Have Tefl will Travel

After a wonderful week on Easter Island, it's time to move on to my next destination in Cordoba, back in Argentina.  I arrived back to Santiago de Chile quite late on Monday night and after a night in a BEAUTIFUL hostel  (Hostel de Rio Amazones) - I wish I'd found it on the way out!! I was up and out with my rucksack on and off to the bus depot for a 9.30 bus. The bus stations have been great - I’ve just had a lovely brunch of scrambled egg,  avocado, toast , fresh fruit and fresh juice and tea! They remind me of the days I used to travel by National Express but the food wasn't half as good in the stations. 3,756 miles from Easter Island to Santiago, a 5 hrs flight. Next it  is Santiago to Mendoza, the wine area of Argentina, 226 miles , 8 hrs over the Andes. It includes the highest tunnel in the world at 3,832 metres.  From there I have decided to stay with the bus for another 387 (11hrs)  miles through the night to Cordoba where Ill arrive about 7 am on W...

I think this is where my fascination with South America began,  hilarious really because the Gypsy kings are French! Next meeting Claudia a wonderful Mexican friend inspired the whole family with an interest in Central and South America. We still play Mexican Pass-the-Parce l  at Christmas.  I went to visit Claudia in Merida in 2019, just before lock down and was entranced by the warmth of Mexicans the vibrancy of colours, the beautiful architecture, the sea, the flamingoes,  and the food ......  Claudia laughed at me as I was gob smacked by the beautiful fresh produce at the super market. I was laughing because she would hold and smell every piece of fruit or vegetable before they made it to her basket. I came home with 3 types of chilli  - a sweet one for ice-cream/sorbets, a table sauce and dried ones for cooking. Long before I went to Mexico I asked Claudia to send/ make me some CD's of Mexican music and she introduced me to the Cuban Buena Vista Club a...

  You can't visit (most of the) Moai sites without a park ticket or a guide, and some of the sites you can only visit once in the 10 days the ticket is valid for.This is to preserve the environment - the guides not only explain the history and culture of the island but they point out where you can and cant go.     Almost all of the sites are on the coast where the Moai have been placed on platforms looking inwards, protecting and  guarding their villages and descendants. The quarry, where the Moai are hewn out of the rock face, is one of the exceptions. The Monuments were commissioned, carved out of the rock, not from a block of stone and then' walked ' out of the quay to their positions around the island. Their top nots were made in a different location from  the red volcanic stone  scoria  - lighter and distinctive in colour.    where the top nots were quarried They also have grey, black and purple volcanic rock, you can see lava flows...