Foto: Easter Island (bron: -)
Chile - Jacob Roggeveen gave Easter Island its name on Easter Sunday when he visited the island in the Pacific Ocean in 1722. Easter Island, or Isla de Pascua as it is called in Spanish, is also known as Rapa Nui. The island has fewer than 4,000 inhabitants and lies more than 2,000 kilometers from other inhabited areas. The island is officially part of Chile. It is only 163 square kilometers in size. Easter Island is especially famous for the Moai statues. These statues, standing nine and a half meters tall, are displayed on platforms called ahu. The statues were made by the island’s early inhabitants. The Moai represent ancestors who are believed to pray for fertility. Reproduction was essential on the remote island. Almost all the Moai face inland toward the island. Only seven statues look out over the sea. Easter Island has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995.
Climbing the Villarica volcano
Chile - For the first hour, we walk over gravel and rocks. Then we reach the first patches of snow. Soon we climb through the snow. As the sun rises higher, it also gets warmer. We zigzag slowly up the volcano. By following the tracks of those ahead, a kind of ...
San Pedro de Atacama
Chile - At the bus station, the luggage is loaded into a minibus. We then walk about ten minutes to the hotel in the center. San Pedro de Atacama is already a very nice and busy village early in the morning. It seems like time has stood still here. The hotel ...
The Atacama Desert
Chile - At the viewpoint, we have a view of the village of Putre. We also see the cultivated agricultural terraces with the imposing Parinacota volcano in the background, with its summit over six kilometers high. We have now ascended to 3,500 meters, and this ...
Torres del Paine
Chile - Shortly after, we stand at the starting point of the hike to the mountain lake at the base of Torres del Paine (the towers of Paine). Just as we start, it begins to drizzle lightly. With my rain pants and jacket on, I climb steadily for the first hour. ...