Prologue
In 2016 I packed a big backpack (too big, if anything) and took a one way flight to Bangkok. I spent about 6 months traveling around Southeast Asia, and I’ve had the most amazing time. It was challenging, eye opening, magical, sometimes lonely or stressful, but never boring. I was enamored. Travel didn’t have to be glamorous, but there was so much to see and so much to do! And it was all at my fingertips.
Since then I always knew I had to go backpacking again. A lot of fellow travelers I met in Asia raved about Latin America. Before I even finished my first big trip, the idea of the second one was already born.
Nine years later, and I’m finally doing it!
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona was my first stop – but I wasn’t alone. You see, Barcelona was also my and Nathan’s goodbye trip – we flew here together, and spent 3 wonderful days seeing this amazing city for the first time together. We were both in love with it – the ingenious and unique architecture of Gaudi, beautiful streets of the Gothic Quarter, lively Las Rambla, and of course, the crown jewel of it all, Sagrada Familia.
The only minor problem was I was feeling slightly ill and even fever-y. I powered through with paracetamol, and by the third day figured I was all fine again.
On Monday night we said our goodbyes at the airport. Nathan flew back to London, and I flew onwards to start the solo portion of my trip.
Santiago, Chile
Santiago was only meant to be a pit stop for me. The truth is I wanted to head to Easter Island as quickly as possible, but did not want to take the risk of flying on the same day, just in case of any delays.
Since I was already there, I decided to make the most of it, and signed up for a walking tour. It was a great way to get a bit of local context, and learn about the city, the country and the culture. It helped ground the rest of my experience in Chile.
And the next morning I was off to Rapa Nui.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
The flight to Rapa Nui from Santiago takes about 5 hours. It’s hard to describe just how much this place is in the middle of nowhere – seeing the little bit of green land from the plane was quite exhilarating! At times I kept thinking to myself it should not be possible for it to exist. But it does. And it’s utterly wonderful!
I’ve spent about a week here. Whilst this is a lot of time for an island that you can drive around in an hour, I figured this might be the only time in my life I make it all the way here, to this tiny, remote Polynesian island, so I may as well make the most of it. And I’m really glad I did that.
It turns out my illness wasn’t over. The first few days I’ve been on and off struggling with fever, muscle aches, not sleeping at night, and getting increasingly concerned about the possibility I might need to seek medical attention at one of the most remote places I know.
Luckily, I slowly started to feel better, just in time to enjoy the two days of tours I’ve booked around the island. Most people who know anything about Easter Island know the statues, known as moai. As a tourist you can only visit most of them with a guide, therefore guided tours are very common around the island.
I’ve particularly enjoyed visiting the quarry, Rano Raraku. This is where the moai were created. It was incredible to see the various stages of carving, and a lot of the “heads” just scattered around (the reason why people often believe the moai are just heads is that in the quarry a lot of the statues ended up buried over time, and only the heads are visible – they do in fact all have bodies). Many of the moai on the island are toppled over, and in various stages of deteriorating. Some of the most impressive (and restored) sites were Ahu Tongariki, Ahu Tahai and Ahu Nau Nau at the Anakena beach. One can only imagine how ominous and awe inspiring it must have felt to see the moai when the island was first discovered. Their solemn faces standing silent vigil over the island. And oh, so mysterious!
Apart from the moai, the island is also worth seeing simply because it’s beautiful. With a population of about 8000 people, it does feel like a large village. Everywhere you walk you hear a friendly “Iorana”. Roosters wake you up in the morning. At this time of year, Rapa Nui is very lush and green, and everything is in bloom. The temperature is about 25 degrees in the day, and 18 degrees in the night – just cool enough to sleep. Not to mention it’s incredibly safe, which as a solo female traveler I have a big appreciation for.
I spent one of my last days accidentally cycling close to 50km on a truly terrible bike. I had multiple regrets that day, such as not properly looking at the distances, not starting earlier in the day and not paying more for a bike that doesn’t feel like it’s attacking me constantly. Rapa Nui was more hilly than I had hoped. Whilst this adventure took a lot longer than I planned and basically meant that I never got a chance to relax on the beach I was headed to (I had to turn back before it got dark), it was still a really nice way of seeing the island.
Last, but not least – turtles! There are many turtles at the beach in the town. Just watching them from the shore, I counted seven or eight of them. Given I’ve been feeling ill, I’ve very reluctantly passed on the opportunity to go scuba diving, as the timing didn’t work out well (this hurt – Rapa Nui has so many endemic species I wanted to see). However, I couldn’t help myself, and did spend one day snorkeling with the turtles. I obviously ended up burning my back… but luckily not too badly. Worth it!
After about a week in Rapa Nui, it was time to go back to mainland Chile. It felt like just the right amount of time too.
Santiago, Chile
I spent two more days in Santiago. I was staying in Barrio Italia, which is one of the safer, and also more lively neighborhoods, and I very much enjoyed it. Loved the street art! I spent my first day mostly walking around San Cristobal Hill, whilst on the second I decided to visit a few museums.
The Museum of Memory and Human Rights was a history museum mostly focused on Pinochet’s dictatorship and the atrocities committed during this (still very recent) time. Honestly, whilst it was interesting and educational, it was also pretty rough going and utterly heartbreaking.
Later that day, I’ve visited Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, which definitely lifted my mood. It showcased a beautiful collection of various arts, such as textiles and statues from various regions of Latin America.
Coincidentally, during these two days I’ve also met up with one of my friends and ex-colleagues Ed and his partner Becky, as their three week sabbatical perfectly overlapped with my trip for a few days in here. It was great to see some familiar faces and have a Pisco Sour together.
Two days later, I was catching another flight, with San Pedro de Atacama as my ultimate destination. And I’ll cover that in the next post!