Robinson Crusoe Island

I always wondered why Robinson Crusoe had to wear goatskin clothing on a desert island. Turns out Defoe moved the site of the story from 32 degrees latitude South in the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean. As you can see from the pics, the true island is cool, forested, and foggy.

We were unable to land as the sea was too rough, but some locals came on board to meet with us. They are beautiful people, sort of a mixture of Chilean/Polynesian. The men all had long hair, halfway down their backs. Sorry, no pictures were allowed!

Aboard, heading towards Robinson Crusoe and Easter Islands

I found out when I left Valparaiso that the intriguing corrugated tin houses were all made of ships' containers. V. used to be the biggest port on the coast of Chile, but was superceded by Vina del Mar and something else further north. It went thru its own dead time, but is now back up as a tourist destination. It is extremely scuzzy and dirty, but charming and flower-filled. I saw and heard a propane gas man playing a "Stomp"-like percussion on the gas tanks in the back of the truck.

Its huge port services fishing boats, fishing production boats, tankers, cruise ships, and what looked like naval vessels but we decided were tankers.

I was sad to leave Chile - traveling overground you are part of the country and the people. Getting on a cruise ship, you are definitely part of America/Europe/Britain with crew from all over the world, but in this case, mostly the Phillipines. There are no Chileans on this boat.

But I cannot say it isn't relaxing....it is. So many choices of activities, so many interesting people, terrific food and ambiance. You get to do things you never have time for at home...like make jewelry! I took that class today and made a bracelet of lava and silver beads.

We are on our way to Robinson Crusoe Island, home of the real Robinson Crusoe...a Scottish sailor named Alexander Selkirk. He was put off on this island, and spent 4 years, 4 months, there by himself, with only goats, birds, seals, cats and rats for companions. His father was a tanner and a cobbler, which served Selkirk well in terms of survival skills - he was able to fashion clothing and shoes from the goats' skin.
We will be able to see the cave where Selkirk sheltered, and also the lookout from where he looked each day for ships on the horizon.
The island has 130 endemic (unique to this island) species of plants, 3 endemic species of birds, 1 endemic mammal (the fur seal), and 20 percent of the fish in the area are endemic to this island.

Valparaiso, photos

Below the Equator - Santiago and Valparaiso, photos

Below the Equator - Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile

Yesterday we travelled 6,208 miles, from San Juan to Santiago. Which means we sat in airplanes for 9 1/2 hours. It actually wasn't so horrible.
We arrived in Santiago to find that our hotel was very centrally located, and a short walk to a hopping night life area called Bella Vista. We ate dinner at 11 pm, at a restaurant called "coma Agua para Chocolate", and yes, the excellent food was made with lots of love. What a marvelous find.
Something we noticed while walking through Santiago were many, many free dogs wandering around. All breeds, very friendly. We saw this in Athens also... just dogs who live in the city and are sort of communally cared for. They all seem very well behaved and have their special spots where they hang out.
Santiago strikes me as a friendly, clean city trying to become more modern.
As we flew in, we could see all the farms surrounding the city. It is such a treat to finally eat Chilean produce in Chile - it's local!

We left early today to travel to Valparaiso, the coastal city from which we will depart on our sea voyage. It is about 80 miles from Santiago, and we travelled by bus. Chile seems to have solved the public transportation problem - they have excellent metro, trains, and busses.
Valparaiso is surrounded by 6 hills. Where we are staying is in an old area of the city, which reminds me of Greenwich Village on hills, I guess like San Francisco also. There are lots of galleries and restaurants, and I saw many working artists. Some tiny little houses surrounded by roses amidst the 3-6 story buildings.

We are staying in a molto trendy hotel with only 9 rooms, a sitting room like your very favorite cozy living room, and a beautiful garden. Tomorrow we hope to get to the market and purchase some flowers to bring on board the ship.

O...and the most important thing...I can testify that, below the equator, one feels upside-down and inside-out, and yes, the water swirls down the drain counter-clockwise!

And another strange thing.... even though we traveled west (we thought), we ended up in a time zone one hour ahead of our beloved Virgin Islands. Need to look at a map, and see how far East South America is!

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

What I can't figure out is how this lovely old city, which reminds me of Lisbon, and where I hear Spanish being spoken all around me, is part of the United States! Must read up on that history...

We had a nice surprise at our hotel, where Cathie and Dick had left a message pack at the front desk, including a map, and copious notes on where to eat and sightsee during our short stay. They were here at the beginning and end of their Tortola adventure, and stayed at the same hotel.

I found The Butterfly People, a shop which has enormous displays of rain forest butterflies, caught between plexiglass and very artistically arranged. I inherited one which came with our home in Tortola.

Getting Ready for the Big Trip

I am really getting excited about starting this trip next Thursday. We will fly from Puerto Rico to Santiago, Chile, with a layover in Panama City. The second leg is a long flight, but when I look at a map I see how far away Chile is. I am actually going to be below the equator for the first time in my life, and cannot wait to see if it is true that water swirls in the opposite direction when one is "Down Under". What are we, "Up Above"?