Easter Island & Chile

It had been a brutally cold winter so Stu and I were happy to enjoy a brief respite in the sunny summer climes of Chile. This was our third visit to South America's skinniest nation, though it was the first time we travelled to Easter Island/Rapa Nui with its enigmatic stone Moai, and to the central coastal region with its excellent vineyards and scenic seascapes. We were enthralled by the feats of skill at the annual Tapati Festival on Rapa Nui in addition to hiking around the island and lounging on its beautiful beaches. On the mainland we stayed in a boutique hotel in charming Valparaiso and at an esteemed Rosario Valley organic winery, visited Pablo Neruda's domiciles, admired street art, spotted birds in Las Campanas National Park, explored picturesque seaside villages and ate and drank very well.

SANTIAGO

We began our journey in Santiago, arriving very early on an overnight flight. We

headed straight to The Singular, a modern boutique hotel in the historic Lastarria

neighborhood, a cobblestoned enclave close to the grandiose Plaza de Armas, wooded

Santa Lucia Hill, museums and upscale restaurants. Our room was attractive and

well provisioned, the public spaces were gorgeous and the people were lovely. After

freshening up it was a short stroll to the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. We’d visited it

during our last trip to Chile, however, it had been renovated since then, so we wanted

to see the improvements. It was superb before and now it’s even better. The

collection, which spans the Americas, is outstanding and is wonderfully displayed and

annotated. When we told the woman at the admissions desk that we were returning

visitors she was so pleased that she gave us a special booklet describing one of the

temporary exhibits. After enjoying the museum, we grabbed a quick lunch in its airy

café, which was perfect, especially since there was a group of students playing Vivaldi

on string instruments in the corridor outside the museum, so we enjoyed a concert

along with our simple and tasty sandwiches.

We spent some time soaking up the street life on touristy Jose Victorino Lastarria

Street, adjacent to the hotel, before heading to the lobby to meet with our tattooed

young guide, Gonzalo, from STGO de Chile Street Art Tours. A few weeks before we

left I’d read about the tours in NatGeo Traveler magazine and arranged for them to

pick us up at The Singular. Although street art can be found all over town, there are 3

major sections with notable murals. We started by hopping in a car to reach the Open

Sky Museum (Museo a Cielo Abierto) in the working class San Miguel neighborhood

(barrio), which we toured on foot. Gonzalo, an artist himself and exceptional guide,

described the social, political, historical, mythical and religious themes in the art,

and provided background about the artists and artist collectives that created these

colorful, insightful and stunning artworks. Although we enjoyed all of them, perhaps

our favorite was “Chinita” by Barilla, an eloquent painting of a girl in a traditional

dress called a Chinita facing a black void, a poignant and powerful statement about

child abuse.

We next drove to the Yungay neighborhood where the art wasn’t quite as

monumental, but still compelling and highly political, and finished in Bella Vista, a

more commercial barrio with many interesting portraits as well as worker-themed

paintings. This was one of the best interpretive art tours we’ve ever taken and we

highly recommend booking with STGO de Chile Street Art Tours.

We had booked dinner at the Singular since it was convenient. Fortunately it’s an

excellent restaurant. It was a balmy evening and we sat in the outdoor patio and

savored the weather, atmosphere and food. Dining outdoors in February is a major

pleasure for us. Breakfast the next morning had good variety and was equally

delicious.

RAPA NUI/EASTER ISLAND

It’s just under 5 hours flight time from Santiago to Easter Island, which is isolated in

the middle of the Pacific Ocean over 3,500 km/2,100 miles from the South American

continent and more than 1,200 mi./1,900 km to the nearest inhabited island to the

east, Pitcairn. We landed in the island’s capitol city, Hanga Roa, a seaside town which

accounts for the majority of the island’s population of about 7,000 people, most of

whom are of Polynesian descent from islands as far away as New Zealand, who began

migrating to the island from about 800 AD, along with those of Chilean ancestry after

Chile annexed the island in the late 19th C. Rapa Nui is famous for its monolithic

stone statues though it’s worth exploring the island beyond the Moai. The name of

Easter Island was bestowed by a Dutch explorer named Jacob Roggeveen, who landed

on the island on Easter Sunday in 1722, although the Dutch never settled there.

It was a short drive to the Explora lodge which we would use as our base for a week

spent hiking, visiting important archaeological sites and participating in the island

festivities. Every year the locals compete in various athletic, cultural and artistic

contests during the 2 week Rapa Nui Tapati Festival featuring body painting, carving,

horse, foot and boat races, singing, dancing, parades, handicrafts, costume-making,

agricultural exhibitions and more. One of the most dangerous and fascinating sports

is Haka Pei, which involves men sliding down a steep hill on a sled constructed from

banana tree trunks at speeds that can reach 80km/50mi. per hour, dressed only in

body paint and a skimpy loincloth. Unfortunately it was cancelled this year because

conditions on the mountain would have accelerated the speed beyond what was

considered prudent. We were lucky to have visited during the first week of Tapati so

we could see some of the festivities, though it might be preferable to come during

the second week since the King and Queen are crowned at the end of the festival and

there’s a lively parade that showcases creative bodypainting. The Festival did not

originate as a tourist attraction, and though there were plenty of visitors, it’s clear

that this is a major event for the locals. It is undoubtedly the busiest time of the year

to visit Rapa Nui, yet except at the evening pageants, it never felt crowded, even at

the popular Moai sites, and on some hikes we didn’t run into any other visitors.

