Santiago

Easter Island was fantastic. Always a danger that this sort of place will be an anticlimax. This was not. Very polynesion. The local cave called `kai tangata` did not need any interpretation. This is where they ate people.

Jane`s bag is now with us, which is a bonus for us boys, but cuts out a very good reason to go shopping for her.

Santiago has been a wonderful first day. Roger our travel agent gave us a contact through Rotary and we have just had a day gatecrashing part of the orientation for the latest group of NZ Rotary exchange students. We were late joining them and had to bluff our way into the presidential palace. There is a story behind that!

Had a very pleasant afternoon barbequing, sampling Chilean red wine and generally eating ourselves silly. The boys had a ball swimming, playing football and generally being fussed over by the locals and the students.

The interpreter is meeting us for coffee tomorrow to help us with plans for the rest of the trip. Her sister is a travel agent. Thinking at this stage we will fly south, then work our way north overland to the Atacama desert, then fly back to Santiago to catch our flight to Buenos Aires.

The spanish is kind of coming along. Went to Vacas Gordas (The Fat Cow) for a meal last night. Big Chilean steaks, but really hard to order when you know the word for beef and underneath it there are about 25 options!