Prior to our trip, we briefly discussed transportation and then forgot until we landed. Below was how our conversation went when procuring a vehicle for Easter Island.

Jackie: We should rent bicycles. We’ll get a good leg workout around the island. They are cheaper to rent than a car.

Justin: Let’s go with a scooter. It’s the same price as renting two bicycles and it is motorized.

Jackie: Do you know how to drive a scooter?

Justin: I have my motorcycle license. I also rode on a scooter in Taiwan.

Jackie: (Hesitates) Hmm…okay.

There were plenty of rental agencies in Hanga Roa from cars, scooters, bicycles, and ATVs. The bicycle rental was 10,000 CLP ($15 USD) per person per day, and the price of one scooter was a better deal for 20,000 CLP ($30 USD) per day. We received a discount as we rented for 4 days for 80,000 CLP ($120 USD).

After we signed the contract and picked out our helmets, we were ready to explore. Justin figured out how to use the scooter after a few practice rounds with acceleration and braking. I hopped on the scooter as a passenger and instantly did not like the feeling. It was my first time on the scooter. I’m surprised we didn’t crash into another car or another vehicle from leaving the rental place.

Our scooter during the trip

The Incident

The next day, the ride felt more comfortable. As long as the roads were flat and paved, we were free and had the winds in our hair. We visited the main attractions such as Rano Raraku, Ahu Tongariki, and ended the day visiting Vinapu. That is when everything went bad.

In order to leave Vinapu, we had to go up a muddy path. We went through one puddle and then our scooter skid through the second puddle. The speed was slow at less than 5 mph.

We weren’t sure what happened. Our scooter was on its side, yet still functional. We were muddy, Justin had scrapes on his arms and hands, and my hiking pants ripped and with a gash above the left knee.

Blood didn’t stop flowing. We scootered 15 minutes back to our Airbnb bungalow and washed up. Our gracious host brought us to the hospital where the doctor cleaned the wound and gave 5 stitches. It was my first time getting stitches! The doctor and nurses said that light walking was fine. Bandages were changed every two days for the remainder of the trip.

Something wasn’t right. My knee wasn’t getting better even with the antibiotics. I had an excruciating pain every morning when my elevated leg was brought down from the bed to the ground. It was like a sledgehammer hit my leg a million times. I cried and the pain went away after taking some painkillers. We had to end some of the days early due to the leg pain.

First time getting stitches

Knee two days after stitches

The Flights Back to Santiago and U.S

Keeping my left leg elevated was key. We didn’t have any issues on the flight from Easter Island to Santiago as the flight was under 5 hours.

The flight from Santiago to the U.S. had more issues. We had three American Airlines flights to go back home. The longest flight was from Santiago (SCL) to Dallas (DFW). We were in Business Class, so we had the seats that lie down flat. During take-off, my tegaderm type bandage from the hospital burst with fluids streaming down my leg. Luckily there wasn’t any blood that came out from the stitches. The flight attendant asked if we had a doctor’s note to fly on the airplane (which we didn’t), and almost turned the plane around. We didn’t want to go back to Santiago! We convinced the flight attendant that the leg needed to be elevated, stitches were fine, and we scheduled doctor’s appointments at home. The flight attendant was great with providing a soda crate to prop the leg, bags of ice, and also bandages from the first aid kit.

Once we landed in the two other cities for our connecting flight, we requested a wheelchair for less pressure on the leg.

Feeling good on the wheelchair

Hospital Visit and Overnight Stay

Once we were home, we went to our scheduled appointment for Minor Injuries department. The doctor saw my leg instantly and said that I needed to go to the Emergency Room. He refunded my co-pay and we headed straight to the ER.

The ER was a blur due to the long process. We saw a doctor to evaluate the situation, gave blood samples, waited in the waiting room for a few hours, was brought to a room in ER hours later, and then was in surgery four hours later past 9pm. I was under anesthetics as the doctors re-cleaned the wound, removed the excess fluids from the injury, and restitched the leg. I woke up groggy an hour later and saw Justin greet me.

