I had big plans for my last day in London; enhanced by the fact that it was also my 60th birthday! I started out back at the V&A Museum, where I attended a tour/talk regarding the history of the museum. It was very interesting!
It was a beautiful day, so I decided to take a walk through the parks as I made my way to the TKTS booth in Leicester Square (planning on attending a show tonight). On the route to Kensington Gardens I stopped to get something to eat at a favorite sandwich shop. Well, let’s just say it was not as good as I remembered! Was it always marginal, and my faulty memory just made it seem better, or had it actually had a serious drop in quality over the years? Mmmm, I’ve got to go with the latter. But I am 60 after all, so you never know!
By the time I reached Leicester Square I was getting kind of tired. Still feeling the effects (or is it affects, I never get those two straight?!) from an over-strenuous weekend, or just old age? Probably both! So, sadly, I decided to head back to the hotel and get ready for my day of travel tomorrow.
Sidenote: I did put in 17k steps today, so maybe being tired was a little justified!
What a pathetic birthday, right? No arguments. I don’t even have any decent pictures to post. This is one I will try to blot out from my memory. And based on my sandwich shop issues, that shouldn’t be a problem!
But how appropriate is it that on my 60th birthday I was too tired to make a night of it!!
Wednesday, January 22 – transit from London to Luxembourg
I’ll be travelling in four different trains over a period of about 6 hours today.
Step 1: Take the tube from South Harrow to St Pancras. Duration: about 45 minutes. Class: none. Reserved Seat: yeah, right!
St Pancras StationEurostar boarding area
Step 2: St. Pancras to Brussels – Zuid through the Chunnel on Eurostar. Duration: 2 hours. Class: 2nd. Reserved Seat: Yes.
And here’s probably the only good thing about turning 60 – I now qualify for the senior discount on European train travel! Whoo Hoo!!
My “window” seat on the train. Thanks Eurostar! Fortunately, it was a pretty dreary day, so there were no missed photo ops (plus, most pictures from the window of a fast moving train are worthless! Well, at least mine are!). And as a bonus, the seat next to me was empty for the trip!
I had a 28 minute layover in Brussels, which turned out to be a good thing because we arrived 20 minutes late!
Step 3: Brussels to Arlon (a Belgian city near the border of Luxembourg). Duration: 2 hours 50 minutes. Class: 2nd. Reserved Seat: no.
The view from my seat on the Arlon train. This was a double-decker car, and I chose the upper level. It never got very crowded, but I did have someone sitting across from me for most of the trip.
I only had 5 minutes to catch the train to Luxembourg, but thankfully we arrived on time (as you’d expect for most of the European train systems). And my connecting train was just one track away.
My compartment on the short trip to Luxembourg City. I did end up sharing it with one other person.
Following my trip to South America last year I was asked how much luggage I had with me on the 11 week journey. I realized that I missed out then by not posting a picture of my gear. Well. omission corrected! The bag and backpack shown here are the same two that I took with me to South America.Luxembourg Train Station (in case you missed the sign!)My hotel was about a 15 minute walk from the train stationThe room was $120/night, and included a very good breakfast buffet.The bar areaMore of the bar/lounge
Began the day at the Natural History Museum to attend the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit. I been to this in previous years, and it continues to amaze! Unfortunately, no photography was allowed within the exhibit (although I did see one person taking pictures – annoying!). If you’re interested in seeing some of the images though, a link is here.
The only picture I could get from the exhibit – a banner! (And yes, that is a very cute sleeping sea lion!)
Following the photography exhibit I meandered to the north part of the city to visit the always-interesting Camden Market. For those not familiar, the market contains over 1,000 shops and stalls selling fashion, music, art and food. It’s a fun place to spend the afternoon!
Saturday, January 18 – London
A beautiful day! Temps in the 40s, low wind and clear skies. I think some walking is in order! My route of choice is the Thames Path – specifically along the north bank heading west (up river) out of the city (The Thames Path is a long distance walking trail, following England’s best known river for 184 miles as it meanders from its source in the Cotswolds through several rural counties and on into the heart of London).
I started at Hammersmith Bridge, and made my through Chiswick, Kew, Brentford, Isleworth, and finished just short of Richmond. It’s a lovely walk, especially on a day like this! I racked up a little over 27k steps for the day; just below this trip’s high mark! Doh! Below are some sights along the path…
I know, not a river view, but the van is pretty cool!Is that an historical marker along the path?Hahahaha!More than 10,000 people live on boats across London. I saw many of these on my walk.Syon House, part of a 200 acre park, located within the parish of IsleworthAll Saints’ Parish Church of Isleworth
I finished the day by spending a wonderful evening with my friends (and former landlords) Mary & Tony on Harrow on the Hill. We began the night with drinks at their beautiful Georgian home, Byron House, and then made our way to a nearby pub for dinner. This was the first proper sit down meal I’ve had so far on trip. Sad, I know! And what did I have on this rare occasion? Bangers and mash. It was very good! It was lovely to see you Mary & Tony! Thank you for your hospitality!
