The Cave with two windows on Easter Island

If you ask any of my friends “would Sue climb and crawl into a dark hole in the ground to explore a cave”, most (if not all) would say no way, no how.  I would tend to agree in most cases – dirt, bugs, yuck.  Easter Island changed that for […]

Birdman competition Easter Island with Paul Pownall

Orongo, site of the Birdman competition -Easter Island

  All societies have their competitions for power – Easter Island tribes were no different. The friendly competition involved climbing down the cliffs, swimming through the water to the island, and if still alive, waiting.  Waiting to procure (steal) the first egg from the bird’s nest and then bring the egg back to the top of the […]

Moai at Sunset on Easter Island Hanga Roa

Easter Island Hotel Review: Tekarera Inn

Finding the right hotel/inn/B&B to stay at for Easter Island was no easy task.  There was the ultra high luxury – Hotel Explora outside of town (really, really far away) and then everywhere else in town.  Now I tend to think of myself as deserving of the ultra high luxury hotel (and who isn’t, […]

Easter Island Moai Ahu Te Peu

First Impressions – Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Before the internet, you would look in a glossy brochure, read some information in the newspaper and book a trip. Your travel agent usually hadn’t been to the destination but was a good salesperson and convinced you it would be amazing!  You could really be surprised by the destination back then. Now, […]

LAN flight Easter Island

Flying to Easter Island from Santiago

  When was the last time you acted like a child on a plane?  Tantrums and crying don’t count!  Flying to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), I was reminded of the childish wonder of flying to a new land – the wonder of surprise, the unknown. I was flying to Easter Island (Rapa Nui) […]

Santiago flowers

Exploring Santiago on Easter Monday – finding history, art and dessert

With only one day to explore Santiago, Chile, I had toured Santiago by bike in the morning  and decided to walk around the area before heading back to the hotel.  San Cristobal Hill was on my “to do” list so I wandered through the park toward the funicular to ascend […]

Bike Wine Tour Santiago Chile Carmenere Grapes

Santiago Bike Wine Tour in the Maipo Valley Vineyard

This week’s twitter topic for #girlstravel was wine.  Answering all of the questions, I realized that lately my travels have included wine tastings and/or tours of vineyards.  For my Santiago, Chile visit, I would be touring the local wine region by bike (my bike wine tour Santiago).  Drinking and biking…could […]

Santiago bike tour Le Bicicleta

City bike tour of Santiago with La Bicicleta Verde

Having successfully navigated the city and countryside of Amsterdam by bike despite a few “Sue vs. truck or curb moments”, I was confident that I could take a bike tour of Santiago.  About a week before my trip I started my research on TripAdvisor and found La Bicicleta Verde Bike […]

The LAN flight JFK -SCL (Santiago)

My flight to Santiago would be 12 hrs and 30 minutes with a stop in Lima. I had redeemed 40k British Airways miles for the one way business class flight to Easter Island.  I scheduled an allowed stopover in Santiago for three days.  It was a long flight to prepare for both […]