 2007
==============
I had a restless night´s sleep. I woke up at 3:15 AM and was ready by 3:45 AM. There are a whole lot of stray dogs in the area and they create quite a racket sometimes in the night. Being awake at 3:45 AM, this is the only music I was hearing! To be fair, I have also heard roosters crowing in the early hours of the morning both at La Serena and in San Pedro de Atacama.
The tour bus picked me up at 4:15 AM. I noticed at least 2 couples from my ´Salar de Atacama´ the evening before. I sat up front. After a brief introduction (during which our guide Danielo told us that it would take around 2 hours to reach the Geysers), I tried to sleep as much as I could during the ride to the Geysers.
The Geysers are located at an altitude of 4300 metres above sea level. The track to the geysers was a dirt track and the ride was not smooth. Nevertheless, I managed to catch as much sleep as I could. On reaching the Geysers (around 6:45 AM) we were given an introductory talk by Danielo about the nature behind this cause and the safety precautions one must take while in this area.
The Geysers are MOST active between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30 AM. This is because the earth´s crust warms up after that and the geysers do not spout much steam or water after that. Hence most of the tours to the Geysers leave San Pedro at 4 AM to reach here at 6:30 AM. The Geysers at Tatio are approximately 85 Kilometres (53 Miles) from San Pedro de Atacama.
It was bitterly cold here. I was wearing a long sleeved Jersey, a sweater and a fleece, ear muffs and gloves and was still cold! The say the temperatures in the early morning during which these tours are done can be 10 to 20 degrees CELSIUS below ZERO! Camera Batteries can be drained very quickly by this cold weather and it is advisable to keep the camera under your jacket when not taking pictures. Your appearance might be ugly (with a large belly) but at least you will not run out of battery juice!
We were also provided breakfast at the Geysers. Each tour company carries breakfast in a large cooler and the spread was set out before us now. They used the steaming geysers (smaller ones) and the hot waters to boil eggs, water (for coffee and tea) and milk.
Compared to Yellowstone, these Geysers are not massive in any way. The largest of the geysers spouts steam for about 15 feet or so. The Geysers at Tatio are definitely at a far higher altitude than the geysers at Yellowstone. I really missed the wondrous, sulphurous smell that is characteristic of the geysers at Yellowstone!
The TATIO area also has a small Thermal pool where the water temperature is appropriately hot for a dip in the early morning. These pools were filled with scores of school kids from Santiago who were on a vacation to San Pedro de Atacama.
We had to pay the entrance fee of CLP 3500 (US$8 approx). From the geysers we headed towards the small village of Machuca.
Enroute we did quite a bit of offroading and spotted flamingos (Chilean and Andean), Vicunas, Llamas as well as Suris (a bird similar to the Ostrich) that can travel at speeds of 75 Kilometres (50 miles approx) per hour. I had a cup of Cocoa Tea (Yes, made from Cocoa leaves!) at Machuca village while Danielo (the guide) had a Sopapilla. I promised to try the Sopapilla the next time it is offered in Chile. This is a wheat based pancake deep-fried in oil (Similar to the Indian dish - POORI). Folks spread some sugar on top of this and eat it.
I was dropped back at the Hotel around 12:30 PM. I took a nice hot shower and hit the sack! It was too hot to go out for Lunch. I had a 4-hour siesta. On waking up, I did some trip planning for the subsequent places I was visiting (Easter Island, Peninsula Valdes etc.) and left the hotel after 6 PM and headed to the Centre of San Pedro de Atacama.
I headed to the SPACE office (yes, that is the name of the agency) to find out whether there are any tours to observe the night sky here. As I mentioned earlier, it can be quite gorgeous at night (even to the naked eye). There were sessions scheduled for today and for Friday evening. The Friday evening session seemed a better one. I booked myself for the 9 PM session on Friday evening and headed to Cafe export for dinner. I was quite famished as I had not had anything since having a weak breakfast at the Geysers. I had a very good tomato soup, an freshly squeezed orange juice along with a vegetarian Pizza.
The second personable waitress (First one was in La Serena) in a week served me. An eye catcher from Temuco (from the Chilean Lake District) who was studying tourism and theatre. She was working in San Pedro for the summer.
One reason San Pedro is more accessible for Vegetarians is because the tourist population here is mostly international while the tourist population in La Serena is mostly Chilean.
On returning from dinner, I ran into Amor and her Aunt. I told them I would not be able to Join them for dinner. I provided an update on my visit to the Geysers (They were scheduled to do that on Friday Morning). Amor and I promise to stay in touch.
On reaching the hotel, I did some off-line blogging at the hotel computer. I wanted to transcribe these notes onto some electronic form so when I find an Internet connection, all that would remain was a cut and paste operation!
I listened to AR Rahman and to Beethoven´s 9th before going to bed. Yes, I am carrying an IPOD with me.
Tomorrow would be a free day for me until the astronomy tour at 9 PM. Hope to transcribe all my diaries thus far during the day tomorrow.
Many of the fancier hotels in La Serena (Kimal, Tulor etc) will offer a package costing Hundreds of dollars for a 4 or 5-day stay here. They do Include all the tours I talked about. Although the rooms might be a bit nicer, I would advice against overpaying to these "all-inclusive" hotels. The amount of money I spent on these tours Including the entrance fees is probably less than CLP 50000 (US$105 approx.)
Dec 14, 2007
=========
An even more leisurely day. Finished breakfast by 9:15 PM. Cristina´s office was open and the maid told me that I could go ahead and use the computer for my writing. I spent the next 3 hours transcribing my diaries to a notepad document.
Hope to upload it soon for your reading pleasure. Keep the comments coming. And don´t forget that I will upload pictures if you can tell me a way to upload / convert CANON RAW Images to a JPEG format.
I started my offline blogging around around 9:30 AM and finished around 1 PM. Hopefully I will be able to do this more often. (Considering that I am doing an update 5-days later, I guess it is not possible!).
Cristina came into the office and logged me onto the Internet. I uploaded the blogs, checked a few e-mails and was pretty much done.
Cristina told me that there were 2 minor tremors (earthquakes) early yesterday (Dec 13) morning. This was around the time I was getting ready to go to the Tatio Geysers. I did not feel anything at that time. Come to think of it, the Tatio Geysers guide (Danielo) also mentioned something about tremors! Oh well, no harm done. Would have been nice to experience it though!
I went out and had some fruits and juice for lunch. Followed it up with a siesta from 3:30 to 5:30. I set out at 6 PM to a high-speed internet cafe (so the claim went) to check my credit card charges. All was well. The credit card company had not charged any service fees for using the credit card outside the united states. The high speed internet costs CLP 1000 (US$2.2 approx) per hour. Increasingly, La Serena appears to be a very inexpensive place. (Compared to what I am experienced in San Pedro and what I am experiencing now in Easter Island)
Visited the space agency and booked myself on a astronomy tour for 9 PM that evening. The cost was CLP 12000 (US$25) which I paid with a credit card. Increasingly I am trying to conserve cash and use plastic if and when I can.
