Rewind just a little bit...

Feb 2011
It's been a while since I posted on here, as things have been a bit busy with settling in back here in England. I can report, so far, so good, and I am now starting to feel like I might have a bit of spare time to communicate again. Life here is just as I had hoped it might be. A little lonely for now, but it takes time to break into communities where you know no-one, so I am using my patience and trying not to dwell on all the friends we left behind. Mary has settled very well into her lovely primary school, and Jude has just started 2 days a week at a pre-school which is giving me a bit of child free time. We have chosen a fantastic place to live, very close to the open spaces of Salisbury, excellent for both walking and cycling. The house we are renting is right next to a cycle path which goes all the way into town. This is just such a boon for me. Last week I slipped into another relapse and so we went out and bought a mobility scooter. Something we have discussed for a long time, but we were never able to follow it through in Chile. So now I can zoot around to school, to town, and to the various activities the girls do, using the cycle path. Ah, independence! The girls love my scooter almost as much as I do. They love to ride on with me, and I have been amazed at how accepting of it they have been. They have reacted like I have always had one.

Our last couple of months in Chile were fun, trying to explore and spend time with friends before moving on. One of our favourite trips was a visit to a Mapuche village near the Lakes District in the South. If I may rewind back to September, I can share with you this wonderfully special trip we made with our really good friends. I actually wrote this back in November, but never got a chance to post it, so here it is, better late than never!!

Mapuche visit

As part of our desperate attempt to see more of Chile before we left, we decided to take advantage of a day Ross could spare from work. In the airplane magazine whilst flying from Easter Island we had seen an article about staying in a traditional Mapuche village further south from Santiago. The programme they offered sounded really interesting and as we love cultural experiences, we jumped at the chance to go. 

Our great friends decided at the last minute to join us which made the experience so much more special. It was a solid 10 hour drive to get there and we only had 3 days to spare!! The programme was 2 days and 2 nights so we slept for a few hours on the Friday night, got up at 1am and drove the 10 hours to arrive at 11am the next morning. It was a long but easy journey and the co-ordinator Nadia was there to greet us with a fire burning in our ruka and a breakfast of freshly made traditional bread, jams and a type of coffee made from wheat (which even I enjoyed!). The scene was spectacular.  

The tiny village edged a large lake, lago budi, and the ruka was set up at the top of a field with prime views of the lake.

Our first activity was a boat trip on the lake to the island in a small rowing boat. The man who rowed for us also acted as our guide on the island to show us the native flora that grows on the island. He was very knowledgeable and was able to answer Mary’s many questions along with ours too.. Having heard about the rain which falls frequently in the south of Chile we went prepared. It turned into an interesting excursion as the rain began to fall as soon as we got on the boat and set in for the rest of the day. We were able to find shelter under the trees of the island until moments of abating when we advanced around the island. We felt quite wet by the time we got to the restaurant for lunch! The girls were delighted to see a piglet suckling from its mother and were quite amused by their first sighting of this. 

Our friends, the Allen's met us at lunchtime and we enjoyed drying out near the logfire whilst eating some good traditional food in good company. The people we encountered were so friendly and we were always greeted with big smiles by all we saw. As we walked back from the restaurant an elder was riding by on his horse, and of course he was enchanted by the girls. He stopped and greeted us, teaching us the phrase for Good-day, which, easy for us to remember, is Mari-Mari. An invitation followed to Mary to get up on his horse, which, of course she readily accepted.

An excellent activity for a wet, cold afternoon was to snuggle around the fire inside the ruka and learn all about the techniques of dying and weaving using wool. Nadia the young lady who greeted us, taught us, with the help of her mother and great aunt firstly how they dye wool using onion skin, a fascinating process which is so simple. Varying shades are achieved just by the amounts of skin used or the amount of time which the wool is boiled for.

After this we were shown the art of weaving on a handmade loom. No fancy machines to be found here, they really were basic but self sufficient. This was a major form of income for them. The children had fun watching the lady and each of us had a turn afterwards. It looked quite complicated but none of us expected that it would be as complicated as it was. 

The children tried their hand at weaving but were much happier sitting by the fire drinking matte, the traditional herb tea, with Nadia and her mother. A large cup is filled with herbs and covered with hot water and left to steep then drunk through a metal straw. We enjoyed our supper and our beds that night, so much so that we were all so exhausted after the long drive we couldn’t even bring ourselves to socialise after the children all went to bed!

The next day the sky was blue and the sun was shining, making for beautiful views out over the lake. More activities awaited us which were much more enjoyable with the beautiful sun warming our backs. After the traditional breakfast with their special bread and coffee, the lesson for the morning was medicine. Great aunt has a herb garden where she has growing a large selection of plants with medicinal properties. It was fascinating to go around and learn about the different uses of known and unknown herbs from around the world. Mary took a great interest in this and wanted to know everything about what was growing. She loved smelling everything and having inherited my heightened sense of smell was able to identify certain plants which we often use at home. 