The Explora Lodge is gorgeous with simple, elegant style and spectacular views of the

sea and surrounding landscape. The food was delicious accompanied by some good

Chilean wines. At Explora you work with a guide each evening to map out the next

day’s activities and are assigned to a small group of fellow travelers for these

explorations. We stayed with the same 4 European travelers for all of our excursions,

an older married couple and a father and son. You can plan some of your own

excursions as well and they’ll arrange transportation. During the festival there was a

transport service to Hanga Roa in the evenings and we also attended some

competitions during the day, watching men and women in traditional dress in a foot

race, called Aka Venga, carrying stems of bananas weighing over 40 lbs/20 kgs.

suspended from a yoke on their shoulders, and agile young men body surfing on a

totora float, Haka Honu, which is more difficult than it sounds. We greatly enjoyed

the pageantry in the evenings with the elaborate costumes and lively singing and

dancing. There were 2 couples competing to be King and Queen of Rapa Nui,

demonstrating a variety of traditional skills. It didn’t hurt that they were all

exceedingly fit and attractive. The winners represent the island for the whole year

and travel the world. We rooted for our favorite couple, Kimi and Vai, though we

later learned that their opponents, Koro & Wai, had won the contest.

We spent a week on the island and it wasn’t too much time because even though the

island is only about 24.6 km/15.3 mi. long by 12.3 km/7.6 mi. wide, there’s plenty to

see and do. In fact I would have liked to just spend a day or two at the beach

swimming in the ocean, which was crystal clear with an ideal temperature and gentle

waves. The main swimming beach, Anakena, wasn’t crowded, had soft clean sand and

there were cafés and amenities nearby. It was a fun place to mingle with locals and

visitors. The Explora team arranged for us to use changing facilities at one of the

businesses near the beach while we were there.

The afternoon that we arrived on the island, we had a light lunch and headed out

with a guide on a short, easy hike to the beach on view from the Explora called Aka

Hana. Here we encountered our first Moai. They were relatively smaller ones that

hadn’t been restored, so most were lying broken upon the ground. Created by

Polynesian settlers from around 1200 – 1500 AD, we learned that during great tribal

battles in the late 18th C the Moai were toppled, and though there are over 900

throughout the island, only about 50 have been restored and re-erected on the

ceremonial basalt platforms called Ahus. Our guides said that this is due to lack of

funds for the restoration work. Of the 887 identified Moai, 288 had been standing on

ahus, 92 were en route to an ahu when they fell and 397 are still in the quarry at

Rano Raraku where they were carved from the porous volcanic tuff stone found there,

including El Gigante, the largest, though incomplete, which would have stood 21.6 m/

70.8 ft. high and weighed 270 tons. The smallest is only 1.13 m/3.7 ft. tall, though

they average about 4 m/13 ft. and a hefty 13 tons. A small number of Moai were

carved from basalt, or trachyte or red scoria, though red scoria was more often used

to create the topknots, called Pukao, that crown statues with special status. While

they look like hats, we were told that they more likely represent hair.

We had different guides for almost every excursion and all seemed to have different

information about the Moai. What we learned definitively is that no one really knows

why they were created, or how they were moved around the island, or why they were

destroyed, since there was no written and scant oral history, though there are many

theories, some more plausible than others. The Moai are thought to have represented

and to honor ancient ancestors and chiefs who could communicate with the spirit

world, therefore the Ahus were sacred ceremonial sites. Moai heads tilt towards the

sky and it’s surmised that the Rapa Nui believed that they gained mystical power from

the stars. Almost all of the Moai erected on ahus are facing inland even when situated

near the shoreline. The theory is that the ancestors were protecting the inhabitants

of the villages that they oversee. The only exception is the group of 7 Moai at Ahu

Akivi who face the sea, although the site is located inland on the slopes of Maunga

Terevaka volcano. It’s the most sacred site on the island and it’s thought that these 7

may represent the 7 original explorers who found the island for King Hotu Matu’a, who

was possibly from the Marquesas and who first colonized it.

What most surprised us is that even though the Moai share common characteristics,

such as outsized heads, prominent broad noses, square chins, and elongated ears,

they don’t all look exactly alike, so it’s probable that they represent different

individuals. Archaeological evidence suggests that the deep eye slits once contained

eyes fashioned from white coral with either black obsidian or red scoria pupils. Only

one Moai exists with the original eyes intact and it is found in the historical and

archaeological museum in Hanga Roa, though reproductions of the eyes have been

added to the Moai at Ahu Tahai in Hanga Roa, to give visitors an idea of what the

statues must have looked like in their original state.

Early versions of the Moai were smaller with more rounded heads and human forms,

similar to statues found on Pitcairn and the Tahitian islands, and it’s likely that the

increasing size of the statues represented tribes trying to outdo each other in

demonstrating greater power and status. It’s generally supposed that the devastating

deforestation of the island, the cause of which is also largely unexplained, resulted in

massive resource shortages that set the once peacefully co-existing tribes against

each other. The emergence of the birdman culture (more about that later) may have

caused these tribes to destroy the Moai which represented the previous religious,

cultural and social order. Among the more interesting theories were about how these

massive sculptures were moved many miles from the quarry where they were carved

and set up on the ahus. Legends speak of the Moai walking across the land and a

group of scientists was successful in replicating this by attaching ropes to 3 sides of

the statues and shifting them side to side in a walking type of motion. From a

distance it might have appeared as if they walked on their own. But no one really

knows how they were erected and moved since other scientists have been successful

using different methods to move them. Another common misconception is that the

Moai are only heads, and while you will find Moai with only head and shoulders

visible, in these cases, their bodies are normally buried beneath the earth.

The first night after dinner in a dining room with large glass windows overlooking the

sea, we went to town to see the festival and were treated to a lively dancing contest

between the competing teams with flamboyant costumes and movement that was a

mashup of graceful Polynesian steps and overtly sensual Latin moves. This was

preceded by the presentation of the King and Queen candidates where they recited

stories, made elaborate string designs and described how their beautiful costumers

were made. They spoke in the local language but aside from the stories, we got the

gist due to the accompanying gestures.

