20th November – Easter Island

We all slept well and struggled to get up before 09:30 when the alarm went. Tamsin pulled back the curtains and the sunlight spilled in and filled the room.

Vai at Vinapu and Tahira

Breakfast was the usual fayre, bread, cereals and eggs any style you want. We met up with our party (six in total) and discussed the activity. This differed from the description last night of 6kms total walking and was now 10km with steep walking for the first 6kms! I mentioned this to the guide, Vai, and the American girls concurred and said that they didn’t want to go that far. Vai, said that he could modify the walk to fit and reduce the climb. We all thought that was a good idea. Vai is a young, charming, athletic looking chap who Tamsin tells me is good eye candy.

A top knot

The first stop, Vinapu and Tahira was near the end of the runway and has two ahus. The one nearest is the most complete. Vai described the building of these and that the Kings (tribal chiefs) were on the top plinth and lesser nobility/persons on the next level. On the ahus are the moais of the Kings and associated personnel. These look in land and are there as the ancestors to protect the village. Underneath the ahu the bones of the Kings et al are placed. In front of the ahus the commoners are buried. We looked at the moais and then some of the “top knots”. The “top knots” are literally that. A ”top knot” that is placed on top of the moias. This represents the dyed red hair that can be seen in Polynesian culture today.

The Ranu Kau crater

The mini-van took us along passed the runway and into the town Huonga Roa and up the side of the Ranu Kau crater. We walked about 3kms up the side of the crater then across to look inside. Looking into this open crater is fantastic. It has fresh water at the bottom that Vai told us was about 40mts deep. On the surface there appeared to be islands. He told us these were reed islands and that around the edge could be found mango, avocados and other fruits trees as well as sugar cane. These were about 200mts below us and difficult to see, but we are informed that this contains the native flora of the island. We continued walking around the rim, taking pictures etc.

A typical house in Orongo

We then met up with the mini-van and continued on to the ceremonial village of Orongo.  This is part of the park and Vai had to sort out our entry whilst we perused the visitors centre. This is a reconstructed village that was once an important part of the more recent Napa Rui culture. After the collapse of the King/Tribal culture it was replaced by a meritocracy based on physical ability. The King or his representative would compete annually for the right to rule. This is known as the Bird Man culture and lasted for about 300 years. It required that the (male) competitor climb down the cliffs and swim to the nearby island of Molu Nui and gather an egg from the manutara (sooty tern) and return. The first to do so, or their mentor, would then rule for the year. A further prize was to marry the virgin who had been held captive in a cave to whiten (purify) her skin. Many competitors would die by falling from the cliffs either by poor judgement or being pushed, or drown in the strong currents. This all came to an end after about 300 years when and English Catholic priest came to the island in the late 16^th century and declared it a pagan ceremony – jeez those guys were no fun!!!  Sadly, today, the sooty terns are no longer to be seen due to over predation.

We returned to the hotel for lunch as it was now well passed 1:00pm. The original plan had been to go out later at 03:30pm and go to a beach for a swim. We declined this and opted to use the Jacuzzi and pool for the afternoon. It turned out that nobody went to that beach as 2 of the ladies went into town and one went to a local beach to swim instead.

The delightful jacuzzi

After bubbling for a while in the enormous Jacuzzi, we showered and then  went to play cards in the lounge and indulge in some cocktails – gosh, this travelling is such hard work, but someone has to do it  ;^))))))))))).

19^th November – Off to Easter Island.......

We had a horrible early start with a plan to get up at around 4.30am.  I woke up at 2am and that was it, so felt rather jaded by the time we finally got up.  Nestor, our guide who was so late for the Santiago airport pick up was there bang on 5am as promised and our 1.5-2 hour transfer to the airport was done in an hour with Nestor snoring loudly in the front seat of the mini-van.

Erythrina flowers

Nestor sorted out our baggage and boarding passes as there was a special line for Easter Island.  It was blindingly obvious which one it was as any one local had huge piles of luggage and packages. Apparently, it’s so expensive to buy things here that they all come back laden like donkeys.  We did wonder whether the plane would be able to take off with all the precious cargo on board!!  Anyway, it was a huge plane and packed and we soon found ourselves flying for 5 hours across the Pacific Ocean to one of the most remote islands on Earth.

