Siri in Easter Island

It is still dark and cold when the taxi drives us to the airport. Today Chile is having a census and the people has been asked to stay home. No rush hour traffice, just speeding through the empty streets. We too have to present ourselves to the census vounteers before boarding our flight to Easter Island, and get a sticker to show for it. After almost 5 hours of flying over the sunny unbroken Pacific the plane begins to go down and we see the first glimpses of the island's wide swathes of green hills and rocky coastline. The plane was full and there's a throng of people waiting for their luggage, which takes a while to arrive. Breaking the tension is a cheerful labrador, moving around the emerging suitcases sniffing for something, drugs, most likely. When he's done, his equally chill handler lets him interact with the passengers. Once outside, we locate someone from the hotel waiting for us with flower necklaces and who takes us away to the Hangaroa Eco Villa...

We have just the one day to take a look at Santiago. After breakfast in the lovely hotel courtyard garden,  we go downtown on the very full metro and get out near the presidential palace - a white low-slung building, which lies well back from the busy thoroughfare protected by barriers and a group of guards in ceremonial gear. The street is teeming with people maneuvering around squatting vendors with their wares spread out on the ground. Consulting a map discreetly we head towards the  Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino . The collection of ceramics, stone and bronze figures is impressive. A darkened room houses a collection of textiles in surprisingly vivid colors and down several stairs we find more ancient sculptures, ornaments and tools. The collection is so well displayed, not too overwhelming, and with plenty of space to move around and observe. One of the best we’ve seen. Santiago has a real smog problem, but when we emerge into the sunli...