Leaving the Northlands and heading south we had an overnight stop in Hamilton so that we could visit the only tea plantation in New Zealand on the outskirts of the town.

The Zeelong tea estate was founded by Mr Chen and his son who noticed that the flowering Camelia grew profusely in the area, in his homeland of Taiwan it was used to make tea. Starting with only one hundred and thirty cuttings they have gone on to propagate over 1.2 million tea plants producing Oolong tea. The estate is picture perfect with beautifully maintained growing fields a main office building and separate visitors centre built in very modern designs with both garden and grounds home to numerous hand crafted copper statues and sculptures. We arrived to late for the morning tour and would not be around for the afternoon tour so we settled for a pot of tea each in the restaurant area and on leaving we purchased a sample pack to take home with us.

Art Deco was calling so we hit the road and headed for Napier finding a freedom campsite overlooking the beach and only a short walk into town.

The museum had a very informative display of photographs, newspaper cuttings and information displays on the 1931 earthquake that devastated both Napier and the nearby town of Hastings as well as a video of survivors reliving their individual memories of that day which was very poignant. The rebuilding of the town coincided with the popularity of the Art Deco style shaping the design of the majority of the new buildings. Unfortunately the modern trend of large shop fronts has detracted from the beauty of Art Deco leaving the original designs mostly above ground level. However this has not stopped the city celebrating its uniqueness by having an Art Deco festival at the beginning of March each year.

The rubble from the collapsed buildings was used to rebuild the towns sea defences along the beach front with extensive landscaping to create a promenade which has overtime been developed to cater for all ages providing sunken gardens, seating areas around water features, skateboard and bmx ramps, a marine aquarium and numerous areas with play and fitness equipment.

The next stop was to satisfy Charles desire to visit the museum in North Palmerston dedicated to the history of the All Blacks which he found was fascinating, a small museum that managed to have displays about all the rugby union playing countries of the world. The two things that he learnt was that a) the first official New Zealand Rugby team shirt was purple with a fern in gold thread for the badge and b) the first wearing of the famous black shirt with a silver fern was actually by the 1888 New Zealand Natives (a Maori team and unofficial NZ Rugby team).

They travelled to Australia, Egypt and the British Isles in what has proved to be the longest tour in the history of rugby (108 matches in fourteen months) and becoming known as the All Blacks and were one of the most successful All Black touring sides in history.

I left Charles to his rugby and took myself off to explore the museum and gallery which was in the same complex and I was treated to the best display of ceramics I have seen in one place all by various artists. I am not a Lego person but my curiosity took me to the upper floor of the museum where there was a Lego display I was impressed, not only did they have large models of various personalities from Star Wars and the spaceships, the really big Wow was watching a video of an artist who had used Lego for his medium and created some spectacular works of art which were on display in New York certainly someone I shall look out for.

Having met up for coffee we took a stroll around the town and took a few pics.

Our final destination on North island was Owhiro bay a marine reserve on the outskirts of Wellington to be on hand to catch the ferry the next morning. Yet another freedom campsite which we shared with many like minded travellers. We arrived on what was an extremely hot afternoon so kept cool in the camper van all windows and doors open encouraging a cooling sea breeze to waft through. Later when early evening bought some cooler weather we stepped out for a walk along the beach (really a shingle path) aiming for The Red rocks and Bach’s (kiwi version of a beach hut)

Tomorrow the final leg of our journey.

Whangerai delivered a pleasant surprise by way of its river setting and a spectacular garden created within a disused quarry. After strolling along the river bank into the harbour area and indulging in a massive ice cream

we made our way to the quarry garden located on the outskirts of town, a walk that proved longer than anticipated ( one of those where you hope your destination is just around the corner and your heart sinks to your boots when it is not) Soon forgot how tired we felt when we started to explore, plants that we would take home from the local garden centre and nurture lovingly growing naturally into trees and large shrubs paths weaving you here and there until you end up at a lake and small waterfall, BEAUTIFUL!