I had dinner at La Casona (yet again) ! For the first time, I tasted the Chilean dish called QUINOA. It was SIMPLY FANTASTIC. It is similar to the Indian breakfast dish Rava Uppma with carrots, peas and corn throw in as well. I had ordered a fettuccini as well not knowing how big this quinoa dish was. I could not finish the fettuccini! I wish I had held on and order the Quinoa again, rather than ordering the fettuccini. I am in Easter island now and I yet to taste anything better than that delicious QUINOA.
I visited some local artisan workshops before heading to the space company office around 9 PM. A dozen folks were already there waiting for the tour. We boarded a mini-bus and left San Pedro around 9:15 PM. After a 15 minute drive, we reached Alain{s house. This is situated in the middle of the desert on a large tract of land. There were a row of 8 telescopes or so arranged on the lawn. Needless to say these were much smaller than the ones even at Mamalluca.
After a brief introduction inside his house, we were taken outside and shown the most easily identifiable stars, planets etc. Mercury - the red planet - was quite easily visible as was ORIONs belt. He had a really cool laser pointer whose beam seemed to almost reach to the stars he was pointing at! Got to get me one of those toys.
The more interesting aspect of this visit was that one of the telescopes is pointed to the moon. Alain has a number of T-Mount adapters, that he used to connect our cameras (Point and shoot as well as different makes of digital SLRs) to the telescope. Yet another expensive hobby, I am bound to acquire! I think I got some decent pictures of the moon using this method.
Using the other telescopes (each of which points to a different star, galaxy etc) we took turns observing the night sky up close. One of the reasons he had said no Photography was possible during the 11:30 PM session (which I had attempted to join yesterday) was because the moon would more or less not be visible!
We did not get to see the meteor shower that was predicted around this time. (Dec 13/14).
The show and tell concluded in Alain"s house with the guests being served hot chocolate, tea etc.
One interesting titbit (although I think I have heard this before). SUBARU is named after a 7-star constellation as there were originally seven car factories that decided to combine their operations and form SUBARU.
The minibus picked us up around 11:40 PM and I was one of the few dropped off at my hotel. The rest were dropped at the centre of San Pedro and told to walk to their hotels. I tipped the driver CLP 1000.
Packed up most of my stuff before I went to bed as I have an early pickup (8:30 AM) tomorrow to take me to Calama airport.
I have enjoyed my 5-night stay in San Pedro de Atacama. It is definitely worth a visit.
==============
I had a restless night´s sleep. I woke up at 3:15 AM and was ready by 3:45 AM. There are a whole lot of stray dogs in the area and they create quite a racket sometimes in the night. Being awake at 3:45 AM, this is the only music I was hearing! To be fair, I have also heard roosters crowing in the early hours of the morning both at La Serena and in San Pedro de Atacama.
The tour bus picked me up at 4:15 AM. I noticed at least 2 couples from my ´Salar de Atacama´ the evening before. I sat up front. After a brief introduction (during which our guide Danielo told us that it would take around 2 hours to reach the Geysers), I tried to sleep as much as I could during the ride to the Geysers.
The Geysers are located at an altitude of 4300 metres above sea level. The track to the geysers was a dirt track and the ride was not smooth. Nevertheless, I managed to catch as much sleep as I could. On reaching the Geysers (around 6:45 AM) we were given an introductory talk by Danielo about the nature behind this cause and the safety precautions one must take while in this area.
The Geysers are MOST active between the hours of 6:30 and 8:30 AM. This is because the earth´s crust warms up after that and the geysers do not spout much steam or water after that. Hence most of the tours to the Geysers leave San Pedro at 4 AM to reach here at 6:30 AM. The Geysers at Tatio are approximately 85 Kilometres (53 Miles) from San Pedro de Atacama.
It was bitterly cold here. I was wearing a long sleeved Jersey, a sweater and a fleece, ear muffs and gloves and was still cold! The say the temperatures in the early morning during which these tours are done can be 10 to 20 degrees CELSIUS below ZERO! Camera Batteries can be drained very quickly by this cold weather and it is advisable to keep the camera under your jacket when not taking pictures. Your appearance might be ugly (with a large belly) but at least you will not run out of battery juice!
We were also provided breakfast at the Geysers. Each tour company carries breakfast in a large cooler and the spread was set out before us now. They used the steaming geysers (smaller ones) and the hot waters to boil eggs, water (for coffee and tea) and milk.
Compared to Yellowstone, these Geysers are not massive in any way. The largest of the geysers spouts steam for about 15 feet or so. The Geysers at Tatio are definitely at a far higher altitude than the geysers at Yellowstone. I really missed the wondrous, sulphurous smell that is characteristic of the geysers at Yellowstone!
The TATIO area also has a small Thermal pool where the water temperature is appropriately hot for a dip in the early morning. These pools were filled with scores of school kids from Santiago who were on a vacation to San Pedro de Atacama.
We had to pay the entrance fee of CLP 3500 (US$8 approx). From the geysers we headed towards the small village of Machuca.
Enroute we did quite a bit of offroading and spotted flamingos (Chilean and Andean), Vicunas, Llamas as well as Suris (a bird similar to the Ostrich) that can travel at speeds of 75 Kilometres (50 miles approx) per hour. I had a cup of Cocoa Tea (Yes, made from Cocoa leaves!) at Machuca village while Danielo (the guide) had a Sopapilla. I promised to try the Sopapilla the next time it is offered in Chile. This is a wheat based pancake deep-fried in oil (Similar to the Indian dish - POORI). Folks spread some sugar on top of this and eat it.
I was dropped back at the Hotel around 12:30 PM. I took a nice hot shower and hit the sack! It was too hot to go out for Lunch. I had a 4-hour siesta. On waking up, I did some trip planning for the subsequent places I was visiting (Easter Island, Peninsula Valdes etc.) and left the hotel after 6 PM and headed to the Centre of San Pedro de Atacama.
I headed to the SPACE office (yes, that is the name of the agency) to find out whether there are any tours to observe the night sky here. As I mentioned earlier, it can be quite gorgeous at night (even to the naked eye). There were sessions scheduled for today and for Friday evening. The Friday evening session seemed a better one. I booked myself for the 9 PM session on Friday evening and headed to Cafe export for dinner. I was quite famished as I had not had anything since having a weak breakfast at the Geysers. I had a very good tomato soup, an freshly squeezed orange juice along with a vegetarian Pizza.
The second personable waitress (First one was in La Serena) in a week served me. An eye catcher from Temuco (from the Chilean Lake District) who was studying tourism and theatre. She was working in San Pedro for the summer.
