Day 50 : Easter Island to Santiago

My last morning in Easter Island is all about shopping. My flight wouldn't depart until 2pm. So, after breakfast, I go to the handicraft market, I am really looking for a stone statue and plan to make a small decor in my room for the Easter Island. The thing is that there are many craved stone or wooden statues, available in different sizes. The bigger the more expensive, the wooden ones are also more expensive than the stone ones, the volcanic rock is more expensive than the ashy rock...etc. At moments when it involves money, I'm certainly not a size queen. Never claim to be one anyway. I am only looking for a small statue, smaller than my palm would be fine. However, I have a problem, I am out of cash, both Chilean Pesos and US Dollars. Well, the truth is that I have US$12 in my secret pocket for emergency, but I don't want to use it. So, I try to find somewhere I can use a credit card. Walk maybe 6-7 shops, nothing's really calling my name and crying out loud "Buy Me Buy Me", so I go back to the shop I got the postcards the other days. In there, I know there is a tiny stone craved moai with the topknot for CHP3000 (US$6), I planned to buy that if I cannot find anything more appropriate. So, I get the stone statue. All happy. But once my wallet is open, the money is like draining off. This silly Easter egg is kind of interesting, good for this friend; that magnet for refrigerator is cheap compared to everything else. Before I know, I get 3 things already and there are more coming...

When I get to the airport, I have to wait for 3 hours, after writing my blog entry and have nothing to do, and what do I do? ...buy a few more things at the shops at the airport. I get a nice little plate with a moai on it (so touristy I confess but it does look nice). It's for a friend of mine, who will be giving me a big help next week. And then coincidentally, the first ever printed newspaper (publication) - Premier Edition - on the Easter Island is out today, it's for CHP$1000 (US$2), with a local CD, it's CHP$4000. I get that too with the CD. Now, my task in Santiago and Sydney is to find a tube thingy so I can protect the newspaper, gonna put it in a frame or something. Maybe it will worth something many many years later. I have no idea what that tube thingy called in Spanish though, so no idea how to find it.

At 2pm, the runway is covered by fog, I hope inside, please don't let me get stuck in Easter Island. This is a bloody expensive to get stuck at. Our flight get delayed, but we do start to board around 2:30pm. The return journey to Santiago is an hour shorter than the journey coming to Easter Island, probably because of the current. I start to watch this movie call the Family Stones, a Xmas'y kind of movie starring by Diana Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermot Mulroney (the guy in My Best Friend's Wedding). Anyway, I am kind of enjoying it, but before the movie ends, the flight already arrives at Santiago, so I have no idea what happens at the end. Don't you get hate that? I mean, give me 15 mins more, I will be done with the movie.

Because of the time difference, when I pick up my backpack and walk out the arrival gate, it is already past 9:00pm. I have committed the stupid act of the day: withdraw money from an ATM that is not related to my bank, the transaction fee is CHP$2500 (US$5). I get the money so that I can take the cheap airport bus and the metro train to the hotel. My initial idea is to save some money by doing that. And then after I am already on the bus, I realize with that US$5 fees, I really haven't saved much. I might as well take the transfer bus (which costs only US$10) which takes me directly to the hotel quicker and more comfortable, and I can use a credit card. Dummy! Oh well, guess we often need to make an error in order to learn.

The hotel I am staying is called Hotel Paris, at 813 Paris St. I love my room, it's cheaper than the hostel I stay here last time, the room is smaller but nicer. It has a balcony, cable TV, comfortable bed and hot water. That's all I need. No breakfast included though but that's ok.

Photos here: Day 50

Day 49 : Easter Island Day 3

Waken up by the cocks again at 5am, I wish I could say it's a bless but it really isn't. :P Their sounds are very strange, some sounds like they are being killed alive or the poor thing has a sore throat or something. Need a cough candy, perhaps? At least, luckily, the neighbors has been quiet this morning. So, I only need to filter out one type of sounds and try to sleep on. Get up about 7am, get myself ready, I need to have breakfast at 8:30am, get to the post office to mail the postcard, then head to the tour agency where we will start the full day tour at 10am. Breakfast with bread, butter, jam, ham & cheese, some fruit, and coffee. Breakfast has never been an important element in my life, except when I am traveling, since you never know when and where you will just have lunch and maybe even skip a lunch if necessary. So, something to stuff my stomach in the morning is important. I usually try to eat at least 2 bums.

The post office is filled with people. I notice the guys before me have the mail lady stamp on the passport. I was going to ask anyway, so now save me a question. Of course, I do that too. Got stamps for 16 postcards. I am a person who would love to share, so this precious experience in the Easter Island, of course, I need to share with lots of people. For those who will receive a postcard, lucky you, this may be the first postcard you will receive from the Easter Island, their post mark has 3 moais on it, very cool.