Tonight’s dinner spot – The White Horse
Sunday, January 19 – London
Great news! It’s another beautiful day! Basically a repeat of yesterday. So, I think I’ll go all Groundhog Day and make another trek on the Thames Path. I’ll mix it up a little today though. I’m going to take on the SOUTH bank, and head EAST. Crazy, I know! I started out at Embankment and made it all the way to Greenwich. Today’s step count was a little over 26k. Once again, just short of my trip PB. Ugh!
The Tower of LondonCity HallTower Bridge, photographed from a less common perspective (note The Gherkin in the background and the Double-Decker on the bridge)The Shard, Tower Bridge, Gherkin (l-r)The oldest pub on the Thames ca 1790In Greenwich. The Cutty Sark is on the right, and on the left is the entrance to the pedestrian tunnel that runs under the Thames to the north bank.Old Royal Naval College – Greenwich
Monday, January 20 – London
What to do after the weekend of 50k steps? Rest!
I spent the day finalizing my departure details to Luxembourg on Wednesday, and figuring out how to travel from Luxembourg to Liechtenstein by train (here’s a hint: it can’t be done!).
Tomorrow concludes my stay in London, and is a big day for me. How should I spend my last day? Mmmmm…
After my weekend of walking I’ve covered nearly a quarter million steps on this trip, averaging over 16k per day. That won’t last!
More cars today! Apologies if I’m boring you! I stopped by The London Film Museum in Covent Garden, where the current exhibit is Bond in Motion, featuring the vehicles from the James Bond movies. It was a great collection; I spent a lot of time there. They were also showing a James Bond documentary on a continuous loop, so I stuck around to check that out as well.
Unfortunately, one of the cars missing from the exhibit was a fully restored version of the Aston Martin DB5 from the 1964 film Goldfinger. It sold at auction last fall for $6.4 million!
Aston Martin and Jaguar from Die Another DayLotus Esprit Car/Submarine from The Spy Who Loved MeDisplay for the soon-to-be-released No Time To Die
Following the Bond exhibit I made my way over to Trafalgar Square, just in time to attend a “Ten Minute Talk” at The National Gallery – this is where one of the museum’s curators chooses a single work from the collection to discuss. Fun stuff!
Next door is the National Portrait Gallery, and they have a painting there that has my all-time favorite title – Mike’s Brother, by Sam Walsh. So I headed over to revisit it for a laugh. Unfortunately it is not currently on display! Ugh! I found a picture of it online though…
The portrait is ironically entitled ‘Mike’s Brother’ as the artist was a friend of Mike McCartney, Paul’s brother.It was a beautiful winter afternoon on Trafalgar Square
This evening I attended a concert in the Royal Festival Hall at Southbank Centre. It was a performance of Ravi Shankar’s only opera – Sukanya, and featured the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was very good, and included wonderful dancing.
I was sitting in the cheap seats (of course!)
Thursday, January 16 – London
Today was a day of rest! I ran a couple errands in town and did some trip planning and journal writing. Fun stuff, I know!
Through the first 9 days of the trip I’m averaging 15,360 steps per day. Ahead of my South America pace, but the average will drop after today, and I likely won’t be able to keep up the pace.
So, my Fitbit band broke the other day. That’s the third one that’s failed in the last few months. Fortunately I haven’t lost the tracker in any of those instances. I have a theory on the failures: A few years ago I bought several knockoff bands at the same time on eBay. I guess they’re just at the end of their (short but cheap!) useful life. I’ll probably trash all of them when I get home. I did bring a spare band with me on the trip. But I’m afraid to wear it! So I’ve just kept it in my pants pocket as I’ve walked around. Should give a pretty close result, right?
I’ve seen a new version of the black cabs operating around the city. This is a plug-in hybrid range-extender electric vehicle. It is designed to comply with Transport for London’s Taxi regulations, which from January 2018 banned new diesel-powered taxis and requires zero-emissions capability. Pretty cool!
I took a walk this morning to my old work neighborhood. Had some good memories of the familiar sights along the way. Most of the same shops still occupy the High Street, which was nice to see. There is one major change though: The company sold off our office building a couple years ago and it is now being converted to flats!
The conversion has started, and it looks like some of the flats are occupied. Those balconies on the upper floors are new. Work is obviously continuing though.The company sign remains at the entrance though!
The rest of the day was spent taking a leisurely walk through Central London – one of my favorite things to do.
A certain Mews in Kensington was a regular stop during my trips into the city – because it houses two classic car dealers! And both are set up for excellent exterior viewing. It was fun to check out the changing inventory.A sad day – the ice skating rink at the Natural History Museum is being dismantled.
I finished the day across the river at the Tate Modern Museum, where I took a tour of their “Cities” exhibit.
I found this pretty interesting. It’s a set of 7 photographs from 1962 depicting the windows of a crowded train in Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. That was nearly 60 years ago, it’s even more extreme now!Time for a quick check of fuel prices! That works out to $6.28/gal. Yikes!