Waiting patiently for the end of the lesson were a group of horses which were available to us for a ride through the village. Our friends are not big horse fans, but all credit due to them, they climbed on the horses so that their children didn’t miss out. Mary set off on her own horse, having ridden alone before, and the other three we each had with an adult. Unlike before when I rode with Jude, there were no blankets for the kids to sit on so they soon became uncomfortable. Soon all the children were riding on their own and I was the only adult still in saddle! It was a lovely gentle stroll through the village, an ideal way to get the children more riding experience. 

After a lovely morning we sat down to some well needed food. They served simple, interesting food which is creative and uses all parts of a type of food. During the afternoon we were to find this out first hand as they had planned a cookery workshop for us. This was lots of fun and certainly an eye opener, both good and bad, into culinary ways. There were some recipes that we will repeat and some we most certainly won’t! One we won’t be repeating was a pudding called milkao which is basically potato balls boiled in sugared milk. I think all the children left it… but it was lots of fun learning to make empanadas, quinoa juice and quinoa salad, pan rescoldo (bread cooked directly in the coals of a fire) and delicious herbed fried fish. The thing which let them down was, like in the rest of chilean culture, the vast quantities of oil, salt and sugar which is used. Nevertheless we had a delicious supper prepared by our own fair hands.

   

After supper we went to a display of traditional dancing given by the youngsters of the village. Barefooted and heavily clad in silver jewellery, they danced with branches and sticks, to the beat of a drum and toot of a whistle. The dancing is not used much anymore except at special ceremonies, and only a small number of youngsters are still taught the dances at home. We were invited to dance with them at the end of their performance and it was fun to watch our young children interacting with the young adults and trying to mimic their dancing style.

The dancing was a fun way to round off our 2 night stay. The children had lots of fun running around in the fresh air. They loved the company of their special friends and many a game of tag, hide and seek and run in the rain was enjoyed!

The next morning after the typical breakfast which we had together one last time, we had to pack up and drive the 10 hours back to Santiago. The others, sensibly had decided to combine it with a trip to Pucon so had a much shorter on going trip than ourselves. Before leaving we enjoyed watching the oxen ploughing the fields in the traditional old style of farming. A round up in front of the ruka for a group photo enabled us to display our knitwear that we had purchased from the ladies of the community. Staying in a ruka was definitely a first for our friends and for us it was a little like being back in Africa. We were extremely grateful for the fire as the nights were cold, but its’ smell was impregnated into everything we owned! It was a trip which will be forever in our memories. 

the final countdown!

20 days.. that is all we have left in Chile now. It is quite unbelievable to think that almost 3 years ago we left our home in London with just a few suitcases, a baby and a toddler to stay for a few weeks in Santiago.  It has been amazing. A time of personal growth, of learning how to cope with difficult situations both from a physical and mental point of view. Both of us are so grateful of the opportunity that we have had to live out here and immerse ourselves in a culture so different to our own. Particularly that we have all been able to learn Spanish; now we have to keep it..

I am very interested to see how I will adapt back to the UK having been away now for so long. A big adjustment will be having no help at home, so I will be a much busier Mum, a challenge which I looking forward to and hope I can rise to. Of course my concern is what to do if I have a relapse, but I am looking positively and trusting that if God wants us to be in the UK that he will provide me with the coping mechanisms. At least my family will be only a car journey away and not a 20 hour, 2 plane trip away.

Speaking of planes, my brother is doing that trip now as I type, from Santiago to Uk, having been with us for the last 2 weeks. It has been really special to have the family here and we are very grateful that they were able to sneak in a visit before we finally leave. They have traveled independently both north and south of Santiago, as well as spending their weekends with us. I have noticed something very encouraging whilst they have been here, which is that I have been much calmer, more enthusiastic, more energetic and I haven't crashed after activity nearly as quickly as usual. It really feels like the adrenal gland supplements are working! In fact last night we went out to dinner at a particularly good Peruvian restaurant, I tasted Peruvian pisco sour, red wine and even had a cocktail of my own. We then danced until 3 am at a salsa bar, rolled home to bed and by 7am I was up making breakfast for the girls and feeling reasonably good! Today I seem to have had no side effects from the indulgence, which we have been amazed at. I am praying that nothing will go awry in the next few days..

So, I am sad that the family have left. I have fantastic memories of their time here, as do our children, and now it feels like our time really is closing in. I am excited about the move, but also apprehensive. I don't feel stressed yet, and hope it stays that way.. TM and stress don't mix!

Living la vida loca..!!

I wouldn't have it any other way really.. I have never been one for sitting still, and dear God, bless Him, has at least allowed me to continue with my craziness by giving me a form of TM which sees me recovering for periods of time. Yes, it is frustrating, as although I recover and can get on with most things relatively "normally" I never know when a relapse might hit me. We plan our lives thinking I will be ok and then deal with the consequences as they arrive.

