FUN:travel – Easter Island, Chile – Day 2
March 3, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Easter Island, Chile – Day 2
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
- 8:15 – wake up to decent hot coffee
- breakfast buffet is typical – nice fresh fruit platter, meat, cheese, tomatoes, breads, yogurt, cereal, cooked eggs too
- A – 10:00 – 1st half day tour w/Kia-Koe
- 10:15 – tour bus arrives – clearly on island time
- 1st stop – 10:40 – Orongo – most religious, sacred site – Birdman village – homes built w/rocks in the side of the mountain w/very small opening as door – used only for sleeping – very small & very short – see extensive collection of petroglyphs
- 2nd stop – Rano Kau Volcano – rain water collected there – fruits & vegetables planted on the hill inside
- 3rd stop – Ahu Vinapu – sacred burial grounds
- A – 3:15 – 2nd half day tour w/Kia-Koe
- 1st stop – Puna Pau – red stone quarry used to carve the hair top knots for statues
- 2nd stop – Ahu Akivi – highlight is 7 stone statues representing explorers
- 3rd stop – Te Pahu – lava tunnels that formed caves
- A – 7:45 – dinner Kotaro Japanese restaurant just 3 blks from hotel – chef/owner Francisco trained in Japan – only 18 seats – no sushi menu, he makes what he has
- A – appetizer of raw fish salad, cucumber, carrot, sweet vinegar dressing – miso soup – huge plate of sushi & another smaller w/sashimi – Montes wine by the glass – all for only $53 – VG!
- A – grocery store just across street – buy drinks & chips @ over half the mini bar price
- C – We found 2 pearls! – Kotaro & the store
FF – (FUN-fact) – Dutch explorers landed here on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722, and named it Easter Island.
More FF – The Easter Island park entrance fee is $50 at the airport and $60 if you buy it on sight, cash only.
FUN:travel – Mendoza, Argentina to Easter Island, Chile
March 1, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Mendoza, Argentina to Easter Island, Chile
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 26 – Sunday, February 24 – Mendoza, Argentina to Easter Island, Chile – cloudy & cool morning – balmy, humid, thick clouds, warm 80’s afternoon
- 6:00 – wake up
- A – 7:00 hot coffee an hour early!
- 7:30 – taxi to airport
- A – Mercedes has gotten up to wish us well on our trip (she goes to bed very late)
- B – arrive airport 7:50 for 10:00 flight – rescheduled for 10:55 (taxi in cost $10 & return $12)
- B – cappuccino @ airport is $5
- A – next flight to Easter Island isn’t until 1:35 so we should have plenty of time
- C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
- C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN in Mendoza or Santiago (unike Ecuador & Peru last year)
- A – on time & arrive @ noon
- B – have to pick up bags & recheck because it’s international
- C – no long lines for customs!
- B – have to pay $160 reciprocity fee
- A – 12:30 up to departure gate & breeze through security – arrive gate at 12:50
- C – got exit row & plane is not full – 5 hr flight in “no class” is “no FUN”
- A –arrive 5:00 – gained 2 hrs
- A – hotel transfer comes w/beautiful fragrant yellow & purple leis
- 6:00 – arrive Puku Vai Hotel (only 5 mins from airport)
- 7:30 – dinner – walk to town takes 15 mins – hotel recommended Kanahau – salad greens w/shrimp, avocado, hearts of palm – fresh Tuna w/seaweed, green onions, mushrooms served on sweet potato mash & sea sauce & Errazuriz Carménère – $100
- A – Oscar’s on TV
- B – terrible reception
- B – Spanish voice over makes it impossible to understand
- C – Lurene DVR’d it for me at home
- A – big, bright full moon peaks through thick clouds
FF – (FUN-fact) – Javier, Mercedes, Tito & the staff made us feel so welcome and like family in their home. It made Mendoza very special! The B & B is rated #2 on Trip Advisor and costs $143.00 per day including tips. There are 5 rooms total but not all have the bathroom in the room. We stayed in Mercedes original bedroom which is the biggest and very nice. I booked this in May 2012.
FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
February 27, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 22 – Wednesday, February 20– Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina – warm sunshine, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’s
- 7:10 – wake up
- B – another horrible night of no sleep
- B – 7:30 – head to Starbuck’s – doesn’t open until 8:00
- B – McDonald’s is open but no cream because McCafe doesn’t open until 8:00
- 11:00 – taxi to Santiago airport takes 90 minutes
- A – we stay @ airport Hilton on way back from Easter Island, plan to drop 2 bags of heavy clothes & coats so we don’t have to schlep & get hit w/outrageous baggage fees
- B – 11:30 – OMG! we are in downtown Santiago
- B – taxi driver has no idea where the hotel is – he is stopping & asking people – he has a phone but doesn’t use it!
- 1:30 – arrive airport for 3:50 flight
- A – airport has tons of shops so you can easily entertain yourself
- C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
- C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN in Santiago (unike Ecuador & Peru last year)
- B – 3:50 – flight delayed
- B – we lost our jetway & now have to take a bus & schlep our bags up & down stairs
- A – flying in, clouds are so thick & packed together in some spots, they look like heads of cauliflower at the market
- A – blue skies for the Andes, incredible & see snow capped volcano
- 5:00 – arrive Mendoza
- B – Argentina makes you scan all bags when leaving the airport
- B – takes an hour to get through customs
- A – taxi to city costs $10
- 6:30 – arrive B&B Plaza Italia
- A – Javier, son of owner Mercedes, welcomes us & spends 45 minutes telling us about their family home (where we are staying) & where to go in Mendoza & asking what our plans are during stay
- C – fast, free internet
- C – big, quiet room w/our own bathroom
- 7:30 – dinner Azafran recommended by Javier – 1st salmon tartar on bed of thinly sliced cucumbers topped w/guacamole & plantain chips – 2nd arugula salad w/guacamole between 2 thin wafers of fried provolone & grilled shrimp, citrus vinaigrette – 3rd quinoa crusted chicken breast stuffed w/ricotta goat cheese, topped w/buffalo mozzarella, spinach cream sauce, crispy fried carrots & eggplant rolls – bottle Monteagrelo Malbec , $38 – total dinner $90 & VG!
Lessons Learned – don’t get out of bed before 8:00 if you want a good cup of coffee. Pad extra travel time for less stress!
FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar is very clean, has lots of parks, and lots of horse drawn carriages.
Not so FF – Chile is a lot more expensive than Argentina for everything.
FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile – Day 2
February 25, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile – Day 2
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 21 – Tuesday, February 19 – Viña del Mar – more full on sun, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’s
- B – horrible night – no sleep – noisy even w/double paned windows (I’ve slept @ airport hotels w/ planes taking off all night that were more quiet)
- A – 8:00 walk for really good Americano @ Starbucks
- 10:25 – breakfast of fresh fruit & sandwich for later – guacamole, turkey & cheese
- 12:00 – nice walk along beach boardwalk
- some restaurants & local vendors
- 1:00 – picnic in the park w/sandwiches from breakfast buffet
- A – sand sculpture artists dot the shoreline
- 7:15 – dinner @ Margarita’s – chicken fajitas – not so good – chips, guacamole, black beans, salsa verde, pico de gallo, jalapeno’s make it better
- bottle of wine costs $15 & a cocktail costs $10
Lesson Learned – I live in San Diego so I don’t need to have an ocean view room, however, for a quiet room I would have paid the extra $30 to be off the main street.
Not so FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar has a large homeless dog population. That means no one is picking up after them and you need to be careful where you step.
FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile
February 25, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 20 – Monday, February 18 – Valparaíso to Viña del Mar, Chile – blue skies, cool ocean breeze – low 60’s
- 11:00 – check in to Hotel San Martin
- B – room isn’t ready until 2:00
- take a stroll through town
- C – there’s a Starbucks 2 blocks from hotel! have a cappuccino break
- 12:30 – lunch @ Diego’s Pizza across from hotel – local beer Cristal not bad – nice arugula, tomato, onion, feta salad
- B – pizza just so-so
- B – costs $53 for 3 beers, 1 salad & I medium pizza
- 2:00 – check in & siesta
- B – size does matter when it comes to a room – and so does being off a busy street! forgot to request a quiet room!
- A – free internet
- B – very slow
- 8:15 – dinner @ Delicias del Mar – recommended by hotel – butterfish w/spinach cream sauce (never eaten this before) mushrooms w/baby shrimp, green salad w/avocado, hearts of palm
FF – (FUN-fact) – Chris says I am always looking for the pearl. It’s true! I like to try new things which can be risky or make for a wonderful surprise.