Had a shower, it was even hot. Feeling a bit bored, I really need to do one or two tiny chores (delete photos from memory cards, recharge some batteries) before I go to bed but I haven't forced myself yet. Do feel a bit better, I guess it's just been a slow and rather tedious day. With luck tomorrow will be more diverting. I have a nasty feeling I am going to sleep til 1pm or something, even with the 'free gift' of an extra two hours due to the time zone change. (I did get that mysterious aircraft sleepy feeling on the flight, but my seat was upright so I think every time I fell asleep and relaxed, my body collapsed forward and woke me up. So although I don't know I don't think I slept much oln the flight.)
There is that tropical insecty chirping noise going on in the background, just to add a bit of atmosphere to this catalogue of whinging.
Thu, midday. Sort of woke up at 9:30 but stayed in bed (half pleasantly, half I just didn't want to get up) til about 11 or 11:30. Disturbed by the cleaner about 10-ish, she went away and I was in fact chased out by a knock on the door at 12 just as I was about to leave.
Walking into town now. Will have to see about a tour in the next day or two. Had a look at my guide book in the hotel room this morning. The place is impossible, apparently. You should do a tour to see the main sights, then go off on your own. You can hire a jeep or a mountain bike. I can't drive and apparently "it's possible to do the main circuit in a day" (I assume this is for fit people) but "it's better to take 2-3 days" (so what, am I supposed to camp out?). So there's no way I'm going to see half the stuff I'm supposed to.
Not feeling as chipper as I'd hoped to be honest.
Oh, I did happen to pick up from the guide book that Papeete is Tahiti, I assume that's Spanish spelling. I didn't think Tahiti was Chilean, though to be honest I know little about it except its name (I have a vague idea it's independent, but am far from sure), yet the flight left from the national departures tent and I didn't see any obvious customs type screening. Maybe with the earthquake damage they are doing that sort of thing at the far end instead of in Santiago. I did read that international flights to/from Chile are having that kind of thing done in Arica and some other border cities, so that may be the explanation.
Thu, 2:15pm. Wandered around a touch morosely, found myself down by some extremely rocky 'beach' where (as is their unfailing custom) the Chilean Navy had set up a base to make me dubious about the safety of wandering round and taking photos. (I always have visions of the scene in O Lucky Man! where Mick is captured by the army in these situations.)
Saw my first moai on the way back, stood rather unattractively on the edge of some field containing horses. To be frank I wasn't overly stunned, although in my mood at the time it's maybe not too surprising.
After the walked up what is probably one of the main streets very slowly feeling very sweaty and hacked off. After numerous "no, that looks too wanky" I have come to a small restaurant for lunch. A frankly small and tough steak (I didn't expect anything brilliant here though, and it willl hopefully set me up to appreciate the meat in Argentina) and chips and a beer later, I am feeling a bit better. The impossibility of seeing the island properly still bugs me, but the J K Jerome effect has kicked in slightly, and I think the beer may have helped.
There are loads of (apparently shut) tour offices on this street. I think I will have another beer and continue to wander northwards, there is a museum up there somewhere which probably ought to be visited and if I see a tour company which looks open I may go in, feeling at last sufficiently fortified to enter into a dialogue with such like.
Oh, my camera seems to be playing up. I think it's partly that the damn rechargeables never have any power and I have coaxed it back into life by switching batteries with my GPS (although it still took a few minutes to start working, which suggests some more fundamental problem than simply low batteries).
Still, things seem a bit better than they did.
No comments:
Post a Comment