We woke up to find the strike was still on so we had to begin the process of filing an insurance claim. It is frustrating when they only give you a telephone number to contact if you are abroad but no email address. There was no phone at our cabana but we had WiFi. We also contacted Holiday Inn where we were due to spend the night once we had got to Santiago and also the car hire company and cabana in Puerto Varas. Luckily the cabana in Puerto Varas could accommo...

Today we hired a car again to visit the north side of the island. The first place was one of the volcanic cones that we can see from our cabana. It's called Puna Pau and it's where the islanders quarried volcanic scoria to make the top knots for the moai. There were several still strewn over the hillside. From there the views of the island were superb. Next we went to Ahu Akivi, one of the oldest set of moai and the only ones inland and facing the sea. From there...

Today was a lazy day. We woke quite early but didn't get organised so much so that the lass on reception had to remind us to go and get petrol so we could return the hire car. She’s really helpful and delivers bread, still warm, for breakfast. Today she gave Joan a necklace made out of shells and some flower pins for her hair as a birthday present. Very kind. She also informed us that there has been a sudden strike of all airport workers for 48 hours throu...

As well as a cat and hen with chicks we now seem to be adopted by a German Shepherd too. It turns out the coffee we bought was instant but nevertheless it was nice to have breakfast on the balcony with a soundtrack from our favourite cockerel. Today we hired a 4WD. Car hire is really expensive here so we are only going to have a vehicle when we need one. The main dealers charge nearly £100 per day so we hired from a company recommended by our hosts. The on...

We seem to have arrived in town at the same time as the Hanga Roa Cock-a-doodling tournament and our apartment's cockerel seems to be one of the main contenders. We're staying in a cavernous and spacious hexagonal building on stilts and made out of wood. It's constructed out of wood and very well finished. Apart from the main room there is a bathroom and a small kitchenette area. Beneath the cabana is a lava cave. The balcony area looks north east towards two sma...