Day 19 & 20 Easter Island to Santiago to Miami to Boston

 

Our plane did arrive and we were boarded and on the way to Santiago by 9 am. Patrick was able to secure first class seats for the Easter Island to Santiago leg of the journey but not for the Santiago to LA flight.

We arrived in Santiago with  a 4 hour layover. We all had dinner at the airport  and then settled in for the wait.

Both flights, although traveling to opposite coasts of the US  left within 5 minutes of each other. We bid our farewells and headed for our overnight flights.

We arrived at 6:45 am in Miami with a simple run through immigration and customs. Miami has expanded their terminal so LAN was in the new section. Our trek to AA was quite a distance and when we arrived at the missed flights ticketing we were told we had to call a rep because we had booked our original flights using our frequent flyer miles. It was a nightmare changing our flight when we were in Santiago so the agent gave us a direct number to call.

The agent was great and got us on a 7:45 pm flight to Boston. So here we were at 7:30 am in the Miami airport with two flights and three hours of sleep in the last 24 hours waiting for a another flight 12 hours away.

We decided to get a room for the day so we could shower and sleep. Little did we know what a challenge that would be. We asked several airport personnel if there was a comp phone to call a hotel but no one seemed to have an answer. We did talk to another traveler who gave us some direction only to find that most of the hotels were fully booked.

We managed to find one place that would have a room available in one hour so we grabbed it. It was OK but not great. At that point we didn’t care. All we wanted was a shower and bed to sleep in for a few hours.

 

The bed was inviting and the shower really tiny but served its’ purpose. We slept for about 5 hours straight and were pleasantly surprised when the front desk clerk called to let us know the van would be there to pick us up at  5 pm. We had casually mentioned we would be leaving at five and he was kind enough to call us. What a nice touch to a tiring day.

 

At the airport we ate a very good Mexican dinner and had ice tea with ICE!!!! YUM.

The flight to Boston was uneventful. Interestingly the girl sitting next to me was looking over an itinerary  of  a trip she had booked to of all places – Machu Picchu! How weird was that???

We arrived in Boston at 10:50 pm and were met in baggage claim by our good friends Ginny and Wes. As we waited for our bags we noticed that everyone had bags but us. Where could they be????

When the last bags were picked up I noticed an area with bags sitting on the floor. One of our bags was in that grouping but the second was not.

After inquiring at the baggage claim desk I was brought into a back room to look at some damaged bags Yep, one of those bags was mine!!!!

 

 

Waiting for the paperwork to get my bag replaced or paid for! Just think we had 9 flights on LAN all over South America and no damage. But, couldn’t successfully get our bags from Miami to Boston without a problem!!!

 

By the time we arrived at home it was 1 am. Thank you Ginny and Wes for being so kind and patient. We didn’t expect to keep you up so late!

 

 

 

 

STATISTICS FOR TRIP( Airport to Airport)

Using time and distance aviation tools we flew an estimated (no discounting for alterations in  routing) 17,726.23 miles including international and domestic flights in both the USA and South America.

Flights: 12 for us 13 for Patrick & Kelly

Miles: 17,726.23 for us  and 18,680.43 for Kelly & Patrick

Hotels: 7

Train Trips  - 2

Boat 1

Number of days: 21 counting arrival day in USA

Day 18–Flight Home via Santiago–Almost

 

We were up, bags packed and ready for breakfast by 7:30 am. When we arrived at the hotel lobby the woman at the desk informed us that our plane was not coming.

Not Coming!!!!!! What the heck was she talking about. She went on to explain that we would not be leaving the island as planned because the plane from Papiti did not fly because of the wind so we were here until another plane could come and get us.

We were quite shocked at that but after further questioning the woman told us this type of thing happened a lot lately. Ok  then we would be staying for another night. HMMMM – who would pick up that expense.

Ron and I  went to tell Kelly and Patrick the news and after breakfast we were given a ride to the airport  with bags in hand to find out when the next flight would arrive to get us.

There was a bit of a language barrier but in the end LAN Airline paid for an additional night at our hotel plus a lunch and dinner. We were given boarding passes and some vague info for the following days flight. At the time we were under the impression that our flight was going to leave in the afternoon.

Back at the hotel we settled in for another day on the island. At least we were in  a beautiful place and not out in the desert somewhere.

After lunch Ron and I retreated to our room for a well needed nap. Patrick and Kelly went for a two hour walk. Around 3:30 they came to get us to go for another walk with them.

We headed toward the ocean and another moai we could see from our rooms.

It started to pour so we headed back to the hotel. By the time we arrived we were soaked. Getting into a warm shower was a good option.

Later that evening we had our last (hopefully) dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was another wonderful meal.

Kelly and I were discussing the time we were to leave the next day but it seemed vague to me. Back at our room I checked the tickets and noticed that the date was for the 21st not the 22nd. Kelly had come to our room to drop off some ibuprophen and I showed it to her. We both went to the front desk of the hotel and after some discussion, trying to get onto the LAN site on the internet and speaking with other people who would be flying with us  we discovered that our plane was leaving at 8:20 am the next morning. We finally did get a confirmation from the front desk people and headed to our rooms to get ready for our 6 am departure from the hotel.

None of us would have been happy if we missed our flight. Hopefully the plane would arrive as scheduled. Kelly had to notify her work she wouldn’t be coming in on Thursday. And we  would be missing our flight from Miami to Boston and  had no flight booked for Thursday. We decided to try to get a flight when we got into Miami on Thursday morning. We went to bed  hoping all would fall into place in the morning.

