December 16, 2007 - Santiago / Easter Island, Chile

December 16, 2007 - Santiago, Chile
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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:
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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
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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.