I stayed in the hospital for four nights as the doctors wanted to confirm the correct antibiotics and medications with the blood culture. They said that I was lucky that the infection didn’t spread to the bones or the blood. I kept myself busy with working remotely (thank goodness for the hospital wifi!), sleeping, and eating.

The hospital food wasn’t as bad, and had a variety of vegetarian. I was pleased to choose my own meals each day (except for the breakfast post surgery). One of my favorite meals was the salmon with veggies. Yum!

Collecting extra fluids post surgery

Vegetarian enchilada with strawberries

Salmon with lentil soup, fruit, and melted ice cream

Walking around in my room for movement

Justin deserves the Husband of the Year award since he slept over on the pull out futon for four nights!  

Lots of rest, administering antibiotics to myself daily via a PICC line, care, and strengthening the knee area with physical therapy followed afterwards. It was challenging since I missed taking the fitness classes at work.

Positive Vibes

It’s been 6 months since the surgery and I’m stronger than ever. I am grateful that I am able to bend my knee, exercise and move around, ride my bike, and have full mobility. Life was challenging with hobbling around places.

My scar and bruise area is fading slowly. Whenever I exercise, the bruise area becomes a dark brown with the blood flow. We call it the “exercise o-meter.” What a memorable way to remember a trip!

Learning Opportunities

After the incident, we had several ah-ha moments:

• Rent a car. Cars get primary or secondary auto collision/damage coverage on credit cards. Scooters do not. A scooter part broke off during the crash and cost us $70 USD for the damages.
• Purchase travel insurance for medical treatment and medication coverage and other emergencies. We spent $30 USD on medication and $185 USD for the hospital visit in Easter Island, which could have been covered by insurance. It wasn’t a part of our budget for Easter Island, yet still cheaper than back in the US.
• Remember all the good and bad memories as they are great stories to share with others!

What are some of your travel accidents? Share in the comments below!

The post Scooter Accident: From Local Hospital to Emergency Room appeared first on Life Of Doing.

We highly suggest that you add this place to your South America travel bucket list due to its unique attractions to visit. One of the top experiences is to see the intriguing moai with your own eyes! 

We visited in July 2016 which is considered a “low season” so we didn’t encounter massive crowds at the sites. We stayed on the island for 7 nights/6 days and spent the time hiking, wandering, and eating. Some may feel that the timing is too long as the island is not large and you can see the major sites in 2 days. With the week, it was plenty of time for us to explore and see most of the main attractions on the island. We would have done more but had a scooter accident which required rest time.

If you didn’t see our last post on how to visit Easter Island on a budget, check out the post here.

Here is a suggested list of things to do on Easter Island:

1. Visit the moai and uncover some of their mysteriousness.

How did they arrive at their present location? How long did it take for them to get transported?

Moai are everywhere! Most have not been raised on the ahu, the stone platform, so you’ll see many lie flat on their backs or face down. There are plenty of opportunities to see the moai, whether they are at the main tourist spots or along the roads.

Ahu Khivi has 7 moai which are on the ahu. They are the only erect ones inland and face towards the ocean. All other moai are by the ocean and face inland. This was one of our first stops and has a beautiful view during the sunset.

Puna Pau is an awesome place to see where the pukao, the cylindrical red topknots, are made and worn by the moai. What do you think the pukao represent? Feather headdresses? Topknots dyed with red earth? Barkcloth turbans made of machute? You don’t see moai at the Puna Pau, but you get to see many topknots. It’s intriguing to think about how the pukao and the moai quarry were transported on the island since these two areas are far from each other.  

Pukao, the topknots

Rano Raraku is the epicenter where the moai were created. We call it the “moai factory”. There are two routes to take – if you take the right route, it leads you to the numerous moai and left route is a lake with a few moai overlooking the lake. Unfortunately, you can’t visit the moai up close in the lake area as a gate blocks off the section. You can easily spend a few hours here taking photos. Many moai are still in the ground or in the mountain itself waiting to get transported. The National Park admission ticket is required at this site. Highly recommended place.

