Santiago to Easter Island

There was a lot of excitement on the plane with people passing cameras to strangers for them to take photos of Easter Island on the approach. The first English words of the South American next to me were, "isn't she beautiful," and she was!

The runway was built by NASA, apparently, in case a space shuttle ever needs to land in the middle of the Pacific. I also heard that this runway is the longest in the world -- is that true?

I was greeted by a chilly breeze and strong sun. If every day is like this, I'll need the sunglasses I lost back in Kings Canyon. I have a special feeling about this place. A magical one. From the outset, this would be the highlight of my trip. No other place really matters.

I disembarked with Richard, a 40-year-old wine connoisseur from London who'd sold up to make his way around the world. He was here with his mum. We'd stood at the back of the plane and chatted for hours about sports, travel, politics and business. In the arrivals hall, Richard and I swapped numbers before I was greeted by Gonzalo from Kona Tau, my hostel. Gonzalo presented me with a necklace of flowers which added to the feeling of being on a Polynesian island! Although nice, they meant I couldn't wear my backpack so I pulled it along in a clumsy manner.

In the minibus back to the hostel were Gonzalo, me and Redlipsticklady, or Red for short. I never asked Red's name but didn't care either. I tried to avoid her. She was a loud New Yorker, exaggerated and over the top. She asked of Gonzalo, "if there's one thing, Gonzalo, one thing on this island that you should see, what would it be, Gonzalo, what is that one thing, the one thing you must see before you die, you understand me Gonzalo, if I had an hour left on this planet, what would be the one thing, the one thing Gonzalo, the big one, tell me Gonzalo, what is it?"

Indeed. I couldn't stand that. Fortunately, Red and I were given separate dorms and I'd see precious little of her for the remainder of my trip.

Gonzalo gave us a quick tour of the town before showing us to our rooms. I had a 4-bed dorm to myself.

I have three full days on the island sandwiched between travelling days. I need to get to Tourist Information first thing in the morning to get myself booked onto some tours. There'll be no slacking off like there was in Santiago. My batteries are charged. I'm ready to go and this is Easter Island!

This evening was spent exploring on foot. I walked through the town and photographed a few moai (statues), one on an ahu (platform). I watched the sun setting over the horizon then ate.


The ATM (seemingly there's only one) doesn't accept VISA but I expected there'd be a cash problem so I withdrew 100,000 pesos (100 pounds) before leaving Santiago to tide me over. My accommodation, however, has cut into this by 45,000 pesos. The main street is mostly geared towards tourism: souvenir shops, car/bike rental, tour operators, LAN Chile, restaurants. Eating is expensive.

I slept early in readiness for the early start tomorrow. Breakfast starts at 8am so I should have enough time to eat and get to the tour operator by 9am.