From Whangerei we headed to the Bay of Islands leaving the main highway to take the coast road to a small town called Russell. A spectacular drive up and down a mountainous rd that ran parallel to the sea the occasional bay coaxing us in to take a closer look finally arriving at our destination late afternoon. We took a stroll around the town and promenade which boasted a swish looking hotel and a fig tree approx 200 years old. There were no facilities for parking the camper van overnight so we found a quiet lay by on the ferry road parked and set up our table and chairs, turned out we were next to a conservation area and the start of a nature walk. Quietly sipping our wine we were joined by a small family of what we thought were long tail tits then low and behold as they alighted on the tree branches their tails spread up and out like fans, unfortunately we were to slow to get a photograph. But we did photo them another day and this is them.

The ferry crossing next morning was really short as we were only crossing a small estuary which linked Russell and the main Bay of Islands town called Paihia which lacked the elegance of Russell and was obviously catering for the tourist trade. We made our way to the nearby Waitangi treaty grounds sited on a headland where the Treaty house was built in 1832 for a British resident and Crown Representative named James Busby and where forty three Maori chiefs signed the treaty of Waitangi with the British crown thus becoming part of the British empire. Across the lawn from the house a Maori meeting house was built in 1940 to mark the centenary of the treaty, the entrance and interior were beautifully carved. We and other visitors were treated to a typical Maori welcome and inside entertained with a Maori song and dance display.

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From Waitangi we headed for the lakes on the west coast but not before stopping to see Tane Mahuta ( the largest Kauri tree alive at 51.5 metres tall and a girth of 13.8 metres), this tree is estimated to be 2000 years old. The Kauri are an endangered species due to a disease that is decimating the forests, therefore the authorities are very strict on you cleansing your footwear before and after entering the forests and that you stay on the designated tracks. (On entering the country customs were very keen that anyone with hiking boots that had been hiking in foreign parts declared this as they went through or face a hefty fine, thankfully we passed muster. 😁

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We arrived at the lakes in time to snap a fabulous sunset and engage in a friendly conversation with a fellow camper who gave us plenty of tips on places to visit on South Island. Not somewhere that enticed us to stay longer so headed across to Napier on the east coast.

Stopping off on the way at a place called Dargaville as the local museum intrigued me. What a gem for a small museum it was jam packed with loads of interesting items all donated by local townsfolk. The highlight was the history of the gum diggers from which the town has grown. They were mainly immigrants from Dalmatia (now known as Croatia) and what a hard life it would have been. The gum was dug from the ground by hand then cleaned and sorted, some of the pieces on display looked very similar to amber.

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Our plane hit the tarmac with the rain lashing down around us, we had arrived in the rainy season!! It was 1am and we had nowhere to go until the ferries started running. So along with a few other bedraggled and weary passengers we hunkered down for a long wait.

It is interesting watching how people occupy that vacuum of time between travel connections. A few bodies catching up on lost sleep, baggage doubling as pillows or grasped securely by hands that slowly loosen their grip as relaxing sleep takes over, faces staring vacantly into space the mind a million miles away, restless souls trundling back and forth with baggage trolleys piled high. Then a hive of activity as the lights go on and the coffee shop bursts into action and like moths to a light we are all drawn towards it, coffee and croissants have never tasted so good.

We board the ferry with a warning from the captain that it is going to be a bumpy ride what an understatement! It is a long time since I have experienced anything as bad, the only way to deal with it was to fully recline the seat and take long deep breaths for the duration of the journey which thankfully was only around forty five minutes. Stepping off the ferry the rain still bouncing off the pavements low heavy cloud shrouded the mountains that dominated the island giving them a dark mysterious feel.

Charles went off in search of a car hire whilst I stayed with the bags. I watched as a woman set up an artistic display of fruit and struck up a conversation with a group of women who appeared to just be passing the time of day but whom it turned out were taxi drivers waiting for fares, they informed me that all the rain was normal for the time of year but it was expected to get better later in the week I hope.

We travelled along the one and only road that ran the thirty five mile circumference of the island flanked on one side by the lagoon and the other the densely covered mountains with evidence of the torrential rain all around, swathes of land under water and vegetation strewn across the road, so the rain continued into and throughout the night.

