HareSwiss Accommodation and Breakfast - Peter and Tiare for
providing us with one of their wonderful, modern, clean and well appointed
bungalows. Everything was new and worked well. The breakfasts were generous,
tasty and healthy. Peter provided us with helpful advice for our hiking and
biking adventures. When he heard about our initial plans, he said "don't
underestimate the island". As it turned out, the weather conditions and
topography can combine to be harsher than first expected. A special thank you
to Peter for all his friendly help and attention to detail. Web site:
hareswiss.com, contact: petero@hareswiss.com
MakeMake Bicycle Rental - for reasonably priced bicycles; the
longer you rent, the cheaper the rate. Their bikes appeared to be well
maintained, shifted well and had the brakes properly adjusted. Their employee,
Fabian Silva is a very friendly bike enthusiast, and he ensured we had a spare
tube when we needed it. If I ever own a bike rental shop back in Canada, I want
Fabian to be the Manager. Contact: makemake.rapanui@gmail.com
Te Moana Restaurant - at the wharf in downtown Hanga Roa,
for fine meals at reasonable prices and friendly service. We enjoyed delicious
and generous fish and shrimp meals. They are perfectly positioned on the
waterfront with a wonderful view of the ocean at sunset. The washrooms were
modern and clean. We ate at a few other restaurants in Hanga Roa, and Te Moana
was number one.
Rapa Nui Government - for the good roads and garbage
collection . The island is nice and clean with their garbage under control. We've
travelled to many countries, where that's not the case. Congratulations to them
for making it a priority. A couple of areas the local government could help
their tourist trade are; improved internet service and the addition of street-name
signs in Hanga Roa.
Chili National Government - for their care and preservation
of Rano Raraki (Moai Quarry) and Orango (Ceremonial Village at the Rano Kau
Volcano).
James Grant-Peterkin - for his guidebook "A Companion to Easter Island". In my previous postings, I mentioned using the guidebook, and it did a couple of very important things for us. It provided us with confidence to visit the Island on our own, plan daily excursions, and in the end not only made our trip more complete but also easier and more fun. To get your copy of the book, just google it.
James Grant-Peterkin - for his guidebook "A Companion to Easter Island". In my previous postings, I mentioned using the guidebook, and it did a couple of very important things for us. It provided us with confidence to visit the Island on our own, plan daily excursions, and in the end not only made our trip more complete but also easier and more fun. To get your copy of the book, just google it.
People of Rapa Nui - for their courtesy on the roads as we
toured by bicycle, and for using the garbage collection and recycling
facilities. In particular, thank you to the lady that stopped her car, backed
up, jumped out and ran to pick up a piece of garbage laying on the side of the
road. She was taking responsibility for her island, the beautiful Rapa Nui.
Please join us for the second part of our Chilean journey,
as we board the Stella Australis on an ecological adventure southward along the
rugged west coast of Chile to Cape Horn.