Once we picked up our luggage, we found our guide and were welcomed with a big garland of flowers or leis to put round our necks – the garlands were made up of bougainvillea and Erythrina (coral tree) flowers and were really lovely.

The butterfly milkweed

Along with 3 very nice American ladies for New York, we were transported to our hotel which was about 6 kms from the airport.  The island itself is triangular in shape with a dormant volcano at each corner – the oldest one being 3 million years old and the youngest only 3000.  The 3 sides of the triangle measure 16kms, by 18kms and about 24 kms, so it’s not very big!  My 1^st impression of the island is that it looked rather similar to Devon or Cornwall (perhaps a little like Dartmoor?)with the old volcanic cones poking up through heather like flora.  It was much greener and lusher than I was expecting – I don’t why I was surprised as it is a semi tropical island.  I recognised quite a few of the trees – Eucalytpus, Erythrina, Jacaranda, Grevillea robusta from Australia and the Melia tree which is so common in Portugal.  Not so sure about the flowers though – I’m really taken with a very pretty orange and pink flower and have got some seeds which I hope I can get to germinate in Portugal (it's some sort of milkweed)

The bar and dining area

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Our hotel is amazing.  It’s low and curved and very modern and sits within the hillside.  The outer walls are made from the local larva so that it blends seamlessly into the surroundings.  Our room is really lovely – made from a lot of concrete though, which isn’t very environmentally friendly, and has a huge picture window with a wonderful view out over the plains to the sea and the youngest volcano.  It’s the sort of view you’d never tire of.

We had a superb lunch and then set out for our afternoon trip which was to the quarry where 97% of the moais (or heads) came from.  We went in the minibus with the 3 American ladies, who met through work over 20 years ago and enjoy travelling together, and, I have to say, make very engaging travel companions.  Our guide told us that there were between 6-8000 people living on the island today and about 8,000 horses who live wild.  We passed quite a few and noticed that they’re all branded.  We followed a grey horse for a while on a one track road, where there was no place for him to get away from us as the road was fenced either side, and I noticed that he was staggering a bit and seemed to have a strange gait.  The guide told us that he’d been eating the wild lupin (introduced by the national park as a food source for the horses, unbelievably), but it’s poisonous to them and that this horse had obviously eaten it and was dying and would be dead within 2 days.

Moais on the move.....

Anyway - on to the quarry.  As we drove towards it, all I noticed was a  superb cliff with black rocky outcrops that looked wonderful in the afternoon sun.  We parked up and started walking.  Suddenly, there they were – just masses of the famous elongated heads sitting within the grassy slopes all at different angles.  Words don’t really describe seeing them in real life.  We did a walk round them and even saw some still half quarried that looked like they were lying in tombs rather than waiting to be born.  The heads are only very basically modelled when they are 1^st quarried.  Finer detail such as the eyes and the back of the heads are done when they have been transported to their final destinations.  I was surprised to learn that this is a young culture with the Polynesian people only coming to Easter Island about 1500 years ago.

Mum's favourite moai - the leaning one...

The Moais were commissioned by the kings from various tribes and were often placed on their tombs.  The big mystery is how the heads were transported around the island and many theories exist to explain this.  One of the many is that they were rolled around on trunks of the huge palm trees that used cover this island and, after our tour of the quarry, we actually walked along an ancient moai road where we passed several still in transit.  This walk could have been most interesting but was done at a break neck pace set by our guide and it was very hot. Poor mum overheated and soon lagged behind and eventually had to stop and remove her vest!!  I enjoyed the varied flora which includes the tall lupin bushes covered in large seed pods that rattle like castanets as you knock them plus lots of wild guava bushes.  We also watched local hawks (the chimango cara caras)that were brought in from the mainland to eat the rats and have now bred very successfully and become carrion eaters - they also enjoy mobbing people and trying to steal their hats.

Before leaving the quarry, we walked up a short steep slope and had a wonderful view over a fresh water lake that was clearly located in an old volcanic cone.  A few erythrina trees in full blossom provided some very welcome shade from the strong sun. We also saw and heard some red billed tropic birds that I’d spent so long trying to photograph in the Galapagos.  Well, you wouldn’t believe it but we walked within 2 metres of a nesting one in the quarry walls next to a moai that was never born and is waiting in vain to be hacked free from the rocks.