One reason San Pedro is more accessible for Vegetarians is because the tourist population here is mostly international while the tourist population in La Serena is mostly Chilean.
On returning from dinner, I ran into Amor and her Aunt. I told them I would not be able to Join them for dinner. I provided an update on my visit to the Geysers (They were scheduled to do that on Friday Morning). Amor and I promise to stay in touch.
On reaching the hotel, I did some off-line blogging at the hotel computer. I wanted to transcribe these notes onto some electronic form so when I find an Internet connection, all that would remain was a cut and paste operation!
I listened to AR Rahman and to Beethoven´s 9th before going to bed. Yes, I am carrying an IPOD with me.
Tomorrow would be a free day for me until the astronomy tour at 9 PM. Hope to transcribe all my diaries thus far during the day tomorrow.
Many of the fancier hotels in La Serena (Kimal, Tulor etc) will offer a package costing Hundreds of dollars for a 4 or 5-day stay here. They do Include all the tours I talked about. Although the rooms might be a bit nicer, I would advice against overpaying to these "all-inclusive" hotels. The amount of money I spent on these tours Including the entrance fees is probably less than CLP 50000 (US$105 approx.)
Dec 14, 2007
=========
An even more leisurely day. Finished breakfast by 9:15 PM. Cristina´s office was open and the maid told me that I could go ahead and use the computer for my writing. I spent the next 3 hours transcribing my diaries to a notepad document.
Hope to upload it soon for your reading pleasure. Keep the comments coming. And don´t forget that I will upload pictures if you can tell me a way to upload / convert CANON RAW Images to a JPEG format.
I started my offline blogging around around 9:30 AM and finished around 1 PM. Hopefully I will be able to do this more often. (Considering that I am doing an update 5-days later, I guess it is not possible!).
Cristina came into the office and logged me onto the Internet. I uploaded the blogs, checked a few e-mails and was pretty much done.
Cristina told me that there were 2 minor tremors (earthquakes) early yesterday (Dec 13) morning. This was around the time I was getting ready to go to the Tatio Geysers. I did not feel anything at that time. Come to think of it, the Tatio Geysers guide (Danielo) also mentioned something about tremors! Oh well, no harm done. Would have been nice to experience it though!
I went out and had some fruits and juice for lunch. Followed it up with a siesta from 3:30 to 5:30. I set out at 6 PM to a high-speed internet cafe (so the claim went) to check my credit card charges. All was well. The credit card company had not charged any service fees for using the credit card outside the united states. The high speed internet costs CLP 1000 (US$2.2 approx) per hour. Increasingly, La Serena appears to be a very inexpensive place. (Compared to what I am experienced in San Pedro and what I am experiencing now in Easter Island)
Visited the space agency and booked myself on a astronomy tour for 9 PM that evening. The cost was CLP 12000 (US$25) which I paid with a credit card. Increasingly I am trying to conserve cash and use plastic if and when I can.
I had dinner at La Casona (yet again) ! For the first time, I tasted the Chilean dish called QUINOA. It was SIMPLY FANTASTIC. It is similar to the Indian breakfast dish Rava Uppma with carrots, peas and corn throw in as well. I had ordered a fettuccini as well not knowing how big this quinoa dish was. I could not finish the fettuccini! I wish I had held on and order the Quinoa again, rather than ordering the fettuccini. I am in Easter island now and I yet to taste anything better than that delicious QUINOA.
I visited some local artisan workshops before heading to the space company office around 9 PM. A dozen folks were already there waiting for the tour. We boarded a mini-bus and left San Pedro around 9:15 PM. After a 15 minute drive, we reached Alain{s house. This is situated in the middle of the desert on a large tract of land. There were a row of 8 telescopes or so arranged on the lawn. Needless to say these were much smaller than the ones even at Mamalluca.
After a brief introduction inside his house, we were taken outside and shown the most easily identifiable stars, planets etc. Mercury - the red planet - was quite easily visible as was ORIONs belt. He had a really cool laser pointer whose beam seemed to almost reach to the stars he was pointing at! Got to get me one of those toys.
The more interesting aspect of this visit was that one of the telescopes is pointed to the moon. Alain has a number of T-Mount adapters, that he used to connect our cameras (Point and shoot as well as different makes of digital SLRs) to the telescope. Yet another expensive hobby, I am bound to acquire! I think I got some decent pictures of the moon using this method.
Using the other telescopes (each of which points to a different star, galaxy etc) we took turns observing the night sky up close. One of the reasons he had said no Photography was possible during the 11:30 PM session (which I had attempted to join yesterday) was because the moon would more or less not be visible!
We did not get to see the meteor shower that was predicted around this time. (Dec 13/14).
The show and tell concluded in Alain"s house with the guests being served hot chocolate, tea etc.
One interesting titbit (although I think I have heard this before). SUBARU is named after a 7-star constellation as there were originally seven car factories that decided to combine their operations and form SUBARU.
The minibus picked us up around 11:40 PM and I was one of the few dropped off at my hotel. The rest were dropped at the centre of San Pedro and told to walk to their hotels. I tipped the driver CLP 1000.
Packed up most of my stuff before I went to bed as I have an early pickup (8:30 AM) tomorrow to take me to Calama airport.
I have enjoyed my 5-night stay in San Pedro de Atacama. It is definitely worth a visit.
December 12, 2007 - San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Dec 12, 2007
=========
Had a leisurely breakfast as my first tour was not expected to start until 9 AM. The tour bus would also pick me up at the Hostel, instead of me having to go to the Tour office (20 minute walk). I was to do an Archaeological tour of the area starting at 9 AM. There were 5 people on this tour. These were some of the folks who did the ´Valle de la Luna´tour with me yesterday. They were Spaniards. I was the sole English speaker and the driver made every effort to be bilingual explaining everything twice (once in Spanish and once in English).
Our first visit was to Pukara de Quitor (Stone fortress of Quitor). I discovered that my Hostel is actually located in Quitor. The hostel is about 300 metres from the border of San Pedro de Atacama. Which explains why there are no street lights for the 300 metres or so from my Hostel. The Pukara de Quitor had steep climbs. I hated it. At least it was on rubble and not on soft sand. After the steep climb, one is rewarded with excellent views from the top. The Incas once controlled this land (more like conquered). To protect themselves from the next warring tribe, they constructed this stone fortress. Pretty well preserved with different rooms.
We continued on towards ´Tulor´Village. This village is more than 800 years old and was discovered recently. Only 7% of this village has been excavated due to a spat between the local municipality and the central government. Each wants the other to pay for the excavations. I side with the local municipality as it is the responsibility of the central government to excavate and upkeep these treasures. With more excavations, this would be a great site to visit.
