Trips

Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Chilean Fjords, and Easter Island

Overseas Adventure Travel

December 20, 2014 - January 8, 2015

12/20	Denver to Santiago, Chile
12/21	Santiago, Chile: Central Mercado; Plaza de Armas;
12/22	Easter Island: Ana Kai Tanata Cave Paintings; Rano Kau Volcano; Orongo Village
12/23	Easter Island: Akahana; Tonariki; Rano Raraku Quarry; Te Pito Kura; Anakena; Tahai
12/24	Easter Island: Ocean walk; Huri A Urenga; Puna Pau; Ahu a Kivi; Christmas
12/25	Fly from Easter Island to Santiago
12/26-27	Buenos Aires: Tango; City walk; Home-hosted Dinner
12/28	Fly to Ushuaia; Tour; Crab dinner
12/29	Ushuaia: Historic Train; Tierra del Fuego National Park; Prison Museum; Embark Via Australis
12/30	Cruising the Chilean Fjords: Cape Horn; Wulaia Bay
12/31	Cruising the Chilean Fjords: Pia Glacier; Garibaldi Glacier; Happy New Year
1/1	Cruising the Chilean Fjords: Chico Sound; Agostini Sound
1/2	Cruising the Chilean Fjords: Magellanic Penguins; Punta Arenas; To Puerto Natales
1/3	Torres del Paine National Park; Guanacos; First Hike; Second Hike
1/4	Torres del Paine National Park; Third Hike; To El Calafate
1/5-6	Perito Moreno Glacier; Fly to Buenos Aires
1/7-8	Buenos Aires: Parana Delta Cruise; Teatro Colon; Fly home
We did Easter Island first and the main part of the trip in the opposite direction from that pictured on the map: BA to Ushuaia, Chilean Fjords, El Calafate, BA

Fri., 12/19/14 – Estes Park to Denver
            Again had to go to Denver the night before for an early morning flight the next day. At least we get to visit with friends and relatives when that happens.

Sat., 12/20/14 – Denver to Los Angeles to Lima, Peru to Santiago, Chile
            We got up at 3:30 AM to begin our 25 hours of airports and airplanes.  The flight to LAX was very turbulent and full of families and several crying babies.  At LAX we changed terminals – walked from #7 to #2 to get our legs moving.  We were met by a nice lady from OAT in Terminal 2 to be sure we got on our flight with LAN Chile.  The nice clerk changed our seats to the ones at the bulkhead behind business class with lots of leg room.  Originally we had seats together and then got moved 15 rows apart when LAN changed equipment.  When we tried to change those seats there were no seats together.  Thank goodness she could make the switch.
            We had three meals on the way to Chile, an hour-long stop in Lima, lots of movies and games to choose from at our seats, and a safe smooth ride on one of the new 787’s.

The flag of Chile has one star for the central government, a red strip representing the blood shed for all those who worked for their freedom, a white strip for the snowy Andes Mountains and blue for the sky and the Pacific Ocean.	License plate from Santiago
Sun., 12/21/14 – Santiago, Chile         We landed in Santiago at 7 AM (5 AM our time) and met our tour guide, Berenice.  She took us to our hotel, Hotel Torremayor, and we were lucky enough to get into our rooms at this early time.  We had an hour of deep, horizontal sleep before meeting our group of 16 for this pre-trip to Easter Island. Then we took our walking tour of Santiago. .         We met our local guide, José, and he took us by subway into the downtown area of Santiago.  The subway cars and stations were clean and not smelly.         Since it was late, and seven hours since breakfast on the plane, we went first to lunch at El Galeon, connected to the fish market at Mercado Central.  Chileans eat a lot of fish and seafood, so this was an introduction to typical Chilean menus.  Our group ordered various fish meals suggested by José and I ate a beef and a cheese empanada with fites (French fries).  Marge had an abalone empanada and a local dark beer.             After eating we had 10 minutes to wander and take pictures in the fish market.	Subway stop
Central Market	Lunch entertainment
Fish Market	Octopus
Fish Market	Abalone on the half-shell
Restaurants at the Market	Kid having fun
Interesting sculpture	Next the group walked to the Plaza de Armas by way of a busy mall-type street with shops and vendors. The Plaza has a fountain and the 0 kilometer marker for distances from the center of Santiago, the Chilean capital city.  We looked at the Christmas tree decorated with paper ornaments and the Cathedral of Santiago. The inside is dark, but huge, and has an altar built in Munich.  Next to the altar was a life-sized nativity scene set into a fabricated cave.
	Sidewalk painting in the Plaza
Decorated building	Christmas tree in the Plaza
Cathedral of Santiago	Cathedral of Santiago reflected in a building across the street
Cathedral of Santiago - interior	Cathedral of Santiago - manger scene
Cathedral of Santiago - stained glass window	Central Post Office
We walked to Constitution Square where the Presidential Palace dominates one side with various government offices and ministries on the other three sides.  The palace is now the president’s office and not his/her residence.  The current president is a woman.  (The US needs to get with the program!)	Presidential Palace on Constitution Square
Government building	We rode the subway back to our hotel and stopped at a grocery store at the station to buy crackers and a jar of peanut butter for Easter Island snacks, and a banana for lunch.              At the hotel we each had time for a rejuvenating shower before our 5:30 OAT briefing.  Berenice talked about what to expect and how to pack for Easter Island.  Marge and I packed my wheelie carry-on with hats, gloves, and warm clothes we will not need until Patagonia and left the wheelie at our hotel to be retrieved on our return.  A great convenience!
We walked two short blocks to dinner at Giratorio Restaurant.  The restaurant revolves on the 18th floor of an office building and the panorama of the city, buildings, and the Andes was spectacular.  The meal was also exceptionally good.  We had Pisco sours or a local fruit juice for a pre dinner toast, two cheese empanadas for appetizers, wonderful rolls with real butter, or a veggie spread to put on the rolls.  I had chicken breast with sticky rice and the rest had a local white fish, rice, and some kind of veggies.  We had our choice of wine, beer, or water (no limit) and some kind of local fruit for dessert.  It was wonderful.	Gran Torre - Great Santiago Tower
From our hotel room	From our hotel room

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