Star gazing was fun last night. We got to see Orion up close and a great view of Jupiter and 4 of its moons. We also saw something else but please don’t ask me for details but the two staff members who led the activity were going crazy when they got it in view. To me it looked like someone had just dropped a salt shaker and the top of the shaker came off spilling granules over a beautiful black tablecloth. Sorry, astronomy is not my thing and that is as specific as I can get. I will leave this area to my friends Samir and Ralph.
Today we had a long trip home. First, we left Atacama for Santiago arriving on time at about 4:00 pm. We then walked a significant distance to check in for our next flight only to find out that American only has evening flights out of Santiago today so they don’t have any staff until 6:00 pm. I managed to use the self-check-in machine to get our boarding passes but we still needed to wait to check our luggage. We finally got everything set. We are taking this flight on miles and luckily it gave us access to the lounge for the duration of the wait for our flight (8 hours total but just 5 since we made it to the lounge).
To sum up this trip I have to say I am a bit disappointed. I really loved Rapa Nui and am so glad we went there. Atacama was a bit of a disappointment most likely because so many people had told me such glowing things about the place it was bound to fall short. Being at altitude was also difficult for this old body. The hotel is at 8,000 feet and the locations of the various activities ranged from 11,000 to 14,000 feet. That part was not fun. Of course my biggest disappointment was not taking the trip in December 2020 to see the eclipse.
As usual, I will leave you with some interesting photos taken during the trip. They are only meant to amuse or at least be of some interest. Enjoy.
When traveling I always like to seek out local cuisine and hangouts. Dinner Menu: Before you freak out these prices are in Chilean pesos the conversion was 879 to 1 USD the last time I looked but it varies dramatically on a daily basis. In Rapa Nui they had lots of these signs saying that jumping is not allowed. Just kidding, these mean do not enter. My best guess is “No popcorn allowed”.Glossary of terms at the Hanga Roa information Center in Rapa Nui. Notice the 4th from the bottom. What does that have to do with ancient ruins?Apparently throwing paper AT toilets is a pastime that is very much discouraged by the government. I love this translation regarding shrimp.This was a film offered on our flight from Rapa Nui to Santiago. Do you think they are followers of my blog and read of my battle with the hormigas?I am sure you are all aware of Juan Valdez and his advertisements for Colombian coffee. It looks to me as if Juan might have had some issues with the Colombian cartel because he is currently operating a coffee shop at the Santiago airport.
Apparently they charge $50 USD for a 2 hour stay in the airport lounge. I guess some people try to get their money’s worth by drinking. See below.
No drinking alcohol from 3:00 AM to 10:00 AM. That has to be someone with a drinking problem or VERY scared of flying. I don’t go to McDonalds, but do they have this in LA? Order on a machine outside the restaurant (did I really call McDonalds a restaurant?). Tell them want you want, if you want to eat in or take out, pay at the machine, then go inside and collect your food. (Did I just refer to McDonalds as food?).
And finally, check out this video from the Santiago, Chile airport baggage claim area. I start by showing you the baggage carousels and then pan around to the other side where you can see planes at the gate. A very interesting setup.
I hope you enjoyed our vacation. Nothing planned for the near future but when we are on our way, we will invite you to join us.
When we first planned our trip to Chile it was with the sole purpose to see the solar eclipse. When we investigated it further we decided to add Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Patagonia. Then I got input from friends and situations changed due to Covid and other issues. We had been to Patagonia (Argentinian side) previously and heard lots about Atacama so we added it to our itinerary. I have heard so much about this area from a variety of people until today it has left me very unimpressed.
We got off to a rocky start today we when took a tour of the geysers. In order to travel there we were in a van for about 1 hour and 40 minutes on a very bumpy road. The geysers are at over 14,000 feet and I was mildly short of breath limiting my walking speed. The guides were great. They were very attentive and made sure I was not in any danger. Unfortunately, the major danger was boredom. People impressed by these geysers have obviously never been to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming or a multitude of locations in Iceland. Check out this video and pictures and let me know if you agree.
If this is impressive you better take a tranquilizer before you go to Yellowstone or Iceland.