Our final stop in the archaeological tour was the ´Museo Arqueologico´ at San Pedro de Atacama. It is a small museum devoted to local culture. Contains the tools, pottery from the Atacamenian period as well as descriptions on the food eaten and animals domesticated etc. We were also told that the local Volcano (dormant now) was called LICANCABUR meaning ´Lord of the Lican´. The people were referred to as LICANANTAY (People of the Lican).
I requested a drop off back at my hostel and was back by 12:45 PM. I had a siesta for 2 hours. I paid the hostel charges US Dollars. It worked out to US$ 42 per night and was cheaper than paying in Pesos. (Total for 5 Nights US$210)
I walked to the San Pedro Centre for a late snack (Ice cream pancake) at ´Cafe Tierra´ before joining my afternoon tour to ´Salar de Atacama´. As the tour was delayed by 30 mins, I went around to a few more tour agencies to inquire about tours to ´Cari´Ravine and ´Puritama´thermal pools. As there is not much demand for these tours, they would have to be done as private tours and these were quite expensive. CLP 60000 (US$ 125).
Our tour departed around 4:30 PM and our first stop was the small village of Toconao. During the drive to Toconao we passed by the ALMA facility. Toconao is yet another Oasis set in the Atacama desert. Out of an immense flatland of desert, you suddenly find a few hundred green trees and houses. Toconao´s claim to fame is that all its houses are made of Volcanic
Stone.We took a walk around the village. Many citrus fruits are grown here. The ingredient for the local alcoholic brew is also grown here (the name escapes me).
From Toconao we set out for the Salt flats (Salar de Atacama). This is an immense salt flat that stretches all the way to Bolivia (40 Kilometres away). We spotted quite a few flamingos. This is the ATACAMA, I came to see! Immense flat deserts as far as the eye can see. There are 5 types of flamingos in the world and 3 of these are found in the Atacama. The two we spotted were the Chilean Flamingos (Pink body) and the Andean flamingos (Pink body with a dark patch at the tail).
I took many many pictures of the Salt flats, the sunset and the flamingos. I am quite sure I have some decent ones in there. There have been some comments and requests asking me to post pictures. I shoot in RAW format and each image is anywhere from 12 MB to 20 MB in size. Not sure whether the Blog accepts RAW Images and whether there is a size limitation to these images. If any of your folks recommended a way, I will start uploading pictures as well.
We returned to town around 9 PM. I ran into Amor (my acquaintance from La Serena) at a local restaurant. She and her aunt had arrived earlier in the day and they had completed the ´Valle de la Luna´ tour earlier that evening. As her aunt was quite tired, she was having dinner by herself. We had dinner together and parted ways by 10:30 PM or so as I needed to wake up by 3:30 AM tomorrow to get ready for the ´Geiser del Tatio´tour at 4 AM. Amor told me that since she was born on February 14th, her parents christened her thus!
=========
Had a leisurely breakfast as my first tour was not expected to start until 9 AM. The tour bus would also pick me up at the Hostel, instead of me having to go to the Tour office (20 minute walk). I was to do an Archaeological tour of the area starting at 9 AM. There were 5 people on this tour. These were some of the folks who did the ´Valle de la Luna´tour with me yesterday. They were Spaniards. I was the sole English speaker and the driver made every effort to be bilingual explaining everything twice (once in Spanish and once in English).
Our first visit was to Pukara de Quitor (Stone fortress of Quitor). I discovered that my Hostel is actually located in Quitor. The hostel is about 300 metres from the border of San Pedro de Atacama. Which explains why there are no street lights for the 300 metres or so from my Hostel. The Pukara de Quitor had steep climbs. I hated it. At least it was on rubble and not on soft sand. After the steep climb, one is rewarded with excellent views from the top. The Incas once controlled this land (more like conquered). To protect themselves from the next warring tribe, they constructed this stone fortress. Pretty well preserved with different rooms.
We continued on towards ´Tulor´Village. This village is more than 800 years old and was discovered recently. Only 7% of this village has been excavated due to a spat between the local municipality and the central government. Each wants the other to pay for the excavations. I side with the local municipality as it is the responsibility of the central government to excavate and upkeep these treasures. With more excavations, this would be a great site to visit.
Our final stop in the archaeological tour was the ´Museo Arqueologico´ at San Pedro de Atacama. It is a small museum devoted to local culture. Contains the tools, pottery from the Atacamenian period as well as descriptions on the food eaten and animals domesticated etc. We were also told that the local Volcano (dormant now) was called LICANCABUR meaning ´Lord of the Lican´. The people were referred to as LICANANTAY (People of the Lican).
I requested a drop off back at my hostel and was back by 12:45 PM. I had a siesta for 2 hours. I paid the hostel charges US Dollars. It worked out to US$ 42 per night and was cheaper than paying in Pesos. (Total for 5 Nights US$210)
I walked to the San Pedro Centre for a late snack (Ice cream pancake) at ´Cafe Tierra´ before joining my afternoon tour to ´Salar de Atacama´. As the tour was delayed by 30 mins, I went around to a few more tour agencies to inquire about tours to ´Cari´Ravine and ´Puritama´thermal pools. As there is not much demand for these tours, they would have to be done as private tours and these were quite expensive. CLP 60000 (US$ 125).
Our tour departed around 4:30 PM and our first stop was the small village of Toconao. During the drive to Toconao we passed by the ALMA facility. Toconao is yet another Oasis set in the Atacama desert. Out of an immense flatland of desert, you suddenly find a few hundred green trees and houses. Toconao´s claim to fame is that all its houses are made of Volcanic
Stone.We took a walk around the village. Many citrus fruits are grown here. The ingredient for the local alcoholic brew is also grown here (the name escapes me).
From Toconao we set out for the Salt flats (Salar de Atacama). This is an immense salt flat that stretches all the way to Bolivia (40 Kilometres away). We spotted quite a few flamingos. This is the ATACAMA, I came to see! Immense flat deserts as far as the eye can see. There are 5 types of flamingos in the world and 3 of these are found in the Atacama. The two we spotted were the Chilean Flamingos (Pink body) and the Andean flamingos (Pink body with a dark patch at the tail).
I took many many pictures of the Salt flats, the sunset and the flamingos. I am quite sure I have some decent ones in there. There have been some comments and requests asking me to post pictures. I shoot in RAW format and each image is anywhere from 12 MB to 20 MB in size. Not sure whether the Blog accepts RAW Images and whether there is a size limitation to these images. If any of your folks recommended a way, I will start uploading pictures as well.
We returned to town around 9 PM. I ran into Amor (my acquaintance from La Serena) at a local restaurant. She and her aunt had arrived earlier in the day and they had completed the ´Valle de la Luna´ tour earlier that evening. As her aunt was quite tired, she was having dinner by herself. We had dinner together and parted ways by 10:30 PM or so as I needed to wake up by 3:30 AM tomorrow to get ready for the ´Geiser del Tatio´tour at 4 AM. Amor told me that since she was born on February 14th, her parents christened her thus!
