Jul 2013 – Jul 2013

Nicholas got me my own my-sized Moai statue-pisco!

This is going into my gaming bear cave.  Because ever serious gaming bear cave needs a moai statue in it.

I like it so much I go to sleep with it.

My best bear bud Nicholas hates metros in Santiago.

This one time, it was so crowded, he got pushed all the way to the back of the train and when it came time for his stop, he couldn’t get out.

That might have been the last time he took the metro for months.

I decided I had to see what the metro was like so before we left Chile Nicholas took me on one.

Just as I was starting to think that the metro was actually pretty quiet, a train full of singing and dancing freshly drunk football watching Chileans showed up.

So I can say I got a Santiago metro experience after all.

Today we went sight-seeing in Santiago.  It’s not like we had a lot of time left so I thought we should get to it.

We went to Parque por la Paz.  It’s is a memorial for all the victims that were tortured during the Pinochet era.    This trip took about 3 hours because Nicholas wanted to walk.

Here it is.

Oh and here’s an asian restaurant!

And a dog.

And now I can say I’ve done some Santiago touristing.

When guests come over, I like to greet them from my bed throne.

I like them to know who’s boss of the abode.

I am one of the best!

I made sure Nicholas got Pokin a chocolate cake for her birthday.  And since it was chocolate and raspberry flavoured, I even let her have one of my raspberry and chocolate alfajores to go with it.

I am definitely looking forward to trying the product of my thoughtfulness!

I can be a pretty non-discriminating bear.

Give me chocolate-covered alfajores?  I’ll take them.

On the drive back to the airport we made one last stop and pulled over at Aha Hanga.

I couldn’t resist.  These statues were resting the way I like to nap.

Actually though, by 1722, this is the condition in which all the moai on the island were found – face down.

Once seen as a sign of prosperity and an hommage to ancestors, the twilight years saw a thriving civilization descend into inter-tribal warfare, starvation and cannibalism.  The moai were now a poor reminder of those past times.  So down they went.  By the 1680s, the last of the chiefs and priests were overthrown by the military and the Birdman era began – with its corresponding craziness.

And with that, I am content to going back to my cocoa sipping chocolate eating gaming ways. Easter Island, it’s been a peach.  Or should I say chocolate-covered peach?  Time to go back home Nicholas!

Our last day at Easter Island started at the beginning.

First of all, it was the 4th of July (happy 4th to my best bear bud, Nicholas!).  It was also off to Rano Raraku, the birth place, quarry and carving grounds for the 887 moai statues that eventually dotted the fringes of the whole island.

Fortunately, we left at the more sensible hour of 9:40am.  I wanted to be awake for this!

They say it is a magical experience visiting the grounds of  Rano Raraku under the early morning rays of sunlight.  I was just glad to get there before the busloads of other tourists that would surely ruin my tranquility bubble.  At least at this moment, we seemed to be there by ourselves.  In fact, the rangers who were supposed to check our park pass weren’t even at the gate.

And there they were…scattered all over the quarry in all states of completion.

Here’s one still being carved out of the rock.

The sign here said mirador, so I obliged by posing for a scenic tourist picture.

We made our way to the interior crater where there were more moai in varying stages of completion.

About the time the van-loads of tourists started arriving was when we reached the end of the trail.  And with that, here is Tukuturi, one of the last moai ever carved, and the end of an era.

So we turned around and walked back to the car for our trip to the airport.

So long moai!  So long, truckloads of German tourists!

Another day on Easter Island, another sunset.  This time in the one and only town on the island, Hanga Roa where most of the town’s ~5,000 people live.

They even had a better exercise park than most of mainland Chile.

Well given we were already at these Ahu anyway, we went and checked them out.  They are one of the few inland Ahu that actually face outwards (normally they face inwards from the sea). Despite being inland, they are still positioned to face sunset during Spring and Autumn Equinox and supposedly their backs are still towards the sunrise during Spring and Autumn Equinox.

Cool stuff.