Marcela has ordered a car to take us to the airport at 8am on Sunday. She greets the driver at 7:45, watches as the bags are put into the car, tells me I'm lovely, gives me an Argentine kiss then taps John on the arm and finally waves as the car pulls away. It has been very nice staying in her apartment and she and her daughter have been very helpful. This has been William's favorite apartment during our trip.
William and I luck out and no one is seated between us on the flight so we have a little room to stretch out a bit. Our 90 minute flight to Santiago takes us over the Andes. They are so impressive - I just have to take a few photos from the plane window.
I've booked us in the Hotel Diego de Alamagro Aeropuerto for one night. It's about a 10 minute ride in a complementary shuttle bus. The hotel is clean and better than we expected for $80 including continental breakfast. We spend the day relaxing near the pool, catching up on online activities, and napping.
The alarm jolts us a 5:15 am Monday. We dress, have a little breakfast and pile into the overcrowded 6:30am shuttle bus. We encounter Monday morning traffic but arrive at the airport before 7am.
When I checked in online it would not allow me to select seats, but that's okay because we receive complementary upgrades to business class on a new Dreamliner. Score! The 5 hour flight gives us time to watch some movies and catch a short nap, although neither of us use the lay flat feature.
I've booked us in the Hotel Diego de Alamagro Aeropuerto for one night. It's about a 10 minute ride in a complementary shuttle bus. The hotel is clean and better than we expected for $80 including continental breakfast. We spend the day relaxing near the pool, catching up on online activities, and napping.
The alarm jolts us a 5:15 am Monday. We dress, have a little breakfast and pile into the overcrowded 6:30am shuttle bus. We encounter Monday morning traffic but arrive at the airport before 7am.
When I checked in online it would not allow me to select seats, but that's okay because we receive complementary upgrades to business class on a new Dreamliner. Score! The 5 hour flight gives us time to watch some movies and catch a short nap, although neither of us use the lay flat feature.
The temperature and the airport in Hanga Roa, the only city on the island, reminds us of Papeete, Tahiti. It's 26C (79F) at 12:30pm with a good wind. One difference is the length of the runway. This one is much longer - built by NASA as a emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle. After waiting until almost the final bags are manually unloaded from a full Dreamliner we have our bags and the taxi quickly delivers us to Hotel Puku Vai. It is a cute lodge with a reception and restaurant building and a separate building with 20 rooms. Our room is larger than we expected and each room has sliding glass doors leading to the common patio and pool. We're happy.
After unpacking we get a map and restaurant recommendations from the manager. We walk into the center of the town, stopping at Dominican for lunch. The monks (and us) celebrate with alcoholic beverages while we wait for our entrees. I have a whitefish with sautéed vegetables. The lightly flavored mustard sauce makes the dish distinctive. William chooses a steak, and while it is ok, he announces that he has been spoiled by Argentine meat. After lunch we stop at a local gelato shop for dessert. The mango tastes like they have creamed a half a mango into my small scoop.
We walk toward the ocean and watch some of the surfers and swimmers at Ahu Tautira for a little bit then make our way back to Atamu Tekena, the main street of the town and then turn left on Av. Hotu Matua to reach our hotel. As we walk along William comments that is all uphill! I sometimes think he is exaggerating but in this case he is 100% correct - it is a consistent gradual uphill climb. Funny, we didn't notice that it was all downhill on the way there, but we did comment that it wasn't a bad walk.
In the 22C (72F) evening sitting out on the patio we meet some of the other couples staying at the hotel. There is an exchange of good stories. We also stare at the star-filled sky. A great start to our stay on the island.
We walk toward the ocean and watch some of the surfers and swimmers at Ahu Tautira for a little bit then make our way back to Atamu Tekena, the main street of the town and then turn left on Av. Hotu Matua to reach our hotel. As we walk along William comments that is all uphill! I sometimes think he is exaggerating but in this case he is 100% correct - it is a consistent gradual uphill climb. Funny, we didn't notice that it was all downhill on the way there, but we did comment that it wasn't a bad walk.
In the 22C (72F) evening sitting out on the patio we meet some of the other couples staying at the hotel. There is an exchange of good stories. We also stare at the star-filled sky. A great start to our stay on the island.
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