Easter Island

Hello all, it´s been a little while since we last blogged but we are trying! So our flight to Easter Island was delayed like 5 hours which sucked because we lost half the day BUT one of the Amazing Race finalists was on our flight! The island looked just like Hawaii. There was only one teeny tiny town. The total population of the island is barely over 2000. We kept seeing the same people over and over again. Our hostel was nice and we lucked out and got a private room, eventhough we paid for a 4 bed room. The room was a bit musty and hot inside but we survived. Just like in Santiago there are stray dogs everywhere. The first night we went out to eat at a restaurant by the water and it was expensive like everything else on the island. We then went to the Aloha Pub and had some beer. On our walk home we were attacked by dogs. It was scary!! There were gangs of dogs all around us, and they kept barking. They kept getting closer to us, and so we started to run. The next day, we learned that if dogs start barking at you, DON'T RUN, cuz then they'll chase you!We were afraid of the dogs for the rest of the trip there!

We decided to rent a car and guess what....it was a stick shift. Neither of us could really drive one well, but I (Leif) got in the swing of things. We got a map of the island and drove around stopping to look at all the Moai. It was amazing. They were huge and it was hard to think how they made such things back in the day. The roads were horrible. They were dirt roads on hills and had a lot of pot holes and rocks in the way, so it made for a fun adventure. We stalled a few times. Later on in the day I taught Katie to drive a stick shift. At our stop at the 15 rowed Moai it started to pour!! It was nice because all the tourists left and we just ran out there with blankets on our heads and took some amazing photos. Then on our way home there was a road that was slippery like ice but it was just mud. We ended our day going to the beach. While we were swimming we were able to see the Moai, it was unbelievable.

Everyone on the island was laid back and we enjoyed the rest of the time. We also saw this movie called Rapa Nui that was produced by Kevin Costner. On our last night we had the best empanada ever. We also went to this French restaurant to get some dessert and beer and when we ordered from a French bastard he took our menus away. He said that he served food and kicked us out but not before asking if we came from the moon. He was a jerk but in retrospect it was funny. Then we bought our own beer and some candy and watched the sunset.

So we saw the Amazing Race guy at the beach but didnt want to bother him. Then he was on our flight back to Santiago and he was standing behind us. We started talking to him and he actually went to Roosevelt High School. Talked to us about the Seattle school system. He also gave us tips about how to get onto the amazing race. It was pretty funny.

Ok until next time

Katie and Leif