The following day the rain had become intermittent so we set off to explore the island stopping at various points that looked interesting. Wherever we drove the jagged tops of mountains were ever present a vivid contrast to the calm lagoon with its contrasting shades of blue.

Moorea is a small island encircled by a coral reef over which the waves of the Pacific Ocean gently roll creating a vision of pure tranquility. There is no central hub to the island, retail outlets are situated around the many hotel complexes catering for the tourist trade with local crafts and the famous black Tahitian pearls and supermarkets can be found dotted along the road of the residential areas. The local economy obviously depends on the tourist trade through either the island hotels or many cruise ships such as Cunards flagship the Queen Elizabeth and Wind Spirit an automated four masted sailing ship.

There is evidence of a few small holdings raising a few cattle and a pineapple farm cut into the dense vegetation of the mountainside which supplies a juice making factory situated along the roadside that displays a large sign inviting visitors to view the process. Like a lot of beautiful small islands the big hotels have taken over the best of the beaches building large complexes that appear to be self sufficient offering guests all the amenities they could wish for so very few tourists are seen around the island other than those transported from the cruise ships or the more adventurous escapees from the hotel resorts on their mini mokes.

Off we went to explore the island in our hire car finding our way up the one road that veered off the coast road into the mountains up to the Belvedere viewing point that gave us a great view down onto Cooks bay and Opunohu bay the latter being the actual bay in which captain Cook moored many years ago. The two bays are separated by the volcanic peak of Mt Rotui, a single peak that rises out of the lowlands of the northern half of the island.

Back down we came and as the map indicated you could come down a different route we followed the map, well it was more a dirt track than a road and better suited to off road vehicles than a Dacia car but we bumped our way around potholes and ditches until we hit tarmac with a great sigh of relief.

The rain finally gave way to sunshine on our penultimate day so we headed for the beach finding some shade we settled in with beach mats and towels thoughtfully provided by our host. What a great day warm lagoon water to cool off in watching birds come and go on the remains of a mango tree growing out of the water, a wader nonchalantly fishing off the coral, a fleeting visit by a white egret and low and behold a single ray coming right up to the waters edge.

We watched with curiosity as a man came along the beach sat on the waters edge and proceeded to sharpen a knife then noisily clean something he had in a large plastic box, next he swims out into the lagoon and deposits the fruits of his labour into the lagoon??? All is revealed later when we see a dark fin in the lagoon and people leaving the water, yes a shark was in the water, we discovered later that the man had been cutting up a grouper fish.

Not only had we come here in the rainy season but also during a cyclone so more rain than was usual at this time of year and hence the really high winds. Thankfully we had rented a nice Airbnb bungalow set in the owners beautiful garden so we could come and go as we pleased. Now rested we are ready to continue the next and final leg of  our journey four weeks in a camper van around New Zealand.

We all have dreams or aspirations and this particular dream came out of Charles childhood, as a child like now he would read anything that captured his imagination and amongst the many childhood classics he can remember reading at the age of eleven a magazine story about Thor Heyerdahl who had visited Easter Island to investigate the famous Easter island statues. The reason for Heyerdahl’s visit was to re assemble a fallen statue back upon its base proving techniques that the local oral history believed were first used around 700AD. The photos that accompanied this article showed oversized human like figures with dramatic facial features towering over Thor and his fellow workers. Charles childhood dream at that time was to one day visit and see these statues for himself. Fifty years later his dream has come true and here We are on the island learning a lot more about these enigmatic figures.

Interestingly although he was 11 when He read the article, the visit of Heyerdahl had taken place in 1956 the year of his birth, that surely was destiny in action.

In the seventeen hundreds European explorers came across this uncharted but populated island and decided as their arrival coincided with easter it should be called Easter Island choosing to overlook that the island already had a name – Rapa Nui.

