22 - 29 April... Rapa Nui

Ahu Kote Riku at sunset


Ahu Akivi - the only group of Moai to be found inland and Matt´s favourite spot on the island


Ahu Akivi - Lynne is top left to give some idea of scale


The fifteen Moai of Ahu Tongariki at sunrise


The eight toppled Moai of Ahu Vinapu exhude a sense of absolute futility


A beautiful sunny morning at Ahu Nau Nau


Matt explores Rano Raraku - the volcanic crater where all the Moai were carved


Lynne among the unfinished figures at Rano Raraku - her favourite spot


Matt pulls a shape at Cave Dos Ventanas (Cave of Two Windows)


Ursula Andress breathed a huge sigh of relief.... her reputation as the sexiest person ever to exit the ocean was safe


And finally, the covergirl in the next issue of ´Jeep Monthly´is....


Lynne says...

We might now be almost 1,500 pounds over budget after just two months but the week we´ve just spent on Rapa Nui has been worth every penny.

Rapa Nui is one of the world´s most isolated, inhabited islands and I´ve certainly never met anyone who has been here. The mystery of the moai (stone figures) has never been explained which makes a visit to this enigmatic place even more memorable.

The majority of the moai lie shattered on the ground, a result of internal tribal battles a couple of hundred years ago. Some have been carefully restored by experts yet their true significance has never been agreed upon. There is so much more to say about this island and I won´t even begin to go into any detail. If you are interested, you could always follow this link to find out more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island

Matt´s pictures are fantastic but they still only go so far towards portraying just how mesmorizing this island really is. You will only ever know what it´s like if you are prepared to travel here yourselves.

This week will take some beating.

19-21 April.....Santiago

The Casillero del Diablo (Cellar of the Devil) vault at Concha Y Toro


Matt says...

And so to Chile's capital city Santiago, which in the mind of this traveller means, among other things, being back in the hustle and bustle of big city life, a good excuse for a nice meal out and also an english language copy of Time or Newsweek. Aah, bliss!

We've had a fairly lazy time here wandering around the city before our flight to Easter Island which departs tomorrow (Saturday April 22nd). Needless to say, we are both incredibly excited at the prospect of spending an entire week in such a unique place - the most isolated island with a permanent population on our planet. What a treat it will be to wander among the massive stone maoi for seven days. Pictures aplenty upon our return - we promise.

It was back to the vineyards today (I know, it's such a tough life, isn't it?) at Concha y Toro to be precise. The vineyard is just on the outskirts of Santiago and it's quite a contrast to look out over the old vines in the tranquility of their magnificent grounds and see tower blocks stretching from the near distance all the way to Santiago's city centre on the horizon.


Tour guide Mabel prepares breakfast

We had a truly fantastic tour, including visiting the 150 year old cellars, tasting Cabernet Sauvignon grapes straight from the vine and learning to appreciate what time in the glass will do for Chile's unique Carmenere grape. Added to this were two tastings including the 1998 Don Melchor, their premium wine, which wasn't unlike a typical red Bordeaux. We would both like to extend our deepest gratitude to Martin Wyles from Coventry's Bablake Wines for organising this for us. Top geezer!

So, Easter Island here we come. We are guessing that we'll be totally out of contact for the week we are there but hopefully there will be an update and the promised pictures by Sunday 30th. Have a great week - we will!

17-19 April... Aunty Wino is very happy

"Yes, I think the 2006 Cabernet will be excellent........."

Lynne says...

It was the lure of my favorite tipple that brought us to Talca. I am after all, "Aunty Wino", as my two and a half year old nephew, Ben, often reminds me.

Chilean wine has become increasingly popular in England during recent years due to its quality and affordability. As French classics continue to loose their share of the market, Chilean winemakers consistantly produce decent wines at good prices.

There are around thirty wineries in the Maule Valley area but it proved fairly difficult to visit them - we struggled to find any information and all tours must be booked in advance. After a few phone calls we eventually arranged a guided tour of three wineries - Casanova, Calina and Casa Donosa.

