Miami

There are no sheep on Miami Airport.
For people who love sheep, Miami is the pits!!!
They have one Giraffe though.

Miami

We are still on the Miami Airport.
It is a large airport with lots of gates.
You can walk here for hours (I think) and than you still haven't seen all.

Miami is a very big city and famous, throughout the whole world, because of "Miami Vice" with Don Johnson.
There is also Miami Beach.
If the water is not too cold, you can swim in the sea.
"Underwater World" is one of the "must see's" of Miami. But we didn't go (not allowed off the airport).

Although Xmas is coming, you don't see much about it on this airport.
Here and there they have a small Xmas tree and that's all.
What adds to the idea that it isn't Xmas at all is that lots of people wear their summerclothes.
The weather is now fine.

The airport is the homebase of "American Airlines".
We are flying with American Airlines as well, to Curacao (we hope at 16.50).
Still two hours to go.
We had lunch here (two hotdogs*, because it is The United States of America) and that's all for today folks!!

* Decent food is not for sale, it's only:

- Pizza Hut,
- Lasagna,
- Sandwiches,
- Hot Dogs,
- Hamburgers,
- Lots of sweets (look at all them fat asses),

and that's it.

Miami Airport

We have arrived on Miami Airport, early in the morning (4.45).
After all the paperwork we were allowed to get into the US (only for 12 hours or so).
We had to fill in three different forms, had ourselves photographed and our fingerprints taken.
And now we are again in the US.

We were amidst people flying to Haiti and there you could see some very strange headwear like ladies hats for guys and vice versa, of course sunglasses although it is dark like in the middle of the night and a load of gold chaines like Klondike on its best days.

The weather is OK (about 25 degrees but a little rain and that doesn't matter because we're not going outside).
We are sitting near a samsung internet thing (2 hours internet fro free!!) with over us (in the ceiling) a loudspeaker telling us the american news (storm somewhere, the ongoing news about Tiger Woods (if there is nothing else worthwhile) and shit happening in Pakistan.
It 's just like RTL Boulevard in Holland and going on and on and on.

Well guys, this is it for today.
In the afternoon we'll fly to Curacao (tried to get on an early flight but since we checked our suitcases already in, this was not possible because luggage can't go without the passengers and being in the US this means NO WAY getting on another, early flight.
For the rest there is n't much to write.

Till Curacao.
Greetings from Miami.

Curacao

The day after tomorrow we will be on the island of Curacao.

But..................it will take some time to get there.

First we have to fly to Miami.

This flight will take some 9 hours.

In Miami we have to stay like 12 hours or so in the airport which means lots of reading time.

Then we'll fly to Curacao.

If you enlarge the picture (click away I'd say) you'll find the place where we are going to stay a little south west of Willemstad in a bay (baai) called Jan Thiel Baai which is of course NOT on this map. My first blog about Curacao you'll see probably in two days.

Santiago de Chile on Sunday 13th. 12 2009

It is Sunday today and it is rather hot in this city.
Most of the shops are closed and lots of people are just walking (parading)through the streets.

There are some interesting things:
- lots of women are pregnant (we think at least one out of ten),
- lots of women/families with very little children don't have a perambulator (pram),
- it is hot in the streets and our throats get dry very fast all the time,
- no sheep in Santiago,
- lots of dogs in the streets,
- almost all streets are one way streets,
- taxi's and city buses drive like crazy.

It is difficult to find a nice restaurant over here.
But, yesterday, when we wanted to go for dinner again, we landed in a Peruvian restaurant and it was ok, but not so good that we will go there again.
So, shortly we will be looking for another restaurant.

Greetings from a hot Santiago de Chile.

Ankie between the Moais.

This is the last picture of Easter Island.

It was beautiful and since we have seen all, we don't have to go back there.

But................a nice memory.

Cave at Ana Kai Tangata

The inside of the cave at Ana Kai Tangata.

Look at the pigeon flying in thye cave and at the end of the movie he flies out again.