After a 6 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean from mainland Chile and a warm welcome from our hosts at the airport

We had arrived and our arrival coincided with the annual festival known as Tapati. During the Tapati celebration, the town is divided in two, each part constituting an “alliance” or clan representing the ancient races of the island. Each clan chooses a queen to represent and “lead” them during the competitions and the winner will have the right to the title of “Queen of the Island” for that year. It’s not a beauty contest, but rather a peaceful confrontation between the two clans that will compete through the days and night; where each participant will be able to express their physical and artistic skills to earn points for each candidate. The queen of the clan with the most points will win the crown. skills to earn points for each candidate. The queen of the clan with the most points will win the crown.

We enjoyed an early evening drink overlooking the local main bay full of surfers, body boarders and surf canoeists whilst behind us a football match on the small stadium pitch was in progress.

Afterwards we followed the crowds to a park area with stage and stalls and we found ourselves at the front of a standing area behind the main seating and took up position centre stage. We could see a darkened stage full of people and the sound of musicians, it soon became clear the entertainment was warming up and we awaited the beginning of the show

About 10.00pm the stage lights came on and a brief introduction began. The only part in English was hello welcome and enjoy the show. The rest in local dialect was lost upon us but we soon realised that the event was a competition of 2 groups and was one of the Tapati events

The 2 groups of about 150 people in total were spread across the stage with the left side all dressed in a purple costume and the right side in yellow. They took it in turns to sing and dance to songs with each group having their own musicians sat amongst them.

The stage was a riot of colour from costumes and outfits including headdresses with waves of sound leading the different troupes into their songs. Mostly the dancers only came forward to front of stage for their own troupe but occasionally a dancer would get up to dance with the other troupe and sometimes the opposition would invite a dancer to join them.

The songs and dances were telling the groups interpretation of a given theme and it was this that the judges at a table front centre stage seemed to be noting down as they marked.

It was an amazing spectacle and the enjoyment that their energy, skill and musicianship provided was something we will never forget. We left the show just before 1.00am and the sounds followed us all the way back to our hotel 1/2 a mile away. We learnt the next day the purple team had won and the event continued until about 3.00 am! Stamina indeed

For our second day we had booked a guided tour of the statue sites across the island. Our email confirmation for the 9.30 am tour had said we would be picked up around 10.00 so we were in the middle of getting up and ready when the hotel staff were knocking on our room telling us the tour had arrived. When we got down to reception we were informed they had gone to collect other guests and would be back. Explaining to our Guide “Rodriguez” the misunderstanding he apologised and said don’t worry we go by island time meaning whenever.

The schedule for the full day tour was to visit 5 different sites including the quarry where all the statues had been carved and transported from so we set off to begin our introduction to the world of the Moai (Mo-eye) to give the statues their symbolic name

In setting the scene for our tour three things we learnt were;

Family groups formed village like settlements wherever they found sources of fresh water. Being an island of no rivers due to the porous geology they sought out natural springs and settled nearby

Chickens were a sacred animal and would only be eaten at the annual sacred day

At some time in the history of the Rapa Nui the old ways had been challenged and Statue sites demolished. This led to a dark period as our guide called it where villages would raid other settlements and slaughter each other.

Our first site was Tahai near to the main town and we learnt as the day went on it was a site that gave the most informative introduction into the ancient ways of the first Rapa Nui settlers. This was a small cove giving access to the sea for the outrigger canoes they use and good level land with a small cave like outcrop. The families had created a village settlement of stone chicken coops and defensive shelters, sacred plinths and statues and dwellings they called boat houses.

You will notice the chicken coops have no obvious door and the entrance hole when filled with a special stone would be invisible to strangers

The defensive shelters were formed by enclosing the cave outcrops to give protection from any outsiders attacking the village.

In time the village would construct a sacred area with Moai statues. Those members of the village who were respected for their wisdom and ability would often be honoured by the carving of a Moai. The purpose being to allow that persons spirit to continue to guide over years to come. This was effected by placing certain skeletal remains into a depression on the Ahu (the stone plinth platform) onto which the Moai were placed. The idea being the Moai absorbs the spirit from the remains and transmits into the village through its eyes This is also why the Moai are facing into the village even in coastal settings

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We then travelled onto Rano Raraku the site of the ancient quarry where all the Moai on the island came from. The site is one of the many volcanic cones on the island and an eruption back in the mists of time had blown off the cone forming a summit caldera and lake.