The chimango caracara

We got back to the lodge somewhat exhausted from our early morning start and our energetic walk and after grabbing a drink from the bar, were ushered into an introductory presentation about the lodge, the island and its history and the choices of the various activities.  We made our selections for the following day and then had another amazing meal – half of which we left as there’s just too much food here – and then crashed.

17^th – 18^th November – La Casona

We managed to make breakfast in time, which was wonderful. Our guide turned up just before midday and loaded our bags into the waiting minibus. Getting out of Valparaiso was reasonably straightforward give or take a few parked cars and traffic.

The rooms at Matetic

The drive to Matetic Winery took about 60 minutes. The initial impression was that it was very similar to some of the Napa wineries in California. We had to wait for our rooms to be ready so spent some time wandering around the gardens. All our thoughts were that they were nice, but looked a bit weedy in places. There are some interesting walk ways and pergolas and Tamsin took some photos as ideas for home. We elected to go for our wine tasting that afternoon at 04:30 pm. In between time we were shown to our rooms – which are rather splendid. There are gardens at the back with individual sitting areas.

At 04:15 pm we met at the reception area to be taken to the winery which is a further 10km up the valley. The presentation that accompanied the tasting took us around the various parts of the winery. Much was made of the “eco” credentials with the weeds around the vine being eaten by chickens, alpacas and sheep. Hmm, more on that later.

The impressive wine storage area

The storage area where the wines are kept in the barrels is below the winery and impressive. It’s reminiscent of a cave. It was designed by a Norwegian architect and obviously cost a lot to build. The wines themselves that we tasted were from the EQ range, which is the better one. These can be bought in USA, Brazil and Canada only. It was quite obvious that the winery was a hobby for the very wealthy Matetic family that originally came from Yugoslavia (no idea which bit).

Dinner that night was served by James, James Bond., Well, that’s what he told us. We never learnt his real name, but he was a pleasant chap and food served was excellent and the wines with it superb (the cheaper range).

This reminded us of California

Next day we had planned to relax around the pool but unfortunately the weather was misty with a light drizzle. So, we read, played cards and pool in the lovely lounge area. As the weather had improved Gill and I decided to go for a walk. According to the lodge we were supposed to hire a guide, but we ignored that and strolled up the valley on the well marked path (why you need a guide we had no clue). As we strolled along we heard a helicopter and looked up as a crop duster flew over. Hmm, so much for the eco credentials.

Dinner was another superb affair and we went to bed happy.

16^th November – Valparaiso

Typical steps up the hills

We were told that we were being picked up at 10am by our guide, which we thought extremely civilised after so many early starts.  Imagine my shock then when I looked at the clock somewhat groggily and realised it was 9.10am!!  I had to wake up both Chris and Mum who were still sleeping deeply and we just had time to shower, dress and have breakfast before 10am.   This doesn’t bode well for our 4am start in 2 days time!!

Our guide, who I’m ashamed to admit I can’t recall her name, was a really lovely lady who was incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic and gave us a super tour of this wonderful city.

Brightly coloured houses

Valparaiso is the 3^rd largest city in Chile and is still an important sea port today.  Its golden age was in the 19^th century when it was the centre for exportation of guano and sodium nitrate.  Many Europeans came to live here – notably the British, the French, Germans and Italians and all have left their mark here.   Sailors called it “Little San Francisco” or “The Jewel of the Pacific”, and it’s true the climate is very similar to San Francisco – i.e. –often very foggy and but with a mild Mediterranean climate.  Examples of its former glory include Latin Americas first stock exchange, the continents first volunteer fire department, Chile’s first public library and oldest Spanish language newspaper in continuous publication in the world.  The opening of the Panama Canal and subsequent reduction in ship traffic dealt a staggering blow to Valparaiso.  The 2^nd half of the twentieth century was not kind to the city as many wealthy families abandoned it and many of its beautiful old buildings fell into disrepair. 