So, right now we are preparing to leave Chile, and so I am trying to find the most economical way to get our possessions back, pack, find somewhere to live and organise how we move into a new house, as we are not returning to our flat in London. My brother is here visiting with his wife and daughter as I mentioned, and I have been acting as their travel agent. Don't worry, I love that sort of thing, but of course it is one more thing to do. Today I am busy with my nana organising food for our celebration tomorrow. I feel very blessed to have had Karina working with us, as she has enabled me to get on with other areas of my life. Now that my MSc dissertation is completed, I have been trying to focus on nutrition and how that is helping me. I am now trying to turn that outwards and would like to start to help others. My girls, of course, are a constant use of my energy, but they add so much happiness and richness to my life. On top of all this I am helping my husband start up his business as director of a consulting firm. I am responsible for keeping up with the accounts and running errands to get business cards, printing and administration done on the company's behalf.

As I said though, I wouldn't have it any other way. Life for me is so dull when I have little to do. I don't feel valued or that I am using the skills God gave me. I find it difficult to do nothing, even reading a book sometimes is hard as I feel I should be doing something more productive! I inherited it from my Mum who is just the same.. so the way I am trying to relax is by doing yoga. I have been wanting to try it for some time, and finally found a suitable class. The teacher had to stop the class after only a few weeks, so now I am having private classes with the teacher, which is great because she can tailor the class to my exact needs. Of course this combines exercise too, which I am finding more and more of a challenge because I fatigue so quickly. I have to be feeling on top notch form to do anything too physical. It is a form of exercise I am really enjoying.. and I am sure it is helping in many ways, certainly my flexibility and balance.

We don't have anymore travelling planned before we leave Chile sadly, but we are going via Peru on our way back to the Uk. The my vida will become more loca as we settle in to a new home, new city and make new friends...

All Change!

Things have been a bit hectic here recently, but I am pleased to say that on the whole I am holding up! We have suspected for some time that we might move back to the Uk at the end of this year, and now it is definite. 3 years of uncertainty have passed by almost in the wink of an eye it feels. I have very mixed feelings about going back, but am excited at moving closer to family and friends, and having services in a language in my mother tongue. Familiarity was something else I was seeking out a little, but that may be difficult given that we have chosen to move to a city where we know no-one.. but we have placed our trust in God that he will provide, as He always has done so far.

Consequently, we have been cramming in last minute visits around this beautiful country, trying to soak up the rich culture, the diverse landscapes and the warmth and friendliness of the Chilean people, about which I plan to write in greater detail soon. At this very moment, my brother, his wife and daughter are visiting Chile, independently exploring north of Santiago, then stopping over with us for the weekend before heading south. They took their last chance.. I have mentally prepared myself before to leave Chile, but everything changed suddenly overnight and we stayed almost another year longer. So, I guess I am a little guarded, although we are making all the necessary plans to return, including school applications and house renting.

My diet continues and although I am not always able (and if truth be told, good enough) to stick to it 100%, I can honestly say I feel the benefits when I stay on track. If I waver, I suffer in one form or another. I have had a couple of short lived but very severe attacks recently which would appear to follow on from "treating" myself to something that tastes a little more interesting. Overall, since starting my adrenal supplements I have had more energy, have been sleeping better, more patience with my children, less anxiety and just generally more relaxed. I don't fly off the handle because my husband is a little late home from work, or because the girls have decided to do their craft work as they chose and not exactly as I expected them to. So that is all very encouraging. Because of where we live, I sometimes fall short of some pills whilst waiting for my next order to arrive. I certainly notice the effects of their absence too. The adrenal glands supposedly take a minimum of 4 months to recover, and with the state of mine it could take much longer. For some it can take up to 9 months for them to regulate. I am just getting to the end of 2 months of treatment. However it is important that they are monitored, as over correction can take place, which gives rise to other problems. So when I get back to the Uk I will be getting a retest to see where I am at..

So amidst packing, filling in school applications and looking at potential houses to rent, my life trots on without too much drama. The girls are excited to return to be closer to family, although I'm not sure how much they really comprehend, but Mary seems to be led by the excitement of starting a new school. On Saturday we will be having a party to celebrate our 3 years here in Chile. It isn't a farewell party, just a celebration of the wonderful time we have had here with very special friends. I hope my brother and his family enjoy meeting them all..

Easter Island Days 4 & 5

Day 4

The early birds of the family went off for an early walk at sunrise, whilst I slept in longer with our snoozy baby! Mary had lots of fun at the play area in the village. I had organised a hire car for the day so that we could explore the whole island. It didn't take us long to get around considering the whole island is so small (25km long and 12.5km wide).

Firstly we went to Rano Raraku, the site where up to the 18th century 95% of the Moai figures were carved over a period of 500 years.  Here 397 Moai remain, never having been transported anywhere. Considered the Moai graveyard, the slopes of the volcanic crater are littered with the giant monolithic sculptures, some standing, some leaning, some half buried and others lying face down. Despite being windy and overcast we had great fun traversing the slopes of the volcano admiring the individuality of all the carvings.


There are several incomplete Moai that can be seen at the quarry. The most notable of these is a giant statue still lying, like in its' grave, never having been excavated. Had it have been finished it would have been twice the size of any other carving, standing 21.6m high and weighing a massive 270 tonnes.