Got to the travel agency at 3 mins to 10am, make it just in time. I am surprised to see that my tour guide is white, I am not sure where he is from at first, but later find out that he is from New Zealand. He married to a girl from the Easter Island, and have moved here for 1 year and a half. I have no trouble understanding him of course, my tour mates today are also a group of cool people, from Switzerland, UK, France, and Canada. Speaking of countries, it's very strange, over the past 2 months, except in Cuzco and Valparaiso, I have not met a lot of American tourists around the South America continent. Perhaps South America is so close to them, and they rather go to Europe or Asia instead. I don't know. Anyway, the sky is cloudy, misty, but not raining. At least I don't need an umbrella.

We start to head south, along the rough coastline, there are a number of ahu sites and many moais. We start almost an hour later than the other tours. So, when we arrive at a site, usually the crowds have just started to leave and left us alone. I kind of like that actually. The first highlight is when we arrive at the birth place of the moais, where they made them. By the hillside of a volcano, there are some 300 moais being abandoned everywhere, some standing, some looking upwards, some laying on the stomach, and some unfinished as well. Another thing about this tour I like is that the guide is really taking the time to explain as well as letting us to wander around. Some tours like yesterday, if the guide talks longer, it jeopardizes the time we are allowed to wander around the sites. With this tour, I am gladly to say they do a good job letting the customers to see as long as they want. I really appreciate. After taking tons of pictures later, we head to Ahu Tongariki where has the famous sight of the 15 standing moais on a platform by the ocean. It is the best place for sunrise. But with this weather, there does not really have sunrise or sunset. Oh well. There is nothing I can do about it.

It is a fantastic view I must say, even though the sky is as white as a plaster wall, I still kind of lose control with the photo shooting. After touching a so-called magnetic rock which we are supposed to feel the energy coming through our bodies (I haven't felt it be honest), we arrive at our final stop of the day - Anakena beach, where has a line perfect maois welcoming the kings of the Pacific. The beach itself is quite beautiful too. At almost 4pm by the time we get there, this is the place we can find some snacks. For the whole day, we have not had lunch yet. The matter of fact is that I am running out of cash, and has been hoping we would go to a restaurant where I can use plastic. But obviously, I cannot use my credit card at the beach, I decide to skip lunch and have an early dinner instead. I am planning to have a good dinner at a French restaurant, so I hang on to my hunger and just wander away between the beach and the moais' platform. At 4:45pm, we start to head back. I am truly satisfied with today's tour. The things we visited today are what I come to Easter Island for. I hope the weather would be better, but we cannot always get what we want, I guess.

Back to town, use the internet for a bit. Then I head to the French restaurant - Au Bout De Monde, which is recommended by the Lonely Planet and a few guidebooks I have looked on the way. It is hard to say whether it is a French restaurant really, but I hear the owner speaking French and the dishes portion is not gigantic as the other meals I have. I just assume it has some French influence. For starter or drink, I have a fresh mango juice. For the main course, I have a prawns in ginger and coconut milk, which is very very tasty. I wish they have some appetizer portion stuffs, since that alone is not quite enough for my big stomach. To finish, I have a dessert, named Dame Blanche, as a big fan of Golden Girls as I am, of course, I have to try Dame Blanche, don't I? It is actually two scoops of vanilla ice-cream with some chocolate chips sprinkled on the top, and a side of a tiny little jar of hot chocolate (smokes coming off from the jar so I assume it is hot) which you can pour on the ice-cream. Though I am not a big fan of chocolate, it is still heavenly. I am kind of get the name of Dame Blanche. A white lady and you pour chocolate all over her, that is so Blanche!

After dinner, I go back to the house and finish the rest of the postcards I didn't get to finish last night. Tomorrow morning, I have about 2-3 hours to do some last minutes shopping. Since I don't have any cash left (US dollars or Chilean Pesos), I can only buy things at places where they accept credit card. I want to a small stone face statue, for which I will place in a bowl of sand, maybe find some small rocks to make a platform. That's the idea anyway. Hope I'll find something. Flight will be at 2pm, when I get back to Santiago, it will be almost 9pm in the evening. I need to find a way to get cash at the airport, otherwise I will have to take the transfer bus which will cost 4 times more expensive than an airport bus, but I can use credit card. This island has really sucked out all my money!