Rano Raraku Moai Side

Justin and the tall moai

Rano Raraku Lake Side

Ahu Tongariki is nearby Rano Raraku. There is an impressive 15 moai on an ahu overseeing a village. Some petroglyphs in the village remain. Walk in the direction of the Rano Raraku and you’ll see a raised walking path to view the petroglyphs better. Not sure if the National Park ticket is required to see this site, but we showed the person who was selling gifts our ticket for access.

Ahu Nau Nau and Ahu Ature Huki are located in the Anakena Beach. Ahu Nau Nau has moai wearing pukao. Ahu Ature Huki is the first moai to be re-erected in modern times using ancient technologies as a challenge to see how long it could take to raise the statue.

Ahu Nau Nau

Ahu Te Pito Kura has the moai, Paro, which is one of the largest moai that has not yet been resurrected. We met one of the National Park workers who provided an overview of this area and how the large stone exhibits a lot of power and energy also known as mana. It is known as the “Earth’s Navel.” People used to be able to touch the stones though and they are now blocked off for preservation.

The Earth’s Navel. Feel the “mana”

Vinapu was closed when we visited. We snuck in for a few minutes to see the area. The area was underwhelming, but we enjoyed seeing the stones altogether and without any gaps. Be careful with the dirt path and deep puddles as our scooter skid in this area.

Ahu Vai Uri, Ahu Tahai, and Ahu Ko Te Riku are within walking distance from Hanga Roa. They are located past the cemetery. Ahu Ko Te Riku is unique with having white painted eyes and a topknot.

Tickets:

Don’t forget to purchase the tickets ahead of time. The most important part is to purchase the Rapa Nui National Park pass. Purchase them on arrival as it will be at the CONAF (National Forestry Corporation) office at the airport. Cost is 30,000 CLP or $60 USD. We paid in local CLP instead of USD as there was a better exchange rate to $45. You can use the pass once for the Orongo and Rano Raraku sites.

Buy your tickets here! Office is to the left when departing the plane.

2. Visit Orongo and Rano Kau

Need a break from the moai? Visit Orongo and Rano Kau. Be careful with the dirt road and the rolling path, especially when riding a bicycle or a scooter. At the time, they were maintaining/fixing the road.

Orongo is a ceremonial village area. There is an indoor visitor center where you can read more about the history. Show your National Park ticket to the representative, receive a map, and walk around the area. It was interesting to see the oval-shaped huts and the small entryway. I’m not sure how anyone could fit into the entryway. You would need to be a child size or tinier! Check out the petroglyphs of the birdman (human body with bird heads and beaks).

Rano Kau is a large volcanic crater. It doesn’t look like there has been much activity, thus, vegetation growing everywhere.

3. Spend time at the beaches.

We went to Anakena Beach to see the moai. The beach was far from Hanga Roa, about a 25-minute drive. The entrance to the beach has a tropical setting with lovely palm trees. The beach was pretty with the light beige sand. It wasn’t the cleanest beach we’ve been to since there were small amounts of litter. Check out the Ahu Nau Nau and Ahu Ature Huki which are nearby.

There are also smaller beaches in Hanga Roa to relax. Admire the sunset.

4. Explore the Caves

We read that there are many caves on Easter Island. You may consider hiring a tour guide to take you to hidden caves. We went to a few caves that were easily accessible by a vehicle.

Ana Kai Tanata is along the main road. You’ll need to walk down some stairs to arrive in the lower part of the cave. Enjoy the faded paintings and the ocean view.  

Ana Te Pahu is along the same road as Ahu Tongariki. Park your vehicle along the side of the road and walk into a side dirt path. We came across Ana Te Pahu which has an underground cave. Bring a flashlight or headlamp as the caves are low and dark. Wear hiking boots as the ground is wet.

5. Hang Out in Hanga Roa.

Hanga Roa is the main downtown area with various cafes, restaurants, drugstore (Cruz Verde), convenience stores, and souvenir shops. Purchase water at one of the convenience stores.