One of the funicular railways

In 2003 the historic quarter became a UNESCO world heritage site, and lots of money was pumped into the city which has had had an impressive renaissance.  It now attracts lots of poets, artists and cultural entrepreneurs and hosts many festivals and is now officially Chile’s cultural capital.  It is also a major educational centre as has 4 prestigious universities here.  As part of the deal to become a UNESCO world heritage site, the city was suposed to cull all the stray dogs, but there was a huge objection to this by the local population.  A deal was struck whereby all the stray dogs were rounded up and sterilised and were fed and provided with water by the locals.  We saw lots o dogs on the street, and they were all friendly and looked plump and happy.  Tourists flock here now to admire the brightly coloured and interesting houses and the cobbled streets and enjoy the funicular railways so necessary for moving around easily in this city set on several steep hills.  Many of the buildings date from after 1906 when the city was devastated by a major earthquake when 3000 people were killed and 20,000 injured as well.  The houses used to be made from adobe which doesn't stand up to earth tremors.  Today the houses are much more substantially built but are still clad in corrugated iron to battle the constant humidity. The reason for the bright colours is that initially the houses had no numbers so had so could only be identified to visitors by their colour which had to literally stand out from all their neighbours.  The city still has many earthquakes today – apparently 10 to 20 are not unusual.

HQ of the Chilean navy

Our walking tour encompassed a lot of the expensive residential area on the hills and took in the early and very plain Protestant church and also the later Lutheran church.  We then went down to the Plain, which is flat area by the port where the main squares are with the various monuments and fountains and also the financial district.  I particularly enjoyed the huge Plaza Sotomayor with the French influenced Navy Headquarters and the monument that honours Chilean sailors who fell in the Battles of Iquique and Punta Gruesa.  We stopped off for refreshments in the Natural History museum which has a really lovely cafe with an incredible ceiling.

Some of the street art

Everywhere we walked there was most amazing street art – on house walls and most buildings.  I really loved it and thought it was great fun and really added to the vibrancy of the city.  We travelled on 2 of the funiculars which was also a great experience – apparently there were about 28 working at one time, although only 10 or so are still in use today.

View across the city with the Lutheran church

After the tour, we chose to relax by the pool and read books or snoozed in the sun and enjoyed the great views from our hotel terrace over the port.  At 6pm, we  went for a wander on a route recommended by our guide and enjoyed the vibrant colours in the sunshine as it had been overcast in the morning.  We found a nice place for a drink with great views of the Lutheran church and then ambled back towards our hotel and had a super dinner in Sabor Color, an intimate restaurant not far from our hotel.

14th - 15th November Time to leave the Galapagos

Sadly this adventure has come to an end. After breakfast we leave on the pangas for the last time for Santa Fe. Our first stop is the Interpretation Centre which details some of the history of the Galapagos Islands including the murders, the Whaling etc.. The last part is the future, which quite frankly includes too much human occupation. There is a section on the pressure on fresh water and sewage. The answer to the problem is glaringly obvious, but I guess, not politically sensitive.

Note the sea lions on the pavement!

After the centre we are dropped at the end of the main street called Avenida Charles Darwin, I don’t think the great man would have been too proud of this one. The first shop that we see is a converted fishing vessel that is now on dry land. It was quite funky and fun although what was sold was sadly replicated in almost every shop we passed with varying degrees of tackiness. Think Brighton seaside tat with sealions lounging at points along the street and you have it. I was a little depressed that this was the last impression we will get of these wonderful islands and fear for its future.

At about 11:30 we were given our tickets and taken to the airport. This is being upgraded/built and it is obvious that there are plans to have more tourists coming here. The flight left on time and we passed through low cloud and the islands disappeared into the mist once again.

We were met at Guayaquil and transported to the Hilton Colon nearby. As it turns out some of our shipmates are there as well – the Walrus and the Mermaid and more importantly Steve and Debbie. Steve invited us upstairs as Debbie had been upgraded to the executive suite and invited us to join them for drinks (free) and something to eat.  It was really lovely spending some more time with this very engaging couple.

15^th November.

An early start and off to the airport for our flight to Santiago. Apart from me being called out to go see the DNA (Drugs and Narcotics Agency) there was not much to report. Actually it was Tamsin’s bag that they wanted to look at. We can only assume that it was a spot check as they rummaged through her dirties sans gloves before closing the case and thanking us.