Of course, it would have been rude to leave without climbing up and seeing inside the quarry. Although not wildly exciting to see the lake inside another volcano, it was eerie to watch the patterns made by the wind as it howled across the surface of the lake. The ripples were uniform and pushed the water to the edges where it lapped against the tall, green reeds, and the girls feet! It also afforded us a picturesque view back out over the island. I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the orange colours of the volcanic rock, which framed the ever changing layers of green as the eye moved out further into the distance finally finding the peninsula.


From the quarry we drove on to Ahu Tongariki. Here the landscape is dominated from afar by 15 Moai which have withstood the test of time. They have survived the island's civil wars, along with an earthquake which caused a huge tidal wave, sweeping over the statues causing them to fall and get damaged. A project by the Chilean government and the Japanese in 1994 saw the restoration of these carvings to their former state. It was picturesque to see the Moai against the backdrop of the sea, whilst in the foreground wild horses grazed.

Anakena and its beautiful sweeping beach white idyllic white sand was the last stop on our island tour. Here we had a picnic whilst the sun tried its best to burn off the cloud. Jude made her best attempt at snorkeling, managing to be brave enough to put her head in the water and see a crab. 

The girls were very excited that we had arranged another afternoon for them with their new friends. They could barely get through the door quick enough when we arrived, so Ross and I felt comfortable to enjoy our 3 hours to ourselves. We had decided to drive back to a beach close to Anakena, Ovahe, and spent our time diving again. It was a pretty beach and the water was clean but not nearly as calm.  I swam out, but it didnt take long for the waves to set me off feeling seasick. I saw a number of fish but decided that I needed to go back onto solid ground. Ross helped me swim back safely before going to enjoy a dive by himself.

It was hard to drag the girls away, so Antje kindly invited us to stay for supper. Of course we accepted the invitation to the girls delight. I had just a light bite as I had arranged with Hema to go for dinner and on to a Rapa Nui show. So I left the rest of them enjoying food and play, to dash back and meet up with Hema. She was getting ready to leave as she had bumped into a travel buddy she previously met in San Pedro de Atacama, so arranged that he join us for some food. The restaurant we ate at was very basic, but the food was really good. We had a fish which is caught off the island, sadly none of us remember the name of it, but it was a really good fish. It came with salad and chips and as always some good bread and pebre. 

The show was a lot of fun. We chose not to sit in the front row in an attempt at not getting pulled out on stage to dance. Luckily it worked! It opened with a man wearing no more than a jockstrap, painting himself with the clay based paint they traditionally use. It was quite intimidating with the dimmed light and the strange music, so I was glad that I had left the girls behind. Especially when several of them came on and started jumping around, banging sticks and shouting in a style which was reminiscent of the Haka. 3 stunning ladies danced, depicting the essence of the slim, dark skinned, Polynesian women that live on the island. 

Day 5

On our last morning we woke up very heavy hearted, feeling a great sadness at having to leave the island. In just a few days we had both grown to love the people, their culture and the rich history tied into this petite little island. Another week there would not have gone amiss, and we could see how the missionary families had stayed for so long. But sadly we had to leave. There were a few hours in which we could explore a bit more, so we focused on the town of Hanga Roa which we had neglected. I always enjoy craft work, so set off to walk around the Feria where they both carve and sell typical crafts. I managed to find a gorgeous hand crafted salad bowl and servers, and haggled to a good price, almost half of one I had seen previously. The girls really enjoyed watching the craftsmen at work and were hovering over our crafters shoulder asking many questions. 

We took a last stroll along the sea front back to our hostel, which was a new route for me. This took us past more very beautiful carvings, unusually one had a painted back, so really caught my eye. Mary had seen Hema also strolling along back to the hostel and, never one to forget, insisted that she played hide and seek which had been put off for 3 days! 

Back at our hostel, our host Vicky was getting nervous that we were not allowing ourselves the recommended 2 hours check in time. She was pointing at her watch and repeating "2 hours" as we all loaded our suitcases into her vehicle. As we approached the airport we saw our friends walking to spend their last moments with us whilst we waited for our plane. The girls were so happy and they were given a big bunny as a reminder of their new friends. We climbed on the plane with smiles, and many happy memories of a fabulous trip.  

Day 3 Easter Island

Today was Sunday and Hema had suggested to us that we might attend the service at the church. The singing alone was worth going for apparently even if you are not church goers. As Christians we jumped at the chance to see how the islanders worship, so made the time to go along. The service was at 9am and this was the time that breakfast was usually served, so I tried to request breakfast early. Not an easy task.. Hema had arranged to have breakfast after the service finished at 10am, so they had assumed we would do the same. That would have been ok for us, but the girls would never have lasted the service on empty tummies. So I pushed for an early breakfast. The owner Maria said that Vicky, her daughter, who was hosting us would have to get up very early to have breakfast ready for us, and as she had already gone back to her home she would have to call and ask her. I didn't hold out much hope. However, at 8.15, just as I was getting out of the shower, Maria was peering around outside our room. I sent Ross to go and look, and she herself had kindly prepared breakfast for us.