Tuesday, January 14 – London
I spent almost all of today at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Kind of weird, I know, but there’s so much to see! I started off taking in their “Cars” exhibit (of course), and followed that with two separate tours – one general and one of their theatre and entertainment area.
That is a GM concept car from the ’50s in the foreground, and in the background is an example of the world’s first motorcar – an 1888 Benz.In the foreground is a model of a Ford concept from the 50s that proposed power via a nuclear reactor. Didn’t quite come to fruition!I love this!
Today was rather low key. I ran a couple errands in the neighborhood, did some trip planning, and worked on this journal.
This is probably a good time to point out that I expect (plan?) that my traveling this winter will be at a much less manic pace than last year. I was on the move a LOT in South America. Hopefully not so much this year. As a result, this journal may not be as interesting to read. Apologies for that. Hopefully I won’t lose too many of you along the way!
I began charting my steps for this trip and noticed something interesting. Over the course of my 11 week stay in South America last year, the maximum number of steps I achieved in one day was 28,062 (Iguazu Falls hike). I’ve already topped that! On Thursday, during my walk through the parks I logged 29,103! Maybe I’ll have a 30k day this year?
Sunday, January 12 – London
I did a little exploring in the east end of London today. First item on the agenda: Going to church (what?)…
I attended a service at The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, which is located on the grounds of The Tower of London. There is no charge to enter the Tower if you are there solely for the service. They have a wonderful choir and it is a beautiful setting. Of special note, 2020 is the 500th anniversary of the chapel! (thanks to my friend Mary for the tip about the service!)
The rest of the afternoon was spent roaming around a few of the weekend/Sunday markets in the area.
I came across this bakery while walking through the Brick Lane Sunday Market. With the queue wrapped around inside and out the door, I figured it must be a pretty good place to stop for lunch! I went with their speciality – a “bagel” filled with salt beef, topped with spicy mustard and a gherkin. Excellent! After exiting the Brick Lane Market I noticed a crowd gathered on a nearby corner. It turns out there was a chicken nugget giveaway going on. I wasn’t very hungry after downing my salt beef bagel, but then I felt like I recognized one of the servers……Ed Sheeran! I never did find out why he was doing this. I guess I could have waited in line and asked him!
Welcome back everyone! My Journal has emerged from its Spring-Summer-Fall hibernation! And following on from my last post in March – thanks again to all of you for taking the time to read and comment. It means a lot to me!
This year will feature split trips, as I’ll be heading back to the States for Ali & Matt’s big event in New York next month. Can’t wait!
I’m leading off with a no-set-itinerary month in western Europe – arriving in London and departing from Paris. I’m hoping to take in some train travel along the way, but you’ll have to watch this space for confirmation! (can I write a tease, or what?!?). So, without further adieu (a little French prep!)…
Monday, January 6 and Tuesday, January 7 – transit from Madison to London
I departed Madison on the 10am bus to O’Hare (thanks for the drop off Chuck!), arriving around 1pm for the 4:20 departure. When booking my flights, I noticed there were some good deals on using miles to Europe. So, I ended up splurging on an Austrian Air business class ticket, connecting through Vienna. Very uncharacteristic of my cheap self, I know!
The business class section of the Austrian Air triple 7My seat!
The flight was a little over 8 hours. With the late afternoon departure I figured I’d be awake most of the trip. That wasn’t the case though; I slept a fair amount (maybe the multiple glasses of prosecco had something to do with that!). In fact, I ended up watching only 1 3/4 movies (Ad Astra and most of The Kitchen (don’t tell me how it ends!)). Now, normally I would say sleeping on a flight is a good thing. However, when one is making a rare appearance at the front of the plane, maybe not so much!
After a 3 hour layover in Vienna, I arrived at Heathrow around 1pm on Tuesday. I decided to book a hotel in my old neighborhood*, because a) I missed it, and b) it was less expensive than central London. Of course though, the latter is my main reason! (cheap!!)
* Quick Backstory: I know most of you are aware of my history with London, but here’s a quick refresher for you and totally new information for the others. I lived in London for 4 years, leaving at the end of 2010. Subsequent to that I was back for a few business trips; the last being for several weeks in the summer of 2014. I enjoyed my time here immensely, so after 5+ years away, it was time for a return! But why in the winter, you ask? a) less expensive (of course!), b) less crowded, and c) Madison is a great place to be in the spring, summer and fall!
I brought along three of my old Oyster cards for the trip (weird that I kept them, I know). The cards are used as payment on the tube and bus. I was hoping I might have some money left on them. Card #1: zippo. Card #2: 60p (bummer!). Card #3: £8 (nice!). I’m impressed that Transport for London includes no expiration date on the funds. I know my train card from Perth did. And the NYC MetroCards do as well.
