Mutiny on the Bounty

February 27, Wed.

The ship stopped at Pitcairn Island for a few hours but we cannot go ashore since they don’t have a dock. The sea is too rough and only 50 people live here so there are no tourist facilities. Due to steep hills most people would not be able to climb up to Adams Town, the only ‘city’ on the island.

If you have read the book or seen the movies of the Mutiny on the Bounty, this place name may sound familiar. The island was first sited and named in 1767 but its location was charted incorrectly.  In 1790 Fletcher Christian and about 11 other sailers acted out a mutiny and sent captain Bligh and half the crew adrift in a small row boat.  When Christian found this island he realized that it was charted incorrectly which would make it difficult for the British to find the mutineers.  So the 27 souls aboard the ship landed and burned the ship.  There were 9 sailors, 11 Tahitian women, 3 Tahitian men, 1 baby and 3 stowaways. They did not all get along. The land was divided unevenly and food was not plentiful.  By 1792 all the Tahitian men were dead, 7 of the sailors were killed and 1 sailor died of natural causes.  The last man alive was John Adams.  From this meager beginning the island has been inhabited (not continuously) by the descendants of Fletcher Christian’s crew.

25 of the current population of 50 people came aboard our ship to talk with us about their home and to sell handmade souvineers, honey, postcards and stamps, t-shirts, hats and books.

The area around Pitcairn and the 4 other islets in this group is the third largest marine protected area in the world at 830 square kilometers (515square miles).  The islands are no closer to each other than 40 miles and up to 360 miles. There are 9 birds and several plants that are only found on this island. A supply ship comes once every three months. They have 3 generators for power, limited internet, rely on radio to communicate with each other, grow their own vegetables, and travel the one road using ATV’s. And yet they seem to enjoy this hard life and hope to attract more people.

Rapa Nui

Feb. 24, Sunday

Easter Island was first explored by the Dutch who found it on Easter Day 1722.  At that time there were probably 2-3 thousand inhabitants.  A civil war due to overpopulation and deforestation started their decline in numbers.  The Peruvian slave raiding in the 1860’s and European diseases further reduced the population so that by 1877 there were only 111 inhabitants.  It was annexed by Chile in 1888 and now about 60% of the population of 8000 are descendants of the original Rapa Nui.

The reason most people want to visit this island it to see the Moai heads (pronounced Mo-eye).  The Rapa Nui carved these monolithic statues to honor ancestors.  They believed that if the deceased had ‘mana’ or a supernatural power or a close relationship to the gods they needed to honor that person with a Moai.  The quarry was the sides of a volcano where they carved the statues in the rock then gradually they would carve out the rock from under the front of the statue until it could be moved.  These are not just heads but whole bodies, with 2/3 buried underground due to natural erosions and soil deposits.  

Transportation from the quarry to the prepared site for each statue is a mystery since some of these Moai were 20-30 feet tall and weighed up to 80 tons.  It’s possible they cut down trees and used them to roll the statue to its site or they may have stood it up and rocked it back and forth to move it.  Either of these methods would explain the deforestation that took place. They were placed looking towards the land as this allowed them to look over their descendants. Some of these stones are over 1,600 years old.

Ahh Tongariki is the largest platform with 15 statues.  They were knocked down by a tsunami in 1960 but have since been restored.  The largest, 89 ton, Moai is here.  The ‘hats’ are really the Moai hair put up in a man-bun.

Rank Raradu Quarry is where 95% of the heads were carved.  Almost 400 statues are around the crater in various stages of completion.

Tents in the background where we enjoyed our barbecue dinner & entertainment. 

Anakena Beach is protected and used by many locals.  The statues here represent the seven sons of a king.

A barbecue lunch was waiting for us on the beach and the entertainment following the meal was so much fun.  It brought to mind the Disney movie “Moana”.

Crystal Cruising

Feb 19 - 23 Tues - Sat

We left our B&B at noon and by 1:30 we were in our stateroom and had explored the ship enough to find a hamburger for lunch.  The ship pulled out of dock around 7 PM and we are on the way to Easter Island, a five day cruise.

Sunrise at sea. 

There is lots to do while we are at sea.  For art lovers there are knitting classes, water color paint classes or bridge lessons.  If we wanted we could learn how to use our laptops or cameras.  Numerous fitness classes are offered such as pilates, yoga, spin, golf lessons, paddle tennis and much more.  They have a fairly complete fitness room with connections to the steam or sauna rooms.  And of course, there is the Spa for anything from facials, to pedicures, massages to acupuncture, hair cuts to keratos treatments for rich, shiney hair.  We also have access to the swimming pool and hot tub or we can lounge on the aft decks in the morning sun with drink service there as well.  Deck 7 is for walking - one mile is 3.7 laps.  There is also outdoor fitness equipment for a complete workout.

We are on a VIP level so we have out own private butler who shines shoes, brings ice three times a day and supplied us with a liter of Jamison and a bottle of champagne.  Everyday at 4:30 we find hor’dourves  in our stateroom like crab claws, tuna tartar, beef tartar, shrimp cocktail, and crudités or chips and peanuts. We always have fresh fruit.  Since we hadn’t done laundry for several weeks, we took advantage of the guest laundry and got our clothes pressed.