The flight to Santiago was just under 5 hours long. From the window looking down I could see the Andes in the distance with snow capped peaks and long sweeping valleys with now dry river beds. Some areas are cultivated so there was a surprising amount of green with lots of brown around it.

Immigration was passed through easily as a helpful official added the information that we had missed (not like coming into the UK then!).

The vibrant coloured houses of Valparaiso

We had been warned about the taxi drivers tricking people into taking rides as we came out of arrivals so were prepared. The one who tried it on was pleasant enough and once I made it clear that we were being met I left us alone. Trouble was where was our guide? We waited at the designated place with no sign of them. Another taxi driver passed by and asked if we need a taxi, I told him no, and said that we were waiting. He then offered to make a call as we had been there a while. I called the office of Latitude 90 and was told that the guide, Nestor, was on his way. I thanked the driver who was pleased that he could be of help. Nestor arrived after we had been waiting about 40 minutes and took us to a waiting minibus. Nestor turned out to be a charming and chatty guy and although we were disappointed in his tardy time keeping we soon forgave him.

Look at this wiring!

The drive to Valparaiso took about 90 minutes. Valparaiso was partially shrouded in mist as we drove in, the streets are narrow and twisty and follow the contours of the land up and down, in and out. I was glad not to be driving. The houses are a mixture of wooden, brick and cement walls with either tile or tin roofs all are painted in bright colours with no two in a street the same colour. Some are ruins and other s in various states of repair. I would describe it as shabby chic.  The other notable thing is the incredible amounts of ugly wiring which hang across all the streets ruining quite a few viewpoints!  Apparently, most of it is redundant phone wiring which no-one has got round to removing.

Part of the port

Casa Higueras is a delight with dark wooden floors, clean white walls and superb views of the busy harbour. In the harbour were two container ships and part of the Chilean navy (4 frigates, a corvette,  support vessel and a submarine).

13th November – Santa Fe & South Plaza.

We had a wet landing this morning on to what looked like a pristine white sandy beach on Santa Fe with sea lions scattered around us.  What you can’t see or smell from a distance is all the poop everywhere, and as it stinks so much you really don’t want any sticking to your shoes.  We were warned that it was a very difficult walk, but as it turned out, it was quite easy  - you just had to watch your step as the ground was quite uneven.

Triffid-like prickly pears

We walked up a short slope onto the cliff edge which was lined with enormous, tall and very old Opuntia (or prickly pear) plants.  They almost looked triffid like.  Lola pointed out a couple of the land iguanas which are much lighter coloured here to blend in with the local rock, which when weathered turns a lightish yellow colour.  The lava lizards were also patterned differently.

We also enjoyed watching a pair of blue footed boobies flying together and then doing their death defying dives into the sea hunting for fish.

The walk ended up on another beach also littered with sea lions.  We even saw a very young pup, which still had the remnants of its umbilical cord attached, bonding with his mother and crying out for milk. 

Blue footed booby

We also saw a laughing gull, which is a migratory bird from northern America.  We then caught the panga back to the boat and then embarked on the next activity.  Chris chose to go snorkelling and got some stonking pictures and video of a ray plus some nice photos of some of the fish.  Compared to most other people, we are incredibly low tech and don’t have the fancy underwater cameras (GoPro - cw) that most of them do.

I chose to go on the glass bottomed boat with Mum.  We were pangaed out there and then had to do a slightly hair raising transfer over to it.  We saw lots of lovely fish and even a sea lion passed under the boat.  Unfortunately though, it wasn’t long before I started to feel sea sick so had to spend the rest of the time deep breathing and concentrating on looking at the horizon.  We got back to La Pinta just in time for me to make it to the privacy our own bathroom before retching in the loo.  I really am a terrible sailor!

We passed up the talk on Charles Darwin this afternoon.  Our final walk was around South Plaza Island, which Chris and I thought looked rather Martian as it had a lot of ground succulents growing on it which were very stressed so had turned bright red in colour.  There were also large prickly pear trees but no young ones due to the pressure of too many iguanas due to man killing Galapagos Hawks on Santa Fe as they think they’re the same as raptors on the mainland and eat chickens etc..  Here, the land iguanas were smaller than elsewhere and also cross bred with the marine iguanas which resulted in a rather strange looking but infertile hybrid.