The quarry is in the outer cliff face of the volcano and is dotted with Moai in various positions standing, laying down and partially buried as well as partially carved and still attached to the cliff face. One unusual Moai still on the side of the quarry complete but not moved down the cliff face is a kneeling position Moai. The only one of its kind for reasons unknown?

The most contentious subject for years is how were these statues moved. The largest is 10m tall and estimated to weigh 80 tonnes. But oral tradition and scientific tests have shown that they were moved in an upright position and through the use of manpower and ropes they would rock the moai on their base and use that movement to give a forward momentum that made the statues literally walk across the island

Near to the quarry is one of the most impressive village sites containing 15 Moai. as well as numerous boat house remains. stone greenhouses and artistic impressions (or petroglyphs to give them their name) of sacred images. It is no coincidence it was such a major settlement as being in the shadows of Rano Raraku it was home to many of the stone carvers and quarry workers

The petroglyphs record images of importance. Below you can see a face with a protruding tongue which is a threatening sign of warning to outsiders (Hoko it is called similar to the Maori Haka), a large image of a yellow fin tuna considered valuable as a great source of protein and which based on size of image would have been about 150kg and an image representing the bird man culture which was part of the changing beliefs in the dark period.

After visiting a couple of other sites we finished our tour at Akahena beach, this is the site were the first Rapa Nui travellers landed in their outrigger canoes and began to settle this uninhabited island. The oral history says they came from an island in the Marquesas chain of Polynesian islands and had sought new lands because there home was disappearing (probably due to volcanic activity)

It was interesting to see the first settlement and my point of destination, as this is where Thor Heyerdahl visited all those years ago. Unfortunately the sunlight as wrong for a great picture but it still was an impressive vision.

Our final day was going to be a long one as our flight was set for midnight and yet we were checking out of our room for 11.00am! The hotel said leave your luggage and use the lounge areas and pool showers later on to freshen up before they took us to the airport about 10.30pm

So we decided to wander into town for a breakfast which was very nice salmon cheese bagels and waffles with fruit and then go for a walk through the north side of town visiting the cemetery as the gravestones were reported to be very unusual and walked along the coast to and beyond our first site Tahai.

The cemetery was colourful and different to what we are used to.

After waking the coastline and going to the next bay after Tahai we found a nice rocky cove with dramatic surf on the incoming tide and spotted the remains of an impromptu ceviche picnic of lime juice cooked sea urchins. All that remained were lime husks and sea urchin spiny shells

And so our brief visit to Easter Island/Rapa Nui came to an end. We packed a lot into our time and were exhausted after the grand tour but as an island it was enjoyable, entertaining and welcoming.

Thank you Thor Heyerdahl for the dream and thank you people of Rapa Nui for everything you shared and the memories you have given us

Lorana (goodbye)

Spending a few days in Santiago prior to saying goodbye to mainland Chile and flying onto Easter island gave us the opportunity to catch up on things we had missed first time around when the time we had planned was curtailed due to our flight to Santiago being delayed for a few days leaving us stranded in Madrid.

Our first task was to return the spare set of keys to our previous landlord which somehow had found their way into Charles’s bag?We then headed for the main park area where a vernacular railway took you to the highest point in the city from which you had great views over Santiago. En route we came across the museum of art so popped in to have a look. What a great building, you enter into a large open space dominated by a glass atrium with the various galleries leading off, they housed a mix of modern and traditional artwork as well as some amazing sculptures. Having had a dose of culture we stopped off in Santiago’s famous Belles des Artes area for a coffee and the best chocolate cheesecake ever before making our way to the park and joining the back of the queue for the vernacular railway.

It was a long way up and I was glad to step onto good old terra firma but the view was worth it as the city sprawled out below dominated by the mountains acting as a backdrop. At the highest point was a chapel which was used when the pope visited Santiago and the way into the chapel area was flanked by a number of crosses bearing some interesting art work.