There are 3 volcanoes on the island and the next morning we went to Ranu Kau crater

and Orongo village, an important site in the birdman culture. The site is gorgeous

with sweeping views of the sea and 3 small offshore islands. Each year contestants

swam to Motu Nui, a nesting colony, to steal the egg of a sooty tern. The first man to

bring an egg back intact would be crowned Tangata Manu and he and his clan would

rule the island for a year until the next contest. This task was harder than it may

sound since after reaching shore, the contestants had to scale a steep stony cliff

carrying the egg without breaking it. During the period of the contest the inhabitants

lived underground in stone huts at Orongo village, which were not used during the

rest of the year. We hiked around the rim of the volcano and viewed the remains of

Orongo before heading back to the lodge for lunch. Our guide, Tavi, told us that the

best preserved Moai have petroglyphs carved on their backs, and while we saw some

remnants of these carvings, the finest example resides in the British Museum in

London. Another guide told us subsequently that these carvings represented tattoos.

The cult of the birdman died out after Christian missionaries settled on the island in

the 1860’s.

In the afternoon we watched lithe young men in the totora surfing contest. Whoever

makes it closest to shore without falling off the totora float wins. While enjoying the

sport and the atmosphere of the event, we spotted a couple of large green sea turtles

hunting in the shallow waters of the bay near where we were sitting.

Sunrise at Ahu Tongariki is a popular, though again, not especially crowded, event and

we arose early to catch this spectacle. We didn’t have guides for this visit, but the

lodge arranged transportation in a local taxi and provided us with passes to the site.

This is the largest ceremonial site on the island with 15 Moai standing on an enormous

ahu in a beautiful setting between a beach, Poike volcano, the oldest of the 3, and

Rano Raraku volcano. We were told that there had originally been 18 Moai here, but

a huge tsunami in 1960 washed 3 away and damaged the remaining statues. The ahu’s

axis is oriented toward the rising sun of the summer solstice and measures 200 m/656

ft. The Moai face inland and the sun rises behind the statues, silhouetting them. It’s

incredibly dramatic. While not the tallest, the heaviest standing Moai at 86 tons is at

Tongariki, and his towering companions range from 5.6 – 8.7 m/18-28 ft tall. We

returned to Tongariki with a guide a couple of days later in the afternoon and also

viewed the Moai from above while visiting the quarry at the extinct Rano Raraku

volcano that afternoon.

After breakfast we joined our group for a long hike along the shore to Anakena beach.

We passed an old fishing village where we found a shrine with a statue of the Virgin

Mary in local Rapa Nui style. Though no one lives there anymore, our guide, Lily,

advised that locals come to fish and stay in the huts overnight. Lily had been the

Queen of Tapati in 2012 and was as lovely as you’d expect for a former queen, often

wearing a flower behind her ear, though not the most informative guide. When we

arrived at Anakena beach, we found 5 Moai nearby and 1 standing alone a bit further

away. It’s a spectacular setting and after exploring the site on our own, we were

treated to a refreshing swim in the ocean. We wanted to stay a bit longer, but had to

accede to the will of the group and head back to Explora.

After lunch we visited the quarry at Rano Raraku. This is a must-see site on Rapa Nui

and was where we encountered the most visitors, but compared to tourist sites in

other countries, it was relatively uncrowded and there was no wait to tour the site. At

the quarry we got to see the different styles of Moai as they evolved over the

centuries. There were half buried Moai, standing Moai and others lying in various

stages of completion. It’s a highly scenic area, though from this perspective the lack

of trees on the island is readily apparent. Sunscreen is a must since there’s very little

shade. Our brawny guide, Mea Mea, told us that he has competed in the Haka Pei and

placed 4th. A short walk from the quarry brought us to a lagoon in an extinct crater

with totora reeds growing along its shore. This is where the reeds are sourced to build

the totora floats used in the race we had watched. After a delicious dinner that

evening we hung out in the lounge with Terry and Shen, an amiable couple we’d met

the day we arrived, and enjoyed cocktails and conversation.

The following day we started off at Ahu Akivi, the sacred site of the 7 Moai who face

the sea. It’s a beautiful and peaceful setting. Afterwards we hiked in a lava field to

explore lava tube caves. The first cave we encountered had an avocado tree growing

in it. We descended into the second tube we found, which featured a few

petroglyphs. The tube exit was through a fig tree, and our guide, Chris, picked some

figs for us to snack on. The last tube that we explored was at the edge of a cliff and

involved a tight squeeze and steep descent, then opened into a cave with 2 passages,

both leading to openings in the cliff face that overlooked the sea and rocks below.

We took the van to Hanga Roa to look at the Moai positioned near the harbor at Ahu

Tahai, including the one with the restored coral eyes. These are meant to be a tourist

exhibit, probably for cruise ship passengers who want to catch a glimpse of a Moai and

explore the town without taking any farther excursions. That afternoon we revisited

the 15 Moai at Ahu Tangariki. Our guide, Hanga, shared theories about cannibalism

among the tribes during the warring period after deforestation, though this practice is

disputed.

That evening the Explora put on a small show featuring native musicians (including

Mea Mea on guitar) and female dancers. All day long they cooked chicken wrapped in

banana leaves in a big pit in the traditional way and served a small taste of that along

with fire roasted sweet potato and banana cake. The chicken was tender with a

savory smoky taste.

Our next excursion was a full day hike through the middle of the island accompanied

by Tavi. We started at Ahu Akivi, headed north and then cut east to Anakena Beach.

On the way we discovered a few caves and entered two of them. One had a variety of

petroglyphs including a face that might represent Make-Make, a fertility god of the

bird-man cult who is credited with creating humanity. Three different varieties of fern

are growing wild in the cave. Other caves were smaller with 2 separate narrow

openings, which would have afforded a safe place to hide and escape from during

times of conflict. We passed the unusual Ahu Poe Poe, a burial cairn near the water’s

edge that is shaped like the prow of a boat and perhaps meant to emulate the

European sailing ships that visited the island, or the large canoes that the Polynesian

ancestors arrived in. From there we generally followed the coastline, stopping for a

picnic lunch of sandwiches and small brownies. We had time for a too-brief swim at

Anakena before heading back to the lodge for an early dinner since we wanted to see

the sunset from Ahu Tahai and then enjoy the performances at the Festival.

