Valparaiso & Viña del Mar

Pictures of some weekend excursions

while in Santiago

Santiago, Chile

I've put some roots down..temporarily mind you, in Santiago the bustling capital of Chile. I arrived over a week ago and signed myself up for a 2 week Spanish course in ICHIL. I'm lodging with a fantastic family in the Republica quarter of the city, just off Ave Bernardo O'Higgins (Jeez..The Irish AGAIN!;-)) What I know about the man: Señor O'Higgins was an illegitimate son of Ambrosio O'Higgins (Once a Viceroy of Peru) who brought Chile to Independence by defeating the Spanish at The Battle of Chacabuco on February 12th 1817. He held the power here for 6 years before being deposed of by a coup as his reforms were thought too liberal and radical..probably on the beer too much ;-)

I'm lovin' Santiago though, it's always sunny and happening with some form of entertainment on the streets. The city is elevated to 510m and is surrounded by the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range. It appears to be modern with shopping centres, cafes and bars everywhere but it's the old Spanish architecture that gives the city it's charm. The student area of Republica where I reside is alive and vibrant with colourful most of the time, except for Sunday when the place looks like a ghost town. My course is great fun with 2 Brasilians, 1 Indonesian, 1 India and an American. My professor is a typical crazy Chilean who sometimes gives physical punishment if our homework is wrong, 5 push-ups per error...I'll have a 6-pack before I leave this country! The family I am staying with have made me feel right at home. It can get confusing sometimes as their English is non-existant, but as the days go by my Spanish slowly improves and I begin to get my point across in some form or another. Although I'll be honest by admitting that their dog Nelmar still understands more than me, no kidding!

I'm enjoying life here in Santiago so much that I have decided to extend my Spanish course 2 more weeks before heading to Cuzco in Peru to take on the Classic Inca Trail.

Pix @ Santiago Album

Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

My dream had come true, I found myself standing in The Navel Of The World!

It wasn't long after I checked into my hostel when a bunch of Irish (You just can't escape us!!) made themselves known and we were all out on the town (Thursday night being the party night on the island) with every inhabitant on the island. All I'll say is it was an eventful night with a free flow of Escudo Cervezas, Pisco Sours and me always confusing the signs in Spanish for Ladies & Gents..ahumm! Anyways on a more serious note, about The Moai...JUST AMAZING!!! No picture can do these structures justice. The staggering size, the craftmanship and the beauty, the only way to truly appreciate them is to see them with your naked eye. All the sites with standing Moai (except one - Ahu Akivi) face inward with their stone eyes on the people of the Island. To touch any Maoi or stand on any Ahu (The platforms)is to be cursed for an eternity, or so the locals informed us after several pisco sours.

On an organised day tour to the East of Hanga Roa, we visited Ahu Tongariki the biggest Moai of the island destroyed in 1960 by a tidalwave and now reconstructed, The Fallen Moai of Ahu Akahanga, The Sacred Navel & Magnetic Stone, breaktaking Rano Raraku Volcano & main quarry used by the Moai and ending at Akenana Beach for a quick deep in the ocean. I took so many pictures that by midday day my battery was flat. Luckyily I met a great English couple (Cheers Mel & Steve!) who just happened to have the exact same camera as me and kindly lent me their spare battery..I think the Moai were watching over for me ;-)

I also got my hands on a scooter and took on the Islands dodgy dirt roads, exploring for myself the beauty of the island. Hanga Roa, Orongo and Rano Kau a flourishing crater and lake, Ahu Vinapu with Inca like craftmanship, The Moai Hats at Puna Pau and Ahu Akivi the only Moai facing to sea. But my favourite time and place on the island had to be around sunset at Ahu Tahai when the sky erupted in splendid colours behind the towering dark Moai, it had to be nature at it's best.


Pix @ Rapa Nui Album

Tahiti & Moorea

Paradise! French Polynesia here I come!! To get to Easter Island, a place sitting top of my list of destinations, I had to fly via Tahiti..I could think of worse places ;-)
My original stay was only for 4 nights, in the end it was a 10 day stay. After crossing the International Date Line, living the same day twice and easing myself into a tropical island lifestyle, I missed my outbound flight by a day! Yes, I found myself stranded on a South Pacific Island screaming "WILSON"! Luckily enough my open jaw ticket was flexible enough to catch the next flight out, 5 days later. So my first 5 days were at Taaroa Lodge in Punaauia, the owner, the friendly and way too modest longboard surfering champ, Ralph Sanford. It was here I met some cool Swedes touring the world, Hannes from Brugge obsessed with the Polynesian Tattoo method of tapping, and Sandra a funny German gal who turned into a good traveling companion for the rest of my stay. We were all in awe each eve as we watched the sunset over the neighbouring island of Moorea. Each beautiful and colourful moment was enjoyed with a tasty Tahitian beer called Hinano. On Tahiti I rented a car and drove with Sandra around the island taking countless amounts of pictures and visiting the world renowned surf location of Teahupoo. We also caught a Polynesian Dance show at the Intercontinental Hotel (I got out of the backpacker gear and scrubbed up a little) and enjoyed a fantastic all you can eat buffet meal (The clothes were off but I ate like a scabby backpacker). On another day I caught a ferry across to the island of Moorea where I took on dirt roads through pineapple plantations in a Bugster, mega fun but I always had to remember not to park on a hill as the handbrake didn't work.