Try the fresh empanadas stuffed with cheese, meat and/or seafood. They are a cheaper snack option at 2000-2500 CLP (~$4 USD).

Consider purchasing baked goods on the island since everything is made fresh. Our Airbnb host recommended Panderia Mana for pastries, and they were delicious!   

Visit the Catholic church at the end of the main intersection if you would like to explore the architecture or attend on Sundays.

Stop by the post office to stamp the coveted moai in your passport or on postcards. Leave a small tip as a thank you. On a side note, we received comments on the unofficial passport stamp from various immigration officers.

The cemetery is an interesting place to visit. Pay your respects to those who passed away. The tombstones are different with moai, religious, and celebratory designs.

Things We Didn’t Get the Opportunity To Do:

• All day hike from Anakena Beach to Te Pau – Due to the scooter incident and leg injury, we didn’t have the chance to do this. We wanted to do the 6-7 hour hike where you see caves with petroglyphs, archeological sites, the vast ocean, etc. It’s a secluded hike as you may or may not see another group along the same trail. Vehicles are not allowed on the trail.
• Scuba diving or snorkeling – It was a bit cold to do these activities in July.
• See the traditional Polynesian dance and music evening show.

Other Logistics:

• Credit cards are accepted on the island. You may need to purchase a certain amount to qualify for the purchase.
• Transportation is a must for the island. Feel free to rent a car, scooter, ATV, or bicycle at any of the rental places in Hanga Roa. We didn’t see too many taxis around the island. The island has one gas station when you leave Hanga Roa. A customer service representative fills up the gas tank for you. There could be a long line depending on the time.
• Food and Water – Bring these with you when going on excursions. Once you leave Hanga Roa, there isn’t an option to purchase items.
• Hospital – The island has a hospital with emergency care, which we used. Facilities are fairly basic.

What would you like to see during your trip to Easter Island? Comment below!

The post Things To Do on Easter Island appeared first on Life Of Doing.

We visited Easter Island for 7 days/6 nights in the beginning of July. This time frame is considered a “low season” in Easter Island, so prices will fluctuate depending on the when you visit. Check out what we did below. All prices listed are in USD.

Flight

The flight to Easter Island is not the cheapest. There isn’t a direct flight to Easter Island from San Francisco (SFO), so we had two legs:

1. SFO to Santiago, Chile (SCL)
2. SCL to Easter Island (IPC)

It is very difficult to use award travel/mileage for the final leg (SCL > IPC) as LAN Airlines is the only airlines to Easter Island.

You could purchase tickets on the LAN Airlines Chile website for lower prices in local Chilean pesos. We purchased directly on LAN Airlines U.S. website. We used search aggregators such as Kayak and Google Flights to see how prices changed daily for a few weeks. The prices for the dates we wanted in July ranged from $450 to $700 per person.

We booked our Santiago to Easter Island flight 3 months in advance.

Cost per person: $450

Departed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane

Accommodation

Hotel accommodations are limited on the island. Choices include camping, guesthouses, or fancy resorts.

Camping is the cheapest options at $15-$20 per night. We were tempted to camp, but didn’t want to bring sleeping bags, mats, and other camping gear. We also didn’t want to to rent gear. July is known to rain so sleeping on the soggy ground wasn’t appealing. Camping locations were not centrally located (about .50 to .80 miles away from the main downtown area.)

The fancy resorts were over $200 per night, not as centrally located, and way out of our budget. Alternative transportation is necessary for the resorts.

There were plenty of guesthouses and hostels available from $65-$100+ per night. We like to use Airbnb as much as possible and stayed at a lovely bungalow with a private bathroom that was five minutes away by walking to the main downtown area. Our Airbnb accommodation did not have a cooking area, but had a mini fridge and a kettle for tea or coffee.

New to Airbnb? Sign up today and get $40 off your first reservation.