The service was beautiful. Islanders and tourists filled the pews, side aisles and there was barely standing room left at the back of the church. There must have been 400 people there. The church was adorned with beautiful carvings of Rapa Nui style religious figurines and lots of flowers. We did not understand the Rapa language in which the service was conducted, but we did listen in total awe to the harmonious singing which oozed out from all around the church. Mass was conducted but we did not partake. Mary continued to hack away, which embarrassed me profusely and caused a few stares. However a lady next to us, obviously also a tourist, kept digging in her handbag as though looking for something each time Mary coughed. Eventually she pulled out a lollipop and handed it to Mary. She looked at Jude and shrugged and put up one finger, indicating she didn't have another. Jude took it well, fortunately. It certainly did the trick in stopping Mary coughing for the rest of the service, to my relief. At one point she did drop it on the ground, then looking at me for approval, picked it up and put it back in her mouth! I could just see the disapproving faces that said "No wonder your child has such a bad cough".

People poured out of the church at the end of the service and there was much activity outside with locals greeting one another and hopping in and out of cars. We made our way slowly back to the hostel, Jude and Ross stopping en route to pick up a lollipop for Jude. Only fair! 

The previous day we had organised to go on a horse ride at 11am, but this has been postponed to 2.30pm, so we had some time available to do an activity before lunch. Unaminously, it was decided that we should go for a family snorkel. The place where we had been diving previously was an ideal spot for the girls. Calm, sheltered, shallow, and with fish that came right in near the shore. Mary was game, Jude a little more reluctant. I suited up, today the suit feeling much more comfortable having been stretched the day before. Ross then helped Mary to get on her wetsuit and mask and snorkel. She opted to climb on my back so I could swim and she wasn't fully immersed. She felt safe like this and could still put her head in the water and see the fish. I swam out slowly and calmly towards the opening where the waves were breaking gently. Fish were already visible and I started to hear muffled shrieks and giggles through the snorkel. At first I wasn't sure if they were unhappy noises, so I popped up to check that Mary was happy - not an easy feat with her laid out along my back! Yes, she was definitely happy. We swam around for a short while, but Mary was shivering badly and soon asked to go back. I have never heard a 5 year old wax lyrical quite so much, but she really tried to sell the snorkeling to jude. Mary thought it was just amazing. Jude was keen to try but the water was just too cold for her. She did put everything on ready to go but she shrieked when she felt the temperature of the water. Not having a wetsuit was of no help to her either. There was no way of persuading her, so I swam out for a quick dive by myself before swapping with Ross and doing my turn of watching the girls on the shore. 

Snorkeling at Tahai

Everyone was happy as we walked back to our hostel, and most definitely ready for some lunch! Ross had “borrowed” the owners kitchen and prepared a delicious lunch of mince stew and rice. It was quite late when we started to eat and just as we were taking our last mouthfuls the man arrived to take us riding bang on time. Our host was at our heels saying we needed to go so as not to make the man wait. Ross was trying to tidy up the plates, but she was adamant we must just leave everything and go. She would clear away. At this we were most surprised. Punctuality is not much of a heeded word in Chile and obviously we have adjusted to this more than we were aware!

The man waited at his 4x4 looking impatient as we grabbed our things and sent the girls over to him. He introduced himself as Pantu and smiled, welcoming us to ride his horses. Vicky had said that we all could ride as their were ponies for the children. Beginning to wonder what was in store for us, we felt a little foolish not getting more information before hand. We had no idea how long a ride we were doing or how much money we were in for. But, we decided it didn’t matter now, we were committed and as we love riding it wasn’t going to be a hardship. We arrived at a lovely establishment overlooking the sea, which had very modern cabanas and a nice riding ring in the centre of a pretty garden. There were 5 horses tethered and no ponies in site. When I saw this I decided that Jude could not ride by herself under any circumstances. We were happy to try Mary on her own horse, and I assumed that the guide would lead her on a rope. She had at least been on a horse a few times before. Their equipment wasn’t lacking much. They had riding hats for all of us and even chaps, which is always a nice treat. Pantu assured us the horses were calm and Mary would be fine riding by herself. Our guide, whose name I forget, was a young lad who was very friendly. Once we were mounted and ready to go Mary had to learn quickly how to get her horse to move. There was no leading rope which made me a little nervous, but the guide seemed perfectly relaxed, so I decided to leave it in God’s hands that she would be safe. Jude was mounted with me, sitting on a blanket just on the front pommel, which I suspected might get uncomfortable. Never having ridden more than a few metres with a child in the saddle with me I wondered how I would feel after an hour or more of riding. Jude’s weight in front of me was pushing me backwards, but it was a lovely feeling to be helping my little girl ride a horse. Mary was very proud to be riding by herself and the horse looked steady and firm under her. Leaving the paddock we headed down the dirt road to the coast, just a short distance away. 

