2013 Lonnie's final post for Birthday in Chile

I loved Chile and plan to return again next year to visit the Patagonia region. Even the locals who've been there highly recommend it as well as the Atacama and winery regions. I had several servings of wine in Chile and I'm no winehead but each glass was quite tasty. I also enjoyed nice cheeses, and coffees (thx to Andrea, I came home with a few bags:). Interestingly enough, a favorite food for the locals is, Peruvian cuisine, from the common to the gourmet. On my last day in Santiago, I visited the Artisans Market where I bought a few souvenirs for the Homeys, then enjoyed a pleasant day in the park Cerro Santa Lucia.

 

(Pics, 1-Cerro Santa Lucia, 2-friend Natalia -three year penpals-1st meeting at her job in Pueblo Los Dominicos, 3-Moai and wild horse on Easter Island, courtesy of Julie, a California I met there and have since had coffee with in L A)

 

3:This last picture was special to me that I asked Julie to send it to me. I never took a photo of any of the many wild horses all over the island. Our guide Patricia told us that horses were once the form of transportation until cars came, then the horse owners just released them. They're plentiful, beautiful, and live a great life, with abundant land, food, and water. No predators. There were also lots of dogs all over Santiago as well as the island. They were part of the community. Chile love dogs and dogs love Chile. Being a dog lover, that worked for me.

 

My only complaint is that I have yet to receive the post card I mailed myself from Easter Island airport:-( I gave up on thinking I'll ever see it again, but it had a lovely stamp of the Moai on it. At least, everyone else got theirs in the States and Australia. Oh well, I'll try it again next year!

 

 

2013 Lonnie's Birthday in Chile, pt 5

We departed Easter Island on my birthday, and the only reason everyone on the flight didn't know it, was because I didn't want to embarrass Uncle Rudy (UR), so I kept it inside. We checked into the Hilton Hotel near Santiago airport since UR would be flying back to Atlanta the following day. As soon as we entered our fancy room, UR turned on his phone and shouted, '4 Bars! Yes!' Then he turned on his computer, 'Instant connection...Thank you!' Then turned the big flat screen TV on CNN (aka 'chronically negative news' as my minister calls it),  then UR rejoiced, 'Thank God, Civilization again!!!' Oh well, so much for me getting away from 'civilization'. As UR lay contently in bed, playing with his high tech gadgets, I took a shower, dressed, and proceeded to leave. 'Where you going?' inquired UR. ''It's my birthday, I'm going to dinner." UR decided to join me, along with his tech toys also. I returned to the room and retrieved mine too, so I could check emails. My dinner was not what I ordered, then they brought the right one, which was not tasty, but the staff singing Happy Birthday and providing me a dessert treat was special...courtesy of Uncle Rudy!

 

Uncle Rudy and I hung out a bit in Santiago after we checked out of the Hilton. His flight would depart later that evening, and I would relocate to stay with Andrea, the lovely local I met on the flight from Atlanta to Santiago, her daughter Simone, and dog Mimi. Andrea lived in a wonderful Bohemian area, next to the Museo de Bellas Artes. While she was at  work teaching Neuroscience at a University, doing research, etc. and her daughter was in classes, I learned my way around using buses and the Metro. Being a Spanish speaker was a definite bonus whenever I was lost, people were gracious, kind, and helpful. I visited Valparaiso, a vertical costal port city, with striking ocean views, amazing history, culture, and seafood! 

 

1) Easter Island airport, Brazilian Sista in transit from Figi to Brazil,  2) Hilton Hotel Birthday Dinner, 3) Dessert, 4) Valparaiso (costal city west of Santiago), 5-6) Canon/balls at old coastal Navy fort, 7-14) Valparaiso city sites

 

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2013 Lonnie's Birthday in Chile, pt 4

Uncle Rudy(UR) was so frazzled at not having Wifi, so he could work, keep up with the news, etc., I found another accommodation, Hostal Sunset, just across the road. The place had more modems so it all worked out. We moved into a quaint cabina with AC and a sunset ocean view. Our beautiful, well-traveled hostess China, spoke/taught English, so finally UR met another English speaker, which he was very happy about. Walking around the town? Not so much...  I will again admit that I am a walker, a fast one at that, up to 10 miles in a day... one of the reasons I prefer to travel alone. So UR joined me for a walk thru the town since we needed dinner, snacks, souvenirs, etc.. Meanwhile, I wanted all of that plus a foot tour of the town. I loved hearing the locals speak their native language, and that they greeted us in it, gave me a 'Homey' feel. Had I been alone, I would have taken the time to learn and communicate a bit more with the locals. There was so much more I wanted to learn, experience, see, and do...next time, will do!

 

UR complained about the walking until we settled on an ocean-front restaurant with an extremely handsome English-speaking Rapa Nui waitor, Charles. UR was delighted by his gorgeousness, attention and conversations, so much so, we ate at the same restaurant the next night, excellent plates of curry chicken...yummy! In our rented car, we visited more amazing places including beaches, caves, and more archaeological sites.

