Posted 6:48 PM by MelanieandSteve
SANTIAGO AND EASTER ISLAND, CHILI, 10 - 18 March

--HEY ALL, FROM BUENOS AIRES: Here we are once again in Argentina after zig zagging North between Chile and Argentina for the last month and a half. We just finished our last Zig in Chile, but we have a couple more Zags planned for Argentina. Our final stops in Chile were great. Santiago was a good finale on the mainland, and the remote Easter Island was an encore worth a standing ovation.

SANTIAGO, CHILE 10-12 March:

--XXL CITY: Santiago was the biggest city we´ve seen since leaving the states and we had grown quite accustomed to small town paces and pleasures. As we awoke in Santiago from our overnight bus out of Pucon, Chile, we saw sky scrapers, busy smoggy traffic, and worst of all ... our first sighting yet in South America of fast food restaurants like McDonalds. The initial impact of big city bustle on us was daunting. But thanks to some self-guided exploring and the help of our local friend Claudia introducing us to the city, our short visit left us with a good impression.

--SMALL WORLD MOTIF IN THE BIG CITY: Even here, we kept up with our ´´small world´´ motif as we ran into several travel friends. Sitting behind us on the bus from Chile was Tyron whom we met in tiny rafting town Futeleufu. We spent an evening with Kaye from Antarctica. And at a museum in a guided tour with only two other participants, the two happened to be folks we had climbed the volcano with in Pucon. Best of all, was our planned meeting with family friend Claudia who was born and bred here.

--MOUNTAINS AND CLOUDIAS: Claudia warmed us up to Santiago by showing us that it has a very personal side. She took us to a mountainy outskirt of town where she hikes. Coincidentally, when we arrived, a trekking friend of hers was on the trail. Santiago got even smaller. Claudia pointed out surrounding mountain peaks, many with white glaciers contrasting the blue sky. One thing that makes Santiago very special is its proximity to the second largest mountain range in the world. The peaks stand in surprising contrast to the urban industry and development.

--CHILEAN HOSPITALITY: Argentinian Che Guevara wrote in ´´Motorcycle Diaries´´ that ´´The Chileans, exceedingly friendly people, were warm and welcoming wherever we went. ... Chilean hospitality, as I never tire of saying, is one reason traveling in our neighboring country is so enjoyable.´´ We experienced a taste of this quality at Claudia´s beautiful home. We met some of her lovely family, admired pictures from Claudia´s recent glacial mountain climbs, and then savored a home cooked meal followed by a traditional Chilean desert.

--ARMED WITH INSIDER INFO: Then, armed with some of Claudia´s useful insider tips on where to go in Santiago, we were ready to explore and enjoy. We learned about indigenous culture at the PreColumbian Museum. We people watched the eclectic crowds at Plaza de Armas with street performers and local artists painting in the square. We lost ourselves in a web of streets and spoke with zomby-looking University of Chile Students dressed in tattered clothing and bodies smeared with red paint. They were the product of a school tradition where second years ´´kill´´ first years.

--BIG RED HOUSE AND GETTING OUT: We made a home in a somewhat run down former mansion, converted to a hostel with long creaky hallways and a great social life. Mel went exploring early, hoping to catch sunrise from the top of Cerro Santa Lucia, a conical hill and viewpoint that rises up out of the middle of the metropolis like a green sore thumb. She wouldn´t have predicted that a mountain was subject to closure, but at the base of it, she met with locked gates. So Instead, Melanie admired the break of day along the quaint European feeling cobblestoned Lourdes and Paris streets. The two of us rode the Teleferrico (sky cable car) up San Cristobal mountain for a romantic mountain top meal with a view.

--GETTING COMFORTABLE: In Santiago, we had some rain, but we were glad to find that our Northward travels had brought us to a warmer climate. Maybe one of Santiago´s highlights was the chance to kick off warm lace up shoes for freedom flipflops and sandals.

EASTER CAME A WEEK EARLY, EASTER ISLAND: 12-17 March.

--SEMI-TROPICAL TRANQUILITY: We continued this warming trend in the land of eternal flip flops, Easter Island. We arrived by air on a 5 hour flight taking us 3,700 KM off the mainland of Chile. Semi-tropical and only inhabited by four thousand people, the island felt like an undiscovered Hawaii. The tranquil atmosphere of kids playing on the docks, women swimming in the glistening bay, men playing soccer, and relaxed people sipping cervezas seemed so idyllic that we felt like we had slipped into a surreal roll in a Hollywood movie. The 8 by 13 mile island was home to awesome volcanic craters, caves, petroglyphs, ruins of humongous Moai statues, and other artifacts.

--POLYNESIAN PRAYING: We attended a most unique mass in town where the sermon, both in Spanish and Rappa Nui (a Polynesian Language) was delivered to a standing room only crowd. Without hymn books, locals bellowed out songs in Rappa Nui to the accompaniment of a guitar, accordian, and a drum. The drum beat sounded like a German Umpa Band, but the heart-felt singing had a moving soul and depth. It was beautiful. The wooden carvings for church decor, somewhat of an amalgum between Polynesian artistry and Catholic motifs, was great viewing.

