Santiago and Easter Island

So the next day we flew back to the capital. Checked-in at a hotel close to the airport since arriving in the afternoon and going super early to Easter island. It was nice to be at a regular hotel to freshen up. Time flew fast and suddenly we only had a couple of hours sleep before going to the airport. From being there like an hour before to latam requesting 3-4h before (!). Domestic vs international flight and they seemed to regard Easter island as an international flight. Still we went as early to get there 3 h before. Before this we realized we had to do a sort of Visa but this could be done online which saved us a lot of trouble at the airport. Sure it was a different line to Easter island and a much more thorough process so I guess being in time is good, especially since they close baggage drop early.

We felt quite fresh despite the early rise but both slept through the food at the plane. Good thing we had breakfast at the airport. We landed in the morning in Easter island (-2 h compared to Santiago) and our hostal had a transfer fixed for free. Lovely. It's very close to the airport though but it's a nice gesture. And we got flower necklaces! Lei. Beautiful. Like stereotypical Hawaii but I never got one there though.

My favorite flowers on the island

Decorated our room like this with the leies. Here they are 4 days old though.

Our accommodation

As we were super hungry we went out for lunch directly. Or after being greeted by our very friendly host, an old lady who was super sweet. She always talked a lot to us during our stay and made sure we were okay. We tried to find something cheap in this place where we read that it would be super expensive. We found a place that served really good hamburgers for a decent price, just slightly higher than Santiago.

This satisfying food made me super sleepy so we had a nap before making our next move. We realized internet sucked over here so research was not easy but we found a place to rent a car and some things to do for the afternoon. We also got water but realized many places were closed over the Christmas holidays which worried us a bit. Me sleeping was not a waste of time since it was raining hard during the entire time. Like being soaked rainy.

Free WiFi park. Not the fastest but free :-)

For the evening we headed out to Ahu Tahai to watch the sunset and we planned to eat at a restaurant with a view over these Moais since it was Christmas, 24th of December. So did many other people and it was super full. They were closed the following day so we booked for the 26th instead. First ones on the list. Despite the hunger the sunset was very beautiful and many people came to see it in the grass below the moais. Just look at them:

Such fascinating history and mystery that we had yet much to learn about. On our way back we found the real expensive places before finding something a little nicer to the wallet. Many places had for example only set menues with a cost from 50 - 100 000 CLP a person. Walking back home was a bit dark but this place felt very safe if it wasn't for the stray dogs. They're everywhere... Punta Arenas had a slight weird vibe to it but we read that violent crime was non common but pickpocketing on the other hand quite common. Over here at Easter island we felt like crime should be very very rare. One big street, maybe two that make up most of the city and otherwise mostly farm land at the island.

So a chill getting to know your new place and plan for the days to come day. With a nice addition of some moais. That's it for today.

Hasta luego,
S