 

On the eve of my Birthday, China treated me to a wonderful sunset dinner, ice cream cake w/candles, a wonderful ambiance. Thanks China and Uncle Rudy! After dinner, our ride picked us up to transport us to the Polynesian Cultural show. I walked in the place wearing my Birthday tiara, the hostess never skipped a beat, 'Well Yahara (local greeting)! Never has such a distinguished guest come to our humble show...thank you!' I melted with delight and was even gifted a CD of the show music. The stories, music, songs, dances, and wine were excellent! Loved my face make-up done by one of the dancers, great show!

 

Pics - 1)This was the view from our new accommodation, Hostal Sunset, 2) more Moai, 3-4) caves, 5) Patricio (best guide ever), 6-7) Hostal Sunset/restaurant for my 8) Birthday Dinner of shrimps w/rice - Delish! 9) Owner/Amazing Hostess - China, 10-12)Polynesian Folkloric show, 13)Julie/me (she's from L A area also), 14) Birthday breakfast treats, 15) A Birthday Rainbow, and 16) my favorite pic from the Polynesian show.

 

 

 

 

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2013 Birthday in Chile, pt 3

 

Well as you can tell from the pics, still on the amazing Easter Island (Isla de Pascua). I found the Moai, the history, archaeological sites, and the pride/culture of the local Polynesians to be fascinating. My travelmate Uncle Rudy (UR), on the other hand, not so much. Upon arrival to a humble, no frills abode, culture shock hit him...no we were definitely not in Kansas anymore. Nor were we in the Holiday Inn at Santiago's airport, where we'd spent the previous night so we could catch our morning flight to the island. By the way, we missed it, opted instead for the most expensive buffet breakfast either of us had eaten. (Uncle Rudy assumed breakfast wouldn't be too expensive so he simply said, add it to the room bill, which was on his MasterCard) When he had to sign for the bill after we ate, both of us nearly choked at the cost. We learned, then proceeded to take as much fresh fruit as we could carry. He'd already paid for it, trust me! We caught the only other flight to the island that day and arrived some 5+ hrs later, deplaned, and walked across the tarmac into a small unpretentious building that was the airport terminal. I watched the locals extract their bags, bundles, boxes,  ice chests, etc. from the conveyor belt, then I saw the Unicorn, aka Uncle Rudy's Louis Vuitton luggage. I pulled it off and he hooked his LV carryon to the big piece and glided to the airport exit where are hostess Bicky awaited us with our names on a piece of paper.  It was late, somewhere around dark 30 or so. We rode for a few minutes as Bicky pointed out stores, shops, and banks. Once at the accommodation, we stepped inside of a clean, simple, unpretentious room with an electric fan, 2 beds, small fridge, old school 19" TV, wardrobe closet, and bathroom/shower. We went to the office to check in with passports and get the spill that Bicky had memorized so well, once she started, she continued until she finished so completely, neither Rudy nor I had any questions about, when/where was breakfast, tours, car rentals, etc. The only question UR had was, '...what's the Wifi code?' Bicky provided it. After we returned to the room, which had a front deck, I could hear the ocean waves crashing against the shore. It was a wonderful sound but we were advised to keep our sliding glass and wood door closed and locked for safety. We did. As I finished my shower, I could hear UR sounding very irritated and fussy. 'This Wifi is coming and going unless I stand outside, but it's too cold for that'. He wanted to go to the office to complain, but said he'd wait until the morning to do so. I turned the tv on to check what was on it, UR laughed, and said 'you must be kidding right? There's nothing going to be on that little TV on this little island'. Not for him, but I speak/understand Espanol so I noted the programs on the 3-4 channels. There really was nothing on so I got in bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

 

 

The next morning, I got up and walked over to the room where breakfast was set up. There was a couple from Spain who raved about the island tour they'd taken the previous day. I told UR about it when he arrived for breakfast and we decided to book the full day tour. UR was still complaining about the weak Wifi signal and the connection issues. Bicky's daughter advised that the problem was island-wide and there was nothing they could really do about it. We went on an excellent tour where we saw many beautiful sites including an (Pics:enormous rain water filled volcano, gold sandy beach, Moai, ancient art drawings, archeological sites), while we listened to the stories of the island, cultures, people, etc. The other lady and I listened intently as her husband and UR acted liked bored husbands. They were often far away from us and our guide, taking walks, pictures, and doing their own thing. At the end of the tour, I asked UR what he thought of it, and he responded, "...it was nice, but when they say a 'full day tour', they mean FULL DAY!" (10a-6p) Yep, that's what they mean and I loved it!!!

 

I rented a car the next day and we did our own exporing to (Pics: Orongo, remnants of an ancient village, and Rano Kau, a huge volcano crater near the ocean).