After lunch, we headed to the Rainbow Valley tour and again had a wonderful guide. Before we got to the valley we stopped to see some petroglyphs. This is not our idea of fun. The guide quickly got our drift and we moved on to see Rainbow Valley. This was a lovely tour and on the way back to the hotel saw lots of wildlife. The guide and driver were happy to stop so we could take pictures.
Our guide captured this picture of two stunningly gorgeous people touring Rainbow Valley.
Just outside Rainbow Valley, we were able to get a video of Guanacos (llama variant). Check it out. Don’t worry, it is short.
We then got the opportunity to get some great shots of llamas.
Our guide took this picture. The llama was looking the other way until the guide yelled out, “Hey cutie!”. Obviously a bilingual llama.“Hey, cutie” didn’t work on this one. But when the guide said, “Want to be on the REISSTRAVELBLOG?” there was an instant success. We then asked for a profile view (I love posting pictures of people with noses bigger than mine) and the llama said, “Anything for Robert’s blog”
Tonight we are going star gazing if the skies clear up. We will be getting back to the room late and I am not sure if I will get a chance to post again before we leave so I did want to let you know one important bit of information. Although I loved Rapa Nui and was a little disappointed by Atacama (the sights not the hotel or staff) the one thing that has made me very happy is our travel agent. Malena Feijoo arranged this trip and we have been very pleased with her work. In addition to arranging our itinerary, she has followed the blog and helped with some minor hiccups. She also set up a “What’s App” group for Patrice and me. In that, we have been able to obtain some needed information. She has also texted us our boarding passes for all our internal flights which has been a huge help. So if you are interested in a trip to Chile I would recommend you contact her. She is based in Argentina so I assume she does trips there as well. Her email address is malena.feijoo@mai10.com.ar.
One other note the staff at the Explora Hotels in Atacama and Rapa Nui (Damn, I keep calling it ratatouille) have been great. Yesterday while walking across the courtyard the sole of my sandal almost fell completely off. I asked a member of the staff if they had some Krazy Glue so I could patch it. She said they didn’t but I should leave it with the front desk and maintenance would fix it in the morning. When we came back from our morning activity today, the repaired shoe was on the floor in our room, next to its mate. Very impressive!
We are off to look at stars. See you tommorrow for my collection of interesting photos I have collected this past week.
With today being the 13th I was hoping that it would be our lucky day but the morning did not bode well for that prospect.
I had a wonderful night’s sleep so no complaints there but unfortunately sleeping in left me little time to get ready for our morning tour. Breakfast was a buffet with very uninteresting choices. So it looks as if the Explora Atacama will not be providing us the same quality cuisine as the Explora Rapa Nui.
After breakfast, we were driven to the hot springs. It was a bit of a precarious ride with some bumpy roads and one narrow passageway. Check out this video.
This was a mild version of some of the areas we had to traverse. I was too scared to video the narrow one.
Our morning tour guide, Ricardo, was not anything like the incredible guides we had in Rapa Nui. One of our fellow travelers, Roger from England, described him as “a bit acidic”. Por ejemplo. Oops, I’ve been here too long. I mean to say, for example, Roger asked him how old the cacti were. Ricardo gave him a dissertation about the cacti’s growth rate in rainy versus dry seasons. He went on and on about this process but never answered the question.
Excuse me, can you tell me how old are these cacti?
We arrived at the much anticipated hot springs to find an adequate facility for changing our clothes with bins where we could leave our belongings but no locks. I suppose the theory is anyone willing to make the long trek to get there isn’t interested in taking an old man’s underwear as their pirate’s booty.
The water at the hot springs looked lovely but unfortunately, it was only lukewarm. Similar to my bathtub at home. Certainly not worthy of such an effort as the one needed to get there.
“Hot Springs?”. Not so hot in my opinion.
Our afternoon tour was much better and exactly what I hoped for when we booked this trip. The guide was great and we got to see some flamingos feeding and in flight. Check out this video.
Unfortunately, there were many more wonderful videos that I was too slow to capture.
We also saw some other interesting wildlife including a sandpiper and a lizard. Isn’t this a great look at the lizard?
At a distance, these guys were well camouflaged making them very hard to see.
Dinner was again a disappointment and certainly not worthy of any food pictures. We did run into our newest friends, Roger and his wife Ann. We exchanged stories about our afternoon tours. Roger told us he had the same guide (Ricardo) as we had this morning but as Roger put it, “He was less arrogant and less bumptious”. Don’t you just love the British? Patrice and my New Year’s resolution is to have many more British friends.
