easter island: travel and debunking alien myths

Moai.

Many of you have probably heard a theory that the Moai (statues depicting the Rapa Nui people) scattered throughout Easter Island (or Isla de Pascua in Spanish or Rapa Nui in the native tongue) were created by aliens. These statues are large and look "alien" in that they do not look like a typical human statue.

One of the many good things about traveling is debunking myths such as aliens creating the Moai. Why are these statues not created by aliens?

chilean patagonia for non-hikers

Torres del Paine National Park.

I'd like to say that I hiked all over Chilean Patagonia. But, I'd be lying. Although I had grand plans to hike the Torres (or Towers), see lots of glaciers and do parts of the famed W trek, I just ended up looking at the beautiful towers from afar with a nice glass of wine on hand.

Chile was the last country Mr. Sazy Rock and I visited during a three and a half month round the world trip. And, sadly, my body decided to shut down. The cold weather in Patagonia did not help my cause either. Hiking while sniffling and hacking up a storm was not ideal. Also, I decided that I did not want to catch pneumonia in light of the high winds and horrid weather forecasts on the trail. The video below illustrates the crazy wind during our visit.

So, what did I do instead?

how to plan an affordable trip to easter island

Many folks have Easter Island (or Rapa Nui to islanders) on their bucket list. Unfortunately, many people are deterred because it could be pricey. Fear not. Try to follow these tips and hopefully, you'll soon be on your way.

A Moai statue from the quarry.

1.  Miles, miles, miles. You don't have to be a literal frequent flyer to accumulate miles. You can do it by signing up for credit cards with at least a 40,000 signing bonus and charging everything on that card (but pay off your balance every month), and linking your airline mileage program with a hotel/car rental/dining loyalty program. It is easier to earn miles than you think. For this trip, you will need to use two frequent flyer programs: Star Alliance, which includes United Airlines, and One World, which includes American Airlines.

For a roundtrip flight between Chile and the US, the Star Alliance network can get you to Santiago and back for about 60,000 miles and under $100 or so. That is, if you book a "saver" award nine months or so in advance ("standard" awards for economy require 130,000 miles, "saver" awards for first/business class require 110,000 and "standard" awards for first/business class require 300,000 miles), accept that you will have two stops, and turn right when you enter the plane (a.k.a. economy class). If you use One World for this leg, they will charge you high fuel fees and taxes.

travel zen on tuesday - torres del paine in patagonia, chile

I took this picture on our way out of the park. We had an early start and the sun was barely rising. That bridge was actually out of commission but I thought it was pretty -- especially withe the towers/torres in the background.