Boobies Rule

Jason

Santiago is a really modern city full of skyscrapers and offices but still has a really nice atmosphere about it. We got into wine tasting here as the gooood stuff is only about a pound a bottle, 200 pound bottles back home in restaurants go for about 6 pounds here!!!! We visited a Salsa club which was really cool, especially when the good dancers turn up at 4am. After 4 days of relaxing with the vino and some friends we met in the hostel we flew out to Isla De Pasca, AKA Rapa Nui, AKA Easter Island. The island is amazing, in the middle of nowhere yet it has Internet cafes, nightclubs and a floodlit footie pitch!!! There are lots of roaming dogs about and also the odd horse who goes wandering along the main street. The main attraction are the Moai which are outstanding, a lot bigger than we expected, some stand 20m tall and weigh about 120 tonnes. The ones you see in pictures standing up have all been restored the rest of them are all toppled forward. The quarry where they were carved out of solid rock is amazing, it has 397 in various stages of production, some half buried some still attached to the rock. We had a great time on the island and met a great couple from Chile who invited us to go and stop with them and their 3 children when we got back to Santiago. We took them up on there offer and spent the weekend in their beautiful home in Paine, about 40kms south of Santiago.

After that we headed up to Quito for a 7 day tour of the Galapagos Island. Let me state right off it was probably the best 7 days of the trip and DEFINITELY the worst 7 nights!!!! The boat visited the islands during the day and then travelled overnight to the other islands. The beautiful islands and stunning wildlife were worth it though.We had the classic pic with a giant tortoise and saw Lonesome George. Every golden sandy beach was covered with sea lions as you walked past them to swim with them and the turtles , sharks, sting rays and penguins!!! So close you could touch them ( that's a no no) The Blue footed Boobies with their extravagant mating rituals were a highlight, dancing and squealing at each other. Another unusual sight were the Frigate birds which were in mating season, to attract the females they blow up a red sac that is on their neck which looks like a big red heart. We had one day in a Mangrove swamp paddling the dingy looking for sharks, everyone keeping dead silent, that felt really spooky. It was an amazing experience and worth every penny. Vicki managed to take 1200 photo´s in just 7, yes 7, days!!!

A very long 24 hours and four flights after leaving Quito we landed in Rio de Janero. It is a beautiful city, the view from the Christ statue is stunning, it has a very Hong Kong feel to it as it is built around lots of islands and inlets. We also went up to Sugar Loaf mountain but within 5 minutes of us reaching the top the clouds came in and we could not see anything!!! It was a bit spooky going back down in the cable car. We went to the Maracana Stadium to see the 1st leg of the Brazilian cup final between Fluminese and Figurense which ended 1-1. The atmosphere was fantastic, 100 000 fans with flares and flags waving. I bought yet more footie tops, they are too cheap not to!!!