Jul 20, 2017 - Travel day back to Santiago

Another beautiful day, but a cold night. I hopped out of bed and turned the heat on at 6:00, then back in bed as the room warmed up. I got up at 7:30 and Jean at 8:00. We wanted to be at breakfast by 8:30, having learned our lesson yesterday. At 8:30 there were still scambled eggs and sausages left, yeah. After breakfast we stayed in the room until 10:30 (11:00 checkout). I settled our bill and then we waited in the lobby until our Mahinatur tour transfer appeared to take us to the airport. We were picked up about 11:50 and taken to the...

Jul 19, 2017 - On our own on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Another beautiful day! The weather has been gorgeous since we left home. Sunny and mild here on Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Hopefully it will coninue for thr rest of the trip. However, it does get cold at night. Around 5:00 this morning, Jean got up and turned on the heat. We went to breakfast later today at 9:00. Bad idea. We were practically the only ones there, and they were already out of scrambled eggs and sausages. Jean approached the waitress and asked for more eggs. The waitress had the cook make eggs, but he placed them into...

Jul 18, 2017 - Touring Easter Island seeing the Moai

We had the breakfast buffet down at the hotel restaurant and returned to our room. We met Maitu in the lobby at 9:10 for our private tour of the island. She drove us out past the airport while telling us about the history of the island and what we would see today. Past the airport a little ways, we made a right to see the moai and platforms along the southern shore. (from here on, whenever I say moai, I mean the platform on which they stand and the statues or moai themselves.) Moai are built to face inwards towards the people. The moai...

Jul 17, 2017 - Travel to Easter Island

We were up at 4:30 am. Claudio picked us up about 5:20 to take us to the airport. He escorted us through baggage and the boarding pass area. We said our goodbyes at the security line entrance. We quickly passed through security and headed down to our "cattle call" gate. Another flight was leaving earlier to another destination, as soon as they began boarding, we were able to acquire some seats until our boarding call which was 7:55 for our 8:30 flight. We in the long line once they started. The lines for the gates would snake back and forth...

Jul 16, 2017 - Touring Santiago

We went down to breakfast and were lucky to get a table. There was a large group of girls on a tour? that were in the breakfast area and took over the majorit of the room. It was a very nice breakfast buffett which we enjoyed before returning to the room to prepare for our morning tour of Santiago. Claudio met us in the lobby at 9:10 to conduct our tour. (The tour company was Condor Travel.). On the way to the first stop Claudio ran us through the history of the region, beginning with the indigenous people, the Mapuche. Santiago itself goes...

Jul 15, 2017 - Travel to Santiago

We left the hotel in Miami Airport about 6:30 to walk over to J terminal to the Avianca Airlines desk to check-in. Jean had received an email offer to upgrade our tickets before we left, and she did. A modest cost to upgrade to Business Class. Our tickets reflected the TSA precheck which took us past the normal security.. We had an 1 1/2 wait until boarding began. Having Business Class tickets, we were allowed to use the Avianca lounge. It was a nice, quiet lounge with a decent breakfast buffet, of which we took advantage. Imused the time...

Mar 31, 2017 - 18 March 2017 - Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

More border crossings on 17th March as we start to head north towards Torres del Paine National Park. And another ferry crossing across the Magellan Straits. Our treat for today is a visit to a king penguin colony - it was a bit voyeuristic peeping through the holes in the fence to see the penguins in the wild but very interesting too. Tonight we are wild camping at a very cold place called Parque Chabunco, a camping area on the side of the road with beautiful views over the Magellan Straits. We even saw whales! So we finally reached Torres...

Mar 22, 2017 - Northbound

The worst part of Ushuaia was the night club across the street from the hostel. Live, loud rock music started at 1AM and went to 6AM. Rarely have ear plugs been so dear. We therefore didn't mind the 3AM alarm and 4AM start to leave town. After crossing back to Chile and taking the ferry across the Straits of Magellan, we stopped for a look at king penguins before stopping at a real park for the night. The real park was in training to be a town dump and was right next to the highway, but we are tolerant travelers. After a very long drive,...

Mar 22, 2017 - 52k to Niebla via Valdivia on the west coast

Wed Mar 22 52k to Niebla via Valdivia on the west coast. 5hr ride time. Ascents 421m. Relieved to be still alive this morning and not squished in our tent ! Tent wet and caked in dust. Quick wipe down with wet wipes and everything packed away quickly. Sprinted 1k back to the main road, fearful of a truck hitting us. Cool /damp morning 5C, rode in the shade of the hill. 30 mins later had our coffee and porridge with the last of the blueberries at a bus shelter in the sun. Many homes in the shade, with ice on the roof and smoke puffing from...

Mar 19, 2017 - to 5k before Osorno. 49k.

Sun Mar 19 to 5k before Osorno. 49k. 3:10 ride time. Total ascents 271m. Another overcast morning. Pete replaced his worn brake pads. Camp dog , v handsome with soft hair, but his back end matted. Most dogs we have seen look to be in pretty good health, except for the city dogs that can look mangy and thin. Village market - fresh foods, fruits/vege and crafts, new and used clothes and shoes. Feasted on queso (cheese) empanadas, BBQ sausages and meats on a skewer, and a caramel toffee torte. Delicious and cheap! Sunny and 25C now. Bombed...

Mar 15, 2017 - to Puerto Varas 73 k

Wed Mar 15- to Puerto Varas 73 k 5:45 ride time Total ascents 768m =many hills. Cold southerly wind off the lake gusted through the night. 8C at 8am, so set off wrapped up warmly. Misty cloud over the volcano. Had to stop and eat big juicy blackberries even though we were full of porridge. Rode in the shade of steep hill, little waterfalls, road hugging the shore line. Quick shop in Las Cascadas as we weren’t sure we’d make it to P. Varas. GPS doesn’t tell us the topography, only the distance. Salmon farms in the lake. On a big climb 2 girl...

Mar 4, 2017 - Torres del Paine, le plus célèbre Parc du Chili

Bonjour à Tous, Moment longtemps attendu, un des bijoux de la Patagonie. Dernier Grand Parc avant la Terre de Feu. Il est au Chili, donc, retour en ce beau pays. 6 jours de treck en espérant que la météo se trompera un peu, car, dans les quelques jours d'attente de mes dates de réservation à Puerto Natales, rien de bien encourageant... Au départ de cette ville, ciel clair et pas de vent. Bien, dans le Parc se fut l'été pour 2 1/2 jours. Pas vent et ciel dégagé. Oui, 2-3 averses le 2ieme jours en pm alors que je dormais, car, départ dans...