The options to get from Heathrow to South Harrow are (in descending order, by cost): taxi, tube, bus. So yes, I took the 140 bus. It’s actually pretty convenient though, because it’s the same bus for the whole trip. And even better, beginning this year it’s been made an express bus, reducing the trip length from 60 to 45 minutes, which is about the same time it takes on the tube. (another benefit: the 140 bus runs 24hrs – remember our very late night bus ride from Heathrow Holly?)
The Eurotraveller Hotel. Conveniently located next door to the police station!Pretty simple room, but of good size and clean (and a funky light fixture!). $58/night.
I was pretty beat by the time I reached the hotel, so ended up staying in for the rest of the day. And I wasn’t at all hungry following all that business class/airline lounge food. I was even served a meal on the 1hr 15min flight from Vienna to London!
Wednesday, January 8 – London
Notes on London photographs: I know most of you reading this have been to London, and regardless, everybody is familiar with the main attractions of this city. Therefore, the only pictures I’ll be posting during my stay here will either a) have some personal significance for me, b) be something unusual, or c) reflect a change that has occurred since my last visit.
Woke up following a solid, non-interrupted night of sleep. No jet lag. Bonus!
I need to take care of a little business this morning. I still have a UK bank account. Should probably close that out! Unfortunately there won’t be a huge windfall coming my way: I left behind £5 in savings and £55 in checking. I’m actually surprised they haven’t charged me any fees over the last 5 years! I also have in my possession one each of a £5 and £10 note that are no longer in circulation. Conveniently the bank will allow me to deposit those into my account before I close it. Brilliant!
My friendly neighborhood Barclays branch!And right next door? An all-time fav – the Wenzel’s bakery/sandwich shoppe. Of course I had to grab a classic tuna salad baguette while I was right there!Tasks out of the way, it’s time to head into the city!
1st stop upon my return? One of my favorite places in the city – The National Gallery. Currently on exhibit is the work of Da Vinci – primarily an analysis of the two versions of TheVirgin of the Rocks that he painted. The earlier version is in the Louvre, and the latter here.
The National Gallery’s The Virgin of the Rocks ca late 15th centuryI learned that Leonardo wrote private notes using mirror writing – text written backwards……which can be more easily read when viewed in the reflection of a mirror. Fascinating!Had to stop by the Lego store on Leicester Square, where I discovered this full-sized tube car that was hand-assembled with over 600,000 lego pieces. Wow!Impressive detail!Only 300,000 pieces. Lame!Finished the day by attending the show Curtains – a limited-run musical mystery comedy. It was very good! And of course I bought the tickets from the TKTS booth in Leicester Square (last minute and discount theatre tickets)!
Thursday, January 9 – London
Another great night’s sleep! Will jet lag be avoided??
Today started out beautiful – clear skies with temps in the low 50s. So, I decided to do some walking through the parks of the city. I started out in Kensington Gardens, followed by Hyde Park and Regents Park. Sadly, by the time I finished rain was approaching. At least it waited that long!
On The Serpentine in Hyde Park. The swans were actually following me, expecting to be fed!A surprise encounter in Hyde Park – for both of us! #nozoom
For dinner the last couple nights I’ve taken advantage of the Tesco (supermarket) Meal Deal. It includes the selection of a sandwich or salad, snack and drink – all for £3. Awesome!
Tonight I attended a concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields, a church on Trafalgar Square. It was in a candlelight setting, featuring works by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi performed by the Belmont Ensemble of London. I went with a low-cost (cheap!) side box obstructed view seat. But it turned out to be great because I was in the most forward box, for which there was no obstruction! And it was a wonderful performance!
Pre-performance view from my box. The obstructed view aspect is due to the pillars, but in this case I have direct field of vision to where the musicians will be playing (you can see their easels in the picture). *No picture taking was allowed during the performance*The main seating area. This was taken rather early; there was full capacity for the concert. And the lighting was much dimmer (you can see the candles at the base of the pillars).
Friday, January 10 – London
It’s official, jet lag averted! Woo hoo!
The Harry and Meghan saga has been big news over here (as you would expect!). I have a feeling it’s been getting a lot of play in the U.S. as well. Frankly, I’m happy they chose this week to make their announcement. Otherwise, I fear my arrival would have been splashed all over the headlines, and I’d just as soon keep a low profile while I’m here!
TV crews set up outside Buckingham Palace, reporting on the Harry and Meghan situation.
Another nice day in the city, so I made my way to the South Bank for a walk.
Is that really you under there Big Ben??I don’t remember seeing these barriers previously on the Westminster Bridge. I wonder if they were added following the incident where a van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge in 2017?St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Millenium BridgeI gravitated to another one of my favorite places – the Borough Market. Just in time for lunch! What a coincidence!Lunchtime seating was at a premium……so I ended up on a bench around the corner (which I thought turned out to be a better location!). And a nice view of The Shard as well!What’s for lunch? A venison burger and chips! Tasted great!
I was rather tired today, so after some more walking and a visit to the Tate Modern, I headed back to the hotel.
