Hanga Roa, Chile, South America

I had another really good day with Rey and Andrea today. We met for our dive at 9am, and it was my least favorite dive of the three, but still pretty awesome. We went to a site called La Catedral and we had a bigger group today of five divers and the two dive masters. There was also another dive company at the same site when we arrived, so the water was pretty busy. This was the only thing I didn’t like about this dive.

We saw some amazing coral, had the chance to go through some really cool caves, and saw some pretty big flute fish, but the number of people in the water really annoyed me. I was constantly getting kicked or bumped by other people in the water, and it just seemed like everyone was trying to go to the same place at the same exact time instead of just staying in a line and going in their turn. It certainly wasn’t one of my worst dives, but when there are that many people around me (in the water or on land), I tend to just get really annoyed, so I didn’t really enjoy myself as much as I could have.

We finished our dive, got a quick shower at the dive center and then jumped into Rey’s car to head up to some caves. The road started out paved, then went to dirt, and then turned into an off road track. The Jimny is not exactly a 4×4, so we had to stop at a certain point and just walk the rest of the way to the cave. We got to the first cave and it looked like just a hole in the ground. It didn’t look like a cave at all. It wasn’t until we climbed down into the hole and through a small 3ft by 3ft passage way that we came to the cave opening. It was a cave that had two windows out onto the cliff face to the water. It was stunning. The blue color of the water really popped fro inside this dark hole, and it was so peaceful just hearing the waves crashing on the rocks below.

We spent about 20 minutes in the cave and then climbed back out. By the time we got out of the first cave, there wasn’t time to go to the other two caves. Rey had to return his car by 2pm, and it was already 1pm, so we had to head back. We walked back to where we left the car, got in it, and found that the battery was dead. The lights had been left on while we were checking out the cave. This was not a great situation. Not only were we stuck a few miles out of town on this dirt track, but Rey was going to be charged a hefty fine for returning the car late.

Luckily, the car was parked at the top of a very small hill, so I knew we had a shot. I knew that if we could get the car rolling downhill, I could jump start the car in second gear and get it going. I haven’t done this in years, and I’ve only done it before in my own car, on a paved road, so this was a bit of a gamble, but I figured I would give it a shot. I am a bit more experienced with driving a stick shift, so Rey gave me the keys and let me give it a shot. The three of us pushed the car out of the ditch it was parked in and got it rolling downhill. I jumped in the driver’s seat, threw it into second and dropped the clutch, and it started! I was so happy! I wasn’t 100% sure that was going to work, but I was thrilled that it did.

Rey and Andrea jumped in the car and Rey let me drive the car back into town. It was great to drive again. It’s been about ten months since I’ve driven a car, and I’ve really missed it, so this was a really nice surprise I hadn’t expected for today. We returned the car, the agent looked it over and said nothing, so hopefully Rey won’t have any problem for the battery dying.

We went back to the fajita place I had gone to yesterday and we all had fajitas for lunch. I had a beef one today that was really good, but not quite as good as the chicken one I had yesterday. We were going to check out the museum after lunch, but by the time we finished eating we were all exhausted and just wanted to take a nap. We all split up and went to our hostels for a little chill time. Of course I couldn’t actually fall asleep, but it was nice to relax for a bit.

I went back out for dinner and met up with Andrea and Rey for ice cream tonight. There’s a great ice cream shop right next to the fajita place, so we all had an ice cream there and then we said our good bye’s to Rey. He’s leaving tomorrow, so Andrea and I won’t see him again before he leaves. It was really good meeting him and getting to travel with him these last couple of days. I’m sure I’ll run into him again sometime in the future. He likes to travel as much as I do, so I know our paths will cross again someday.

I’ve rented a car to check out a few parts of the island I haven’t seen yet, so I’ll pick that up in the morning. I’m first going to the quarry where most of the moai are, so that should be cool to see. It looks like I should have another beautiful weather day tomorrow, so I’m really lucking out in that department. Keep the sun coming!