Ana Kai Tangata

This is a movie from Ana Kai Tangata, one of the caves on the coast of Easter Island. This cave was near our house and I visited the cave a few times because you could see fish swimming in the waves. All kinds of fish, green ones, yellow ones (at the time the king was the only one allowed to eat yellow fish), red and blue ones.

Ana Kai Tangata is well known on the island because it is the only cave with paintings on the ceiling of the cave. The paintings should be old and represent all kinds of fish (and some other seacritters like turtles).

Sheep in Santiago de Chile?

Today we crossed the city of Santiago de Chile.
We didn't see any sheep.
For people who love sheep, Santiago is not worthwhile a visit.

You have to go to the South Island of New Zealand.
For sheeplovers, that is a MUST.

Santiago de Chili

Today was our first full day in Santiago.
It is a very big city (6 million inhabitants) and it looks moreless like a spanish town when you are in the old parts. Some houses look like english cottages and why, I don't know.
There are very many skyscrapers (for instance we have an appartment on the 22nd floor).
There is a Metro and we used it to do some shopping.

We didn't make any pictures because, till now, we didn't see buildings or something else, worthwhile photographing.

It's hot here and there is a layer of smog over the city.
The smog makes it difficult to see the high mountains, around the city.
In the morning the mountains are beautiful and our landlord told us you can ski in three different ski-area's near the city, within less than an hour driving.

But, it's summer overhere and in the summer: no skiing.

What we'll do tomorrow isn't decided. We have to think about that.

I'll let you know tomorrow evening (local time).

Mainstreet Hanga Roa

This is a photograph of the mainstreet of Hanga Roa (the only town on Easter Island).

Sometimes this street is very crowded and than there are at least 50 cars on the road.

There is only one piece of road (in the interior) where you can drive 100 Km's per hour. But only for a short time because this road is short.

The rest of the roads are very bumpy or, when a dirt road, very difficult to drive on because of all the holes in the road.

Ahu Tanga Te'e

At Ahu Tanga Te'e you can see seven or eight thrown over Moais. In front there are a few Pukao, the red stone hairdo's of the statues.

In front of the Moais you can see a little sign which says: "Get of the grass, or......" or "Cut of the grass, or......"

I just can read it right anymore. C'est dommage.

We had a French guide.

Clouds over Easter island

Threatening clouds over Easter Island.
The first days the weather was fine, nice and warm, but the last days we had lots of rain.

Luckily we had good weather during our tour around the island.

Ahu Te Pito Kura

Near Ahu Te Pito Kuro (I don't make these names up!!) there lies a big round stone which is magnetic.
The guide showed us that the compass on his watch, when held close to the stone, suddenly changed to other directions than before (the right direction).

It is believed that one king bought this stone from another island somewhere in Polynesia.
It is a very big stone.

The rocky coast of Easter Island

The coast of Easter Island looks often like this.
Black rocks and the sea with all the shades of blue to grey.

Playa Ovahe

The second white water beach on Easter Island.
Here the coast is more rocky but still there is white sand. The place is called Ovahe.
There is something strange about the water here in the lagoon.
The water evaporates so quickly, that over the ages, the water in this lagoon is so salty that you can float in it, almost like in the Dead Sea (see some months ago).
I didn't do that, because the water was to cold, we didn't have the time and we brought no swimming gear.

Ana Kena Beach

People swimming at Ana Kena Beach.

I thought the water was to cold for swimming but others thought different.

Ana Kena Beach

Lost of people visit Ana Kena Beach because of the white sand beach, the Moais on their Ahu (some of the Moais with Pukao's) and it is a place where some of the islanders made a picnic place.
This beach is at least 10 Km.s from the town.

This was the owner of "our" restaurant.
Something different from the restaurants we are used

Ana Kena Beach

Easter Island has two white sand beaches. On of those is Ana Kena beach.
Near Ana Kena there is an Ahu with 7 Moais.
The palm trees were a gift from the French Government to the island. The reason I forgot.

In the right down corner of the picture you can see the head of another Moai.

Papa Mangai

Easter Island is not just the 850 Moais, the statues that are littered over the island.
There is more.
For instance the many carvings on stones you can find all over the island as well.
This is te carving of a fish.

The place is called Papa Mangai.