December | 2013 | The Clark Family's Amazing Adventures

Pacific island ‘hopping’ – Easter Island

30 Dec 2013 1 Comment

by Mo in Family Gap Year, Top Experiences Tags: Chile, Easter Island, Isla De Pascua, Moai, pacific island hopping, Pacific Ocean, Rapa Nui

Easter Island sunset

We arrive in Easter island from Santiago on our first of many hops (well leaps) across the Pacific on our way to Australia and Asia. 3700km off mainland Chile, a 6 hour flight, part of Chile, Spanish name Isla de Pascua, indigenous name Rapa Nui, the same name given to the indigenous Polynesian population and local language.The population of 6700 live in the one peaceful, pretty town of Hanga Nui – with one main street and a handful of shops and cafes, mostly Rapa Nui people, though an increasing number of mainland Chilean people have settled here too. .

Christmas Greetings Bali Style

22 Dec 2013 4 Comments

by Mo in Family Gap Year Tags: Bali, Christmas in Bali, Homemade Christmas Tree, Indonesia, Penang, Sumatra

Season’s Greetings from Bali. to our friends, families and blog readers – hope you have a fun and peaceful holiday time and a very Happy New Year 2014.

Christmas Bali Style

Hope you enjoy the little bit of festive frivolity that follows as much as we enjoyed making it! More

Back to Santiago and farewell South America

21 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Mo in Family Gap Year, Travelling

Our last installment for South America and mainland Chile, as we arrive back in Santiago from the deep south with a week to spare before we fly to Easter Island and beyond, Pacific island hopping!

It’s two months since we were last in Santiago. Since then we’ve made a huge loop around the bottom half of South America, first crossing to Iguazu Falls in Argentina, making side trips to Brazil, Parguay and Uruguay, down to the far south of Argentina and Tierre Del Fuego, back to Chile, out to the Falklands and finally up to Santiago again – in total about 4000km by air, 1200km by ferry through Patagonia and the remaining 5000km or so on buses!

yum! Love the food in Santiago 🙂

A week in Santiago

Ten and a half hours overnight and we arrive in Santiago about 7am. We had semi-cama seats – literally ‘half bed’ but frankly not resembling any kind of bed in my book and a far cry from the wonderful flat bed experience we just got to enjoy that one time in Argentina

Chilean Lakes and Volcanoes

17 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Mo in Family Gap Year Tags: Chile, Lake Villarrica, Pucon, Puerto Montt, South America

Part 2 of our final two weeks in South America, as we hot foot it back to Santiago from the deep south with a plane to catch that we`re keen not to to alter for a third time….

Lakes and Volcanoes

We’re up early on our fourth and final morning aboard ‘Evangelista’, to pack, have a final breakfast, disembark and get a taxi to the Croatia Apart Hotel, Puerto Montt. We have had a fabulous time cruising the Chilean Fjords on the Navimag ferry.

Patricio, the friendly taxi driver who takes us agrees to come back in an hour to take us for a tour around Llanquihue Lake (the second biggest lake in South America) Petrohue falls & Calbuco Volcano, and visit some German villages – we shower up quickly and head off. We have great day with him even though the weather is rubbish! He is a super guide and by day’s end we feel we have another lifelong friend! We see waterfalls dropping over volcanic rock just 144 yrs old, go up the volcano Calbuco as far as the snow for a snowball fight and pick up some volcanic rock samples!

A day of adventure around Puerto Montt

A Chile Easter and Chile`s Fjords

16 Dec 2013 5 Comments

by Mo in Family Gap Year, Top Experiences, Travelling Tags: Chile, Chilean Fjords, Navimag, Patagonia, Puerto Montt, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, South America

Map of Chile from CIA World Factbook. Category...

Map of Chile (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Finally, the last instalments of our nine months in South America are ready to share, as we hot foot it back to Santiago from the deep south. With around 3000km to travel two thirds of the length of the most slender country in the world through fjords, volcanoes, lakes and national parks flanked by the Pacific and the Andes, and with a plane to catch in just over two weeks that we`re keen not to to alter for a third time!

This is Part One – in which we bus overland from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales then cruise on the Navimag ferry through the Chilean fjords to Puerto Montt…..

We arrive back from the Falklands to Punta Arenas in Chile’s deep south Patagonia on the day before Easter. The children would have loved the flight to have been cancelled again as it was on the way out as we would have got `stuck` in the Falklands for Easter Sunday, but it wasn’t to be! .