Horse ride to the banana cave

The other detail we had never established was how long the ride would be. I did my best to ask the young guide how our long our trip would be and was certain that his answer was an hour to an hour and a half. I thought Mary would manage that without getting too tired. It was a very special ride and we enjoyed viewing the coast from our elevated positions. The relaxed pace of the ride (no cantering with Mary on her own horse) was obviously very relaxing for Jude as the nodding movement of the horse had caused her to nod too! She was fast asleep in front of me and I was trying hard to stop her from falling off. I was very relieved that she had not gone on her own horse. Our route took us past 2 caves, and we entered one of them called the banana cave. It was a welcome relief to climb down off the horses and stretch, particularly easing the pressure off the knees. Whilst in the cave I heard a shout “hello Mary!” which took me by complete surprise. Who could it possibly be? My sister has always joked that I know enough people to be recognised anywhere in the world, and now I was starting to think that Mary is following in my footsteps. Well, with her social abilities it is no surprise, she makes friends wherever we go. It turned out to be the owner of the cafe where we had eaten dinner on the first night with Hema. Her other job was as a tour guide and she was guiding a party around the island. Climbing back on to our horses I passed Jude over to Ross. We had already been riding for over an hour and a half and we had to get home. I was feeling a little nervous that Mary would be tiring by now. Each time I questioned if she felt ok, she assured me she was fine. I just hoped that the horse didn’t spook suddenly, something which once happened to me after 3 days in the saddle. I was so exhausted and focused on getting back to our lodge that when my horse suddenly jumped sideways I was left behind with no horse underneath me. I ended up in a heap on the floor, rather embarrassing as we were only a short distance from our lodge so we had a good audience, and as women don’t ride horses in Africa I felt like quite a spectacle. The worst that happened to Mary was that her horse wandered off on his own path at one point, so our guide had to go and herd them back to us. By the time we got back to the ranch it was 3 hours later. The price was acceptable, considering on Easter Island all activities come at a premium.  

That evening we took a walk down to the harbour in Hanga Roa at sunset.

Ahu Tautira at sunset

Whilst I was taking photos of the changing colours of the landscape, Jude and Mary went off with Ross to admire the fishing boats moored in the harbour. There was much excitement when they discovered 3 large turtles swimming under the boats, eating the fish heads left behind by the fisherman. We sat and watched them slowly cruise under the boats, pecking small chunks of flesh off the unwanted carcasses, coming up for air every few minutes. That was a real treat. I had, just that day, heard that if you swim off the beach next to the harbour, you often find turtles that you can swim with. 

Turtles swimming under boats

As it was Sunday, the choice of restaurants to eat at was limited.  Being right outside a restaurant that was open, I popped in to see what their menu and prices were like. The facade suggested a very upmarket and probably expensive restaurant, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found the menu to be comparable to most of the other restaurants we had seen. Anyway, the view out over the ocean alone was worth any hike in prices, so I called in the troops and we settled at a table to watch the last of the glorious sunset as the sky oozed flame reds, oranges and yellows. The food was good, but didn’t quite meet the same standards as the location. I ordered a fish soup and Ross ordered tuna with sweet potatoes and dill sauce. Whilst we were waiting for the food to arrive we both suddenly thought that any kind of fish soup usually contains seafood to give it more flavour, so we decided it best that Ross would eat the soup and I would have the tuna. Ross had a vantage point towards the kitchen and suddenly made a disapproving groan. Intrigued, I asked what it was about, but he said it was nothing. Then after a pause he said “well, as you are no longer having the soup, it won’t hurt to tell you that I just saw the chef take a big spoon, taste the soup, then put the spoon straight back into the pan! I thought it might put you off if I told you..” obviously different levels of standards!

After another full day the girls crashed into bed with us following closely behind them.  

Easter Island Day 2

The sounds of the night were quite different to what I am used to in Santiago. It was very peaceful, which makes a pleasant change from the traffic and car alarms we have had to get used to, but there were cocks crowing at a most unusual hour in the morning. The sound of birdsong, that I know as the Dawn Chorus, was a beautiful mix of singing from what sounded like thousands of birds, which sadly we never actually saw. Ross woke up early to get in a dive before breakfast, but was so early that he had to sleep at the waters edge for half an hour for it to get even half light enough to dive! Unusually the sunrise was quite late so he only got in the water just before 7am, and even then he said he could only just about see. He enjoyed his dive very much. The visibility can reach 40-60m, but a lack of coral means that fish species are limited in variety. There was however still much sealife of interest.

Surgeon fish and a lone angelfish

Breakfast was served at a communal table, so we enjoyed a typical Chilean style breakfast with Hema of bread, cheese, jam, avocado (mashed with copious amounts of garlic and salt), tea and coffee. I had of course taken other things to eat but did succumb to the pan amasado (hand made bread rolls).  We also had more of the freshly made papaya juice. After breakfast we took a taxi to visit Orongo, one of the volcanoes on the island. It was possible to walk there from our hostel, but we decided not to push my luck physically. It would be much better for us to walk back down. The road took you all the way to the top of the volcano to the entrance to the national park, managed by Conaf, the Chilean conservation organisation. The volcano is now a Manavai or natural greenhouse which provides a sheltered environment from wind and sea salinity for the growth of native and endemic species. Here they can grow in the wild without threat from humans or livestock, thus conserving Rapa Nui's native flora. It is a freshwater lagoon with a depth of approximately 12m with unusual fern species rare on any other part of the island. Species used in traditional medicine are also found in the crater. 

