Well it’s been quite a while since i've added any textual updates to the site - long enough to prompt a few suggestions as to my whereabouts. These have ranged from lost down a tin mine to being stuck in a seedy cantina! Having looked up what a 'Cantina' is, it turns out that both suggestions were pretty much correct. Although a suggestion that my long absence from providing updates was possibly a sign of an impending ransom note were a little off the mark (i.e. "The rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated" - Thanks Mark). The simple truth is that it is just so much more fun being out there doing things than being in here writing about them.
So, to provide a little bit of a 'catch up'. Having left Cordoba, I was making my way via the Argentinean wine capital of Mendoza to Santiago. There was always a 'risk' of getting stuck in Mendoza... Charming town, good weather and GREAT wine. All good reasons to get 'stuck' for a while. What I didn't expect was to get stuck in Mendoza due to snow and an impassable.... pass (is that an oxymoron?!) To make matters worse I had only a few days to get to Santiago (Chile) because I’d managed to get a cheap flight out to Easter Island. The bus journey between Mendoza and Santiago should have taken around 5 or 6 hours only (so close and yet so far!) I waited a few days in Mendoza, but with no sign of the pass opening I had no choice but to fly a couple of hours back to Buenos Aires and then double back for a flight to Santiago, a uncomfortable night on the airport floor and onwards the next morning to Easter Island.
I'm not going to say very much about Easter Island (Rapa Nui). I've already posted up a Rapa Nui photo gallery so i'll let the pictures speak for themselves (PHOTOS FROM EASTER ISLAND). Suffice to say that being one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world (almost 4000km from the Chilean coast and almost 2000km from its nearest neighbour) its a remote and desolate place. Rugged terrain, actually not unlike that of the Peak District (close to my home town of Glossop) - only with more 'Stoneheads' (although that statement is possibly debatable! :-)
Unfortunately, whilst I was there I became a little unwell - spending the last 2 days in bed with headaches and bad stomach. It was more than 2 weeks before I regained any kind of appetite. Just as well I'd previously taken FULL advantage of the 'All You Can Eat' BBQ's and Buffets to put on a few extra kilos whilst in Argentina!
After a week on Easter Island I returned to the South American continent and continued northbound through Chile up through the Atacama Desert before making a right turn through the Andes and back into Argentina (AGAIN!) Having spent 4 months nipping backwards and forwards between Chile and Argentina I had in my mind the desire to get to a NEW country and I was heading for Bolivia ...