Photos here: Day 49 (1), Day 49 (2)

Day 48 : Easter Island Day 2

Had a rough night sleeping in my room, not because of the gecko on the ceiling, but the neighbors next door were extremely noisy, the cardboard walls did not filter out any sounds at all, I could hear everything people next door said except it was not a language I understand. The worst one was around midnight or 1am, a woman came back and she talked so loud to her friends, it sounded like she was crying or something because she was frightened due to some situation. I was so tired myself and cared less what she bumped into, I just wanted her to shut the f up. Over the course of the night, I must have got awaken by the neighbors for 3 times. At 5am, the cocks in nearby houses starts to screaming morning, reminding everybody it's about time to wake up, except those "soon to be KFC" start to scream at 5am, does not stop until like 8pm in the evening. So, you really hear cocks' coo-cooing all day long. I set an alarm for 7:20am, but because there is no mobile connection here, my cell phone clock is all messed up. I must have put am as pm when I reset the clock manually last night, that the alarm has not come on at the appointed time. Due to the disturbance over the night, I have totally overslept. When I get up, it is already 8:20am, while I am supposed to be at the travel agent office by 8:30am to see whether there is any last minute availability for today's tours.

Skip the shower, skip the breakfast, just wash my face and run to the dining room. Ask the host Tesera where the phone is, and she says the agents are closed. I convince her that I was told to call in the morning. So, she dials for me. The first agent has no answer, the other one said all tours today are full. But I am quite sure that their 9:15am tour still has room, I don't believe that it got filled up already especially when they were closed yesterday afternoon. I decide to walk to the agent to talk to them instead of explaining myself to the host and ask her to call again. The sky still sprinkles a little bit when I head out. Hurry to the travel agent, get myself successfully sign up for the morning tour. I am excited about it, at least I have a tour to go today, instead of wasting my limited time in Easter Island. But that excitement lasts about 30 mins, until the rain has started to pour down. By then, I am already back to the hostel to grab a bread to eat, standing outside waiting for the pick up van, I am wearing a pair of shorts today and my wet walking shoes without the socks. Sooner enough my shorts are all wet already because the rain comes horizontally. Anyway, at that point, I am still convinced that it is better than sitting in a hostel all day.

Pick up by the tour van, there are mostly German and Spanish speaking people, there are so many German tourists that the group has an extra German speaking guide. An Englishman and I are the only ones who speak English. The Spanish/English guide is quite friendly. She also promises me to try to find me a seat for the afternoon tour. The rain is nonstop, we are supposed to go to Ogongo, a ceremonial village and its nearby crater. We are told that it's extremely foggy at the moment, even if we go up to the Ogongo and the crater, we would see nothing. So, we end up waiting for the clouds to clear in a small museum for almost an hour. I start to wonder if it is wise to join a tour after all. We finally get out of the museum and head to the Ogongo, the so called houses looks small for anyone to stand inside, but the guide says the people in the old days often did things outdoor, the houses are mainly for cooking and sleeping. They look more like terraces from above. On one side is the cliff with the houses, overlooking the 3 tiny islands off just by the edge of the Easter Island, the other side is the crater called Rano Kau, which looks very interesting. Spend maybe an hour at Ogongo, the rain starts to come down again and the whole hill is covered by fogs. At first, we are going to make some photoing stops, but clearly it is not possible, you can barely see anything. We come back down, and we stop by a cave where has some bird drawing on the ceiling. This also ends the morning tour. I honestly feel a bit disappointed about the tour, even though the tour guide is particularly friendly to me, still, CHP18,000 (US$34) to see what I have mentioned is a bit of a waste. The rain has made things much worst of course.

The guide tells me to wait for her at the Post Office at 3pm, she'd try to find me a seat for the afternoon tour. If that plan does not work out, I am going to hike to some moais on my own (which may take 1.5 hours way up and another hour back down). At 2:45pm, after some internet, I am already standing outside the post office, the rain is the heaviest at that time, my shorts are already soaking wet. What the hell with the weather, I am thinking, and if I should just head back to the hostel and call off the day, save another US$34 for the afternoon tour, which is probably disappointing with the rain. Try to think positively, right? so I continue to wait. The tour bus arrives, and I get the front seat with the driver. So, I have a tour to go to after all. The first stop is actually the few moais I already visited yesterday on my own. This time with a story I guess. And then we see a hilltop where the topknot were made, but because of the fog and rain and it is kind of cold too, so we really have not seen much there, just a slope with some half-carved stones laying everywhere. At last, we visit the 7 moais platform which I have planned to walk to. Story in the bus and some quick pictures due to the heavy rain, then the tour ends. Another US$34 for a just about 2 hour tour. Worth it, probably not, but I do my tourist duty and see the things I should see on Easter Island. Tomorrow, a full day tour to the south coast with tons with moais. Although the weather is not promising at all, according to the guide, it has been raining like this for 5 months already, I hope I will get to see more exciting than today's tours.