Friday, March 22 – transit from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina
The flight to Mendoza is a little less than one hour. The cost of the round trip was $180. There is also a bus option for about half the price, and it’s supposed to be a beautiful trip through the Andes, but it takes about seven hours, with possible additional delays at the border. So, due to my short window, I went with the plane. I discovered during my online check-in that LATAM had automatically assigned me to their premium seating section.With all the flights I’ve taken I must have achieved some new frequent flyer status. Bonus! Too bad this round trip is my last booking with them!
View of the Andes from seat 3L
Mendoza is known for their wine and food. So, as this is the last stop on my journey, we’ll call this the Wine Down of my adventure! I picked a B&B with great reviews, at a cost of $59/night.
A Madison pin has been added to the B&B’s visitor’s map!
Saturday, March 23 – Mendoza
The day started out with a leisurely morning. I had three visits scheduled for the late morning and afternoon. First was a short taxi ride to an olive oil factory called Laur. Next, I walked across the street to a winery named Carina E. Finally, another short taxi ride to the winery Carmelo Patti, where Carmelo himself was there to supervise the generous tasting menu (which was free – my favorite word!). From there it was a 30 minute walk back to my B&B.
Cost of the tasting and tour – $4I was tempted to bring you some olives Chuck, but I was worried about breakage in my luggage. That would be ugly! The tasting options – the balsamic oil was wonderful! But once again, breakage in luggage was a concern. Sadly, they don’t export to the U.S.More tasting…A display in the factoryOlive oil storageThe exterior of the Laur factory. I love the color of the wall against the blue sky!At Carina E, I passed on the tasting and just got a glass of their top quality wine (about the same price – $9, including the tour)For dinner, I went to a restaurant recommended to me by the folks at the B&B. It was very good! They eat late in Argentina though! I had a reservation for when they opened at 8:30pm – here’s a picture of the other patrons who joined me at that time!Sirloin steak, grilled vegetables, 1/2 bottle of wine, bottle of still water – $23
Sunday, March 24 – Mendoza
Today the B&B arranged a couple winery tours for me. Unfortunately, things went rather awry. These wineries were further away and specific taxi service was reserved. However, upon arrival at the first stop, the fare quoted by the driver was three times what I was told it would be by the B&B! On top of that, the start time I was told for the tour was not correct. I was rather annoyed by this combination of events, so I just blew off the tours and went back to the B&B. I must say though, that as far as I can recall, this is the first screwed up day of my 11 week trip. So, I really can’t complain too much. And I partly blame myself for this too, as I could have done more work to organize the day, rather than relying solely on the B&B’s input.
Each night the B&B serves a totally baked from scratch dinner (including the bread) for the guests who request it (cost: $22). I had reserved a dinner for tonight, and now hoped it would help salvage the day. The dinner ended up being for me and a lovely couple from Buenos Aires. It was a delicious meal with good conversation. What started out as a bad day turned into a nice ending.
Tonight’s Menu. Dinner served at 8:30pm!Starter was a corn & squash dishMain was roast beef with mushroomsLemon mousse for dessert (the white wine was for the starter and dessert, the red for the main)
Monday, March 25 – transit from Mendoza to Santiago
The one-way transit cost to and from the airport in Mendoza was $17. The flight today is international, but there wasn’t a need to get to the Mendoza airport very early, as it’s a pretty small place.
The international departure lounge at Mendoza airport
In Santiago, I’m staying at the same airport hotel as last week. The cost is $75/night (incl breakfast and airport transfers) for two nights, but I had earned a free night from Hotels.com, so I used it here.
Tuesday, March 26 – Santiago Airport Hotel
and now, the end is near…
Today is a day of relaxation before I head back to the States tomorrow.
Random Thoughts…
Favorite Part of the Trip: I would say meeting so many friendly and interesting people has been the best part of this journey. That includes fellow travelers, locals, and those that are part of the tourism industry. Of course, seeing all of the amazing places of this continent was also a joy!
Least Favorite Part of the Trip: Early morning wake ups! Whether is was to catch a flight, take an excursion, or view the sunrise, it was painful! That being said, each alarm resulted in a worthy conclusion! Runner-up: Taxi drivers!
Step Count Update: As of yesterday, my total step count for the trip stood at 1,094,990. The average per day is 14,408. The maximum day was 28,062 in Iguazu Falls. The minimum was 1,986 on a lazy day in La Paz.
I pretty much used everything that I packed, which makes me feel good! And I only lost one thing – a sock!
When I was originally thinking about this trip I figured a budget of $200/day, all-in. With the only bookings remaining being a night’s hotel in Chicago and a bus ride to Madison, it looks like I’ll come in comfortably below that. And when you take into account the money I saved by being away from home (canceled internet/cable, reduced gas/electric, no groceries, no fuel, suspended health club membership, etc.), I’ll be well under the budget. Nice! And as I’m sure you’ve noted, probably 1/3 of the cost of this journey was two trips – Galapagos and Easter Island.