Need to get to sleep. Our morning tour starts at 6:30 AM. I thought this was a vacation. It is seeming more and more like boot camp.
Today is the 46th anniversary of Patrice and my first date. Yikes, that’s a long time ago. As you might recall you were all given an assignment last week to sign up 4,000 followers by today so I could qualify as a professional blogger in the eyes of the IRS. Unfortunately, some of you have failed me, miserably. My numbers have grown from 250 to 297. I did some calculations and at this rate, I will hit my target in 68 years.
Moving on, today we head for the Atacama desert. How appropriate since it was my friend Greg who recommended we include this spot on our trip. Greg has been a friend of mine since we were in our early 20s. He was Patrice’s boyfriend during high school and the person who introduced us.
For those of you who don’t know the story here it is. In 1972 Greg and I went to a going away party for a mutual friend. Patrice was there and we spent almost the entire night talking to each other. It was clear to me that this was the woman who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so clear to her. In December 1972 she got married to someone else (I agree, big mistake on her part). I next saw her at a party at the newlywed’s house. I had just broken up with my girlfriend and was feeling pretty low. And here I had to see the woman of my dreams living with a guy who was so proud that his refrigerator was packed with beer. Ugh, such a juvenile! Years passed and I’d always check in with Greg to see how Patrice was doing. Then the phone call came. Greg told me that Patrice was getting a divorce and would be interested in going out on a date with me. This was in late November 1976 at a time that I was planning a trip to the Bay Area to visit the woman I had been dating during my internship. The romance Gods were active because I got ill with Chicken Pox (yes at 27 years old) and canceled my trip. Instead, after I recovered from my illness I called Patrice and we went out for the first time (Old Venice Noodle Company which unfortunately didn’t last as long as our marriage). Yes, yes, I know this is a hokey story but that’s the kind of guy I am.
The young lovers shortly after they started dating. Is it my imagination but does Patrice look like she is in pain?
As I said earlier we were on our way to Atacama today. We spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express at the airport and it was very nice. We slept well except for the 1 AM call from our grandson (8 pm his time). It was only a short walk across the street to the Santiago airport. The airport is also known as Arturo Merino Benítez airport (named after a Chilean aviator who founded the country’s air force in 1930) and Nuevo Pudahuel Airport (Pudahuel is the region in which the facility is located). The check-in process is highly automated. If you only have one bag to check you merely scan your boarding pass and receive a tag for your bag. You then go to the baggage drop-off area and once again scan your boarding pass. You then place your baggage on the conveyor belt, scan the baggage tag, and then it is on its way. Very simple, no? Well of course not in our case. We needed to consult with 3 different LATAM employees (one twice) in order to accomplish this “automated” feat.
While waiting for our flight I took advantage of one of the several charging stations located throughout the terminal. Free charging and free very fast internet service are available. This place is very nice.
Typing and charging while waiting for our flight.
We arrived in Atacama after a 1-hour and 40-minute flight. Things were going great until just before landing when we had a lot of turbulence. I was petrified but I made eye contact with a nearby flight attendant who assured me this was all routine. We were picked up at the airport and taken to the Explora resort in Atacama. This ride typically takes about 1:15 but in our case, it took close to 2 hours because of mining equipment that was partially blocking the highway. Since our arrival was delayed we missed lunch but they were nice enough to get us something very tasty from the bar (Hake and pureed vegetables). Then it was a quick change of clothes for our afternoon excursion. I was not very impressed at first when we were walking through a hot and windy area with salt deposits on the hills. It was interesting but 10 minutes of this would have sufficed for me. I was very happy to see the van which then drove us to a lookout that was very impressive. It was also incredibly windy. See below.
You can’t see much of the sight but you can see that we are holding on to our hats and I am bracing myself due to the steep hill. Are we having fun yet?Here is the sight that you can’t see in the previous picture. It was a lovely view but not worth the effort. My back is killing me tonight.
I am hopeful that tomorrow will be more interesting but now it is time for dinner.
