FUN-travel: New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Up: Easter Island, Chile

July 1, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Up: Easter Island, Chile 

Easter Island FUN-facts

  1. Dutch explorers landed on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722, and named it Easter Island.Easter Island, Chile 192
  2. There are 887 “moai” stone statues – the biggest at 32 ft high and weighing 82 tons.
  3. They were carved with stone chisels between 1100 & 1680 AD and took a team of 5 -6 men one year to finish.
  4. Over half of all the statues are located around the quarry at Rano Raraku.
  5. It’s one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world and a long way to the middle of nowhere. 2200 miles from Chile, it takes 5 hours by plane, and 5 days by ship.
  6. 15 miles long by 7.5 miles at the widest and a total of 63 square miles.
  7. Easter Island is pretty primitive and our best guess is probably what Hawaii was like in the 60’s.
  8. Hanga Roa is the only town and has paved roads. Most of the other roads are bumpy dirt roads.
  9. It’s part of the Polynesian triangle with Hawaii at the top and Tahiti to the west.
  • In the summer of 2007, more than 90 million people cast their votes to determine which architectural marvels in the world deserved to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. There were a total of twenty-one landmarks vying for that title.
Easter Island, Chile 72

Rano Raraku

  • Of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, only the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt still stand. The pyramids were given an automatic spot after infuriated Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace to have to compete for something that had belonged to their country for so long. I agree!  We saw them in 2007.Easter Island, Chile 6
  • It is our goal to see all twenty-one landmarks. Also, Chris and I have collectively seen a lot of the twenty-one, however, not together. So the rule is, we go back and see all of them together!

New 7 Wonders of the World we’ve been to:

#1 Chichen Itza, Mexico – 2005
#2 Great Wall of China – 2010
#3 Machu Picchu, Peru – 2012
#4 Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 2012
#5 The Colosseum, Rome, Italy – 2012

New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Ups we’ve been to:

#9  Statue of Liberty, New York – 2005
#10 Sydney Opera House, Australia – 2005
#11 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – 2007
#12 Acropolis, Athens – 2007
#13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia – 2010
#14 Eiffel Tower, Paris – 2010
#15 Stonehenge, England – 2011
#16 Easter Island, Chile – 2013

119 Easter Island, Chile

Ahu Tongariki

 

FUN-travel: Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina

March 7, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina 

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Easter Island, Chile 197

Tehai Area

  • 7:15 – wakeup to full sun w/clouds over the Andes
  • A – good coffee
  • 11:00 – shuttle to airport
  • 1:35 – flight departs
  • Air Canada is code share w/LAN – Star Alliance member – United card gets us into lounge
  • B – plane late so we hurry & wait
  • C – get upgrades to biz class
  • A – only 2 hr flight
  • 3:30 arrive – only takes 75 mins to get through customs
  • Taxi takes 1 hr to downtown – flat rate $40 outside of terminal (more expensive inside)
  • A – 5:45 – back to Urban Recoleta Suites & taxi driver knows where it is
  • 8:00 – dinner back to Fervor – white salmon, creamed spinach, grilled mushrooms VG

FF – (FUN-fact) – 90% of all volcanic activity on earth occurs in the ocean. It is estimated to contain some 10,000 volcanoes, of which at least 1,133 are active, and concentrated in a tiny patch of the South Pacific, not much bigger than New York State.

Easter Island, Chile 85

Rano Raraku

 

FUN-travel: Easter Island to Santiago, Chile

March 6, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Easter Island to Santiago, Chile 

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Easter Island, Chile 204

Clearly a Replica

  • A – 7:30 wakeup – good night’s sleep (no siesta & lots of exercise yesterday helped)
  • 10:00 – packed up & ready for next big adventure!
  • 11:30 – pickup
  • 11:45 – hurry up & wait for 2:10 – flight
  • B – full & no exit row
  • C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
  • C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN Easter Island – their scales don’t even work
  • 2:50 – departs
  • A – meal service & wine included no charge
  • 9:00 – arrives Santiago (clock ahead 2 hrs)
  • A – easy baggage pickup
  • A – Hilton Garden Inn is 7 mins – VIP Transit is free shuttle (Holiday Inn is directly across street from aiport)
  • B – sit & wait 20 mins for more passengers
  • 10:00 – arrive Hilton – very nice & new w/big rooms
  • A – restaurant serves until 11:00 – dinner is chicken wrap & hot French fries VG

FF – (FUN-fact) – Easter Island is pretty primitive and our best guess is probably what Hawaii was like in the 60’s. Hanga Roa is the only town and has paved roads. Most of the other roads are bumpy dirt roads.
More FF – It’s part of the Polynesian triangle with Hawaii at the top and Tahiti to the west.
More FF – It’s a New 7 Wonders of the World runner up and makes #15 on our list of the 21 vying for it that we’ve seen.