I have now had the privilege to visit 66 countries*. I feel fortunate to have had the means and opportunity to experience the great diversity of people and cultures that exist on this beautiful planet. It’s also humbling to know that but for the incredible luck of being born in the United States, I never would have had this opportunity. How many more countries will I visit? Hard to say, but I know I’m going to keep it up as long as I have the funds and health to do so. And there’s so much more to see (as you’ll note in the list below)!
*Country count based on those recognized by the United Nations. So, I’ve been to England, Scotland, and Wales, but that is only one country – the United Kingdom. Same goes for Martinique (not a country, part of France), St. Croix (U.S.), and Easter Island (Chile). On the other hand, I’ve been to Vatican City, which is considered a country. I only count countries in which I’ve spent significant time. For example, when I visited the Golden Triangle, I spent a few hours in Laos, but I didn’t count that. And I absolutely do NOT count airport layovers!
Percentage of Countries on Each Continent Visited
Europe: 54%
South America: 50%
Asia: 44%
North America: 39%
Oceania: 14%
Africa: 6%
Antarctica: 0%
Tomorrow I fly to Chicago, and then take the bus to Madison on Thursday. So, this will likely be the last Journal Entry for my trip. I’ve had a blast doing it, hopefully you’ve enjoyed following along. Thank you so much to all of you who have provided comments, or sent me emails and texts. As a solo traveler, it was especially meaningful to hear from you!
Spoiler alert re Easter Island – Expectations met! (of course, the new header picture probably gave it away!)
You may remember in a previous post my mentioning that when Eleanor Roosevelt first saw Iguazu Falls she uttered “Poor Niagara”. Well, with the update to the header picture, I’m now saying “Poor Iguazu”!
Monday, March 18 – transit from Santiago to Easter Island
My departure to Easter Island was at 9:30am. I noticed, however, on my last trip out of Santiago that there was a huge queue waiting to check-in for the Easter Island flight. So, I figured I should consider it similar to an international trip and get to the airport 3 hours early (didn’t want to miss this flight!). But then I was told by the hotel staff that construction at the airport could cause traffic delays, so I should tack on another hour to be safe. Adding in the 30 minute drive to get there, I’m departing the hotel at 5am for my 9:30am flight! (Cost of taxi: $35. Ugh! But it’s my own fault because I knew what it would be, since I stayed at this hotel previously) And yeah, I got there way too early! Oh well…
The airline booking for the trip is not something that benefited from the last-minute attitude I’ve had throughout this journey. I made the reservation about 6 weeks ago and paid $1,200 for the round trip (more than my round trip fare from the States). Booked well in advance, the fare would be about half what I paid. One redeeming factor though was the fact that I had a premium economy seat for the five hour flight (economy was sold out!).
All flights to Easter Island from Santiago are via a Boeing Dreamliner, and ours was completely full! It’s pretty amazing that this type of plane flies into the little one runway airport of the island. But then, you’re told that the airport has also welcomed planes such as the Concorde, 747 and A380. This is all due to the fact that the runway was upgraded by NASA so that it could be used as a provisional landing site for the space shuttle. Pretty cool!
It’s impressive seeing the Dreamliner on the tarmac……until you arrive to a mass of people in the dinky baggage claim area!
I booked a B&B for three nights. The total cost was $548, which included airport transfers, breakfast, a full-day tour, rental car for one day, and the $80 national park pass. Seems like a good deal, right?
Some quick Easter Island background: The native Rapa Nui are believed to have settled on the island (Isla de Pascua in spanish) as early as the 10th century. Europeans first arrived in the early 18th century. The famous statues of the island are called moai, and approximately 900 have been inventoried. They represent the living faces of deified ancestors. The stone platforms on which the Moai sit are called Ahu. The current population of the island is around 8,000, with the majority located near the only town, Hanga Roa.
I spent the afternoon walking around the area near the B&B and in town. A short walk from the B&B is the site called Tahai.
Tahai is a popular sunset gathering place; further pictures will be forthcoming!The name so nice they used it twice! This is a dance group performing in town. Did I attend? No, a little too touristy for me!
Step Count Update: After much walking over the weekend in Santiago, and more today on the island, I have passed the one million mark for the trip. Cool!
Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20 – Easter Island
Tuesday was set aside for the full day tour with the owner of the B&B, Paul. He is from the States, but first traveled to the island in the early ’60s to assist with the restoration of the archaeological sites and the moai. So, obviously he has a vast knowledge of the Rapa Nui and was an excellent guide. Joining us on the tour was another guest at the B&B, Sophie, an optometrist from New Zealand. She was fun to hang out with and it turned out to be a great day!
Rano Kau, a volcanic crater with a fresh water lakeSophie and I hiking through the tall grass from Rano Kau to the archaeological site OrongoOrongo is a stone village and ceremonial center once used by the Rapa Nui, located at the southwestern tip of the island
The next stop was Anakena. Located here are a white coral sand beach and two ahus; Ahu-Ature has a single moai and Ahu Nao-Nao has seven, two of which have deteriorated. Anakena is unusual for Easter Island in that it is one of only two small sandy beaches in an otherwise rocky coastline.