Debating what to eat for dinner, have had a pasta and a green tea for $26 freaking US dollar at lunch. My cash is literally running out. I understand the island is so isolated and I haven't regretted to come here since it is such a rare occasion, but I have started to feel that the tours and the meals are a bit of a rip off here. Just think about the main costs for a 3 days trip to Easter Island: the flight US$820, the meals US$60 a day if you dine out, the tour US$60 a day not including tips, the hostel depending on how well a place you want to stay, it could cost you between US$35-300 a night. Coffee break, snacks and fruits are not particularly cheap either, one should expect to spend US$15-30 a day, not including any souvenir of course. Easily, a 3 days trip to Easter Island costs way over US$1500. And for anyone who is planning to come here, a bit of an advice, pick the dry months to come here, if there is such a thing, and find your tours ahead. Unlike other places, the tour agencies operate in a very laid back style. If you come here on a weekend, you might find it hard to find yourself a tour.

Since I want to have a good meal on the last evening here, to balance out with the budget, I go to the grocery and get myself some breads, ham and mayonnaise to make myself 3 small sandwiches, that should be enough for the night. Still have pineapple juice and banana left from yesterday anyway. My second night on the Easter Island involves a large number of postcard writing.

Photos here: Day 48

Day 47 : Easter Island Day 1 : The sky is leaking

By 7:30am, I already check in at the LAN's airport counter, I grab a bite to eat and then wait for the flight for almost 1 hour and a half. The flight journey is smooth, I watch Breakfast's at Tiffany again on the flight, well, there are 50 some movies to choose from, I thought I watch something with style. In fact, I just love that movie very much, and not bored by watching it over and over again. I thought I would always remember that, watching Breakfast's At Tiffany while I am flying to Easter Island. The 2nd movie I watch is The Devil Wears Prada, it's ok I guess, not exactly agreeing my taste, but I am not rejecting it either. With the same cast, I prefer the other movie called Julie & Julia more.

The flight journey takes 5 and a half hour, roughly 2000 miles off shore. There are 2 hours time difference from Santiago to Easter Island. When we arrive, it is exactly 1:15pm. I am welcomed by the hostel's owner with the flower necklace. The sky is very cloudy, the rain is just about the come down. The host Tesera gives me a quick town tour on her vehicle, just tell me where the groceries, post office are for instance, we see the first moai too, which is just by the town center near the sea. When we arrive at the house, the rain has just started to spill out. My room is a 3-beds room, with a private bathroom. For US$35, relatively cheap on the island's standard, I don't think I should complain about the color or the gecko on the ceiling (which I seriously hate, I am pretending it is not there right now. I am in tropical areas now, guess I can't avoid that.)

It's almost 3pm when I finally get out to find tours. I am surprised by what Tesera has told me, she says most of the business will close for Sunday (some starting from Saturday afternoon) that I may not be able to find any tour at all. With that warning in mind, I quickly search for tour agency. With only 4000 population on the island, I guess I overestimate their tourism business. There are really only 6 or 7 tour agencies. Among them, 4 has closed already when I get there, one of the opened ones has tours all fully booked, the other one is mainly for activities like horseback, hiking and diving. The last one has tour only for weekdays, so I book a tour with them for Monday. However, I find no tour for tomorrow, after I walk around town for 2 hours in the rain. I am like, are you kidding me? I am coming all the way here for nothing. The agency with fully booked tour suggests me to call another agent in the morning and see about availability. But it does not look good. If I can get a half-day tour is good enough, there is a part of the island, I think I can hike on my own since there is only one road to get there even though I do not prefer to do that. My other option is to use a private guide which will cost me a fortune. So, I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to find something in the morning. I actually inquire if I can do the horseback riding, but because of the rain, it is not possible.

After the failure with the tour hunt, I walk around the coastline in the rain and feisty winds. I do have gone back to grab an umbrella, but with that wind, the umbrella is really useless. There are a couple of pictures I looks completely stupid trying to take a picture of myself with the moais in the rain. I do find some 8-9 moais on my first day on the island though, which is kind of exciting! The food is terribly expensive, give you an idea: I have spent 60 US dollars today on foods... for some sandwiches, a lunch set, couple coffees, some bananas, and some bottle of water...etc. Almost everything on the menu, no matter how simple food it is, it costs over CH$10000, that's like US$15-20. I know this is Easter Island, but when you see your wallet shrinking 1/3 just on the first day, I am kind of worried.

Anyway, still at least 2 more full days, I will try to enjoy myself the best I can. I wish the Lonely Planet would mention about the island's businesses are closed for the weekends though, especially the important thing like tour agency. Only if I have known, I would pick a weekdays to come instead of weekends. I am also unlucky with the rain, it has started to fall down since 3-4pm, and it has not stopped since, and it is getting heavier too. My pants are all wet and so as my stuffs in my backpack. I am hoping it will stop during the night and will give me a clear day tomorrow. Otherwise, I will be stuck. Fingers cross, toes cross, everything cross... good weather.... please.

Photos here: Day 47