On our last full day on Rapa Nui we went to see the Aka Venga (banana race) but had

time before it started to wander around town and watch fishermen in a small harbor

filleting large red fish with huge eyes, aptly named Big-Eyes. We stationed ourselves

at the end point of the race so we could watch the victorious runners cross the finish

line. Family, friends and a small number of tourists gathered around to congratulate

the winners. The costumes were exotic, many decked out with feathers, and some

racers also painted their bodies with earth-toned designs. The winner of the older

men’s race is a great athlete who had won major competitions 15 times when he was

younger. We were thrilled to spot one of our guides, Chris, in the young men’s race,

and cheered him on. He came in second, but almost literally by a nose, it was so

close. His wife and daughter were there to celebrate with him. Wai, who was later

crowned Queen of Tapati, was also in the race but didn’t place.

After the races we stayed in town and visited the museum. It would be more helpful

to start your visit at the museum because it provides a coherent timeline of the

history, geology and culture of the island. The sites you visit make more sense with

this background information. Since our tours weren’t in any chronological order, and

we got inconsistent information from the guides, we had to piece together a view as

best we could. The museum is small but well laid out and annotated and contains

some interesting artifacts. We would have liked a bit more time in it.

In the afternoon we went to Puna Pau, the red scoria quarry which was the source of

most of the Pukao on the Moai. Our guide, Ricky, told us that in ancient times each

clan oversaw a territory with sea access and the island’s center was a common area.

Each also had an Ahu with Moai for prestige and protection. We also learned that

Anakena, the only sandy beach, was where the King lived. In 1862, Peruvians

enslaved about a thousand Rapa Nui to work in Peru including the King. The arrival of

Christian missionaries around that time further impacted the culture. In 1903

Williamson, Balfour & Co., a Scottish-Chilean company, took a 50 year lease on the

land to use for sheep farming and confined the remaining Rapa Nui to Hanga Roa.

The next site we visited, Ahu Huri a Urenga, was among the most interesting with a

unique 4 armed Moai. Restored in 1972, the Moai was erected in its original location in

an inland field. It’s posited that it’s 4 hands are meant to represent the 4 seasons and

its orientation aligns with the sunrise during the winter solstice, seeming to confirm

its astronomical significance. Given the importance of the seasons and calendar in

agriculture, its location in a field lends some credibility to this theory. There’s a

crematorium behind the Ahu, so it appears to have also featured in funerary rituals,

and Ricky told us that ceremonies are still performed at this site during the solstice.

We drove to the coast and walked to Ahu Hanga Poukura, a site with 5 Moai face down

and half buried near the unrestored Ahu along with some Pukao scattered on the

ground. Ricky advised that this was the site of a commoner clan. There is an

interpretive center at this site which featured replicas of chicken coops, straw huts

and round stone structures called manavai. We arrived just after the center closed so

we weren’t able to get near the Moai or the exhibits and viewed them from behind

the fence. Our final dinner was especially tasty with scallop tartare to start, tender

and flavorful beef filet accompanied by sweet potatoes and a nice glass of Carignan

and finished perfectly with chocolate ice cream.

The next morning we skipped a hike to the tallest peak on the island and just relaxed

until it was time for a light lunch and transportation to the airport for our flight back

to Santiago. The flight was an hour late, and it had already been scheduled to arrive

late in the evening, and we had a long drive to Valparaiso, arriving after midnight.

The fellow at the front desk of our hotel, Palacio Astoreca, was kind and helpful, so

we checked in quickly and crashed, though not before admiring the nighttime views

from our room.

VALPARAISO

Valparaiso, a busy seaport built on 42 hills, is an intriguing town, charming and ugly at

the same time. The Palacio Astoreca is a handsome boutique hotel in a former palace

high on a hill which retains loads of historical character. Our room was comfortable

and spacious with large windows and a terrace with fantastic views of the town, a

small square and the harbor beyond. They served a terrific breakfast and were kind

enough to prepare a good one for us on the morning that we had to leave early before

the regular breakfast time.

On our first day we took a city and street art tour with our guide, Yevgenia. We

started out at La Sebastiana, one of the 3 houses owned by the Nobel Prize winning

poet, Pablo Neruda, that are now operated as museums. It’s a large house with 5

floors situated on a hill, crammed with art, furniture and memorabilia, with

widespread views of the bay. He owned the house, which he renovated and decorated

extensively to suit his eccentric taste, from 1961 until his death in 1973. It’s a selfguided

audio tour which fills in a lot of Neruda’s background and life, including his

work as a diplomat, and showcases some of his writing, including the poem La

Sebastiana which he wrote to commemorate the inauguration of the house. He was a

great admirer of the American poet, Walt Whitman, whose portrait is prominently

displayed.

From there we walked over to Poet’s Park, a small square which features bronze

statues of Neruda, Federico Garcia Lorca and Gabriela Mistral. A large colorful mural

nearby is dedicated to Mistral and displays some of her poetry. While walking to the

funicular, we were lucky to witness bike racers practicing jumps for a tournament

sponsored by Red Bull that was scheduled later that day. As we stood in the crowd,

Day-Glo clothed bikers hurtled up ramps and sailed over cars mere feet away from us.

It was enthralling.

We rode the funicular uphill and went to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, an Anglican church

built in 1858, the oldest non-Catholic church in South America, now both a World

Heritage site and National Monument. It’s a simple yet beautiful church with a

vaulted wood ceiling, stunning stained glass windows and a magnificent organ gifted

by the British expat community in Valparaiso in 1902 that is dedicated to Queen

Victoria. The stained glass triptych behind the altar depicts the life of the church’s

patron, St. Paul. The church’s acoustics are renowned so we were very fortunate to

arrive just before the start of a concert and stayed to enjoy the melodic tones of the

organ’s 1604 pipes accompanied by a choir with the voices of angels.

