Day 1:  We arrived at San Francisco International Airport at about 8:45 a.m. For the most part, check in was a breeze. The only exception was a young French couple that had most their earthly belongings stuffed into one oversized suitcase. I do believe that, with a little effort, Shaquille O'Neal would have fit into this bag. Needless, to say, it was severely overweight. The entire line was held up while they purchases and overpriced duffel bag (from the airline, of course) and repacked their luggage. We finally reached our ticket agent and were checked all the way through to Easter Island.

We were directed to a special baggage screen area (international destination from domestic origin, I guess). Upon arrival to the area, one of the “World Class SFO Employees” redirected us to another area so he could check in 10 bags ahead of us. We directed some not so polite words toward him and waited in line. The last we saw of him was as he was exiting the doors with our luggage on a dolly. Hope we get to Easter Island with our luggage intact.

Of course, security screening would not be routine if Shashi made it through without a little wand action. We were not disappointed. The TSA guy opted to not let her remove her tons of glass bangles and called for female assistance to search my little terrorist. The actual gender of the “female” assistance was open for debate. She spent a little too much time on that “screening”.

Our flight was due to depart at 10:45, but due to air traffic, we departed ten minutes late. They figured it was cheaper to keep us on the ground than flying around L.A. waiting to land.

We managed to land at LAX on time. We figured we would have to go through screening again since Tom Bradley Int’l was in a different terminal but we were not prepared for the cluster f**k that awaited us. It first started out as we tried to leave the terminal. For some reason, the TSA does not have enough people employed so, as a result, the initial screening (ID and boarding pass checks) is done by the same pre-September 11 private security companies. Well, the boob that checked ours as were trying to leave the terminal to go to the international terminal, sent us back the way we came. She tried to have us reenter the metal detectors and baggage screening for the domestic flights. We managed to find someone with some intelligence that directed us to the right location.

Tom Bradley was terrible. Felt like cattle heading for the slaughter. The rented screeners did not check any of our identification. He just tried to keep people in line. After what seemed like forever, we made it to the metal detectors where Shashi remained true to form and made it beep. After we retrieved or carry on luggage, we found a café where we treated ourselves to hot dogs and beer. Our plane was not due to depart for about two and a half hours.

We departed on our Lan Chile flight on time (2:10 p.m.) and landed in Lima at about 10:00 p.m. We spent an hour on the ground. They would have let us off the plane to tour the terminal but we declined. There was just enough time to refuel the plane, let off disembarking passengers and take on new ones. We finally departed en route to Santiago.

Day 2:  We arrived in Santiago on time (about 6:00 a.m.). We were able to nap a bit on the plane. Now we had to tackle immigrations, customs and get our bags checked through to Easter Island. Prior to clearing immigrations, we had to pay a “Reciprocity Tariff” of $100.00 each. Several others failed to do so and waited in the immigration line for nothing. They were rerouted to the money booth. If Shashi would have waited on becoming a U.S. Citizen, we could have saved about $300.00 (about $200.00 to have her passport expedited and $100.00 for the tariff. British citizens do not have to pay to enter the country.). The lines going through immigrations were long and slow (at least ours was. Isn’t that always the case?).

We picked up our luggage and breezed through customs. We had to check our baggage at the domestic terminal. We were assured they would reach Easter Island even though all the check-in counters were for the Havana flight. Now we had to find the shuttle that would take us to our hotel.

At most third world airports, one is besieged by hawkers trying to arrange for transportation or to grab your bags in hopes of getting tips. Santiago is an exception. They do have them but they are polite and do not insist when told no. They even will direct you to the proper place if one is lost or confused and expect nothing in return. When were asked by one fellow if we needed transportation, we explained we had a shuttle arranged. After 10 minutes of wandering around, he asked us what hotel and marched us to the proper desk for our vouchers.

We got on the shuttle for the Diego de Almagro hotel, checked in and showered and napped for about three hours. The sleep was not as deep as we would have liked since we did not want to oversleep and miss our plane. We departed the hotel at noon and proceeded to the airport. We already had our boarding passes so we found a phone, called Cameron to let him know we were in Santiago about to depart for Easter Island. Afterwards, we found a bar where we had a couple of beers and a sandwich. We then proceeded through security, found our gate and waited for the flight to Easter Island.