So, finding myself stranded for another 4 days, having seen the sights of Papeete (Chaotic town for an island, traffic jams were a common phenomenon!) and of the island I decided to join Sandra on Moorea and try my hand at some water activities. We joined an excursion given by a local lady, cruised along the lagoons, swam & snorkeled with Stingrays and Reef Sharks (The theme tune to Jaws was in my head the whole time I was in the water) and fed Moray eels. We were invited to their stunning Tahitian home to enjoy some fresh fruit and snorkel in their lagoon. The following day I braved the water once more and dove with Moorea Fun Dive. As a beginner and not the most confident in the water, I need not have stressed as my calm and collective instructor Cedric made it my most enjoyable marine experience ever. At the depth of over 6 metres, the different types and colours of fish were amazing and the sight of spotted rays gliding by us made we totally forget my anxiety. On my last day on Moorea, Sandra, Hannes and I rented scooters and took on the island once more. My first time on a scooter and I was told I was a natural (Others could say a Speed Junky!). After tearing up the roads for the day I made sure I was on a ferry back in time for my flight out of Tahiti that eve. It was farewell to Sandra, Hannes and the tranquilty of Moorea and it was on to yet another continent, South America. The thought did cross my mind once or twice that day to miss/extend again and enjoy the serenity of Moorea but with time working against me, Easter Island was a calling.

Pix @ Picturesque French Polynesia Album

New Zealand by Campervan!

After Oz it was on to it's neighbour and rival, New Zealand.Delighted to catch up and stay with Eleanora and Marco who I met on my travels in Laos and who recently moved to NZ in search of a better quality of life.My 1st night in Auckland was spent on the town celebrating the birthday of Eleanora´s colleague.How else would I start a new adventure, only by having a good taste of the local beer.My visit was brief, a stroll around the city and a visit to Skakespear Regional Park.

It was off to the airport to collect the campervan (eventually christened Jucy and loved like a loyal friend) and pick up Jenn (My good oul´ Yankie traveling buddy!)who was flying in from Sydney and joining me in a 3 week escapade. We hit the road to Rotorua on the Bay of Plenty to hook up with Hannah (My good oul' drinking buddy from Delhi) who was celebrating her 30th Birthday (with plenty of bubbles) with cousins in Te Puke. After the bubbles wore off we paid a visit to Rotorua and The Maori Buried Village, where Mt Tarawera erupted and destroyed many years ago. We put the foot down and head north on the North island to Cape Reinga, the Northernwestern most point of New Zealand and where The Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. We done a day tour and drove the 90 mile beach where we went sandboarding. A tip for sandboarding, never put your hands out while hurling yourself down a sand dune! A tourist learnt the hard way and broke their collarbone...with such an injury your days as a backpacker are numbered!

Heading south once again, we popped into Hell's Gate, a mud volcano consisting of dark boiling mud and sulphur baths. After the stench got too much we joined Hannah and her cousins once again in Okere falls, went fishing on Rotoiti Lake, enjoyed the hot thermal pools and sobering dips in the freezing lake! A huge thanks goes out to Lol, Mark & Paddy for making us feel very welcome and showing us a fantastic time on the North Island...SWEET AS!! ;-)
On our way to Wellington we stopped at Waitomo Caves to try our hand at some Black Water Rafting. What you basically do here is, you put your bottom in an inflated inner tube of an old truck tire and you throw yourself off waterfalls in a very dark underground cave whilst admiring the Glow Worms above and trying not to think about the repulsive eels slidering below...YEEEEK!!! After recovering from the chill we were off to Wellington to catch some of the city sights before taking the ferry across to the South Island. Sights visited were The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the city´s beautiful Botanical gardens, Mount Victoria Lookout with a great panoramic view of the city, Karori Sanctuary an interesting conservation project) in the hope of spotting a Kiwi...no such luck on the day!! We did however catch a glimpse of a frog native to New Zealand called Pepeketua, these tiny little fellows you would miss with a blink of the eye!

Up before the crack of dawn, we drove Jucy on the ferry and crossed to Picton on the South Island. A quick visit to the wine region of Blenheim where we stopped off a Allan Scott's vineyard and indulged a little. After which was a long and sobering spin down the west coast to Fox Glacier, a very windy and twisty route with countless one way bridges over scary cliff drops...I thought we´d never get there!!! It was worth the pain though...fitted with crampons and accompanied by guides with ice picks we climbed the glacier the next day..another chilling yet amazing adventure!!!

Next up was the adventure capital, Queenstown. After a fresh dump of snow I spent 1 great day on the slopes of Cardrona improving my turns or should I say performing my notorious wipe outs!! I missed my good ski buddies that day...calling 21 on your own ain't no fun ;-)
It was also in Queenstown where I was a little reckless by performing a Bungy Jump AND a Tandem skydive on the same day. The Original AJ Hackett Bungy with a 43m drop was ok but I much more enjoyed the 15000ft jump with NZSkydive from a tiny flying tin can over some stunning scenery...freefalling is a fantastic sensation also. From Queenstown we also took a day tour to Milford Sound where we cruised along the waters and were in awe of the towering rock faces, dolphins and seals.

Across the South Island and through it's stunning landscapes to the East coast and to the town of Dunedin, a Scottish Settlement. We cruised with Jucy (The fridge in serious need of a good cleaning at this stage) along the Penisula and wandered among sheep through the countryside. What followed was a well deserved visit to Speights Brewery where we had a free bar and could pour your own...Ivan would have sent the place into liquidation! Our last stop was Christchurch where we just hung about and met up with Hannah once again for a few jars. We did manage to take a spin out to Akaora, a French settlement and rent a kayak for the day..am beginning to get the hang of this rowing malarky...thanks to Jenn!!!

After 3 incredible action packed weeks, Jenn and I were sad to say farewell to Jucy and to one another. Where did the time go??? New Zealand is just a stunning country, I could see myself being quite content living this slow pace yet adventurous lifestyle.. the whole trip was, as the Kiwis say themselves...SWEET AS!!!

Pix @ New Zealand Album