We walked around Plaza Sotomayor and the imposing Armada de Chile headquarters,

browsed in a local market, and then made our way uphill again to view more street

art before we settled down to a wonderful lunch at Paste e Vino, a deservedly popular

restaurant, and our favorite in Valpo. Our tour was over but we invited Yevgenia to

join us and were seated at a perfect table on their outdoor balcony overlooking the

harbor. The weather was glorious, the food was delicious, I discovered a wonderful

wine that I’ve unfortunately been unsuccessful in finding stateside, and we enjoyed

chatting about life in Chile.

We liked Yevgenia, although she added no value at all to the street art tour, basically

showing us some murals and telling us where we could find others, with a minimal

amount of info about the art and artists. Had we known that STGO de Chile Street Art

Tours also runs tours in Valparaiso we would have arranged the street art tour with

them. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around looking at mural art and

on a whim popped into the Museo Mirador Lukas which displays the satirical

illustrations of Renzo Pecchenino, professionally known as Lukas. As we neared our

hotel we stopped to appreciate the talents of a family of dancing drummers in a plaza

in front of the Palacio Baburizza museum. That evening we dined at the hotel’s

restaurant, Alegre. The atmosphere was lovely, service was attentive and the food

was good but not notable.

We had to arise very early the next morning to meet our guide, Michel, and our

driver, Sergio (the same who drove us here from the airport) for a visit to Las

Campanas National Park. Michel is an ornithologist who teaches at the university in

Santiago and he’s exceedingly knowledgeable and interesting. It’s a long drive to the

park and the roads into it are a bit rough, so a 4 wheel drive would be advised (which

we didn’t have). We walked along the trails and spotted lots of birds, among them

adult and juvenile Harris hawks, long-tailed meadowlark, austral blackbirds, Chilean

flicker, striped woodpecker, black-chested buzzard, white-throated tapaculo,

moustached turco, rufous collared sparrows and California quails. The best was a tiny

Austral Pygmy Owl, an adorable brown and white raptor. It was perched in a tree

surveilling the scene when it decided to fly right over us to a tree on the opposite side

of the trail. We continued watching it until it flew back to the original branch,

buzzing me on the way. It flew right at me and was so close I felt the whoosh from its

wings as it passed overhead. We didn’t see any mammals though we observed a

brilliant Liolaemus lizard with a green spotted head, yellow-green throat and blue

spotted body running up and down a tree trunk. We had expected to spend all day in

the park, however, our agency failed to advise us to pack a lunch, so we had to drive

out of the park to find a place to eat. The park is in a rural area, but Sergio, asked

around and we ended up discovering a tiny, adorable sandwich shack on a busy road

where a woman prepared grilled sandwiches and empanadas. There were a few seats

outdoors where we sat to enjoy them. It turned out to be one of our favorite lunches,

the sandwiches were fresh and delicious. However, after lunch it would have taken

too long to drive back to the park so we headed back to town. That evening we had

dinner at Café Turri, a short walk from our hotel up and down hill. This was another

place with an outdoor terrace, good views and decent food.

On our last day in Valparaiso, we didn’t have to head out quite so early, so we met

Michel and Sergio after a relaxing breakfast. Today we visited some prime wildlife

areas along the coast. The day started out foggy and grey, but it didn’t spoil our

excursion. We drove through chichi Vina del Mar with its white casino, high rise

buildings and red-and-green flower clock and made our first stop at Renaca, a

maritime reserve. On the rocks just offshore we spotted a mammoth male sea lion

with his harem of females and adorable pups. The pinnipeds shared the rocks with a

wide variety of sea birds: black and white American oystercatchers with bright red

bills, drab blackish oystercatchers, Neotropic cormorants with their long graceful

necks, Red-legged cormorants with a splash of red at the base of their bills as well as

legs, Guanay cormorants with black and white penguin-like coloring, white-headed

Brown pelicans, Peruvian boobies, snow white with brown and white wings, Ruddy

turnstones, black and white with rufous patches on the wings, statuesque black and

white Kelp gulls with their mottled brown juveniles, Snowy egrets and stealthy Blackcrowned

night herons. But our absolute favorites were the resplendent Inca terns, a

unique species with dark grey bodies, black heads, blood-red bills and legs, a curled

white feather “moustache” and an egg-yolk-yellow cheek patch. These agile fliers

plunge dive for fish and practice elaborate courtship rituals. This was such a fabulous

site that we hated to move on, but there was much more to see.

We continued to the Parque Ecologico La Isla in Concon, a nature reserve in a lovely

wetland that attracts over 70 species of migratory and native birds. The first birds we

noticed were yellow-winged blackbirds, similar to the red-winged and bi-color winged

blackbirds we see back home. As we walked around the park Michel pointed out the

aptly named Greater yellowlegs, whimbrels, waders with long down-curved bills,

Great blue herons, White-backed stilts with long rose-colored legs, Long-tailed

meadowlarks, Rufous-tailed plantcutters, white-throated Diuca finch, Chilean

mockingbirds, flat-headed Southern lapwings and more American oystercatchers.

We stopped by a pond across the road from a huge refinery, an unlikely birdwatching

place, that nevertheless the oil company had set aside as a bird refuge. It was a

desolate area, but the pond was teeming with waterfowl. Fences were set up to

protect the site, so we got as close as we could. There were cormorants, stilts and

several species of ducks, including the Yellow-billed pintail, red shovelers with blackspotted

rufous bodies and wings and broad bills, and Chiloe wigeons with beautiful

iridescent head feathers. There were also White-winged coots with bright yellow bills

and frontal shields. Their name seems inappropriate since they’re largely black. The

white feathers are on the underside of their wings and only visible when the wings are

spread. But the winner in all-around adorableness were the White-tufted grebes,

with a fan of white feathers behind the eyes adorning their black heads.

We worked up an appetite with all of the bird watching, so Sergio recommended

stopping at El Chiringuito in the seaside town of Zapaller. Michel and Sergio joined us

and we shared platters of fresh, tasty seafood within steps of the crashing surf.