It is our getaway day from Rapa Nui and this morning I got a real naturalist experience that would make Charles Darwin or Thor Heyerdahl very proud. I awoke early as usual and felt an itchy bump on my hand. Hmmm, “Mosquito bite?” I wondered. I didn’t recall any malaria warnings for this trip but it did set my mind in motion. I recalled that Patrice had noted some ants near the window (far from my side of the bed) when we arrived. She told the hotel staff who dutifully came and applied a “natural” remedy. Sorry if this offends anyone but other than bringing in a cat to deal with a rat problem I want to deal with pests by bringing in cancer-causing, teratogenic chemicals to, as my favorite comedian George Carlin would put it, “Wax the M-F’ers”. If you don’t know the routine to which I refer please watch and listen to his hilarious discussion about germs. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X29lF43mUlo
Those of you who know me well can easily imagine my active mind started to roll into action. Ants plus an itchy bump led me to the only possible conclusion which was that my body was being overrun by Chilean red ants with a predilection for elderly American males invading their turf. Patrice was still sound asleep and I didn’t want to alarm her or even disturb her in the slightest so I marched on by myself. My mind would not stop. I started to itch in a variety of places. I then positioned my phone to take a selfie to see if I could identify any unwanted visitors on my body, my pillow, or the bed. I couldn’t see the picture immediately because the flash from my phone camera rendered me blind for a minute or two. When I was finally able to see I examined all areas on the picture without identifying any alien creatures.
No signs of any ants. Did I miss them?
I then decided to read my book with the hope that I could distract myself, but no such luck. I suppose I can be partially forgiven for obsessing over this issue when my reading was interrupted by an ant walking across my screen. I dealt with that critter and then turned on my light to search for more but without any success. I didn’t see any evidence of a foreign invasion. At this point, I had two questions 1.) What was going on with my body? and 2.) How could Patrice sleep through all this?
I tried to return to my book but it was a futile attempt even though I only saw the one ant on my phone I was convinced my entire body was being taken over by these unpleasant visitors. Unable to sleep I had to take another look. Much to my chagrin, my worst fear was confirmed. There were ants in my bed. See this picture of a few casualties of my war with nature.
A this point it was clear I was not going back to sleep but my question was, should I wake Patrice? I decided against that but I had to shower to clear my body of any other undesirables. If that would wake her up I could only hope an apology would suffice. Before taking the shower I took one more look for any survivors of my counter-assault. I didn’t see any. Was it possible there were only about ten? Could this just have been a squad sent out on a reconnaissance mission in search of food with the remainder of the regimen remaining at their base camp near the window? I took a quick run to the bathroom to consider my options then returned to the bed for one more look. Sure enough, I found two more enemy troops. I disposed of them and headed for the shower. Sleep was not in my immediate future.
After showering I stayed out of the bed and got dressed. I read my book until Patrice woke up and then I appraised her of the situation. We packed and went to breakfast. I stopped off at the front desk to tell them of the problem. Just in case my Spanish wasn’t adequate I brought along evidence.
I am sure you can figure it out but HORMIGAS = ANTS.
After breakfast we brought all our gear to the van and were escorted on a tour of Rano Kau which is a very impressive volcanic crater on the southwest side of the isle. We then toured the visitor center and took a short walk around the area learning more about the history of the island.
Rano Kau Volcanic Crater. The picture doesn’t do it justice. It is a spectacular sight.Patrice at the edge of Rano Kau with the “ant killer”.
After Rano Kau it was time to head for the airport. Patrice and I requested a stop at a local market prior to heading to the airport. The guides were not crazy about the idea but they finally agreed. We are always interested in getting some local flavor and if possible interact with the residents rather than just experiencing the tourist attractions when we are on vacation. This was a short stop and very much worth our time (I can’t speak for the guides). After that it was on to the airport which as it turns out was literally walking distance from the market. This is a small place.
From Rapa Nui we flew back to Santiago where we checked into the Holiday Inn at the airport. We will fly out tomorrow morning to Atacama desert. It is late here and we will be going to bed soon. Thank you so much for all the great comments the past few days. I will try to reply to them tomorrow if possible.