The vineyards varied in size from the small, fourth generation family run Casanova to the huge, American owned Calina. The tours themselves varied in quality and two were conducted entirely in Spanish.

We sampled Cabernet Sauvigon midway through the fermentation process, watched as Cabernet grapes were crushed and discovered Carmanere, a variety of grape that had been wiped out in France due to disease yet was rediscovered in Chile in 1994. I´m not sure I´ve ever seen it for sale in the UK but then again, I´m hardly an expert. I just like to drink it.


"Mine, mine, they're ALL MINE!"

11-17 April...Rivers, volcanoes and hot pools

Lynne takes a stroll along Lake Villaricca at sunset


Lynne says....

Surrounded by mountains, ancient forests and dominated by the smouldering Volcano Villaricca, Pucon is a small, developing town in Chile's Lake District. Orderly streets with well-kept gardens and picket fences reveal the German influence of this area, a result of immigration in the late nineteenth century.

I'd never seen a live volcano before and was totally transfixed by it. During the day a thin wisp of sulphur rose from its peak. At night, its orange glow was visible for miles and to me it was completely magical.


The smoking Volcán Villaricca towering over Pucon

White water rafting was definitely on the agenda and we grouped together with six fellow travellers in our hostel. I was slightly concerned with the label of ´Mum´ I´d been given after just one day in their company. They might all be in their early twenties but there was something very wrong with being the mother figure. Were they trying to tell me something?

Three of the lads were on their way back to England after spending several months working in Antartica for the British Antartica Survey - they were actually commuting home from work. I couldn´t help thinking about all those poor sods in London jammed into tubes or waiting in the pouring rain for delayed trains. Give me Antartica to England via Chile any day.

The upper Rio Trancura was swollen due to recent heavy rainfall and the next three hours passed by in a haze of adreneline. As a complete novice, the Grade IV rapids were both extremely exhilarating and a tad frightening. It probably didn´t help when my raft capsized during the first major rapid and I was hauled from the raging torrent by our guide. Not the most ladylike of positions to find myself in.

The highlight of our stay was the ascent of Volcan Villaricca although it didn´t actually work out exactly as planned. I´d spent days gazing up at its peak, anticipating what it would be like to stare over the edge into the core of the earth. To make sure we avoided the crowds, we booked on to a 4am tour. Crampons and ice picks to the ready, we trudged upwards in pitch darkness and watched the sun rise over the low lying clouds.

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side and we soon found ourselves at the mercy of the elements. On the edge of the snowline, the wind was ferocious and our guides took the decision to abandon the climb because conditions were simply too dangerous. Despondently, everyone trudged back down.


Above the clouds on Volcán Villaricca

We consoled ourselves that evening by relaxing under the southern stars in thermal hot pools. In the distance we could see the tantalising glow of the volcano we didn´t quite manage to climb. Still, there are many more volcanos ahead of us and we will stare down into the core of the earth before we return home.


Cigars and hot pools - Matt slums it in Pucon with our new mates Adam, Geoff, Annabel and Ruth

7-11 April.....Three days at sea and a rough ride for someone

Thankfully, this was not the Navimag..................................


Lynne says...

Our highly anticipated departure was delayed due to bad weather and so we were stranded in Puerto Natales for yet another day. To give you an idea, Puerto Natales makes Nuneaton sound appealing and that's saying something (sorry John and Chez). The poor buggers who had already endured three days at sea were stranded in port and within sight of dry land but they weren't allowed off due to rough waters. There was also a terrible rumour circulating that I kept trying to ignore - the vessel we were supposed to sail on had been shipwrecked two weeks previously and we were on the standby.

The guidebooks all promise that the most popular ways to travel through Patagonian Chile is via ship. Road connections in this part of the world are few and far between and a 60 hour trip on a bus didn´t appeal to either of us. Instead, three days sailing amongst islands, fjords, peninsulas and glaciers promised to be a much more comfortable option.