After about 32 hours of traveling, airports and catnaps in between, we arrived at Easter Island. The airport definitely had the third world island charm: Very small and crowded. This was definitely a “No Plane on Sunday” kind of place: Two flights per week: One coming in from Santiago en route to Tahiti and one coming in from Tahiti en route to Santiago.  All of the luggage carts were rusted and hard to operate. Feeling the humidity in the air, one immediately knew why. We secured our luggage (first off the plane) and made our way to the exit. We were greeted by the sign waiving Terange who advised us he was to be our guide for the next three days. He grabbed our bags, threw them in the back of his van and delivered us to the Hotel Hanga Roa (named after the only town on the island).

We had a choice of several hotels but we found that the Hotel Hanga Roa and Hotel Iorana were the two best. We opted for the Hanga Roa due to its walking distance to town (15-20 minutes). We opted for the superior room and I guess, for an underdeveloped place, it was superior. As long as we had clean sheets and towels, hot running water, a western style toilet we would be ok. After checking in and asking that housekeeping clean up the thousands of dead ants congregating by the patio door, we headed to the restaurant where we dined on fresh tuna fritters and beef on a stick. We retired at about 10:00 p.m. for a good nights sleep. The bed was comfortable and the ceiling fan generated enough of a breeze to stifle some of the humidity. We opted to not sleep with the patio door open since there was no screen and did not know what the insect life was like here.

Day 3:  Wake-up came early. Terange had informed us that the morning would be ours to explore the island and he would pick us up around three for our afternoon tour. As we prepared ourselves for the day, we discovered we had no hot water. Our showers were quick and we informed the front desk on our way to breakfast. Since it is a small remote island, liquid propane is used everywhere. Our tank for the water heater happened to be empty. They assured us they would replace it. We had a light breakfast at the hotel and packed up the camera gear and headed for town.

We found the main road (Avenida Atamu Tekena) to town. Along the way we scoped out several establishments we might want to visit on the way back to the hotel. These were stores for souvenirs, supermarkets for water, Internet café to send messages home, etc.

To us, this little town is fantastic: So simple and almost unspoiled by the rest of the world. Sure, the have modern conveniences, but the lifestyle is so laid back. Everyone seems to get along even though there is a mixture of cultures. The original islanders are called Rapa Nui. The island is part of Chile. All of the law enforcement and military are Chilean. They are rotated in and out every six months. A lot of the merchants are also Chilean or from other countries. But they all seem to get along. Tourists are treated very well. At no time, did we feel threatened or worried about becoming victims of any crime.

Anyway, back to the morning: We wound our way through the streets of Hanga Roa and found a coastal road the led us to several statues (Moai). Along the way, we managed to pick up a stray dog that seemed to guide us to the paths going to the Moai. The first statues we came across were ones that we made by local artists. They have an annual competition and the winner’s statues are displayed around the west coast of the island. That is where the town is. We wandered up the coast and found the following platforms: Tahai, Ahu Vai Uri, Aku Ko Te Riku, and Ahu Te Ihu.

After strolling for a few miles, we headed back to town and found the Internet café. We sent a short email to our loved ones and wandered next door to a small restaurant called Ariki Ote Pana (Queen of the Empanada). The empanadas were big and tasty. We washed them down with some cold Escudo Cerveza. Dogs seem to have the run of the place. While dining in this fine establishment, two dogs wandered in, plopped down on the floor for their naps and the employees did nothing to remove them. My kind of place: where everyone is welcome.