Yesterday afternoon we had our first opportunity to see the Moai statues and we were not disappointed. It is estimated that these enormous statues were constructed from 1400 (we have read and heard this date to be as early as 1000 and as late as 1400 AD) to 1600 AD. They first became a major tourist attraction due to the work of the American anthropologist, William Molloy. Previously these gigantic art masterpieces had been knocked over and were horizontal. Thanks to the efforts of Molloy (and lots of machinery and strong backs) these goliaths were uprighted beginning in about 1960 and soon after a tourist attraction was born. The first commercial flight to the island occurred in 1967
Our first look at the Moai statues of Rapa Nui on yesterday’s afternoon excursion.
Today we were given the opportunity to see the Moai accented by the sunrise providing what we were told would be a majestic experience. One of us took advantage of this opportunity (me) and the other (Patrice) chose to sleep. Patrice definitely made the better decision. It was quite cold this morning and very cloudy. Although what I saw was very lovely all I kept thinking was how nice it would be to be in a cozy warm bed.
One of the giant statues highlighted by our guide’s spotlight.Silhouette view. I think if it hadn’t been so cloudy this truly would have been spectacular. Isn’t this a great shot with the moon in the background?Do I look like I thought a 6:00 am departure was a good idea?
After the morning excursion, I returned to the hotel to join Patrice for breakfast and a brief rest. Then it was back on the road to seek out some more sights worth viewing.
Who looks like they got more sleep. Be kind!
This afternoon we had a great time going to the quarry where apparently all the Moai were carved. There are close to 900 of these incredible statues on the island and about 400 of them are at this one location. Here are some pictures of my favorites
The white patches are Lichen. This is a combination of algae and fungi that eats away at the sculptures and risks turning the statues into rectanular blocks (in 100 years). Getting tired of looking at Moai. Last one, I promise.Was Patrice trying to tell me something with a smile while sitting next to this sign?
Tomorrow is our last morning on the island. We head back to the mainland in the afternoon and then the next day we will fly to the Atacama desert.
Patrice and I had a nice dinner last night at “Bocanariz”, a good but not great restaurant close to the hotel. Our server didn’t speak a word of English until it came time to bring us the check when he announced “The tip is not included”. After dinner we wandered the streets and found a variety of shops, restaurants, and street vendors. The most interesting sight was a group of young street dancers (more appropriately called gymnasts) who were showing off their talents in the middle of the street. You would think once they saw cars they would vacate but that wasn’t the case. Watch this video.
Street performers stop traffic Santiago, Chile.
Today we left the hotel at 6:00 AM to catch our flight to Easter Island, also know as Isla Pascua (in Spanish), and Rapa Nui (in Rapa Nui). From Santiago the flight is 5 hours and 20 minutes. That’s why most travelers (including Chileans) have not visited this tiny UNESCO World Heritage Site (designated as such on March 22, 1996). It is also why, when I suggested it to Patrice she said “You want to go where?” Wait until she sees the Moai sculptures. She will change her tune (I hope).
On the plane to Rapa Nui I watched a movie and read part of my book. Then I had a conversation with my new BFF, Charly. See below.
Charly (aka Carlos) is a school teacher who lives on Rapa Nui. For some reason he wound up seated between Patrice and me. So he had the worst of both worlds. He had to endure Patrice climbing over him to get to the bathroom (although I have to admit I like those adventures when I am seated next to her) and on his other side he had me bending his ear.
Charly explained the route the plane needed to take in order to land on the island. I immediately asked the flight attendant if it was too late to return to the mainland. The landing was indeed an adventure. I witnessed the entire event out the window. It looked much scarier than it felt. I saw that tiny island that we needed to approach at a steep angle and I was not happy. In retrospect if Charly hadn’t mentioned anything I probably would have been playing backgammon on my phone and not noticed a thing. Oops did I say playing backgammon? I meant I would have been too busy reading medical journals to notice the landing.
Shortly before landing we were told that Patrice and I were randomly selected to be tested for covid. We will get the results in 24 hours, so if we test positive we might not be able to return to the USA for a while.
While on the island we are staying at the Explora Hotel-Rapa Nui. After a brief tour of the layout of the hotel we had lunch and it was amazing. I had the catch of the day which was fantastic. For dessert I had crepes that were beyond words (so look at the picture). I won’t bore you with Patrice’s meal because it wasn’t as memorable (and because I forgot to take pictures).
A local fish called Toremo. As you can tell I was too hungry to wait to take a picture.Crepes Suzette. Let me just say my mouth is watering from just looking at the picture.