We had decided to walk back down through the park as we wanted to visit the Japanese garden that was advertised at the same time experiencing what the park had to offer, big mistake. This was not a park as we know them instead a busy park road wound it’s way back down with the occasional sign directing you to an allocated area that had been cultivated to grow various types of planting. Eventually after a long arduous trek we saw the sign for the Japanese garden, great, as we approached out came the cameras and after taking a few shots of the external landscaping headed for the gate, it was locked! Could you believe it. Taking respite on the nearby wall excitement loomed as the gate opened but no the worker that emerged explained it was closed to the public as it was being renovated. Somehow with the bit of Spanish that he knew Charles explained that we were members of the Japanese garden society and had come especially to see the garden and take photos for an intended article for the society’s magazine.It worked we went through the gate and yes it was definitely undergoing some major change. The architect responsible came to greet us and explained what the original layout looked like and how they were planning to expand it with some hard landscaping and new planting, his biggest difficulty he said was the planting as Chileans like to touch and feel where as the beauty of a Japanese garden is absorbed through the eyes.

On our second day we decided to have a lazy one as we were exhausted from the day before so we walked to the Cultural centre which was only a few blocks from our apartment. It had originally been built to house a Latin American conference but was now a community space housing works of art, a restaurant and cafe but was mainly used by young artistes as a drop in space in which to freely practise their various talents. We watched as a couple practised the Argentine tango without music next to a group of hip hop dancers with music on full blast, in another space a girl dancing with a pyramid made of metal tubes and a modern dance group practised side by side all seemingly lost in their own art.

Our final day and I was on a mission to return to the main square and locate the old man I had seen previously that created pieces of art by painstakingly hammering patterns into pieces of copper, I had promised myself that I would return and buy one. As we entered the square the inevitable sound of music could be heard a Samba band was in full swing inspiring people to get up and dance. We took some time to sit and enjoy the music before resuming my quest. I found my man in his original spot and he took great pride  in explaining which each piece represented. With my chosen piece carefully wrapped and under my arm we went on to visit the cultural history museum where Charles found his own personal guide having struck up a conversation with a man who had worked for a number of years in Edinburgh as an accountant.

Our final visit of the day was to Pinochets secret police headquarters renowned for its imprisonment and torture of people who opposed his regime. An innocuous building on one of the two prettiest streets in the city it looked like any other residential building that surrounded it. Inside there was very little information regarding its history and apart from a desk for the receptionist it was just a shell of a building leaving your own imaginings to conjure up what it must have been like in its day.

Back to the apartment to pack our bags for the last time on mainland Chile. What a spectacular time we have had, it’s had it’s highs and lows but mainly highs and a lesson learnt ie investing time in planning can save time and money but hey

C’est la vie onwards we go.

We continue our journey along Route5 to catch the ferry to the isle of Chiloé then along the Panamericana to the islands main town of Castro. a bustling town where like most South American towns the main square acts as a magnet drawing everyone in. Impromptu stalls appear selling anything and everything, entertainment on tap, we sat and listened to one band for nearly a couple of hours and they were still playing when we passed by a few hours later (Amerikantu check them out on Facebook,Charles has posted a short video or YouTube)

The main attraction for visiting Chiloé  are the UNESCO listed wooden churches which I have to say are awesome when you step inside and admire the detailing of the carvings and inner structure. The other attraction are the palafitos which are wooden houses where the back is built on stilts that overhang the water and act as piers when the tide is in.

Strolling back from visiting the Palafitos we watched the fisherman tending their mussel beds and caught sight of a flock of black headed swans obviously unique to the area or migratory birds.

I bet your thinking Kendal, Keswick, Beatrix Potter, Borrowgates and Lake Windermere

Well you would be wrong we are talking Los Lagos in Chile and whilst it does have a similar feel it is different.

Looking out of the window of the mini bus taking us from the airport to Puerto Varas I thought we had returned to the U.K. green fields, trees and herds of cows merrily munching the lush grass, then as we entered the town and dropped down towards the lake there they were, two snow topped volcanoes as a backdrop to the sparkling water reminding me we were still in Chile.