December 11, 2007 - San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Dec 11, 2007
=========
I slept well. The hotel had a good shower with hot water. The breakfast room was nice and the food decent. The TV was on, but could not receive the TVN Channel! It looked like I was the only occupant in this hostel at the present time. I went in search of the local tourist office. On reaching the place, I found out that they open only at 10 AM. I purchased some postcards and stamps. Each costs costs around CLP 600 (US$1.5) including postage. The
tourist office was open by now and I obtained a local area map from there. I visited Iglesia San Pedro and spent some time there taking pictures. The Pukara de Quitor (Stone Fortress from the Inca Times) was a 3 Kilometre hike (2 Miles approx) and I decided to do it later. I visited a few tour companies and obtained the different tour options available and their prices.
I visited ´Cafe Teirra Todo Natural´and order some break (made from different grains) along with some fresh juice and a coffee. This passed for Lunch! During this, I compared the tours/prices from different tour companies and decided what I wanted to do and when. As I was flying out on Saturday Morning, I had 3 1/2 days to do the various tours.
I settled on a company called ´Desert Adventure´. The lady at the counter knew how to make a sales pitch. She threw a 4th trip for free after I had purchased 3 trips. I was getting 4 trips for CLP 30000 (US$ 62 approx.). Of course, all tour companies quote only their costs. The entrance fees to the various parks are NOT included in these tours and will have to be paid by the tour participants upon reaching the respective parks. The entrance fees range from CLP 2000 - CLP 4000 (US$5-9) per park / per person.
I was told that if I was to pay in Cash, the discount would be better. I decided to conserve the cash and paid for the tours by Credit Card. It remains to be seen whether I am making a good decision here, as the Credit card companies in the US charge a service fee for all transactions done outside the US.
It was around 12:30 AM by now. My first tour to ´Valle de la Luna´(Valley of the Moon) was not starting until 4 PM. I walked back to the hotel. More than the heat, breathing the find sand is what affects you. [I am writing this close to Midnight and it still feels like my lungs are filled with sand]. Although this is not as bad as the Sahara (which I visited during my trip to Morocco in 2004) where the sand occupies every orifice in your body and even multiple showers in the same day are not enough to rid the sand from your body.
The Internet services are quite expensive here (CLP 800 - US$ 1.7 for an hour). I completed the postcards to friends and family and did what most Chileans do. I had a nice siesta from 1:30 to 3 PM. I mailed the cards and reached the tour office in time for my 4 PM tour. We were doing the tour in a Minivan and it was packed to its capacity (15 people). We first stopped at a Mirador Viewpoint) to take in the ´Valle de la Luna´. After spending around 20 minutes here, listening to the guide´s explanations and taking pictures, we headed to the ´Valle de la Muerte´(Death Valley). We had a short steep climb from which to observe the
canyon.
Many of us in our group were shocked to see a woman with a Baby (less than a year old) and her husband carrying a stroller do this climb as well. I would called them ´2 Morons with a Baby´. Bringing a baby in this environment is in itself a bad thing as even adults find difficulty breathing here. Bringing a stroller was perhaps their calling card as being ´certified Morons´. You are on a valley floor in the middle of the Atacama desert. Did they xpect paved sidewalks here?
We spent a good 45-minutes or so walking through the valle de al Muerte and watched some kids to sand boarding. Sand boarding here carries a bit of risk as the bottom of the sand dunes are quite rocky and one could get seriously hurt. If you really need to do
Sand boarding, do it in the Sahara (pristine dunes and not even a pebble to be found). We headed to see the ´Tres Marias´(Three Marys) formation before heading to the Big dune from where we would observe the sunset over the ´valle de la Luna´.
We were not allowed to climb the big dune as it had shifted by 4 metres during the recent earthquake (a few weeks ago). We were to use a passage on the side and walk to the top of the dune. The walk to the top almost killed me! Climbing on sand is quite different from climbing a rocky hill. I guess climbing on sand is akin to climbing a mountain with 2 feet of snow! The entire lot of us in our group were totally wiped out from climbing this dune.It took us close to 15 minutes to get our breath back.
I took lots of pictures of the changing colours of the valley caused by the different stages of the setting sun.
The couple with the baby also made it to the top of the dune. I guess the baby might be bewildered by what Mama Moron and Papa Moron did to him/her when he/she was little. Needless to say these morons were with a different group.
Some of the interesting folks who were part of my group. An English gent (53 years old) who was travelling south America for 8 months. A German High-school kid who was travelling south America for 3 months before heading to college. A Dutch couple with their 2 sons (aged 7 and 9) who were travelling in Chile for a Month. THIS I understand and approve as the Children are at an age where they can comprehend what they are seeing and doing.
Upon our return to La Serena, I headed to La Casona (also recommended by my guide) for dinner. I had a fettuccini with Vegetarian sauce along with a ¨La Hoya¨ Cabernet Sauvignon
(2006) from Colchagua Valley which had a light nose, was medium bodied with a Medium finish. There were a group of musicians performing live at this restaurant. In all good dinner, wine, restaurant and music.
I have 2 half-day tours tomorrow. I think I finally cracked the code for sending text messages internationally. While MOVISTAR recommends that you use the Code ´01810´before entering the country code, this was not working for me. I tried the old method of using a "+" symbol before entering the country code. It worked and I even received responses from my friends. An old friend of mine called me and we chatted for 20 mins. All incoming calls and
messages are free. Of course, those with PRIMITIVE services [Verizon] were unable to send international text messages. They were able to receive my messages, but I could not receive
their responses. T-Mobile rocks.
I spent time transferring pictures from my Memory card to my portable hard drive, wrote my diary and went to bed.
=========
I slept well. The hotel had a good shower with hot water. The breakfast room was nice and the food decent. The TV was on, but could not receive the TVN Channel! It looked like I was the only occupant in this hostel at the present time. I went in search of the local tourist office. On reaching the place, I found out that they open only at 10 AM. I purchased some postcards and stamps. Each costs costs around CLP 600 (US$1.5) including postage. The
tourist office was open by now and I obtained a local area map from there. I visited Iglesia San Pedro and spent some time there taking pictures. The Pukara de Quitor (Stone Fortress from the Inca Times) was a 3 Kilometre hike (2 Miles approx) and I decided to do it later. I visited a few tour companies and obtained the different tour options available and their prices.
I visited ´Cafe Teirra Todo Natural´and order some break (made from different grains) along with some fresh juice and a coffee. This passed for Lunch! During this, I compared the tours/prices from different tour companies and decided what I wanted to do and when. As I was flying out on Saturday Morning, I had 3 1/2 days to do the various tours.