Our tour was not supposed to include the Magellanic penguin colony at Los Pinguinos

beach, but Michel knew we were penguin enthusiasts, and may have felt as if we’d

been short-changed the day before, so we got to visit that location as well. It’s a

much more touristy place than the others we visited, but it was a beautiful beach,

and it’s always a huge pleasure to see penguins in their natural habitat. We also got a

good look at a Thorn-tailed rayadito, a small bird with lovely coloring.

And as if that was not enough, we made one more stop on the way back to our hotel

in a small town where we found more whimbrels, coots and White-tufted grebes along

with 4 Great grebes, 2 adults and 2 juveniles, swimming in the river. While not as cute

as their White-tufted cousins, the adult grebes were handsome, with black crests and

rufous patches on their necks and tails, although the juveniles were plainer.

I’m so glad that I had requested a naturalist guide for the national park and beach

town tours. The shore excursion especially was fantastic, but only because we had

Michel. I don’t think it would have been very interesting without the bird watching.

We returned fairly late but had time to freshen up before dinner at La Concepcion, a

nice restaurant overlooking the water with good but not great food. You get the

theme here, Valparaiso is not a big foodie town and the same types of dishes are

offered in most places.

CENTRAL VALLEY VINEYARDS

The next morning Sergio came to drive us into wine country. We were very happy to

have the same driver for all of our time on the mainland, and especially Sergio since

he was not only a good driver, but delightful. We had originally planned to drive

ourselves, which I recommend since we’d done it before in Chile and the roads are

generally good, but the long night drive to Valparaiso convinced us otherwise, and it

was probably a good choice this time. However, we were very surprised to find that

we also had a guide. We didn’t think we needed one for this part of the trip, and for

the most part we didn’t.

CASAS del BOSQUE. Our guide, Marie, was an American expat, who’d been living in Chile for many yearsand who turned out to be helpful at some times but not others. We were visitingCasas del Bosque, a renowned winery in the Casablanca Valley, but arrived soonerthan expected. Marie suggested that we visit her favorite winery nearby called

Bodegas RE. We didn’t have time for a tour, but she showed us around the modern

attractive facility. One of the more interesting aspects of this winery is that they

store wine in huge clay pots before transferring them to oak barrels. They also create

unusual varietal blends such as syrah and pinot noir or chardonnay and pinot noir,

which they call syranoir and chardonnoir, though of course chardonnay and pinot noir

are commonly blended in champagne. They also bottle fruit liqueurs, which looked

tempting. We sat at the wine bar and the fellow conducting the tastings gave me a

taste of chardonnoir and cabergnan (cabernet sauvignon and carignan), but

surprisingly didn’t charge us for the tasting. I found them interesting, though these

probably weren’t the best vintages.

We were still a bit early for our tour at Casas del Bosque, so we wandered around

their beautiful estate and lounged outdoors enjoying the sunny, mild weather until it

was time. The young Brazilian woman, Manu, who took us on the tour was excellent!

We’ve toured many wineries and she actually gave us information that we’d never

heard before about the wine making process that is common around the world.

Apparently egg whites are often used to remove solids from the wine, which means

that many wines might not be suitable for vegans. Wineries are becoming more

sensitive to this and can use clay or other non-animal substances as well.

Unfortunately the group we had joined for the tour had small children who were

disruptive and made it hard to hear the guide at times, not something we’ve

experienced before at a winery. I’m sure that the poor kids were bored senseless.

After the tour we went to the sleek glass-walled tasting room where I sampled their

very fine Sauvignon Blanc Gran Riserva, Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Coincidentally the day that we visited Casas del Bosque was Valentine’s Day, so their

restaurant, Tanino, was exceedingly busy. The weather was glorious but they claimed

that our reservation didn’t stipulate a table on the outdoor patio, so they were going

to stick us indoors even though we had reserved many months in advance. While we

were on the winery tour Marie managed to convince management to give us a table

outside. Due to the poor placement I suspect that they brought one out and fit it into

a walkway, however, we were very grateful to be seated outdoors, so we didn’t care

very much about that. It’s a good thing that we were seated outdoors because the

service was horrendous, I had no napkin or bread plate or utensils initially and it took

quite a while to get them. We were served our first course 70 minutes after we sat

down, so at least we were enjoying the weather and views while waiting. The food

wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, but still tasty and the wines are very good. Perhaps

they do better on less hectic days. This was the one time we were grateful to have

Marie along with us.

MATETIC. After lunch we headed to the Rosario Valley and Matetic Vineyards, a highly

esteemed organic and biodynamic viticulturist. We spent 3 nights in La Casona, the

10 room lodge on the estate. This is a seriously gorgeous winery and we loved our stay

there! The team at the winery is delightful. The main office, a cozy lounge offering

sofas, a pool table, honor bar and coffee machine, and the guest rooms, are in a

single-story U shaped building enclosing a central courtyard beautifully landscaped

with flowers and 2 towering palm trees. There's a beautiful pool nearby with lounge

chairs, shaded day beds and a covered bar area with seating. The entire residence

was surrounded by fields of grape vines on gently sloping hills. The guest rooms are

named after wine grape varietals and we were pleased to have requested Sauvignon

Blanc. It was at one end of the U, so we had 2 outdoor patios with wonderful views

and a bit more privacy than other rooms. One afternoon while lounging on our patio

we spotted a wary grey fox trotting by and that just made our day. During a van tour

of the property, our excellent guide, Pablo, told us that foxes are important allies in

reducing the rabbit and rodent population and protecting crops.