Years ago, travellers had no option but to bargain for a passage on cargo ships that plied the waters between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt. Realising they were on to a good thing, Navimag, the only company that sails this particular part of the world, converted two of their ships to take foot passengers. It was an immediate success despite the basic conditions.

We were fairly limited to what we could actually do to pass the time and spent the next three days playing cards, reading and hanging out with fellow gringos over pisco sour and beer. Every now and again we would troop outside into the drizzle and watch Patagonian Chile pass us by. Unfortunately, the weather was shocking so all we saw were the vague outlines of islands in the distance. My particular highlight was the sight of a whale fin in the distance - or was it just a particularly high wave?

On day two, conversation turned to the forthcoming crossing of the Golfo de Penas, a stretch of rough water that would take around 12 hours to navigate. Despite preparing himself with seasickness tablets, Matt didn´t take long to succumb to the motion of the sea and fairly quickly lost his lunch over the side of the boat. Not many people made it for dinner that evening.

After three days the boredom had really started to set in and the routine felt a bit like being inside a prison. Meals were at set times, prison style, and the food matched the weather outside - completely unremarkable. I learnt two new card games and the ability to stare into space for hours on end.

The saving grace were the people. Fellow gringo travellers made the voyage seem almost bearable, so many thanks to our ubercool cabin mates from Amsterdam Martin and Mandy, solo wine buff Adam from Leeds and fellow marrieds, Paul and Joanne from Shepherd's Bush - what would we have done without them? Probably jumped into the ice cold water no doubt. Either that or we would have started talking to the farm animals outside.

It certainly was a memorable experience but due to the unending grey clouds it had nothing to do with the promised spectacular fjords, peninsulas and islands. Nevertheless, we´d met some great people and it was definitely better than catching the bus.

7 April 2006 - A man walks into a chemist......

Matt says...

Just to give you all a laugh at my expense I have decided to share this tale with you.

It was remiss of us to fail to pack any Zovirax when we left England for our trip. Sure enough, I have developed a coldsore over the past few days and popped into a pharmacy in Puerto Natales today to try and describe the problem and get some medication.

"Tengo una problem" (I have a problem), I mumbled at the female chemist pointing to my spotty lower lip unaware of the Spanish translation for coldsore. She soon put me straight though, assuring myself and everybody else in the shop that I did indeed have, "How you say? Herpes? Yes, herpes." Just to rub salt into the wound she then assured me that I had herpes of the labia. Yes, the Spanish for lip is labia.

My embarrassment was complete as I paid as quickly as possible and shuffled out.

1-5 April 2006 - El Chaltén

Lynne on Cerro FitzRoy


Matt says...

Approximately one month into our trip we find ourselves in the rapidly-expanding village / small town of El Chaltén. The main selling point of the place is that the trails to the Fitz Roy and Torre mountains begin in the town itself.

This is comparable to the English Lake District where the myriad of public footpaths tend to pass through the local towns and villages. El Chaltén and Lakeland also share another welcome attraction - a local pub. Needless to say, we took the first opportunity to taste the bar´s home brew which was a very satisfying cloudy and fruity beer they called pilsner - although it had more in common with Belgian blonde beers than its name suggests.

The beer was reasonably well deserved as we had walked the trail to Laguna de los Tres during the day, which included a very steep climb / scramble up to the highest lake on Mount Fitz Roy. The weather was absolutely wonderful - probably the best we´ve had since leaving Buenos Aires - and the pictures show just how majestic Fitz Roy looked in the autumn sunshine.

The walk took us a shade under seven hours and it was very welcome on our return to be able to recover on a comfortable bunk bed at Hostel Rio Grande rather than to put up a tent and crawl into a warm but restrictive sleeping bag. Maybe we´re getting soft in our old age.

See the pictures in the Argentina album at:
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/thefears06/my_photos