I settled on a company called ´Desert Adventure´. The lady at the counter knew how to make a sales pitch. She threw a 4th trip for free after I had purchased 3 trips. I was getting 4 trips for CLP 30000 (US$ 62 approx.). Of course, all tour companies quote only their costs. The entrance fees to the various parks are NOT included in these tours and will have to be paid by the tour participants upon reaching the respective parks. The entrance fees range from CLP 2000 - CLP 4000 (US$5-9) per park / per person.
I was told that if I was to pay in Cash, the discount would be better. I decided to conserve the cash and paid for the tours by Credit Card. It remains to be seen whether I am making a good decision here, as the Credit card companies in the US charge a service fee for all transactions done outside the US.
It was around 12:30 AM by now. My first tour to ´Valle de la Luna´(Valley of the Moon) was not starting until 4 PM. I walked back to the hotel. More than the heat, breathing the find sand is what affects you. [I am writing this close to Midnight and it still feels like my lungs are filled with sand]. Although this is not as bad as the Sahara (which I visited during my trip to Morocco in 2004) where the sand occupies every orifice in your body and even multiple showers in the same day are not enough to rid the sand from your body.
The Internet services are quite expensive here (CLP 800 - US$ 1.7 for an hour). I completed the postcards to friends and family and did what most Chileans do. I had a nice siesta from 1:30 to 3 PM. I mailed the cards and reached the tour office in time for my 4 PM tour. We were doing the tour in a Minivan and it was packed to its capacity (15 people). We first stopped at a Mirador Viewpoint) to take in the ´Valle de la Luna´. After spending around 20 minutes here, listening to the guide´s explanations and taking pictures, we headed to the ´Valle de la Muerte´(Death Valley). We had a short steep climb from which to observe the
canyon.
Many of us in our group were shocked to see a woman with a Baby (less than a year old) and her husband carrying a stroller do this climb as well. I would called them ´2 Morons with a Baby´. Bringing a baby in this environment is in itself a bad thing as even adults find difficulty breathing here. Bringing a stroller was perhaps their calling card as being ´certified Morons´. You are on a valley floor in the middle of the Atacama desert. Did they xpect paved sidewalks here?
We spent a good 45-minutes or so walking through the valle de al Muerte and watched some kids to sand boarding. Sand boarding here carries a bit of risk as the bottom of the sand dunes are quite rocky and one could get seriously hurt. If you really need to do
Sand boarding, do it in the Sahara (pristine dunes and not even a pebble to be found). We headed to see the ´Tres Marias´(Three Marys) formation before heading to the Big dune from where we would observe the sunset over the ´valle de la Luna´.
We were not allowed to climb the big dune as it had shifted by 4 metres during the recent earthquake (a few weeks ago). We were to use a passage on the side and walk to the top of the dune. The walk to the top almost killed me! Climbing on sand is quite different from climbing a rocky hill. I guess climbing on sand is akin to climbing a mountain with 2 feet of snow! The entire lot of us in our group were totally wiped out from climbing this dune.It took us close to 15 minutes to get our breath back.
I took lots of pictures of the changing colours of the valley caused by the different stages of the setting sun.
The couple with the baby also made it to the top of the dune. I guess the baby might be bewildered by what Mama Moron and Papa Moron did to him/her when he/she was little. Needless to say these morons were with a different group.
Some of the interesting folks who were part of my group. An English gent (53 years old) who was travelling south America for 8 months. A German High-school kid who was travelling south America for 3 months before heading to college. A Dutch couple with their 2 sons (aged 7 and 9) who were travelling in Chile for a Month. THIS I understand and approve as the Children are at an age where they can comprehend what they are seeing and doing.
Upon our return to La Serena, I headed to La Casona (also recommended by my guide) for dinner. I had a fettuccini with Vegetarian sauce along with a ¨La Hoya¨ Cabernet Sauvignon
(2006) from Colchagua Valley which had a light nose, was medium bodied with a Medium finish. There were a group of musicians performing live at this restaurant. In all good dinner, wine, restaurant and music.
I have 2 half-day tours tomorrow. I think I finally cracked the code for sending text messages internationally. While MOVISTAR recommends that you use the Code ´01810´before entering the country code, this was not working for me. I tried the old method of using a "+" symbol before entering the country code. It worked and I even received responses from my friends. An old friend of mine called me and we chatted for 20 mins. All incoming calls and
messages are free. Of course, those with PRIMITIVE services [Verizon] were unable to send international text messages. They were able to receive my messages, but I could not receive
their responses. T-Mobile rocks.
I spent time transferring pictures from my Memory card to my portable hard drive, wrote my diary and went to bed.
December 10, 2007 - La Serena to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Dec 10, 2007
=========
What a day! (and it is hardly 2 PM) As my flight to Santiago from La Serena was at 11 AM, I had requested Hector to arrange an airport transfer at 9:15 am which would put be at the airport around 9:35 am giving me enough time. I woke up on time and was packed and ready by 8:30 AM. I had breakfast and was at the lobby by 9:15 AM. I placed the larger bag close to the door and kept the smaller backpack (containing travel essentials) and some guide books next to me while I waited in the Lobby.
Hector received a Phone call and informed me that the transfer vehicle would be 20 minutes late thereby putting me at the airport close to 10 AM. This was outside my comfort zone (I´d
rather be early than late) but not too bad. As the TV was turned on in the lobby, I started watching a morning TV as I thought it might help improve my Spanish.
The show was called ´Buenos dias Todos´and was on TVN channel. The female host of the program (Tomka Tomicic) was a stunner. I was left gaping! Hector concurred with me and he wrote down her name so I could replicate it here!
I kept looking outside the window from time to time to monitor the arrival of the transfer van. 9:40 came by and went. Hector called them again and was told that they would be here in the next 3-5 mins. Around 9:50 AM, I was getting quite concerned. I walked out the main door and looked outside to see if I could spot the transfer van anywhere. When I returned inside, I found that my larger bag (that was kept by the door) had disappeared.
I panicked and told Hector what had happened. Hector hollered at Kathy. We figured that when one of the guests was picked up a few minutes ago in a white van, the driver must had loaded my bag into the vehicle (thinking it belonged to the Guest he was picking up). Even if my (extremely delayed) transfer service arrived now, I could not leave!
Hector kept loudly uttering ´Puta Madre´! Since the Guest had come for work, Hector or Kathy did not know where to call meaning which firm he had come to work for). They pored over the Phone book and supposedly called the company that had sent the pickup van. The company knew where the van was headed, but that would not help us. (Being late as it is, we would not have time to go around god knows where to pick the bag up). Hector and Kathy explained the situation to the person on the other end of the line and obtained the mobile number of the driver of the van. As I had mentioned earlier, everyone´s mobile phone works but mine!