--FOUR PEOPLE WITH FOUR WHEELS, ... AND A SPARE: After church, we shared a rental car with friends Dez and Chaimie and spent twelve hours circumnavigating the island and relic hunting. The roads alternated from paved to ´´natural´´. Even though our rental car was a four wheel drive, we had to use five of them. We sprung a flat ... but we hauled out the jack, loosed the lug nuts, and were back on the road in less than twenty minutes flat.

--ROCK FACES: Scattered throughout the island were Moai, huge black stone statues with similar faces and broad bodies standing guard, facing the center of the island. They seemed magical and expressive of the personality of the people who carved them hundreds of years ago. Most Moai were carved from a volcanic cliffside which still had hundreds of partially completed statues. We trekked all over this hillside rock quarry. Almost as if haunted by their spirits, we were repeatedly surprised when a rock feature turned out to be a carved face. Like a Bev Doolittle painting, faces in nature that we didn´t notice at first would practically pop out at us.

--CRATERS CAVES AND LAKES: We hiked into a cave in black volcanic cliffs by the pounding sea with petroglyphs on the roof. Then, we explored volcanoes. Three large volcanoes comprised this triangular island along with many small volcanic cindercones. We walked on the edge of two craters where water had collected and formed lakes up to 300 meters deep. From one crater top, we looked down upon a formation of fifteen Moai statues by the shoreline. We decided to encounter these well-preserved relics up close. They eternally stood side by side like military guards of the crater we had just walked upon.

--THE BEST BEACH: At sunset, we found ourselves at the idyllic Anakena Beach where five of the best preserved Moai statues stand. So perfect was this beach with temperate turquoise water, fine white choral sands, and uninhabited surroundings, that Steve called this the best beach he had ever been to. Opportunity beckoned and we returned along with Dez the next day to camp, bask, and better explore.

--DON'T FENCE ME IN: There are no hobbles and no fences for the lean beautiful horses and darling colts that roam freely all across Easter Island. Sometimes small roaming groups of them would surprise us as they appeared out of nowhere. The most memorable image was at sunrise on our first morning at Anakena beach when a small herd of horses galloped onto the sands and played along the shoreline at the base of the monolithic statues. They bucked and bounced like happy children. The horses young and old seemed more energetic and playful than fenced horses. The joy of freedom really manifested itself in their energy, health, and demeanor.

--PLEASANT PEOPLE: Rappa Nui population has seen huge changes over time. At one time, there were over 20,000 people. Then thanks to their own wars, depletion of resources, a subsequent Peruvian slave trade, and spread of western diseases, the population decreased to one hundred and eleven. Currently, there are about four thousand residents of Polynesian or Chilean heritage living in one small area called Honga Roa. People are comfortable, living standards are high, and the rest of the island is nearly uninhabited. We took every opportunity to practice our spanish and get acquainted with the lovely locals. Most of them were born here and had family that went back for generations. Without exception, the people were receptive to conversation, interested in sharing, and a joy to talk to.

--ISLAND HISTORY, NO MYSTERY: There are no mysteries about Easter Island. The original Polynesian inhabitants were skilled artists that we can appreciate today. They came from other islands of the pacific and share a heritage and language very similar to Tahitians and the Mauris of New Zealand. However, there is a lesson to be learned from Easter Island history about the tragedy of depleting natural resources. Once, the small island environment could not sustain the increasing population. Deforestation and loss of food sources led to wars, cannibalism, and severe depopulation. Now, this most remote place on Earth is no longer isolated and people live harmoniously with great respect for the island that is virtually all national park.

--MUSING AND CRUISING: On our final twenty four hours in town, we set up tent in an oceanfront camp ground at the edge of town. We took a long walk along the gorgeous coast stopping at various Moai statues and monuments along the way, and learned some Rappa Nui history at the island museum. There were many more things we would have liked to do on the island such as scuba diving and more hiking, but all good things come to an end and we had to cruise. We boarded our flight to Buenos Aires - which brings us to where we are today.

TOOK TO THE AIR FOR GOOD AIR (BUENOS AIRES)

--PATTY PARTY: We flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina just in time to celebrate Saint Patrick´s day. What we got instead of a party was more of a mob scene. Streets in one area of town were were packed with pedestrians. The crowd grew dense and then raucous. It started raining hard and it only got worse. The crowd turned from singing, bouncing, and swaying, to more violent mosh pit slamming. Uncomfortable in the growing melee and unable to find cover in the over-packed pubs and restaurants, we decided to leave. Taxis were over capacity and impossible to hail. We had a long cold wet walk home. Friends who stayed later told us that people started throwing bottles at police and the crowd eventually got tear gassed. We were glad we had left.

--FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND NEXT TIME: Despite our mob scene experience, our impressions of Buenos Aires are good. The streets are full of style, and the list of things to see and do are long. We look forward to the coming week of exploring, trying Tango, seeing soccer, and paying respects to Peron (Evita).

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO: Maurine Q., Magda, Aaron H., Mom, Clay P., and Cheryl S.