Easter Island, Chile 72

Rano Raraku

Lesson Learned – Trade off: By going to Easter Island first, instead of Mendoza, because we were in Chile we would have saved the time and hassle of two international flights. Also, I may not have had to pay the reciprocity fee which went up to $160. It was $130 in 2009. If you fly in or out of Santiago on an international flight you have to have the stamp. It is only good for the life of your passport and Chris had his stamp from 2009 because his passport doesn’t expire until 2014.

But on the other hand, by dropping the two bags with cold weather clothes at the Santiago Hilton Airport we didn’t have to schlep them, pay excess baggage fees, or locker fees. We would have also needed bigger taxis which probably would have cost more too.

Easter Island, Chile 9

Bird Man Village Island

FUN:travel – Easter Island, Chile – Day 4

March 5, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Easter Island, Chile – Day 4 

 

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Easter Island, Chile 192

Ahu Tehai

Day 29 – Wednesday, February 27 – Easter Island, Chile – sunny, clouds, cooler, rain

  • 10:45 – walk to town – see church & mercado artisanal (local handicrafts)
  • B – really expensive
  • 12:50 – downpour, only lasts 10 mins
  • A – stop @ post office for stamps &  stay dry – young lady helping us speaks such good
  • English – ask her where she learned it & responded “Rancho Cucamonga, CA” – she moved here to live w/her father and really likes it
  • A – ice cream cone break before lunch
  • 1:30 – picnic on waterfront (skies still look threatening)
  • 1:45 – back to Ahu Tehai for more pictures w/different light perspectives
  • 3:15 – arrive back to Puku Vai hotel
  • A – open front door & slider for wonderful breeze – only use AC @ night
  • A – there are no bugs!
  • 7:45 – dinner – Kotara again – garlic beef, stir fry vegetables & rice (same appetizer of raw fish salad, cucumber, carrot, sweet vinegar dressing – miso soup) – Carménère is house wine $5 a glass – the food & service is great & half the price of other restaurants in town! (couple we’d seen on Monday is there for the 3rd time too)

FF – (FUN-fact) – It’s one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world and a long way to the middle of nowhere. It’s 2200 miles from Chile, takes 5 hours by plane, and 5 days by ship.
More FF – It’s 15 miles long by 7.5 miles at the widest and a total of 63 square miles.

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Rano Raraku Volcano

FUN:travel – Easter Island, Chile – Day 3

March 4, 2013 by · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Easter Island, Chile – Day 3 

The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration

Easter Island, Chile 70

Rano Raraku

Day 28 – Tuesday, February 26 – Easter Island, Chile – thick clouds east, blue skies & sun west, breezy – 80’s

  • B – wake up 5:30 & try to go back to sleep
  • 7:45 – coffee
  • B – 9:00 – go for fruit & sandwich & they stopped breakfast – supposed to be from 8 to 10
  • B – 9:45 – hurry up & wait
  • A – 10:05 – full day tour w/Kia-Koe
  • 1st stop – 10:45 – Rano Raraku Volcano – 300 statues scattered on steep cliffs – 100 inside volcano – good walk around the quarry & up to volcano – this was spectacular and the granddaddy of all the sites!
  • 2nd stop – 12:15 – Ahu Tongariki – 15 statues restored on coast
  • 3rd stop – One Makihi – crematorium
  • 1:30 – picnic lunch @ Rano Raraku
  • B – chicken, rice, mixed vegetables & drink costs $25 – overpriced (would have made a sandwich instead)
  • 4th stop – Te Pito Kura – more statues unrestored
  • 5th stop – 3:00 – Anakena con Ahu Nau Nau – one of 2 sandy beaches on island w/restored statues
Easter Island, Chile 146

Ahu Tongariki

  • 4:45 – get dropped in town to walk to Ahu Tehai
  • 6:15 – happy hour cerveza @ Te Moana
  • 7:15 – dinner on way back to hotel – Kotara again – Japanese curry prawns & red snapper w/stir fry vegetables & rice (same appetizer of rawEaster Island, Chile 92 fish salad, cucumber, carrot, sweet vinegar dressing – miso soup) – $46

Lesson Learned – Kia-Koe tour cost $135 pp which includes your airport transportation, 2 half day & 1 full day tours with lunch. The Puku Vai Hotel does not mark up the price which some other hotels do. You can ala carte the trip but I recommend you do all three to see the key spots.

FF – (FUN-fact) – There are 887 “moai” stone statues with the biggest at 32 ft high and weighing 82 tons. They were carved with stone chisels between 1100 & 1680 AD and took a team of 5 to 6 men one year to finish. Over half of all the statues are located around the quarry at Rano Raraku.
Not so FF – They charge $1 to use the bathroom at the parks even after you’ve paid $50. I have no intention of paying, walk in and walk out w/out being questioned.

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Ahu Nau Nau

 

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