Rapa Nui

"In the middle of the Great Ocean, in a region where no one ever passes, there is a mysterious and isolated island; there is no land in the vicinity and, for more than eight hundred leagues in all directions, empty and moving vastness surrounds it. It is planted with tall, monstrous statues, the work of some now vanished race, and it past remains an enigma."

- Pierre Loti

Playa Anakena: white sand beach with some Moais

We spent a week of our September holidays in Isla de Pascua, Rapa Nui or Easter Island. It was a great retreat and we learnt some amazing things about the history of this tough, little island.

Rapa Nui is an isolated volcanic island located in the heart of the South Pacific, halfway between Tahiti and South America. Its first inhabitants were Polynesians who settled there in about 700AD, and whose belief systems led to the carving of the stone statues for which the island is now so famous.

A Moai (stone statue) atop an Ahu (burial moud) in the town of Hanga Roa (only town on the island)

We explored the island by foot, jeep and scooter and we came across archaeological caves, petroglyphs, quarries, Moai, ceremonial villages, ruins, and more. We also saw beaches, turtles, wild horses and volcanes. It was truly spectacular! We followed the Sendero Te Ara O Te Ao up the crater to the ceremonial village of Orongo with its boat-shaped houses and view of the islands.

Rano Kau crater 

A boat-shaped house in Orongo

We had a fantastic holiday and we really enjoyed getting to know this unusual part of the world. Iorana!

La Chascona

In April we visited Isla Negra, the site of one of Pablo Neruda's three houses. He also had a house in Santiago in the Bellavista neighbourhood called La Chascona. As expected, we found a very quirky little house, which is well worth a visit!

Another Top Ten finish!

Daniel competed in the K42 trail race at Laguna del Aculeo on the weekend. He finished the tough 42km race in 05:40 in 7th place! The course was very technical and steep, but incredibly beautiful.

Off to a strong start!

Follow the yellow ribbons all the way up the mountain...

Beautiful forest trails

Beautiful day for a race

A bit of mud and water into the mix

A strong finish

Waiting for his medal for finishing in 7th place!

Well done, champ!

Gliding

Today Daniel finally enjoyed his birthday present - a glider flight above Santiago. He was waiting for a smog-free weekend and today finally dawned clear, after a week of rain had washed the city air clean. Daniel went up as the passenger in a two-man glider and they soared over his favourite mountains - Carbon and Manquehue. He even got to steer the glider for a while!

Before:

Arriving at the glider (Manquehue in the background)

Meeting the pilot

Pre-flight check

Super excited to go!

All closed in...

Held upright to go down the runway

Tied to the big plane and ready for take off!

During:

Going up (see the "tugboat" plane in front)

Cerro San Cristobal

Santiago with Los Andes in the background

Heading straight towards Cerro Manquehue (who's steering?!)

Cerro Carbon and Cerro Manquehue

Approaching the runway for landing (on the right of the river and freeway)

After:

One very happy (birthday) boy!

Cerro Manquehue

On a sunny Monday holiday, we finally hiked up Cerro Manquehue, the highest peak in the Santiago bowl. Manquehue is an old volcano, and the hike was a 14km round trip with nearly 1km of vertical gain. That means it was tough!

Cerro Carbon (left) and Cerro Manquehue (right)

Cerro Manquehue

On the walk up we strolled along the grassy ridge line and passed some caves.

The ridge leading to Manquehue

In front of the 'caves'

For once the smog was at bay and we had incredible views over the entire city and across to the Andes in the east.

A clear Santiago

On top of the world!

40 marathons in 40 days

One of Daniel's running buddies is celebrating his 40th birthday this year, and he has decided to reach this milestone in style. He is running 40 marathons in 40 days ending with the 40th marathon on his 40th birthday! Everyday at 06:00 he sets off on the same route around Santiago, joined by friends and fellow runners. Today Daniel joined him for marathon #26.

Early start

Nearly half way!

More people arrived for the last 10km...

Daniel with the T-14 birthday boy

The home stretch

Pomaire

Last Sunday afternoon we drove down to a small village called Pomaire with our friends Fede and Yoyo. Pomaire lies about 65km south west of Santiago and is a famous destination for its clay wares and its 1kg empanadas. We didn't eat the big empanadas, but we enjoyed a very Chilean lunch of regular-sized empanadas, stuffed pork rolls and chicha (wine).

In Pomaire there is a tradition of giving "chanchitos"- little clay pigs - to friends and family to bring good luck.

Due to the abundant natural clay in the hills surrounding the town there is a thriving pottery industry in Pomaire. The town's streets are lined with stalls selling pots and goblets, charcoal holders and candle holders, decorations and pigs, urns and platters, you name it. It really is quite a charming village!

 

  

Merrell Climbing Tour

Whew, what a climb! Daniel and I entered the June Merrell Climbing Tour race which took place at Cerro El Roble (Oak Hill). There were two distances: 6.5km straight uphill or 8.3km straight uphill. We opted for the shorter distance, but I reckon we would have taken a 5km option if it had been presented to us!

The trail was absolutely beautiful through a forest carpeted with fallen leaves, and incredible views of the lightly snow-dusted Andes across the valley. However, it was also fearsomely steep! I managed to run the first 200m before slowing to a 'power hike'. It wasn't long before that turned to walking... and then to plodding. Nevertheless we made it to our meta near the top of the hill and enjoyed a lovely stroll back downhill to the start.

Before the Great Uphill Trek

On the way up - still smiling!

Joining the line of tired 'runners' - not so much smiling now!

At our meta - 6.5km up Cerro El Roble