We had our first Moai sighting while at lunch. See below.
Butter shaped to resemble a Moai sculpture.
After lunch it was off to see some real Moai. More about that tomorrow.
We left Los Angeles at 1:10 pm flying to Miami then on to Santiago arriving shortly after 8 AM local time which translates to 3 AM back home. Arrival at the Santiago airport (SCL) went quite smoothly. The immigration area had a tremendous number of people but things went very smoothly. I think the rapidity of turnover had to do with their excellent system. See below.
Numerous agents, each identified with large numbers. You can see the sign (between the 14 and 15) that informs you of the next available agent. If you don’t go to your assigned agent fast enough this woman shoots you. Lucky for some of the passengers she was more interested in using her phone rather than doing her job.It was our turn and number 22 was available. Annie Oakley sent us to 14 and I was not about to argue thinking we might have been interrupting a game of “Mortal Kombat” on her phone.
Outside immigration we were greeted by our guide, Mauricio, and driver, Pablo. They escorted us to the car and then it was off to the hotel where I was looking forward to a nice nap. We arrived at the hotel at about 8 AM, and our room was not ready. So instead of a nap, we went on a city tour. Mauricio and Pablo were terrific. We drove and walked all over the city. Mauricio was very kind and attentive, realizing that this old body was sleep deprived. He also had lots of fun facts about Chile and more specifically Santiago. We went to a lovely Neptune fountain (see below). Mauricio told us about the fountain but all I remember is that young people come here at night for romantic interludes
Here were are in front of the fountain as I try to convince Patrice to come back after dinner.
Mauricio also pointed out a bar where Bill Clinton had his driver pull over so he could relieve himself. Apparently, it was such a monumental event they renamed the bar. See below.
Mauricio said that La Pica is slang for a place that is little known but very good.
After touring for about 4 hours we returned to our hotel (Singular Hotel: Merced 294, Santiago, Región Metropolitana). The staff, as has been our experience on all our recent trips, was wonderful.
While we waited to register a bellman handed us some treats. They won me over with chocolate.
The room is very nicely sized with a beautiful bathroom. We won’t be here long since we leave at 6 AM to head to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) so not much time to enjoy the accommodations.
Tonight it will be all about getting rested, cleaned up, and of course dinner. See you tomorrow at Easter Island.
Patrice and I are leaving for our vacation in Chile. I should be excited, happy, and full of anticipation but no, I am on the verge of tears. Is it because our airport transport person is a terrible driver and I want to strangle her? In reality, she is a wonderful driver and a gorgeous young lady. She is the reason I’m close to tears. You’ve probably already guessed that our driver is our daughter, Erica. Unfortunately in two days, she will be returning to Madrid. I just need to be grateful that she is healthy and enjoying her life in Spain. Easy to say, hard to do.
Robert, Patrice, and Erica at LAX, smiling now but just seconds before tears come streaming down my face.
You might be asking “Why Chile?” Good question. The answer is a bit complicated. In August 2017 we traveled to Nashville to see the solar eclipse on the 21st. We saw about 97% but clouds prevented us from seeing the totality. So in December 2020, we planned to go to Chile to see this glorious event on the 14th. Unfortunately, Covid 19 closed down the world and one more time we were denied this pleasure. The company told us the hotels would not refund our deposits which was not an insignificant amount of money. So they kept in contact with us and now we are on our way. The tour company comes very highly recommended. They have set us up with lots of fun activities but unfortunately, they failed miserably in their attempt to get the eclipse rescheduled.
This is just a travel day and we haven’t even left Los Angeles yet. I’m hopeful that you enjoy following us on our journey. I do have one small request. My financial advisor told me that if I had one million followers on my blog I could write off all my trips as a legitimate tax deduction. I currently have about 250 followers. So if each of you could call, email, or text 4,000 of your friends and relatives I should be all set. Do you think you could get this done by Monday? Erica just had a great idea. No need to bother your friends and family. If you have their contact information just sign them up for a blog subscription. I am sure that will be very grateful. Heck, think of it as a holiday present to them. It shouldn’t take you more than about 100 hours to get 4,000 people signed up. Get to it, we need to board our plane otherwise I would offer to help.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 