Day 17, Easter Island/Orongo/Ahu Akivi

 

We had another good night of sleep and woke to a slightly overcast day. It gets dark very early and light quite late in the morning (around 7:30 am.) Being so close to the equator we thought it would be very warm but it is on the cool side and great for touring ad hiking.

Matua picked us up after breakfast with the same exuberance he exhibited on the first day we met him. He told us he had a good day planned for us and we were excited to get going. There is no way I could explain Matua in writing. He is full of energy and very expressive. He has toured with all nationalities and demonstrated to us different reactions to his tour explanations and had us roaring.

Our first stop of the morning was to the Post office to get our Easter Island stamp. We also had our passports stamped with a Galapagos and  Machu Picchu stamp as well.

 

A big hole in the sidewalk outside the post office. Looks like a great place to break an ankle!

 

“Rano Kau has a crater lake which is one of the island’s only three natural bodies of fresh water. Most of the volcano is on the coast and has been eroded back to form high sea cliffs which at one point have started to bite into the crater wall. On its northern side, the volcano slopes down to Mataveri International Airport.

Rano Kau is in the world heritage site of Rapa Nui National Park and gives its name to one of the seven sections of the park. The principal archaeological site on Rano Kau is the ruined ceremonial village of Orongo which is located at the point where the sea cliff and inner crater wall converge. One ahu with several moai was recorded on the cliffs at Rano Kau in the 1880s, but had fallen to the beach by the time of the Routledge expedition in 1914. As well as basalt, it contains several other igneous rocks including obsidian (for which it was one of the major sources for the island’s stoneworkers) and pumice. The crater is almost a mile across and has its own micro climate. Sheltered from the winds that dry most of the rest of the island, figs and vines flourish at Rano Kau."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Orongo is on the edge to the Rano Kau extinct volcano crater, south of the capital Hanga Roa. The volcano has steep cliffs and a small lake in its crater that serves Hanga Roa with water. It is 1km diameter and 280m deep.

This Orongo village consists of 54 houses built from stone slabs, although their design clearly evokes that of hare-vaka (boathouses), common to the rest of the island.
It is believed to have been a ceremonial centre from the 16^th century, for the birdman cult and it was used for a few weeks of the year in the spring. Island society left megalithism as their ancestoral, political and religious expression and replaced it for the cult to the Make Make god, closely related to fertility, spring and migratory seabirds.
Due to the spread of Christianity and the illnesses brought by Europeans, less and less locals used the site until it was finally abandoned in the mid 19^th century. Restoration work and studies have been conducted in the 1970s and 1980s.
There used to be a basalt moai called Hoa Hakananai'a, that is now on display in the British Museum. Unlike other statues, this one is built from basalt, the hardest material on the island”"

 

 

A form of a baby signifying that a baby had been born at this location.

After spending time at the crater and taking in the amazing views we set out for a cave overlooking the ocean. It too was spectacular.

 

Looking out from the cave was just beautiful!

After  a great morning tour we headed back to our hotel. Matua made two more stops before dropping us off for lunch. He was hoping we would get to see some  very large sea turtles down by the pier. Luck would have it that there were two swimming near the pier.

‘The two turtles were swimming around and keeping us entertained.

 

 

 

 

 

There were some fishermen at the pier who let some girls get into their boat to get a better look at the turtles. The people on the island are so very friendly and kind.

 

Moai - down the road from our hotel.

 

This moai have eyes but the eyes of the other moai on the island are located in the museum in town. They were made of coral. and it is believed that the eyes were the last feature  to be placed on the moai giving some form of mystical power to the statues.

 

 

 

 

After lunch we were back out for another tour with Matua. Our travels would not be complete without a cave walk. We had been to a cave earlier but it did no take us underground for any distance.

 

We began our trip through the cave at this location. As caves go it was  a basic  cave for us, but fun anyway.

 

                                THE EXIT

On the island there is only one set of Moai facing the ocean. In the past we have read that those Moai were facing the ocean to scare away  any people  wanting to come to or attack the island. Matua stated that was NOT true. He did give us an explanation but cannot recall all that he stated.

Below is an explanation – or folklore. It also shows an excavation of a Moai far below the ground.

Folklore holds that its seven moai represent the seven young explorers that legend says the Polynesian King Hotu Matu'a dispatched from across the seas, probably from the Marquesas Islands, to find this new homeland for him and his people. They are among the few moai that face the sea.

These seven stone giants may well symbolize those seven explorers, but no one knows for sure. Just as no one knows what any of the moai really represent or why only a few of them face the sea.

Although this Moai was excavated years ago it  is no longer visible beneath the surface and reburied.

Ahu Vinapu
If size signified importance, Ahu Vinapu was one of the most important ahu on Easter Island. The precisely fitted large basalt cut slabs have perplexed some archaeologists, in particular Thor Heyerdahl. He points to this Inca-like stone ahu as a key indicator to a distinct Peruvian influence on the island. Few experts disagree that the stonework here is more advanced than that of other ahu on the island. Was this the result of an Inca influence on the island, or was it due to years of experience attained by Rapanui stoneworkers? An average slab here is eight by 5.5 feet (2.5 x 1.7meters) and weighs seven tons.

This is the only Ahu (burial platform)  on the island that has the precision we saw in Peru where the Incas built their temples. The answer to why this one platform is on Easter Island is still a mystery.

We had one last stop before our tour was complete and that was to a cremation ahu.

It was another great tour and the history and mysteries of Easter Island and the Moai leave many questions unanswered.

Back at the hotel we  experienced another spectacular sunset.

Once again we had another gourmet meal and headed back to our rooms to  pack for our flight back to Santiago in the morning.