They called Claudio (the drive of the Van) and he informed them saying that he was close to the hotel (after dropping his guest). The three of us ran onto the street and we spotted the van about 30 metres away. After seeing my blue bag being unloaded from the van, I returned to half-normal. I still had to make the flight and my transfer showed no signs of arriving. I told hector to get me a regular taxi. Kathy found me a cab right away and the cost was CLP 3000 (US$7.5 - double of what the transfer company would have charged me). I did not care. I thanked Hector and Kathy profusely and jumped into the taxi. I told the driver that my flight time was at 11 AM (in less than 50 mins) and he told me not to worry! I guess Chileans usually check-in seconds before take-off!
We reached the airport around 10:30 AM. There was a lot of folks just pulling in at the kerb. The lady at the LAN Airlines counter decided to play it by the book and charged me CLP 12,000 (US$25) because I was carrying an extra 4 Kilos over the permitted 20 Kilos (around 9 extra pounds). After my near miss, I was in no mood to argue. I paid up using my credit card and boarded my flight. The bag was checked all the way to Calama.
I was flying to Santiago and changing planes there to fly to Calama. Even though Calama is North of La Serena, I was flying South to Santiago and then flying North to Calama as there are no direct flights from La Serena to Calama. The flight to Santiago was 50 minutes. I had a 2 1/2 hour layover at Santiago. On reaching Santiago, I purchased a Phone card for CLP 5000 to call home. This Phone card was to be used on landline Phones to call family and friends in the US and elsewhere.
After finishing my calls, I headed to the Movistar office at the Airport. After explaining my need to call and text internationally, I obtained a Phone card for CLP 20000 (US$ 42). Of course, I was given a new number now!
I exchanged another US$500 at the airport. In the 4-days since my arrival, the Chilean peso had devalued a bit and I received a better exchange rate. I visited the TAM (Brazilian) Airlines counter at the airport to ensure my reservations were all in order. I also visited the Aerolineas Argentinas airline counter and I was told that I would need to re-confirm each flight 48-hours before! Those Primitives! LAN Chile does not require any reconfirmation at all. I also noticed that Santiago Airport has free Wi-Fi. The Hotel at La Serena also has free Wi-Fi.
I had a brief nap from Santiago to Antofagasta. The flight to Calama was to have a stop at Antofagasta before proceeding to Calama. Ludwig and Wilhelm accompanied me for most of this flight. I wish I had invested in a SHURE!
I spotted (at least I think so) the VLT (Very Large Telescope) observatory at Paranal (south of Antofagasta). Between the pacific Ocean and the Airport is sheer desert. It looked like
there was quite a bit of off-roading activity being done in this area. We stopped at Antofagasta for 40 mins while the plane refuelled. Most of the passengers disembarked and the plane was 25% occupied for the flight to Calama.
The landscape changed from Mountainous to flat desert. The flight hardly took 30 minutes. At Calama, I met the representative of the transfer company (LICANCABUR transfer) and paid CLP 7000 (US$15) in cash for the 75-minute ride to San Pedro de Atacama. I picked my bag and waited in the Minivan for some passengers who were arriving on another flight (SKY Airlines). After a 30-min wait we set forth for San Pedro. Very dramatic landscape especially when observed from the ground level.
Chatted with an American Engineer (who was here on work) and 2 other English speakers during the 75-min drive to San Pedro. The engineer works for NSF (National Science Foundation) and was heading to a place 20 KMs from San Pedro. The project he is working on is called ALMA (Atacama Large Millimetre Array) and involves participation from the US (40%), Europe (40%) and Japan (20%). Canada and Taiwan also participate in this project to build 66 RADIO telescopes each with a 12 Metre diameter antenna. The project completion date is 2011.The telescopes I saw at La Serena were OPTICAL telescopes used for seeing things, while these RADIO telescopes will be used to monitor ET speak! Seemed quite fascinating. The engineer travels to San Pedro each month for 2 weeks at a time. He hates it. Then again I may too. I however think he finds his work interesting.
The other 2 participants in the conversation were a Swiss Blonde (Yes, tall and good looking as well) and a 60+ Yankee peacenik lady who thought that that the NSF was promoting WAR! Oh well, to each their own.
San Pedro is an OASIS in the Atacama desert. Many trees abound and the San Pedro river has been diverted into small canals to provide water for the town. I was the first person to be dropped at my Hostel (Inti & Killa). A very pregnant Cristina Cereceda (with whom I had corresponded) greeted me along with her Nino and a furry perro (Dog to you English speakers). The hostel is a very nice quiet place set away from the main centre of town and costs CLP 25000 (US$ 52) per night. The hostel accepts US$ or Chilean Pesos as payment. The payment is CASH Only.
I asked Cristina whether I could use her computer to transfer my Images from my Memory cards to my portable hard drive. I had a nice room with a double bed. The Mosaic floor was smooth and cool. The room was clean. The hostel is set inside a gated (adobe walled) compound.
After transferring my Images from the memory cards to my portable hard drive, I set out for dinner at 9 PM. The hotel provides a torch to every guest (for their use during their stay here). This is because there are no street lamps for 300 metres or so on the way to the centre of San Pedro. I declined, as I always carry a small Maglite with me on trips. I found a decent restaurant (Cafe Export - also recommended in my guide book) and had a vegetarian empanada with an excellent Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon - CANDELARIA, 2005, Central Valley - Full bodied, light nose, fleshy, smooth with a medium finish. I had just enjoyed my FIRST good dinner in Chile!
I spoke to everyone in Spanish despite the mistakes. I will perhaps do some local exploring and find out about the various tours on offer here. A GOOD torch is definitely required if you are walking back after 9 PM. On the walk back I enjoyed watching and identifying the glorious starry sky.
=========
What a day! (and it is hardly 2 PM) As my flight to Santiago from La Serena was at 11 AM, I had requested Hector to arrange an airport transfer at 9:15 am which would put be at the airport around 9:35 am giving me enough time. I woke up on time and was packed and ready by 8:30 AM. I had breakfast and was at the lobby by 9:15 AM. I placed the larger bag close to the door and kept the smaller backpack (containing travel essentials) and some guide books next to me while I waited in the Lobby.
Hector received a Phone call and informed me that the transfer vehicle would be 20 minutes late thereby putting me at the airport close to 10 AM. This was outside my comfort zone (I´d
rather be early than late) but not too bad. As the TV was turned on in the lobby, I started watching a morning TV as I thought it might help improve my Spanish.
The show was called ´Buenos dias Todos´and was on TVN channel. The female host of the program (Tomka Tomicic) was a stunner. I was left gaping! Hector concurred with me and he wrote down her name so I could replicate it here!