Lago Llanquihue was our lake of choice and in Puerto Varas we had found a nice guest house in an area of the town known as the Monumentos Nacionales area where a refurbishment project is currently underway to restore the original buildings and as you walk around you get a sense of being in a German alpine town.

The lakes are numerous small settlements established about 120 years ago by an influx of Austrian/German immigrants who were obviously reminded of their Alpine homelands and began recreating home, their architectural heritage can still be seen in the buildings around the town and the number of German restaurants.

We took a walk along the lakeside and discovered an artisans tent full of stalls selling the usual local crafts, jams, knitted products ranging from socks to ponchos but the stall I fell in love with was selling a range of quality wooden products for pennies, back home they would cost a fortune unfortunately all to big and heavy to carry in a case. We also came across what I thought was a plastic bag on the shore line, zooming in with my camera I realised that it was a bedraggled looking egret whom  I managed later to catch admiring his reflection in the water. In the evening we sauntered into town where the crowds were gathered to watch what appeared to be the emergency services march by, later we were treated to a band entertaining everyone in the main square, they had a good sound and gave a full on performance.

Taking advantage of the local buses we visited two of the towns further around the lake, Frutillar was our first day trip and we found a very smart beach type lakeside resort. With a curious blend of local housing, schools, churches and businesses mixed in with tourist hotels, restaurants, coffee and gift shops. Frutillars big claim for being modern is they had built themselves a concert hall, the Teatro del LagoSur, right on the lakeside for an annual season of classical music festivities. A big statement of wealth and culture.

Puerto Octay was the second lakeside town we visited. Arriving in a quiet sleepy main square we found a local restaurant where we had lunch then set off to explore the lakeside. A very pretty place, Puerto Octay has somehow ( thankfully) been overlooked by the tourist trade, the people we met were locals just going about their daily lives pottering in their gardens or soaking up the sun by the lake. We did come across a strange looking bird and some great graffiti which i just had to photograph.

After taking the overnight bus from San Pedro we arrived at La Serena and leaving our bags at the bus depot headed into town to get some breakfast and find an Internet cafe. We needed to organise our onward journey from the Elqui valley as I was under the impression there would not be internet access where we were going. Turns out I was wrong we had a days extremely slow access so thankfully we did book a flight to Puerto Montt and accommodation for our next leg before heading to our pre booked accommodation on the outskirts of Vicuna.

For  some unknown reason we were under the impression that our accomodation was based in Pisce Elqui and not Vicuna so we took the bus and only when we arrived at Pisce Elqui took out the paperwork to check the address and found we should have got off in Vicuna so across the road we went and back on the bus. Having added a further hour onto our journey we finally arrived at our accommodation (Elqui Terra ) tired and bedraggled.

What an oasis of peace and tranquility Elqui Terra is. Set in a secluded spot surrounded by mountains it offers four spacious comfortable rooms with use of a communal area that contained a kitchen and dining space  where our hosts served a delicious breakfast every morning, and a lounge area all looking out large openings onto the gardens and pool area. Our hosts Roberto and Alejandra provide a great breakfast sourcing their products from the local community, jams full of fruit, avocados from a neighbour, grapes and watermelon from their garden. If you need a taxi Roberto is there to book it,we wanted to do a night visit to an observatory, I wanted a massage no sooner said than done what great hosts.

The Elqui valley is famous for its production of Pisco which has a similar taste to brandy. The grapes from which it is made can be seen growing all around the valley and spreading their way up the mountainside to heights that make you wonder how the vines are tended and the fruit harvested. Obviously we had to visit a Pisco distillery of which there were many in the valley, we opted for the one on the road to Vicuna. First was a tour of the museum area with exhibits of the original equipment used followed by a tour of the factory with its modern hi tec equipment. At one point the door of the barrel storage area was opened Wow the alcoholic fumes knocked you back, I am convinced you could get drunk just standing there and inhaling .

Following our distillery visit we headed into Vicuna stopping at an Artesan village on the way for a browse around the shops and a delicious coffee based drink topped with ice cream and cream yummy.