Crater Lagoon, Orongo

    

From the crater we moved on to enter the national park. We had some reservations about what we were going to find there. I decided that we should go in regardless, there wasn't much point in being there and then not going to look. The lady who sold us the tickets was incredibly friendly and helpful and we were relieved to be in possession of Chilean RUT cards which reduced the hefty entrance fee from 30.000CLP per person to 10.000CLP. It turned out to be worth our efforts. It was a fascinating ceremonial village, comprised of 54 houses related to the Tangata-Manu or Bird-Man competition. It was used for only a few weeks of the year in spring, for an annual ceremony. Tribal chiefs would compete to be the first to swim to the nearby island and collect an egg of the Manutara (Sooty Tern) which arrived in spring to nest on the island. Groups would gather in Orongo where the village was used to carry out various events in preparation for the competition. Participants would swim to Motu Nui island staying there for days or weeks for the arrival of the seabirds until one participant found an egg. The participant then returned with the egg to Orongo and he (or his Chief whom he represented) was endowed as tangata-manu or bird-man. He was considered sacred and lived in ceremonial reclusion for a year. The last competition would have taken place in approximately 1867.

Ceremonial Village House, Orongo 

Just look at the size of the doors! However they got in I do not know.. they must have crawled on their bellies as they are rabbit sized holes. Glad for them that they were only used for a few weeks a year. The girls had so much fun running from house to house. It is forbidden to enter the houses and only some of them can you get close to. The info leaflet listed each area of interest by number and the girls were very excited to go off to find the next number and then ask Daddy to read out what was relevant about it. Thousands of petroglyphs have been engraved in the rocks of this area which shows testimony to the activity developed there.

Petroglyphs with bird man island in background

As Ross had requested 5 minutes to stop and look over at the island, apparently an excellent diving spot, I had little choice but to let the girls head back towards the tables of craft souvenirs they had spied at the entrance. After much negotiation (between myself and the girls) we only parted with a small amount pesos and came away with a pencil engraved with a Moai and a feather necklace. They were incredibly happy with these and they proved to be valuable tools for our walk back down to the main town of Hanga Roa. The pen was used to make marks on the map and the feather was a kind of compass. I love kids imaginations!

It was a very pleasant walk back towards Hanga Roa, skirting the edge of the crater and being afforded views from many angles. We then descended into forest where we stopped for a picnic. On exiting the forest we found ourselves at the edge of the airfield which was over run with wild horses! Once passing the airport we were back on the coast. It was a warm day and we were enjoying the cool breeze which was coming in off the sea. The track along the coast took us past a small cave which was noted for having rock art on its' ceiling. I wasn't too keen to climb down the deep steps just to come all the way back up again, as I was feeling pretty tired by this point, so I sent my appointed representative to go check it out first. Neither of us had high expectations that any rock art could still exist with any definition so close to the sea, so when I heard the exclamation of "Oh wow, you have to come down and look at this!" I knew that I should really make the effort. I have seen rock art in South Africa, Namibia, New Zealand and other African countries but nothing compared to this. The colours were still profound and the shapes very discernible as the traditional symbols of fertility and the paintings related to the bird man ceremonies. 

Rock Art

Jude was being carried in the backpack by this point so was quite content. I was beginning to fade quickly and we were hoping to get close to a road so that we might pick up a taxi. Time was also of the essence as one of the missionary families had kindly offered to look after the girls for the afternoon so that Ross and I could do some activities child free, and we were now getting quite tight on time. Continuing along the coastal path we popped out at a small harbour with much activity. Next to it was another Moai, just a single one this time. Of course, it was necessary to go and take a picture! I never realised that there would be quite so many on a such a small island.

Ahu Riata

Just on from here we managed to pick up a taxi back to our accommodation. The taxi was a car which had seen much use, with no shocks, doors which just about closed and the driver's seat was broken on one side so when he leaned back it did a kind of contorted twist backwards to one side. We were to learn that there are actually more cars on the island now than inhabitants! But the elderly driver was friendly and kindly gave Mary & Jude a mandarin each, which surprised me having heard how expensive fruit and veg is there. Now late for our babysitters, we dashed in and collected the necessary items for the girls and most importantly the address, and hopped into another taxi to go meet the Dutch family. Immediately on meeting them we felt very relaxed about leaving M&J. The girls, aged 8 and 10 were very friendly, confident and polite. They had a lovely small house with a nice garden and they engaged our girls quickly. To our surprise Mary was a little upset as we left, but of course, when we were gone she was fine after a few minutes.

Ross and I were hoping to hire a scooter for a couple of hours and do some exploring around the island. It is 24.6 km by 12.3 km, and roughly triangular in shape.

There are many sights of interest around the island and trying to do some of them in a couple of hours would not have been very realistic, so it was actually in our best interests that the scooters were hired for a minimum of 8 hours. 

So instead, we decided to go for a snorkel together at Tahai. This would have been the first proper diving we had done together in 6 years. We did snorkel together once in La Gomera 3 years ago, but I was 7 months pregnant with Jude, so it wasn't really much of a dive! I was quite apprehensive about the whole thing, but also determined to go for it. 