I kept looking outside the window from time to time to monitor the arrival of the transfer van. 9:40 came by and went. Hector called them again and was told that they would be here in the next 3-5 mins. Around 9:50 AM, I was getting quite concerned. I walked out the main door and looked outside to see if I could spot the transfer van anywhere. When I returned inside, I found that my larger bag (that was kept by the door) had disappeared.
I panicked and told Hector what had happened. Hector hollered at Kathy. We figured that when one of the guests was picked up a few minutes ago in a white van, the driver must had loaded my bag into the vehicle (thinking it belonged to the Guest he was picking up). Even if my (extremely delayed) transfer service arrived now, I could not leave!
Hector kept loudly uttering ´Puta Madre´! Since the Guest had come for work, Hector or Kathy did not know where to call meaning which firm he had come to work for). They pored over the Phone book and supposedly called the company that had sent the pickup van. The company knew where the van was headed, but that would not help us. (Being late as it is, we would not have time to go around god knows where to pick the bag up). Hector and Kathy explained the situation to the person on the other end of the line and obtained the mobile number of the driver of the van. As I had mentioned earlier, everyone´s mobile phone works but mine!
They called Claudio (the drive of the Van) and he informed them saying that he was close to the hotel (after dropping his guest). The three of us ran onto the street and we spotted the van about 30 metres away. After seeing my blue bag being unloaded from the van, I returned to half-normal. I still had to make the flight and my transfer showed no signs of arriving. I told hector to get me a regular taxi. Kathy found me a cab right away and the cost was CLP 3000 (US$7.5 - double of what the transfer company would have charged me). I did not care. I thanked Hector and Kathy profusely and jumped into the taxi. I told the driver that my flight time was at 11 AM (in less than 50 mins) and he told me not to worry! I guess Chileans usually check-in seconds before take-off!
We reached the airport around 10:30 AM. There was a lot of folks just pulling in at the kerb. The lady at the LAN Airlines counter decided to play it by the book and charged me CLP 12,000 (US$25) because I was carrying an extra 4 Kilos over the permitted 20 Kilos (around 9 extra pounds). After my near miss, I was in no mood to argue. I paid up using my credit card and boarded my flight. The bag was checked all the way to Calama.
I was flying to Santiago and changing planes there to fly to Calama. Even though Calama is North of La Serena, I was flying South to Santiago and then flying North to Calama as there are no direct flights from La Serena to Calama. The flight to Santiago was 50 minutes. I had a 2 1/2 hour layover at Santiago. On reaching Santiago, I purchased a Phone card for CLP 5000 to call home. This Phone card was to be used on landline Phones to call family and friends in the US and elsewhere.
After finishing my calls, I headed to the Movistar office at the Airport. After explaining my need to call and text internationally, I obtained a Phone card for CLP 20000 (US$ 42). Of course, I was given a new number now!
I exchanged another US$500 at the airport. In the 4-days since my arrival, the Chilean peso had devalued a bit and I received a better exchange rate. I visited the TAM (Brazilian) Airlines counter at the airport to ensure my reservations were all in order. I also visited the Aerolineas Argentinas airline counter and I was told that I would need to re-confirm each flight 48-hours before! Those Primitives! LAN Chile does not require any reconfirmation at all. I also noticed that Santiago Airport has free Wi-Fi. The Hotel at La Serena also has free Wi-Fi.
I had a brief nap from Santiago to Antofagasta. The flight to Calama was to have a stop at Antofagasta before proceeding to Calama. Ludwig and Wilhelm accompanied me for most of this flight. I wish I had invested in a SHURE!
I spotted (at least I think so) the VLT (Very Large Telescope) observatory at Paranal (south of Antofagasta). Between the pacific Ocean and the Airport is sheer desert. It looked like
there was quite a bit of off-roading activity being done in this area. We stopped at Antofagasta for 40 mins while the plane refuelled. Most of the passengers disembarked and the plane was 25% occupied for the flight to Calama.
The landscape changed from Mountainous to flat desert. The flight hardly took 30 minutes. At Calama, I met the representative of the transfer company (LICANCABUR transfer) and paid CLP 7000 (US$15) in cash for the 75-minute ride to San Pedro de Atacama. I picked my bag and waited in the Minivan for some passengers who were arriving on another flight (SKY Airlines). After a 30-min wait we set forth for San Pedro. Very dramatic landscape especially when observed from the ground level.
Chatted with an American Engineer (who was here on work) and 2 other English speakers during the 75-min drive to San Pedro. The engineer works for NSF (National Science Foundation) and was heading to a place 20 KMs from San Pedro. The project he is working on is called ALMA (Atacama Large Millimetre Array) and involves participation from the US (40%), Europe (40%) and Japan (20%). Canada and Taiwan also participate in this project to build 66 RADIO telescopes each with a 12 Metre diameter antenna. The project completion date is 2011.The telescopes I saw at La Serena were OPTICAL telescopes used for seeing things, while these RADIO telescopes will be used to monitor ET speak! Seemed quite fascinating. The engineer travels to San Pedro each month for 2 weeks at a time. He hates it. Then again I may too. I however think he finds his work interesting.
The other 2 participants in the conversation were a Swiss Blonde (Yes, tall and good looking as well) and a 60+ Yankee peacenik lady who thought that that the NSF was promoting WAR! Oh well, to each their own.
San Pedro is an OASIS in the Atacama desert. Many trees abound and the San Pedro river has been diverted into small canals to provide water for the town. I was the first person to be dropped at my Hostel (Inti & Killa). A very pregnant Cristina Cereceda (with whom I had corresponded) greeted me along with her Nino and a furry perro (Dog to you English speakers). The hostel is a very nice quiet place set away from the main centre of town and costs CLP 25000 (US$ 52) per night. The hostel accepts US$ or Chilean Pesos as payment. The payment is CASH Only.
I asked Cristina whether I could use her computer to transfer my Images from my Memory cards to my portable hard drive. I had a nice room with a double bed. The Mosaic floor was smooth and cool. The room was clean. The hostel is set inside a gated (adobe walled) compound.
After transferring my Images from the memory cards to my portable hard drive, I set out for dinner at 9 PM. The hotel provides a torch to every guest (for their use during their stay here). This is because there are no street lamps for 300 metres or so on the way to the centre of San Pedro. I declined, as I always carry a small Maglite with me on trips. I found a decent restaurant (Cafe Export - also recommended in my guide book) and had a vegetarian empanada with an excellent Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon - CANDELARIA, 2005, Central Valley - Full bodied, light nose, fleshy, smooth with a medium finish. I had just enjoyed my FIRST good dinner in Chile!
I spoke to everyone in Spanish despite the mistakes. I will perhaps do some local exploring and find out about the various tours on offer here. A GOOD torch is definitely required if you are walking back after 9 PM. On the walk back I enjoyed watching and identifying the glorious starry sky.
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