We met Terange at the hotel and our afternoon tour began. We stayed on the west coast of the island and went to the volcanic crater Rano Kau. Since there are not rivers or lakes on the small island, their water source is the rainwater contained in volcanic craters. This crater is also the backdrop for Orongo. Orongo is the site where the annual “Birdman” competition was held. The winner of this competition would be the leader of the six clans that once occupied the island. The key features here are the three small island (the focus of the competition): Motu Nui, Iti, & Kau Kau, the houses occupied during the competition, and the petroglyphs. From there, we went to some caves on the coast. This is where the families would hide during the civil wars that ravaged the island. Terange next took us to the platforms that we had visited during the morning. We informed him that we had already experienced this and he took us to the Catholic Church to conclude our day. The influence of the local culture in the church is amazing. One of the main symbols of the culture is the bird. This is present on all religious statues in the church. Even Jesus has one on his head while on the crucifix.

After we left the church, we were dropped off at the hotel where we opted to stay in for the evening. We had a few drinks in the lounge and dined in the hotel dining room. Afterwards, we retired to our rooms where we discovered that we indeed had hot water. We enjoyed a good nights sleep.

Day 4:  We awoke to an extremely cloudy sky. The wind was blowing pretty hard and we hoped that the rain would hold. On the average, Easter Island gets 160 days of rain a year. That is a lot of rain. We made our way to the dining room and had a light breakfast. Afterward, we met Terange in the reception area and started our full day’s tour.

We started out at Ahu Vaihu. These statues have not been restored. It was explained to us that the Moai were destroyed during the civil wars. From there we went to Ahu Aka Hanga: A large platform with four fallen Moai. According to legend, this is the site of the tomb of the islands first king.

The next stop on our journey was the Rano Raraku. This is the crater that served as the quarry for carving the statues. The place is littered with these Moai: Some completed, ready for transportation and some still in the stages of being carved. Most are buried by earth that has eroded and slid down the side of the crater. By this time the rain had started falling and the trek up the side of the crater was slippery. I was worried about Shashi losing her footing but I was the one that fell on the way down. The inside of the crater was also littered with several Moai. This crater is also a source for water.

At the bottom of the crater was a rest area with bathrooms. I managed to get the mud off of my bare legs and we sat down and had a nice chicken lunch. After lunch, we departed to Ahu Tongariki: The largest platform on the island. There are fifteen restored Moai on this particular platform. It faces the rising sun of the summer solstice. This platform was destroyed by a large tidal wave in 1960 and restored in 1993. We then went to the navel of the world.

Our final stop for the day was Anakena Beach: The largest beach on the Island. Here is Au Nau Nau. Nice surroundings. Coconut trees have been planted and it really adds a tropical flair to the beach.

Our full day of touring was done and we were dropped of at our hotel. After several trips to the bathroom and a couple of doses of Immodium AD, we were ready to hit the town. We found a little restaurant to have a couple of drinks. I think we saw our first gay Rapa Nui. First impression was a Tiny Tim wannabe. Later he came out with dark glasses and a t-shirt wrapped around his head. A transformation from Tiny Tim to Anthony Zerbe from "The Omega Man". A little scary.

After a few beers, we staggered down the road to a restaurant recommended by Terange: Restaurant Merahi RA'A. It was excellent and much less expensive than the hotel food we had the first two nights. After a satisfying meal of chicken and fries, we paid the bill and wandered through the darkness, back to the hotel.

Day 5: Stormy looking day but the weather held. Turned out to be the warmest day on the island. We met Terange at 9:30 and headed out for a cave complex: Ana Te Pahu. The cave was a few hundred meters in length and was separated by holes in the ceiling. Here, the natives planted trees for fruit. These caves were used by the natives when hiding from pirates who regularly stumbled upon the island. They had also chiseled out the ceiling of sections to use as a cistern for collecting rain water. They could sustain themselves in these caves for quite a while.

From there, we went to the "Seven Explorers": Ahi Akivi. Believed to represent the seven initial explorers to reach Rapa Nui, these are the only Moai to face the ocean. The standard landmarks (dwellings, ceremonial circle, chicken houses, etc) are not located here. From there, we went to Puna Pau, a small volcanic crater of scopia, a red volcanic stone, used to make the topknot.