The estate tour started with the history of Matetic at the original Coralillo winery,

which is now abandoned, and continued past Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah and

Chardonnay vineyards, groves of trees laden with almonds, walnuts, avocados,

blueberries, cherries, olives and apples and fields of green beans, quinoa and hay

were planted as well. We spied huasos on horses herding beef cattle and were

delighted by grazing sweet-faced alpacas. Pablo also took us on a hike to the top of

1,322 ft/433 m Alto Bahamondes hill with far-ranging views. The skies weren’t clear

enough to see both the Andes and Pacific, as they claim, however, the views were

expansive nonetheless. To our surprise Pablo pulled a half bottle of Coralillo

Sauvignon Blanc from his backpack for a toast at the summit. The climb was not

difficult if you're relatively fit, and on the way Pablo pointed out birds and described

native vegetation. He dropped us off at the lodge and after cleaning up we had an

excellent lunch on the outdoor patio of Equilibrio restaurant. Equilibrio is housed in a

round building with a tejas tile roof and floor to ceiling windows in a picturesque

setting adjacent to a pond where swans and other waterfowl glided by. It’s usually

only open for lunch, although on Valentine’s Day dinner was served there as well. The

prix fixe lunch started with hors d’oeuvres of shrimp and goat cheese & tomato

skewers. I sipped a juicy Coralillo Sauvignon Blanc with shrimp and scallops and an

intense Coralillo Syrah with a savory lamb shank. Stu enjoyed meat empanadas and

pasta stuffed with crab in a creamy sauce.

That afternoon we went on a cellar tour with 5 jovial Brits. The bodega, situated high

on a hill with views across the estate, was modern and stunning. Our guide was highly

personable, the tour was enlightening, including information about the modern and

innovative methods of pest control they use, and the wine tasting was terrific. We

tasted 4 wines from the premium EQ line, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

and Syrah. After the formal tasting, our guide left us to relax on the outdoor patio

overlooking the vines and enjoy the wine with cheese and crackers until we were

ready for the driver to take us back to the lodge.

We took breakfasts and dinners at Matetic. These meals were served in a small dining

room that shared space with El Emporio shop and wine bar, which we reached via a

pretty path lined with a flowering bower and bushes. We enjoyed bird watching in the

early morning on our way to breakfast. Large barrels placed throughout the property

reinforced the wine country aesthetic. With dinner you had a choice of Corallilo

wines included, or you could pay a supplement to substitute a premium wine, such as

the EQ Pinot Noir which I did on our last evening. The food was variable, sometimes

very good and sometimes less satisfying, though the excellent wines compensated.

The breakfasts weren’t the best of the trip, but they were still good and included

plenty of fresh fruit including cherries.

ISLA NEGRA. On our second day in the wine valley, Stu and I met with Marie and Sergio again for a tour to Pablo Neruda’s seaside house in Isla Negra, which we highly recommend. The house and grounds are much more interesting than La Sebastiana in Valparaiso, though we’re glad to have seen that also for contrast. It’s also an audio self-guided tour and started with a film from which we learned even more about Pablo Neruda. While there were maritime elements to the décor at La Sebastiana, the nautical motif was predominant in this house with its low ceilings and narrow rooms overloaded with fascinating and eclectic artifacts. Neruda was a dedicated collector and among the

numerous treasures we found a room with wooden ship figureheads, ships in bottles,

compasses and other sailor’s instruments, and a replica of the Rapa Nui Madonna.

Ever creative, when a door from a shipwreck washed up on the beach beneath the hill

that the house is perched upon, Neruda salvaged it and fashioned a desk from it.

There are breathtaking sea views from various vantage points throughout the house

and grounds. We visited the bedroom where Neruda passed away and the gravesite on

the property where he and his third wife are interred. There’s also an imposing steam

locomotive in the yard along with sonorous brass bells and whimsical sculptures.

There’s a café with outdoor seating if you want to catch a bite while admiring a view

of the coastline.

After Isla Negra we were supposed to explore the nearby beach towns, however the

weather was foggy and chilly so we took a short walk along the beach but didn’t

linger. Marie recommended lunch at a very nice beachfront restaurant called

Caleuche, named for a myth from the southern island of Chiloé. We invited Marie to

join us and shared local appetizer specialties, razor clams with parmesan and

camarones pil-pil (shrimp in a spicy chili sauce) along with a luscious full-bodied

Chilean Chardonnay. For mains I had a perfectly cooked swordfish with avocado, Stu

had salmon with rice and Marie had fried fish with spicy mashed potatoes.

Since we were nearby, we stopped to pay tribute at the home of Nicanor Parra, an

adored 103-year old poet, mathematician and physicist who had recently passed

away. Memorials, notes, illustrations, copies of his poems and flowers were hung on

the white picket fence and posts outside his modest Las Cruces home. The residence

is private and not open to admirers so we did not enter.

SANTA RITA. On our final day in Chile, we had a leisurely breakfast and time to relax before joining Sergio and Yevgenia for the drive to Santa Rita Vineyard which is located in the foothills of Alto Jahuel, a short distance from Santiago. The thing we liked most about Santa Rita was their Andean museum which we visited before lunch. They have fascinating pre-Columbian artifacts such as ancient wooden Moai from Rapa Nui called Moai Kava Kava, and archaeological treasures from the Arica, San Pedro, Diaguita, Lambayeque and Mapuche cultures, that included ceramics, wickerwork, masks, musical instruments, jewelry, 6th C burial urns, textiles, maces with faces, bone harpoons and gold objects, as well as 19th C silver objects. We toured that on our own and could have used more time to explore. Lunch was very disappointing. Although I had specifically asked that our menu be a la carte, we were presented a set menu that was apparently prepaid. Yevgenia wasn’t

anywhere to be found to help us remedy this. We were allowed a couple of choices

but I knew it wasn’t the full menu since I saw a couple next to us eating food that

looked much better and that wasn’t on our menu. We got the same menu as a large

bus group sitting near us. Service was terrible and the food was only passable. At

least the wines were good, but I would have preferred to choose the wines and order

higher quality ones.

After lunch we joined a small group for an estate and cellar tour with wine tasting.

