BlackBerryAddict

Great pictures Johnny! I have a few similar ones.

Interesting to see you describe Easter Island as 'proper little chile'. Don't want to get into a politcal discussion, but when we were there and talking to local people, they made the point that they're not Latin or Chilean, but Polynesian.

JohnnyColombia

Yep. By proper little chile I meant that it reminded me of southern chile. Houses with tin roofs, stray dogs (how did they swim there) same bread, same weather, same gravel roads, same volcanic coastline.

Not saying that they aren't their own people with their own identity. For a start I said they were friendly, I could go a month in chile without so much as making eye contact with anyone, let alone spark up a conversation.

JohnnyColombia

Oh forgot to mention, I also meant proper little chile compared to Hawaii which is cool but nowhere near as Chilean. In fact not even a little bit.

Viajero Perpetuo

Yes, do not group Rapa Nui with those who they call the continentals (imported Chilean work crews for the roads and such) who they say are responsible for most of the crime when it does happen there.

A general "feel" description of Isla de Pascua from my Mom who was born and raised in Hawaii: "it's like Hawaii back in the 50's".

iahphx

I'm reluctant to wade into this discussion, but on Easter Island there are certainly similarities in culture to the Chilean mainland. And also differences.

In fact, speaking of Hawaii, it's perhaps a bit similar to the level of cultural differences between Hawaii and the USA mainland.

Viajero Perpetuo

Well yes, they are part of Chile and thus Chilean since the last half of the 1800's but treated badly such that it was not till the 80's were they allowed to leave the island and to this day, they are still not officially permitted to reside outside the confines of Hanga Roa as nearly the entire island is a park.

If you noticed certain settlements on the landscape, they are technically illegal but certain Rapa Nui individuals and families have held out for years against all the directives of the authorities.

Compared to the mainland, they have no problem accepting US Dollars and in general, have significantly better English skills than the continentals.

I assume the US influence goes back to the postwar period when the US used the island as a monitoring station for the French nuke tests and also built the runway there.

The locals do extremely well off of tourism and the impression my Chilean wife got was that there was no excuse for a local not to be doing well from tourism. She also experienced the verbal animosity the locals have towards continentals. A foreigner tourist is placed in a better position over a fellow continental Chilean citizen.

JohnnyColombia

One thing that surprised me in Easter Island was that there was an agricultural check and fumigation of the aircraft on the way back.

I would have thought that this was back to front and the integrity of the ecosystem of a remote island would be the number one concern and not the other way around.

Viajero Perpetuo

All roads in the kingdom lead to Santiago and all directives come from that citadel.

SAG is paranoid about tropical environ pests contaminating the rest of Chile, thus the check and "cough" "cough" fumigation on the way back. I really wanted to bring some guavas from the yard of the house we rented back with me but had to ditch them.

JohnnyColombia

SAG is excellent at what it does best though isn't it? By that I mean striking the fear of death into innocent passengers. They do it even better than US customs.

I even volunteered my Snyders of Hanover jalapeño pretzel pieces to them to get the all clear on account of they are made of vegetables. I remember when all SCL had was a comical sign in pigeon English about the maturity of one's hams.

Speaking of those pretzel pieces, I took them with me because of comments in this thread that food was costly and you ought to take your own snacks.

A completely false economy for me. a) Food is not in my opinion much more expensive than Santiago b) Soft drinks on the other hand cost a fortune outside of Hanga Roa, and said salty pretzels gave me a raging thirst. I was downing Fantas at 3 bucks a can to quench myself.

Viajero Perpetuo

As a mainland Chile resident on the central coast with low-cost ferias for fresh in good condition veggies and big box stores for "cheap" other stuff, we were shocked by the prices on Isla de Pascua (3 to 4 times more than what we are "used" to paying). We rented a house with a fully equipped kitchen and brought steaks for two nights in a cooler, veggies, pisco and lemons to make pisco sours in out luggage. I definitely do not regret doing this. We purchased fresh fish for dinner for one of the nights from a morning vendor in front of the main market. Our last night, we splurged and ate at a restaurant in town before the Kari Kari show.

JohnnyColombia

Well obviously if you live in Chile anyway then you have your own stores and you are doing your own thing so going on holiday will be more expensive, even if you fashion your own self catering

As a tourist though, I didn't find Hanga Roa any more expensive than Santiago. Beers cost the same as they do in Bellavista and I wangled a nice sushi at Maura for 5 mil.

Anakena beach they make hay whilst the sun shines, 2 tuna empanadas, a beer and a can of Fanta for 11 mil, but like I said Hanga Roa seemed like Santiago prices to me. Don't forget I got my first lunch free so it all evens out

Viajero Perpetuo

Yeah, that's a very high-end price unless those empanadas are huge and the beer and Fanta are in litre bottles. My Chile mainland sense says 6 mil tops (though closer to 4 at a reasonable local joint) for a normal size of all items. On the mainland, pay more and you are paying cuico prices because of reputation of the joint in an upscale part of town or some other ambiance to separate yourself from the masses.

iahphx

Yeah, as I said earlier, I think it's a great idea to bring food with you to Easter Island. There really is food scarcity there (both in selection and price). Even fish is scarce. Other than fresh bread and (oddly) gelato, buying as little food as possible on Easter Island is a good idea.

Viajero Perpetuo

The local beef is supposed to be at mainland prices but the market only sells fresh meat once a week (I forget which day). You can see the window butcher display case area inside the market.

Fresh fish is sold by a vendor or two outside the market in the morning. They go quickly. There were small lobsters that I would have liked to try but they were already gone when I returned after my first pass.

JohnnyColombia

If you you folks don't mind me saying, we are coming across as a bit mean spritied. Yes we are FTers and we like a bargain but let's get things in perspective, most of us are only there for 3 days max and a good bunch of us fly there in LAN flat beds.

So we swan into the world's most remote inhabited island and gripe about an extra dollar on a bottle of beer or some fish? Not cool.

The island depends heavily on tourism so maybe we should shut up, put our hands in our pockets and pay for the crazy logistics of the place, at the same time supporting those people that are our hosts for our fleeting visit.