Next was Ahu Vinapu. Significant because it is the only platform inconsistent with the other platforms. It resembles the structures found in South America, specifically Machu Picchu. While on this crater, we had a nice view of Hanga Roa. Terange pointed out his home which he built on ancestral land. After we left the crater, we drove by his house. Nice place. His next addition will be a kitchen. I wonder where he cooks now?

This was our last stop with Terange. He dropped us off at the hotel and said that he or another would pick us up on the morning for our transfer to the airport. We bade farewell and tipped him for his service. I guess if we are stranded at the hotel, the tip was insufficient.

We took advantage of the remainder of the day and hit the streets of Hanga Roa. We walked, shopped, stop for a couple of drinks and were forced to leave one of the restaurants due it's closing. We wandered a bit more and found ourselves back at the Restaurant Merahi RA'A. We dined and headed back to the hotel to finalize packing for the trip back to Santiago.

Day 6:  Bags are packed and ready to go. We headed to the dining room for a light breakfast and coffee. Coffee was out of the question since the silver bullet had become unplugged and the coffee was cold. Wonder why no one complained. We finished and went to the lobby area and waited for Terange. While there, there was a guy we had seen on the island and on the plane from Santiago. Pretty much kept to him self. He always wore Aloha shirts and shorts. He stood in line, impatiently, as Shashi paid the bill. He finally disappeared and returned later with an old female hotel employee carrying his bags. The bum did not even tip the lady. I guess the louder and slower he said "Muchas Gracias" was supposed to be compensation enough.

I guess the tip was enough because Terange arrived on time and drove us to the airport. We departed with hugs and a gift from him.  The airport was swamped with only two counters open. That is all they have. Security was even worse since the X-Ray machine was inoperable. All the luggage was searched by hand which was time consuming. We boarded the plane and departed for Santiago on time.

Day 14 Continued: We landed in Lima one hour late and secured our bags. Customs and Immigrations were a breeze. We were greeted by Miguel, our Big Five representative for Lima. He welcomed us to his country and his English was impeccable. He explained that the had lived in Miami for several years. His family had fled Peru to escape the Shining Path terrorists.

It was about 20 - 25 minutes to our hotel: The Royal Park. Nice place. Very elegant lobby, bar and cafe area. We were pretty much on our own for the morning. Shashi and I decided to stay close to the hotel as we were going to repack our suitcases. Since we were going to Cusco and immediately catching a train to Machu Picchu, we decided to pack only enough clothes for the four days we were to be gone. We ended up with two carry on size bags as well as the backpack for the camera equipment. We checked the other two bags at the desk. Prior to this, we ventured to the neighborhood supermarket for a couple of beers, chips and water. On the way back, we passed a produce stand with the largest head of cauliflower we had ever seen. We returned to the room and completed the packing while snacking on chips and beer.

We finished packing and had a quesadilla at the hotel cafe. We finished in time to board the bus for our city tour of Lima. It was the basic tour: Various cathedrals, town plazas and a visit to one of the museums. This particular museum was a privately owned one: Enrico Poli Museo in the Miraflores district. I am guessing that we were supposed to feel privileged since access is gained by invitation only. The pieces were Incan, Pre-Incan and some religions artifacts. I am sure most or all of them were obtained by illegal means. The owner was pretty much a self-absorbed buffoon. He talked and talked and talked. I think he did so just to hear himself talk. Don't get me wrong, the pieces were fabulous but I left the place kind of sick to my stomach knowing that the people of Peru were deprived of some of their ancient treasures since the guy has them locked up in his home. But, what the hell? The government knows that he possesses them since this place in not a secret. After this lengthy stay, we returned to the hotel for an early dinner and off to bed for our 3:30 wake up.

Day 15: Damn! Wake up came early. We arose by three a.m. after a good nights rest. We passed on breakfast and boarded the bus for the airport. Check in was a breeze but the security was pretty tight. The evening prior, we were speaking with David and Karen and they asked if we had the medication to assist in the prevention of altitude sickness. We replied that we did not and they advised us they had plenty to share. Throughout the night, it kept entering Shashi's mind that maybe we should try to obtain some. I guess the effects of this are pretty bad: Severe headaches, diarrhea, vomiting. After we checked in, she made a beeline to the airport farmacia and acquired some Sorojchi Pills. Some of the ways to help prevent the sickness is to limit alcohol consumption, eat light meals and drink plenty of water. Following these guidelines, as well as the pills and the "mate de coca" (tea made from the coca leaf) we would be fine.