The tour was interesting and worthwhile since the property is attractive, the winery

has a very rich and colorful history and our guide was informative. The tasting did not

meet expectations though. After the tour our guide sat us at a table in the wine

cellar and presented us with wooden boards with cheeses, meats and condiments and

told us we could keep them as well as one of the wine glasses from the tasting. Very

nice. Then she poured the wines and we tasted them, all were very good. We

sampled the 2014 Triple C, a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and

carmenere, the 2013 Pehue Carmenere which spends 20 months in French oak and the

2013 Casa Real, their premium cabernet sauvignon. Unlike at Matetic, here we had a

couple sips of wine and bites of food and then the guide was rushing us out so that we

could visit the gift shop before it closed. The other people on the tour were all

staying at the winery, so they packed up the food and some leftover wine to take with

them, but we were headed to the airport, so we couldn’t bring that along, and I

wasn’t going to chug the wine to keep a glass. I found it very annoying, particularly

since we had no interest in the gift shop.

The drive to the airport was uneventful and we arrived early so we hung out in the

lounge until our flight. It wasn’t the best ending to the trip, but overall we had a

wonderful time.

HOTELS

THE SINGULAR LASTARRIA – SANTIAGO

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Stu and I have only visited Santiago 3 times, so we're not experts on the hotel scene,

however, The Singular was the best hotel that we tried in this city. The public spaces

are stylish and comfortable and we found the team to be delightful, very friendly and

helpful. Breakfast was excellent, lots of variety and high quality items. We also had

dinner at their restaurant and found it to be equally excellent. We especially enjoyed

the lamb shoulder for 2. Service was attentive and charming. We sat on their small

outdoor patio so that was an additional benefit.

We booked a Singular room and expected a single King bed and had to settle for twin

double beds instead. Aside from that, the room was fairly spacious and very attractive

and it was quiet for sleeping. There was no view to speak of, just the street. The

bathroom had good fixtures although lighting was inadequate, I found it difficult to

apply makeup and Stu thought it was an issue when shaving. WiFi was good and there's

a large safe that can easily hold laptops and other valuables. We had a look at the

rooftop bar to check out the views. It was handsome, but we didn't spend any time

there to comment further. We loved the neighborhood. We could easily walk to the

Plaza de Armas and to the superb museum of Pre-Columbian art and there's a quaint

street nearby, Jose Victorino Lastarria Street, with shops and cool looking restaurants,

though we weren't there long enough to try any of the restaurants.

EXPLORA RAPA NUI – EASTER ISLAND

RECOMMENDED

The Explora Lodge is gorgeous with simple, elegant style and spectacular views of the

sea and surrounding landscape. The food was delicious accompanied by some good

Chilean wines. Our room was all wood and light with a large bedroom featuring a

king-sized bed, a round table with chairs, and a curved window seat beneath a bay of

large windows framing sea views. There was a large closet with ample storage and a

very spacious bathroom with dual sinks, a toilet and bidet stall, a jetted tub, a

shower with strong water pressure, a makeup mirror, quality toiletries and very good

lighting. We were at the far end of the row of rooms, so it was a bit of a walk to the

common areas, however it was very private and quiet. Explora provides refillable

water bottles, walking sticks and healthy snacks for hikes and there’s a small shop to

buy any important items you might have forgotten, or just souvenirs. There’s a nice

bar and cozy lounge near the restaurant. It’s an all-inclusive model with activities,

food and wine and airport transportation incorporated in the cost. The excursions are

organized so that you can see the most important sites during your stay, though the

longer the visit the more you can experience. We also stayed at Explora lodges in

Torres del Paine and the Atacama Desert. Our favorite was the one in the Atacama.

PALACIO ASTORECA – VALPARAISO

RECOMMENDED

We spent 4 nights at Palacio Astoreca and were very pleased. It's in a lovely historical

building in an excellent neighborhood up the hill within walking distance to loads of

restaurants. The restaurant in the hotel is quite good as well, particularly the

breakfasts which offered a good selection of high quality foods to eat, including an

omelet station, an excellent variety of fresh fruit and very good coffee. The team at

the hotel, and especially those at the front desk were delightful, always smiling,

helpful and friendly. When we needed to leave early one morning they prepared us a

terrific breakfast so we didn't have to go hungry. The public spaces were lovely and

the whole place oozes charm and character. Our room was on the top floor with a

good sized terrace furnished with comfortable chairs overlooking the harbor and

surrounding streets. The room was spacious with a comfortable bed and though the

bathroom was a bit small it had a large shower. There wasn't air conditioning but the

open windows kept us cool and it was quite chilly at night so we usually closed

them. Most nights the neighborhood was very quiet and we slept peacefully, though

on Saturday night it can get a bit raucous in the street until the wee hours. There

might not be a better choice in town.

LA CASONA AT MATETIC – ROSARIO VALLEY

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Our room, Sauvignon Blanc, featured country elegant decor, a comfy king bed with

night tables, a desk, chairs and table, French doors out to the patios, and a large

armoire. Hanging space could be improved but it was adequate for our stay and there

were ample drawers and shelves and a safe large enough for electronics and other

valuables. The green and white check tiled bathroom was enormous with a large

jetted tub/shower combo, dual sinks, a chair, ample space on the vanity for personal

items, a good hairdryer, large mirror, big soft towels, plush robes and slippers and

good quality toiletries. Water pressure in the shower was excellent and the Wi-Fi was

fast and reliable. It was very peaceful overnight, and we slept soundly, though we

found that we could clearly hear the people talking in the room next door earlier in

the day. There's a beautiful pool nearby with lounge chairs, shaded day beds and a

covered bar area with seating. The office is in the same building as the guest rooms

along with bathrooms and a lovely lounge with sofas, a pool table, honor bar and

coffee machine. The property is extensive and there are various tours on offer

including bicycle excursions. Don’t miss the cellar tour and wine tasting. While

staying here we visited other wineries in the area and also visited Pablo Neruda's

home at Isla Negra,which is well worth the time. It's very helpful to have a car to get

around unless you have other transportation. As for food, breakfast was good enough

but not anything special. Dinners were variable, some dishes very good and others

only passable, though the wines were always excellent. The best meal we had was the

lunch at Equilibrio. We found the team to be helpful and cordial.