It's been 3 years since i visited Santiago the last time and it feels like i just left yesterday :) Also thanks to my good friend Marisol who i met through Couchsurfing back then. Only this time i also had the pleasure to meet her cute son Martin Furtando :) After doing some errands and my laundry the three of us went on a stroll and had some delicious coffee with cheesecake at one of Santiago's many great cafe's. Drei Jahre ist es her, seit ich das...

Six unforgettable days! A dream come true. Since i was a kid reading about the voyages of La Perouse and James Cook i wanted to see the island with my own eyes. The incredible isolation due to the distances to other inhabited places also ads to its fascination. (To Pitcairn Island: 1,289 mi • To Chile: 2,180 mi • To Tahiti: 2,562 mi) And of course the unique style of the monumental Moai statues and the mystery of what really happened here. Now it'...

Since the weather forecast predicted favorable skies i decided to start celebrating early by driving to Ahu Tangariki, the best spot for watching the sunrise. Unfortunately the weathermen are just as unreliable here than anywhere else in the world... But I was lucky enough to have had an excellent guide, Annai who showed me all the secret spots of Rapa Nui and the unique beach called Anakena. Probably the only beach in the world with an archaeological site as a ...

Today i rented a car for the remaining two days. At US$ 60/Day for an old beat-up Suzuki "Jimmy" (or how i call him "Junky"), it almost seemed like the islanders' payback for the cruel treatment they suffered during their colonial past. But then i saw the new mansion of the rental company's owner and it all made sense... ;) Anyway, me and Roberto from Chile were exploring the countless Moai sights along the southern coast, the famous Rano Raraku (NP Ticke...

The rain today is "forcing" me to learn a little more about Rapa Nui's history and culture. So i went to visit the Museum of Anthropology, founded by German Missionary Sebastian Englert in the 1930's. In the afternoon i had some interesting chats with fellow travelers from the UK, Russia, Spain and Chile and we decided to watch Kevin Costner's "Rapa Nui" in the local movie theater. By the way, i would like to thank National Geographic Magazine for pub...