We departed Lima on time and the flight took only 50 minutes. We got off the plane and the effects of the altitude were almost immediate. Fortunately, our stay in Cusco on this leg was relatively short. Breathing was harder and one seemed to tire easily. Shashi and I had packed only a few days of clothing into two small carry on bags so we were not affected too badly by the altitude. Most of the others had not done the same so we made our way to the hotel we were to stay at while in Cusco so they could repack. The train was very limited on space and there generally is no baggage care so smaller bags are required. We made it to the Hotel Liberatador in about fifteen minutes.

We entered the lobby and what a fantastic place. Since we had no repacking to do, we wandered through the lobby and looked at some of the shops. We decided to have a seat on one of the sofas and we were approached by a young boy dressed in the colorful local clothing. He offered some mate de coca and we accepted. Although it is made from the leaf that produces cocaine, there are no effects. It's purpose, as well as chewing the leaf, is to accelerate the heart rate, therefore, increasing the flow of oxygen to help combat altitude sickness. After about an hour of hanging around, drinking numerous cups of tea, we boarded the bus en route to Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. This is where we were to catch the train to Machu Picchu. During the drive, Mitch, our guide, informed us of the Inca culture and customs to better prepare us for what lied ahead.

We reached Urubamba just in time to catch the train. By the luck of the draw, Shashi and I received front row seats which afforded us a panoramic view of the ride to Machu Picchu. The train ride was about an hour and a half and the scenery was spectacular. We traveled along side a river and encountered many porters hauling supplies for hikers. We almost hit about six of them with the train when they did not hear the whistle as we rounded a turn. Their joy was evident after this almost disastrous encounter.

We arrived at Machu Picchu Pueblo where porters took our bags to our hotel. We kind of hung out around the tracks so Mitch could arrange our transportation up the hill to the ruins. It is amazing to see how this place (Machu Picchu Pueblo-formerly Aqua Caliente) is laid out. There are several establishments that are set up along side the track. Souvenir shops, restaurants, small snack stands, etc. Then, as you look up the hill, you can see several shops, hotels and restaurants. Definitely built to accommodate the tourists. In the main plaza were several kiosks dedicated to souvenirs.

We regrouped and located a bus to take us up the hill. It was a thirty minute drive up the winding roads leading to the mountain top. When we arrived, he had a buffet lunch at the restaurant and then met again to enter the ruins.

We entered the gate and walked about fifty meters and a portion of the village became visible. At first we stopped, starring in amazement and then slowly moved forward. Each step around the small curve of the hill exposed more of the immense village. One word to describe: Unbelievable. Unbelievable that this place is still standing after several centuries and three devastating earthquakes. Shows the Incas know how to build. We took a few photos and then climbed to a higher point to get a better view of the place. We wandered around for about four hours and the sun began to start it's descent into the surrounding mountains. We headed back to the bus and began our trip down the hill.

To get to our hotel, we had to travel the path of the railroad tracks. A month prior to our trip, a deadly mudslide occurred in the town and removed the bridges that would allow us to access the hotel from the Pueblo. On our way to the hotel, we passed the area hardest hit. Several apartment buildings were damaged and the residents were still living in them. Sheets and blankets were set up as walls in some of the rooms. The slide missed our hotel by about 40-50 meters. The slide also damaged the railroad tracks and stranded about 1500 tourists in the area. They had to be rescued by helicopter.  We checked into our hotel and located our room. Nothing spectacular and in desperate need of updating. What the hell? It was only for one night. We found the hotel bar and had a couple of cocktails, met the rest of the folks for dinner and went to bed early.

Day 15: We awoke refreshed, ate breakfast and spent the morning exploring the pueblo. Did some souvenir shopping and walked almost every street and alley in the town. We met at noon at Toto's House for lunch and boarded the train back to Urubamba. Shashi and I had the same seats but on the return trip, they were at the back of the train. The seats flip so we turned them around and had the same panoramic view, only this time,  leaving Machu Picchu.