(*Disclosure: We have an affiliate link above. If you click on it and make a purchase, we receive a small commission. There is no cost to you. Appreciate the support.)

Cost per night for 2 people: $80 x 6 nights = $480 total

Cost per person per night: $40 x 6 nights = $240 total

Food

Many travelers recommend checking in a luggage with food and water from Santiago prior to coming to Easter Island. We spent one week in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile prior to visiting Easter Island. Our travel philosophy is to not check in luggage due to the extra hassle and potentially getting lost. Though we did pack some snacks, we did not bring an extra luggage with us for food and water. Our Airbnb did not have cooking area, so we ate out for our meals.

Breakfast was pastries from a local bakery or granola bars. Lunch consisted of bars and snacks we brought from home – granola bars and mixed nuts. We splurged for dinner as it was our main meal. We had our share of cheaper food from $4 empanadas to more higher cost meals at $15-$25 per person.

Our favorite sandwich place was Club Sandwich where the sandwiches were the size of your face. We went here three times during our trip since it was a good value at $10 per sandwich – huge portions, fresh, delicious, and many locals ate here. Highly recommend the tuna and guacamole sandwich.

Simply delicious

Total cost of food for 2 people: $225

Daily cost for 2 people: $32

Daily cost per person: $16

Transportation

You can drive whatever you want on the island. We didn’t know how to hail taxis since due to our minimal Spanish knowledge. Plenty of cars (automatic and manual), scooters, ATV, and bicycles for rent along the main downtown area.

We thought about riding a bicycle for 10,000 CLP ($15 USD) per person per day. I wanted to ride to and from the tourist locations as the island wasn’t large and it was good exercise.

The price of one scooter was a better deal for 20,000 CLP ($30 USD) per day so we could share the scooter. We received a discount as we rented for 4 days for 80,000 CLP ($120 USD).

In hindsight, we should have rented a car due to a scooter accident. That story is for another post.

Total Cost: $120

Cost per day (4 days): $30

Cost per person (4 days): $15

Excursions

Our main goal was to hike around the island and explore the sites. If you’re short on time or want to learn more history, hire a tour guide to visit the main sights. We went the cheap route and leveraged ideas from the Easter Island section from Lonely Planet and the Rough Guides.

The most important part is to purchase the Rapa Nui National Park pass. Purchase them on arrival as it will be at the CONAF (National Forestry Corporation) office at the airport. Cost is 30,000 CLP or $60 USD. We paid in local CLP instead of USD as there was a better exchange rate to $45. You can use the pass once for the Orongo and Rano Raraku sites.

Cost per person: $45

Buy your tickets here! Office is to the left when departing the plane.

Final Summary of Total Cost Per Person for 7 Days/6 Nights

• Flight from SCL to IPC: $450
• Accommodation in Airbnb: $240
• Food: $112
• Transportation on Scooter: $60
• National Park Pass: $45 (if pay in CLP)

• Total Cost: $907

Have fun at this amazing place!

Do you have Easter Island on your bucket list? What excites you about visiting this place?

The post How to Travel to Easter Island on a Successful Budget appeared first on Life Of Doing.

When someone says, “Easter Island,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Some might not know where it is, others will state “large heads.” We wanted to find out for ourselves about the mysterious island and see the moai up close.

We had Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui in their native language) on our minds for a while. Back in 2013 we thought about some of the farthest to reach places we could think of and Easter Island came up. We revisited the idea in May 2015 while planning for a future Round the World adventure. When news of the American Airlines AAdvantage miles devaluation in March 2016, we decided it was time to pull the trigger. And a bonus: to get to Easter Island required passing through Santiago, Chile.

Due to Chile’s vastness, we focused our travels before and after Easter Island near Chile’s capital, Santiago.

We spent our 14 day trip (including travel time) in the following cities:

• Santiago – 2 days
• Valparaíso – 2.5 days
• Concón – 0.5 day
• Hanga Roa – Easter Island – 6 days

Details in the next post.

The post Why did we decide to go to Chile and Easter Island? appeared first on Life Of Doing.