Those aren’t hats on their heads, it’s hair, rolled up and called a top-knotAnakena was also a good spot for a lunch break – basically the only place on this side of the island to do so! Lunch of salad with fresh tuna and a glass of passion fruit juice. Cost: $25 (most things were kind of pricey on the island!)
Our next stop was at a site that turned out to be one of my two favorite places on the island – Rano Raraku. It was a quarry that for about 500 years supplied the stone from which about 95% of the island’s moai were carved.
The moai were rough cut from the stone, and then removed and partially buried in the hillside to allow for the finish carving work to be performed. Here you can see several moai standing up on the hill. Closeups to follow…A rough cut moai still in placeWhen a moai toppled over the Rapa Nui did not attempt to repair them, as they believed the spirit of the statue was permanently damaged (they would start over from scratch) Note the moai that has fallen backwardsThis is a view from Rano Raraku of my other favorite spot on the island – Ahu Tongariki (more to come on this tomorrow!)
We went back to Tahai this evening to check out the sunset, but unfortunately clouds on the horizon spoiled it. The same thing happened last night too. Tomorrow’s my last night, I’m desperate!
I had one of the B&B’s rental cars reserved for Wednesday and Sophie had it reserved for Thursday, so we decided to team up and share it for both days. I’m happy we did that because it was another fun day roaming the island with her. We started the day early, returning to the previously mentioned Ahu Tongariki to catch the sunrise…
And what a beautiful sunrise it was! We will be returning to this amazing site again later in the day.
Sophie at the wheel of our rental vehicle. The Kiwi proved to be adept at driving on the wrong side of the road (and the car!). Even more impressive was her mastering of the manual gear shift with the opposite hand!This is Vaihu, where all of the moai have toppled over (including their reddish-brown top-knots). At one point, all of the moai on the island that had been placed on an ahu had fallen over. This could have been the result of an earthquake, volcano eruption, tidal wave, or conflict. The moai that are now upright are a result of restoration work.It’s interesting comparing these two overturned moai. Obviously one is much more eroded than the other. Could it be due to age, or the different types of stone used?It was back to Anakena Beach for lunch. Today I had a HUGE empanada filled will shrimp, octopus, and tuna. The drink was a combination of pineapple juice and coconut milk. A little less costly today: $18.These seven moai are located on Ahu Akivi – a very picturesque setting.And now we’re back to our sunrise setting – Ahu TongarikiThese guys are amazing!Not a happy camper!I like this picture for a couple reasons: a) it presents a nice perspective on the size of the statues, and b) it shows the contemplative mood that the site instills (And to you cynics, no this wasn’t staged! Sophie didn’t even know I was taking the picture.)A fallen moai at Ahu TongarikiAn example of the island’s beautiful rocky coastline
Finally, it was back to Tahai for the sunset. Tonight is my last night; will my luck turn positive?
The crowd is gathering in anticipation!It has potential……not perfect, but I’ll take it!
We departed the B&B at 7am to catch the sunrise, returned 14 hours later after watching the sunset – it was a wonderful day!
Thursday, March 21 – transit from Easter Island to Santiago
My flight didn’t depart until 2pm today, so I took advantage and made a return to Tongariki for the sunrise (Sophie felt like yesterday couldn’t be topped and decided to sleep in. Was she right?)
Not as good as yesterday, but still pretty nice!And then the rain came!Followed by a nice rainbow!
On the way back to the B&B I needed to fill the tank on the rental, so this was a good opportunity for one final fuel price check: $4.74/gal
Sadly, it was then time to say goodbye to Easter Island. An amazing place!
The departure lounge at the airportYou can see the Dreamliner in the background
I’m traveling to Mendoza, Argentina tomorrow, so I just booked a hotel near the Santiago airport ($76, incl breakfast and free shuttle service (yes!)).
Had a morning departure for the short flight from Cuenca to Quito. The cab fare to the airport was $3 (yes!!). Since I’m heading to Santiago tomorrow, I just booked a place by the airport in Quito. The airport hotel that I stayed at last week was fully booked, so I went with a B&B that had good reviews. Cost: $24 for the night plus $10 taxi fare each way to/from airport.
Cuenca airport check-in area
Here are some pictures from the B&B (a very cute place!)…
The common areaWatching planes land from the porch (yes, those are sewing machines!)
Sidenote: I was joined at breakfast by another guest – a young women from Germany. She mentioned that she was traveling to Costa Rica, but was out of money, so she was a little scared (I guess!). Obviously she was angling to extract some funds from me, but I sidestepped that topic!