We got off the train in Urubamba and were supposed to visit some more ruins in the Sacred Valley. We opted instead to visit a local ceramic factory. We had expressed interest in the place and Mitch made the arrangements for the visit. It was a nice place with a several nice pieces. I ended buying a mask and Shashi acquired a couple of pieces she was looking for to place on the maple buffet I had bought her for Christmas. We had the larger pieces shipped back to Monterey so we would not have to lug them around for the rest of the trip. We left the factory and were going to stop at a craft market. When arrived, we found out that they had started charging admission to the place. Well, the sun was setting so we just visited a local family (Paolino and crew) and the demonstrated the methods of weaving, dying wool, making garments, etc. Of course, they had items for sale. We made it back to the bus and headed back to Cusco. Throughout our stay in Peru, I had been hinting to Mitch that I wanted try the local delicacy: Cuy. Cuy is commonly known in our neck of the woods as Guinea Pig. Since they were out of Cuy in this village we stopped at (Cuy can normally be obtained through street vendors as one would obtain a hot dog in our country), Paolino had graciously volunteered to provide us with some. Arrangements were made for Paolino to meet us at a restaurant in Cusco the following day.

We arrived in Cusco and were assigned our rooms at the hotel. Nice, I mean really nice, place. We met Annis downstairs in the lounge for cocktails and wandered off to dinner. We made it an early evening and went to bed.

Day 16: We awoke refreshed and ate a light breakfast at the hotel. We met Mitch and proceeded on with the days activities. Our first start was across the street at one of the cathedrals. This was a great example of how the Spaniards tried to erase the Incan culture. They took the Incan holy places and built their cathedrals on top of them. They covered the stones cut by the Incans with gypsum and painted them. This went undetected for centuries since the churches were private property of the Catholic church. When an earthquake in the 1950's revealed the evidence, the church had no choice but to allow archeologists in.

We then went to a couple of ruins outside of Cusco and then back into town the Plaza de Armes were we went to one last cathedral. This one was really large and contained original oil paintings which showed how the Incan painters snuck in their culture into the religions paintings.

Afterwards, we went to our restaurant for lunch. As promised, Paolino arrived with the Cuy. It was great! Probably the most flavorful piece of meat I had on this entire trip. It served well as an appetizer. For the main course, I chose the alpaca while Shashi stuck with chicken. After lunch, we opted to pass on the bus ride back to the hotel and wandered the streets of Cusco, helping the Peruvian economy by spending US Dollars on souvenirs. After several hours, we made it back to the hotel, showered, changed and relaxed with a cocktail. We then met with the group and headed to the local museum where we had dinner reservations. Dinner was good but we were exhausted from all the walking in the high altitude. We bid our good night early and headed back to the hotel.

Day 17:  Wake up was early and we caught our transfer to the airport. We were pre-checked in by Mitch and all we had to do was get through security. We actually boarded the plane without having to provide any identification to the screeners. In fact, Russ had packed his passport in his checked baggage and made it through with no problems.

We arrived in Lima on time and were taken back to the Royal Park. We decided to take a taxi to the overrated Larco Mar Shopping mall. We found one shop where we bought Shashi a silver necklace and picked up some more souvenirs. We had lunch at a little pizzeria and took the cab back to the hotel. We got our luggage and had a light dinner. Afterwards, we went back to our room, rested a bit and caught our transfer to the airport. Our plane left at about 1:00 a.m. and we settled in for the long trip home.

Day 18: We arrived in Los Angeles on time and made our way to the domestic terminal. It was a couple of hours before our plane was to depart so we found a Burger King and had some hash browns and a soda. We went to the gate, boarded our flight to San Francisco and made it home in one piece.

Twelve planes, two trains and several busses and taxis. This was a long and exhausting trip but without a doubt, the best vacation we have had. We certainly hope you have enjoyed reading about it and looking at our photos. Please remember to sign or guest book.