On our second day we decided on a walk into the village located in the opposite direction to Vicuna for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant recommended by Roberto.Setting off we walked down the track next to Elqui Terra along the side of the river  then up onto the road towards Daiguista, where we found a small artisan shop selling a mixture of ceramics and painted hessian wall hangings. Saw and purchased two of the hangings which we thought will look great above our bed at home and fit nicely into our cases.

It was an 8 km walk to the village and feeling lazy after our lunch we decided to take a taxi back. A quick dip in the pool, shower and then a massage which was done outside in a quiet part of the garden, a slight breeze lifting the white gauze sides of the massage tent while all around birds were singing what bliss and what a perfect end to our last day.

Thank you Roberto and Alejandra for making us feel at home and giving us a perfect two days, just what was needed after our busy time in San Pedro.

Jason, if you are reading this we hope you make it to Putre and enjoy it as much as we did. Stay focused and you are sure to achieve whatever you set out to do, just don’t lose your sense of adventure.

 

 

A tourist trap serving the backpackers travelling across the borders to and from Bolivia and Argentina. As you walk into town every other doorway takes you into a tour guide company or money exchange and on the back of these the obligatory bar, cafe and restaurant. Yet take one of the many tours into the surrounding area and you find yourself in a dramatic and surreal landscape.

After discarding our bags we headed into town and a variety of the tour companies to compare prices and although slightly more expensive chose a three tour package with Terra Extrema as they offered an English speaking guide and came across as more professional than the other three we had approached. We also managed to get a reduction on a fourth half day tour.

Tour 1   Valle de la Luna – we joined our fellow travellers at the Terra Extreme offices at 4pm and left to catch the sunset. Stopping first to climb to the top of a ridge from which there was a 360degree view of the valley needless to say I opted out when I saw the climb yes I would have made a valiant effort to get to the top but looking at it I knew my fear of heights would kick in then where would the group be? Instead I left the courageous ones to it and set off the lone walker on what I could see was an easier route which would still enable me to take some stunning photos.

 

Next came a trip to a “cave”  (more a large cleft in the rocks ) winding our way through we could appreciate the layered rock formation and the salts and minerals retained in them.

Then joining what appeared to be every tour bus in town it was a mad dash to catch the sunset, sorry to say disappointing probably because the sun went down quite quickly behind the mountain and very little moisture in the air to reflect light.

 

Tour2  A full day tour taking in the village of Toconao with its pretty bell Tower then onto breathtaking views as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn dropping  down to Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miniques.

Unfortunately a selfish tourist had upset the locals when he decided to go windsurfing on a lake near the red rocks where flamingoes were nesting which put a stop to future tours having full access. Fortunately our driver knew where we could have limited access for photo opportunities so managed to get some photos.

Final stop of the day was after lunch at the flamingo reserve on Salar de Atacama and stepping out the van wow was it hot obviously the salt was just reflecting all the heat. Here we saw the Andean and Chilean flamingo besides a pair of Chilean avocets.

Having seen flamingoes in the north then again here further south one can appreciate the different environments in which they appear to thrive, greener and cooler in Putre and a dry desert environment in San Pedro.

What a full on enjoyable day.

 

Day3 –  A 4am start to get to the Tatio geysers which are close to the Argentinian border at 4300metres above sea level. Everyone emerging from the van bleary eyed due to the early start.

It is the worlds heighest geyser field with sixty four geysers spurting steam to a temperature of 84 degrees described in the guide books as a Dantesque vision, it did not disappoint.

 

Returning we stopped at an abandoned mining village abutted by a newer small settlement of subsistence farmers who had also tapped into the passing tourist trade by offering food and locally made crafts.

Day 4 – Our final day and a half day tour to see the Petroglyphs (rock carvings ) at Hierbas Buenas two sets of carvings aged between 1200 and 2000 years old set yet again in stunning rock formations. The carvings were a record by the original settlers of what their life was like showing what was a challenge or success.  We finished our tour at the area known as Valle arcoiris (or rainbow valley). The name comes from the rock formations of many colours caused by the different chemical composition of the silica rocks.

Another late one folks thankfully we now have access to a decent internet connection so hopefully should soon get up to date.

Buenas Nochas