Friday, March 15 – transit from Quito to Santiago
My flight left around noon today, so it was nice to have a leisurely morning. I am connecting through Lima again, but my layover is only about three hours this time (you may recall that my previous layover here was around 10 hours!). The downside to my noon departure is that I will be landing in Santiago around 11:30pm. (One-way flight cost: $467) That’s one of the reasons I booked the same hotel as my previous stay in Santiago – familiarity upon arrival in the middle of the night! I also liked the hotel and the neighborhood where it is located. I ended up paying a little more this time around ($76/night, incl breakfast).
So, our flight was a little late leaving, immigration at the airport was incredibly slow, and I opted for a shared minivan instead of a taxi to my hotel ($11 v. $28; I can’t help it!!) – all that equates to a 2am arrival at the hotel. I was the second to last (out of 5) drop off from the minivan, but I must say I kind of enjoyed observing various parts of Santiago during the late night drive.
Travel Note: On the flight from Quito to Lima I spotted an elderly gentleman wearing a UW cap. He was accompanied by his wife. I was going to give them a shout out…until they caused a massive bottleneck during boarding because they were sitting in the wrong seats. After that I figured it would be best not to be associated with them!
Sidenote: I’ve enjoyed my time in Bolivia and Ecuador, but I’m looking forward to the return to Chile (and Argentina) for a couple reasons: a) I’ll no longer need to be concerned about what I eat and drink, and b) Rather than disposing of it in the wastebasket, I’ll now be able to flush my used toilet paper!
Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17 – Santiago
It was a beautiful weekend in Santiago – clear skies with a high temp of around 80. I was on a mission these two days – to find a carving (or carvings) of the Easter Island Moai statues, made from Lapis Lazuli, which is a stone native only to Chile and Afghanistan. There are many shops and markets in Santiago that sell items made from this stone, so it was fun for me to walk around and check them out. One problem – I thought I could remember the carvings that I liked and the prices that were best, but soon they all started to blur together! (Yes, I’m rather dense!) So, I spent Saturday exploring the shops and Sunday going back and taking pictures (and notes) of the ones I liked. I finally ended up buying two on Sunday. (my 2nd and 3rd, and likely last, souvenirs of the trip)
I took a few pictures (besides those of the Moai carvings!) during my roaming around, but most of areas I covered I had photographed during my last stay in Santiago. So, here are a few pictures of my roaming and a couple pictures of my purchases…
I like the facade of this buildingNice neighborhood cafeCool mural on this building……that continues around the cornerA gathering of little white dogs in the park!
The photos of the carvings I purchased are those taken during the investigative phase of my shopping mission. Therefore, they’re not the greatest quality. I would’ve posted better pictures, but each carving is now wrapped and protected for travel, so I didn’t want to undo that.
About 3″ tall (Cost: $42)……purchased at a shop in this trendy market areaAbout 1 1/2″ tall – it’s a profile shot (Cost: $25)……purchased at a stall in this artisanal market
Tomorrow I’m traveling to Easter Island. It’s the part of the trip that I’ve been looking forward to most. Hopefully I won’t be let down!
Sunday, March 10 through Wednesday March 13 – Cuenca
My days in Cuenca turned out to be rather low-key. I had thought about taking a couple excursions, but ended up just doing a fair amount of city exploring and lounging around the B&B. I was frankly kind of tired after the Galapagos trip and thought a few relaxing days would be a good idea.
Cuenca is a nice town, but it’s plagued by what I’ve witnessed in a few of the other places I’ve visited on this trip – rather dirty and much graffitti. Also, traffic is ugly, contributing to poor air quality. So, as far as this being a top international location for retirees, I don’t necessarily see it. In my opinion, the main thing it’s got going for it is the low cost of living (but I guess that’s rather critical in retirement planning!). A nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here!
Here are some pictures from my city roaming…
Park Abdon Calderon – the main square in the old townThe New Cathedral on Park Abdon Calderon – completed in 1975 (under construction for 100 years). The two towers were truncated from the original design due to an error in calculating the size of the foundations.The Old Cathedral on Park Abdon Calderon (c. 1557)A shopping pavilion on the squareRetail /office building on the square
Here are some examples of the various architectural styles of the old town…
A couple more churches…
Church of San SebastianMonastery of El Carmen de Asuncion (with daily flower market)Santo Domingo ChurchThe Tomebamba River separates the old and new towns of Cuenca
Below are pictures of the Pumapungo archaeological site (15th century Inca), located in the historic center of the city.
These markets vaccinate me…
A popular lunch spotA full pig on the left…This is actually a healing area. The plants and herbs are rubbed on the ailing person’s body (you can see it being done to the woman in back).
Pop Quiz: Where are Panama Hats made? You probably can guess the answer is Ecuador. So why Panama? When exporting the hats they were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas, and Europe. They subsequently acquired a name that reflected their point of international sale – “panama hats” – rather than their place of domestic origin.
There where many hat shops in Cuenca, of varying forms…
Sidenote: I mentioned that the U.S. dollar is the currency of Ecuador. Well, do you remember the Sacagawea dollar coins that were tried (and failed) in the States? They have found new life in Ecuador! It is definitely used more than the dollar bill. I also received the JFK half dollar in change.