We have seven restaurants to choose from for meals, high tea every afternoon, and at least 5 bars.  John likes the casino.  We are entertained daily with music from piano, violin, guitar or Jazz at various times and locations, a movie theatre and the nightly stage production.  On top of all that there are 2-3 lectures everyday on topics like ET, astronomy, Easter Island, and the author of the books on which the TV show “Bones” is based.

If anyone gets bored on this ship, its their own fault.

On to a New Adventure

February 18

After warm goodbyes to all our new friends this morning we boarded a plane to Santiago then transferred to Valparaiso where we will start our cruise across the Pacific to French Polynesia and Tahiti!

Since we arrived at our B&B in the Historic District in mid afternoon we took a walk around and up and down the hillside upon which the city is located.  At first we thought this area had a severe graffiti problem but on closer inspection we realized that a lot of the paintings were really good pieces of art. We would have included other works but power lines obscured parts of the art.  People are walking everywhere as this is a summertime destination!

Saying Goodbye to Patagonia

February 17, Sunday 

Las Torres Hotel waiting to cross the river. 

It started raining yesterday evening and it rained all night and most of the morning. After supper last night, our driver Turu moved the bus across the river, which was already water covered, to high ground.  We were due to depart at 8:30 this morning but there was no way to get passengers and luggage across the flooded river. It took three hours for the hotel to work out a plan of egress.  At one point they talked about putting us on an inflatable boat!  For awhile the hotel vans were able to cross but the river kept rising.  About 11:30 we boarded 4x4 pickups, riding in the back with the luggage, and crept across the swollen waters.  The water came up to the floorboards but we all made it across safely.

We still had a 6 hour drive plus stops for lunch, gas, and potties but made it to Punta Arenas by 6 and were ready for dinner at 7. It was a beautiful evening at the private home of Edwardo who is the manager of Wilderness Travel in Chile. We had king crab, scallops, abalone and ceviche as appetizers,; wine, beer and Calafate berry pisco sours to drink; and a corn and chicken casserole for dinner.

After our leader Karen spoke each group member commented on the trip and I sang the song I had written about our trip.  And to top it off Edwardo played the guitar and his wife and daughter sang beautiful Chilean songs.  We then had fun trying to sing American folk songs but we could never remember all the words.  Lots and lots of laughter!

Plans are already in the works for this group to gather for a similar trip to Norway in 2020!

Last Hike

February 16, Sat.

The day dawned with rain and high winds but we dressed for the weather and started out anyway. Our goal was to climb 2300 ft to the Base of the Torres (towers) lookout, about 5 miles up. About a mile into the hike most of us decided we had had enough of the high winds (estimated at 35-45 mph) throwing the rain and possibly some sleet into our faces. Five hardy souls plus our guide, Carlos, pushed on. We were told they only made it another mile or so before conditions worsened and they turned back before they could be pushed off the mountain!

Plan B - Turu drove us to the top of a saddle at the edge of the park and we hiked about 3 miles through meadows filled with guanacos, a relative of alpaca and camels. We also kept an eye out for a puma but we never saw her.  The wind was much less here and the rain let up so it was a pleasant way to spend part of the afternoon.

I added up the number of miles we hiked over 11 days and it came to 73 miles but my Fitbit recorded 114 miles and 274,000 steps!!!

Hurricane Force Winds

February 15, friday

The glacier in the distance. The little red boat hold about 100 people. 

We could see a spit of land reaching into the river with lots of people walking along it from our room.  Turns out it’s a gravel bar that we walked to a view point where we could see more of Glacier Gray 10 miles distant. Along the way we picked up a few bits of iceberg chunks.

We had a wonderful parilla (BBQ) lunch at a campground with a nice view of the mountain.  The winds are still blowing hard! About an hour after lunch and in the direction of Las Torres Hotel, we stopped to view Salto Grande. Salto mean ‘jump’ and is more of a cascade between lakes than a waterfall. It connects Nordenskjold Lake and Pehoe Lake. As we walked up the hill to the viewing platform we were warned that it was very windy, hold your hat and glasses. The winds had to have been blowing 60-80 mph!  We had to hold onto the platform railing to keep from being blown over! In fact as two ladies were walking back to the bus a gust picked them up and knocked then down!  Skinned elbows and some bruising was their only injury but bigger men had to help them back!  It was crazy!

Wind gusts estimated to be as high as 80 mph. 

We did not take the next hike but we stopped often to take pictures.  Las Torres Hotel is the same place we stayed 5 years ago.  In fact, as we drove from the waterfall we passed the cafe where we spent 5 hours waiting for a van to pick us up and we had no idea there was a waterfall nearby.

We are all worried about tomorrow’s hike in these high winds.  It is very warm today (68) which may be contributing to the windy conditions. Fingers crossed that it dies down.

Another Hiking Day

February 14, Thursday

Happy Valentines Day!

Pam & our leader Karen. 

We hiked out of Estancia Lazo and Turu will pick us up at the end of the trail. We hiked into the wind almost the whole way.  It was a relatively easy hike with stops to play in the tall, tall grass and eat lunch in a forest protected from the wind. We’re always on the lookout for a puma (it’s very elusive).