As we landed, we had to walk through a colony of nesting swallow tailed seagulls, which have evolved to be nocturnal due to the pressure of all the frigate birds.  I think they are very handsome birds although some of the babies are rather ugly.

Red billed tropic bird

We crossed the island to a steep cliff edge where we enjoyed watching the varied sea birds flying below us.  I spent ages trying to get a good photo of the red billed tropic bird, which was very difficult as they flew so fast.  However, my perseverance paid off eventually.....

All along the cliff edge, various sea birds could be seen interspersed with sea lions of various ages.  We then crossed the island to the lower area where we witnessed a large bull sea lion ushering some of his harem up on to dry land.  As we slowly wandered back to meet our panga we were all just amazed by all of the sea lion and sea bird activity – we’re very lucky as there are a of young animals and birds around at the moment.

We then transferred back to La Pinta where we’ve just enjoyed a cocktail on the top deck. Next we have a presentation and slide show of our week here and the Captain’s farewell cocktail party.....

12th November Fish and chips

Postman Pat?

We sailed to Floreana during the evening and arrived in the wee hours of the morning at Post Office Bay. First up was a wet landing and an easy walk on the island to visit the Post Box. This is a barrel that has been there since 1793??? It was set up when whaling boats frequented the area. The premise is that you drop off your letters, search through the post that’s there and take any that you can hand deliver. It’s still in operation today. The guides searched through the post and called out the addresses - surprisingly there was one for a place not far from us in Portugal and another close to Gill. One letter was addressed to Kim-il Jong on Pyongyang, North Korea – it’s been there a while!!

We got back in the boats and motored over to the next bay which has a dark story to tell. This is a story of love, lust, treachery and murder in the early 1930s. There is a book written by Dora Strauch and called Satan came to Eden and will soon be a film. Originally Friedrich Ritter and his lover Dora Strauch escaped their marriages to settle successfully on Black Beach, Floreana. Later another German family arrived (1933), the Wittmers and a strange group of German socialites arrived: Rolf Lorenz, Robert Phillipson and the notorious Baroness Eloise Von Wagner. By 1934, four of the seven disappeared or died unexpectedly. Part of the story involves setting up a hotel for the few visiting wealthy people who came out this way. This was to be located in this new bay. The location is stunning and the only built bit you can still see are the walls of the house that are made from lava rocks. We walked up the steps to a look out to enjoy the view a bit better and passed the navigational light for the island.

A King Angelfish

Tamsin and I then rushed back down as we had signed up for kayaking. Getting into the kayaks involved going from one panga to another and then into the kayak. Not easy for some of the less dexterous. Paddling around we managed to get quite close to sealions and the rocks. We went into a shallow cove where we told there were White Tipped Reef Sharks. We paddled over the top of two before turning around and heading back.

After lunch we had signed up for deep water snorkelling. Initially we were a bit concerned as it was quite rough. However, once in the water all concerns disappeared. The water was teeming with fish. I looked down into the depth and could only see shoals of fish down as far as I could see (50+ metres). This is one of the points that one of the colder deep sea currents comes up as it hits land and is very nutrient rich, hence the fish. We had to move across between two points as there was a Bull Sealion on patrol. Tamsin was taking lots of pictures and missed a Barracuda that swam below us. There was also an eel that we missed, but there was so much going on that it would be difficult not to miss something.

Stunning view over the kayaking lagoon

The last activity of the day was another walk with a wet landing. This was at Punta Cormorant where we walked very close to pregnant female sealions and looked at the sand as this contains “olivene” which is a semi precious stone and a result of the volcanic activity. No surprise that it is green in colour and gives the beach sand a slight green hue. The lake at this point contained a few Flamingos, not the amount we had wanted. The smell was something else and is a mixture bird poop, volcanic ash and vegetal decay.  The result is sulphurous as Steve found out when he stepped in it! The next cove over was a contrast as the sand is whiter. We watched as turtles lined up to come in when it’s darker to lay their eggs. You can see the tracks in the sand. Apparently they lay up to 600 eggs and spread these over up to 10 nests.

Dinner this evening included a portion of chips - yippee!!