The water in Easter Island is a few degrees warmer than in Chile, about 20/21 degrees C. We had brought out my wetsuit from England on our last trip back knowing that we would be coming to Easter Island. It is an open cell 7mm wetsuit, so even I would not be getting cold in the water. My last memory of using the suit was trying to put it over my head, a very unpleasant experience. An open cell wetsuit is designed to stick to your skin for warmth and to prevent water from seeping inside. It is custom made for size and to get it on you have to wet it inside with soapy water. The thought of having to squeeze myself into this soapy wetsuit was off putting to say the least. But Ross was able to help me and is very experienced at putting these suits on. It was quite a fuss, but I managed it, but still with the same fear of inhaling soapy water whilst we tried to prise my head through into the hoodie. The suit felt tighter than I remembered it, which was a little odd to believe as I would have expected to be smaller now than I was 6 years ago. But of course, it hadn't been used in all that time either. Now mid afternoon, the sun had become quite hot, so after the fuss of putting on my wetsuit, bootees, weight belt, flippers, gloves, mask and snorkel, I had raised my core temperature by quite a bit.

Ready to brave the waters

Entering the water was refreshing after the long walk and the dashing around dropping the kids. The only part of me that noticed the temperature of the water was my face, hands and feet which were not covered in open cell neoprene. I started to relax and enjoy the calm, clean water. We had an ideal spot to get in, it was just like a large rock pool, protected from incoming surges, so I was able to swim around and get used to that feeling of being back in the water. The rocks below enticed a few small fish and I was enjoying seeing some life underwater. Ross caught up to me and we swam out into the open sea together where the depth started to open up to around 8-12m, the waves were around us and the fish life was becoming more prolific. Ross indicated to me to try a dive, so I breathed up, took out my snorkel, lifted my feet and descended. It was a nice feeling to be slowly moving down closer to the fish. When I reached the bottom I could feel that I was underweighted and so as I tried to remain quietly on the seabed I could feel my feet starting to rise up. I kept trying to hold onto the rocks around me but it was quite tricky, I was just too buoyant. There was a good variety of fish to see, many of which I could not name and had to ask Ross. I enjoyed watching a moray eel swimming around below and dived down to try to get a closer look.

Moray Eel up close

Our time passed by very quickly. There was plenty to see including brightly coloured parrot fish, tweezer butterfly fish (black, white, yellow with tweezer snoute, only found on island), surgeons (dark, large shoals), the long slim trumpet fish (grey or bright yello, swim with noses down), wrasse, and a relative of the pomparno which I recognised from our diving in South Africa. Ross was impressed I had remembered them!  Despite a lack of coral and although the fish species were all small, they were colourful and included some fish I had never seen before. Like the bright blue bag fish. I squeezed Ross's hand which is our universal language for "I see a fish" and pointed at the lovely dark blue shape which appeared to be eating from the rock. It swished about with movement of the gentle waves above it, the feathery appearance of its tail also fanning back and forth. Ross wagged his finger at me, indicating something negative so I immediately assumed that it was a poisonous fish, perhaps like a lionfish. So I crossed my fingers to indicate this is what I had understood. He then surfaced, took out his snorkel and said "No, it's a plastic bag. I checked it out this morning!"

I enjoyed the quiet swim back to shore, practising a few more dives down on the way. Ross praised me for diving well despite having been such a long time since I had last done it, which made me feel very pleased. The process of taking off my wetsuit was almost as bad as getting it on, but it was nice to feel the warm sun on my wet body helping me to dry off.

We had been invited to have dinner with the 2 families that evening, so we dashed back to the house where the girls were and found them very happy and reluctant to leave. Jude was in the bedroom playing with a box full of Littlest Pet Shop toys and was keen for me to buy something from her shop. Mary was outside playing in the little pop up house with the older girl. Dinner was just across the road so we didn't have far to go. Our hosts welcomed us and thanked us again for all the goodies we had taken for them. Dinner was just about ready so we sat down at the table outside, and after saying Grace we tucked into a delicious dinner of roast chicken, vegetables, salad, rice and gravy. We were also served fermented tea. I tasted it and guessed that it was cider and was most surprised that it was made from tea because usually I hate anything which tastes remotely of tea! The 4 girls had a lot of fun playing hide and seek between courses in the large garden which was full of banana, avocado and papaya trees. Biscuits and a jello pudding was served for dessert and the girls did us proud by eating everything that had been offered to them. The evening finished with some general adult chat inside the house, with the children winding down to a couple of episodes of Shaun the Sheep.

Our weary legs carried us the 10 min walk back to our accommodation and we were greeted by Maria the owner who had kindly made a big bottle of avocado leaf tea for Mary and Jude. Both girls had coughs but Mary's was a strong hack which drew gasps of "ooh, esta muy enferma!" at every cough. Avocado leaf tea is reputed for medicinal properties for the bronchioles and we had just been discussing this over dinner. So we had to make the girls drink it, even though they were not so keen on its liquorice taste. Needless to say that the girls collapsed into bed that night!