Towards the end of the trail we climbed a short hill for a view of the valley, lakes and rivers that surround the Massive. The wind at the top was fierce!  It was hard to take pictures because the wind shook the phones and cameras.  Then the hike down to the parking lot was very steep and slippery as it was a shale moraine. But we made it!  

It was a short drive to Hotel Lago Gray where each room has a view of the Gray River and Glacier.

Estancia Lazo

February 13, Wednesday

It was a 5 hour drive from El Calafate to the Chile border where we picked up our Chilean guide, Carlos. Then on to our hotel for the evening.  Estancia Lazo is a working ranch that also is run like a bed and breakfast during the summer.

We traveled along Sarmiento Lake which is the largest lake in Chile Patagonia.  It has no outlet for its waters, causing it to have a very high pH , in other words it is very alkaline.  The calcium carbonate has formed into massive rock formations revealed as water levels go up and down. 

Every time we exit the bus we are experiencing very high winds at about 35-40 mph.  But the views of the Torres Paine Massive are amazing. Carlos pointed out the three towers which don’t look like towers from here but he assures us they are tower-like from other directions.

Perito Moreno Glacier

February 12

We had a long drive into El Calafate - two hours on a gravel road then another hour and a half into town.  A quick potty break and another 90 minute drive to a massive glacier called the Perito Moreno.  It is 20 miles long,  5 miles wide and 650 feet deep at its front edge with 200 feet above the lake’s waterline.  We were standing 1/2 mile away from its front and could see part of the back edge near a mountain that was 10 miles away, then it turned left and continues on for another 10 miles.

This glacier is neither growing nor shrinking, it’s staying the same from year to year even though it moves 6 feet every day.  It’s static because it gets 30 feet of snow each winter which is what compresses the glacier into ice and pushes it forward.  We witnessed several episodes of calving in the 2 hours we were watching it.

The “small” boat in the far back holds about a hundred people. 

We are spending one night in El Calafate before heading to Chile.

Laguna Azure

February 11, Monday

“The hills are alive…” That was the song that came to mind as we crested the first of two steep grades onto a level valley. 

Today’s hike took us up about 2,300 feet over 7 km (4.5mi) but the last mile was 1,000 feet of vertical elevation.  There was an option to ride a  horse most of the way to the Laguna Azur so 5 folks chose the ride although Mike’s horse was a bit ornery and he ended up walking all the way.

Laguna Azul was formed and filled  by a glacier.  The water broke through at some point to create a beautiful waterfall which we found to be a beautiful backdrop for photos of the group. The Laguna itself was very pretty and we had hopes of seeing an avalanche during our lunch break on this warm day but no luck.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather these past two days!

Hosteria Helsingfors

February 10

In front of El Pilar before leaving. 

After driving for four hours with two of those hours on gravel we arrived at Hosteria Helsingfors and what a beautiful place and they gave us the most welcoming greeting!

Finally a clear view of Mount Fitz Roy. 

The hotel is tucked into a large grove of 100 year old Chinese Cypress trees that totally block the wind that blows almost constantly from the glacier lake.  Waiting for us was a lunch of gastronomic enjoyment! A half lamb was slowly roasting near an open fire where it had been since 9 am. On a log table was a huge platter of meats, cheese, olives and nuts. Then they brought over provolone cheese melted in iron skillets and covered with olive oil, herbs and tomatoes served on fresh baked bread. As we stood around enjoying the sun and the fabulous views they served us Malbec wine and empanadas fresh out of the pan. Lunch was eaten at the picnic table and included the lamb (delicious!) salads, roared potatoes and vegetables.  What a spread!!

And then our leader Karen said we could go for a “short” hike of 4 miles or do as John did and take a nap then take advantage of the Internet that we’ve been without the past 5 days.

I did the hike along the lake out to a windy point with a view of the lake, mountains and part of a glacier.  Wind was about 34mph. I have determined that Karen’s definition of a level hike means that there is little elevation change but there will be several 200-300 foot hills to climb.

Laguna Torre

February 9, Saturday

It rained and was very windy all night and early this morning so we dressed for a rainy hike with rain pants, raincoat and dreading the day.  What we got was very little rain sometimes mixed with a tiny bit of snow, no wind and a great day for a 11-12 mile hike.

Our destination was the base camp and lake beneath Cerro Torres, a difficult but popular mountain to see and to climb. There was a 1,000 foot of elevation change so it was not a very difficult hike.  We walked above the picturesque Cascadia Margarita river gorge before getting our first look at Cerro Torre valley.  Unfortunately the mountain was obscured by clouds as were the mountain ranges on either side of it. Nonetheless it was a beautiful site.  Our pictures and my descriptions cannot begin to describe the majestic, awe inspiring views we experienced.

When we reached Laguna a Torre we had lunch before walking along the river created by the Laguna and then headed back to the bus.  It was 18 km or 11 miles but my Fitbit showed 30,000 steps and 13 miles.  We must be getting stronger as we weren’t near as tired or sore at the end of the day.