March 2016 - Chile South America

photo of black neck swans and guanaco!

31 March 2016 Thursday - Minden LA to Bonham TX (223 miles)
Early morning cloud but then sunshine! North on highway 159 to route 2 west to I49 north into Arkansas to Texarkana then west to Texas on route 82 via Paris. Overnight at Bonham State Park Lake. The cardinals are mating so one very active male attacked my rear view mirrors (he thinks it is another male)....so I covered them in towels....now he is attacking the shiny bumpers! Walk around the lake because the trails are very muddy!

30 March 2016 Wednesday - Colfax to Minden LA (139 miles)
Woke up to heavy fog so brief visit to Natchitoches, the oldest community in Louisiana, and where Steel Magnolias was filmed....then drove to Lake Bistineau to find that they are closed due to flooding from storm two weeks ago.....but no signage to indicate this (found out from park ranger who happened to drive by in his truck). So continued to Beaver Dam campground at Caney Lakes where I managed to get long afternoon walk before evening thunderstorm....heaps of rain and thunder and lightning

29 March 2016 Tuesday - Moss Point MS to Colfax LA (296 miles)
I10 west to Baton Rouge then route 415 up to route 190 west then north on I49 via Alexandria to the small town of Colfax where there is a Corps of Engineer campground on the Red River with a senior discount....and free wifi....and very quiet with only the birds chirping!

28 March 2016 Monday - Perry FL to Moss Point MS (312 miles)
Driving this first bit of my trip on the interstate.....not my favorite driving but it is the best way to get to where I am going....hope to find some back roads when I get to Louisiana and Texas.

27 March 2016 Sunday - Largo to Perry FL (178 miles)
Driving north and west........I had planned to drive to Brownsville TX to meet with a newly found second cousin (Arlyn) on my mother's side but Arlyn will be driving a friend back to their home in Amarillo so I will meet her there instead......much less "out of the way" drive for my travels!

20 March 2016 Sunday - Largo Florida
Happy Spring!

19 March 2016 Saturday - Largo Florida
Another very informative seminar at the Largo Library with the Pinellas Genealogy Society (a very rainy day).....topic was DNA genetic genealogy!

12 March 2016 Saturday - Largo Florida
Enjoyed the local Seminole Pow Wow parade and saw my friend Kim in the parade for her husband's law firm.

11 March 2016 Friday - Santiago Chile to Tampa Florida
Back in sunny hot and humid Florida!

10 March 2016 Thursday - Santiago Chile 
Lunch at revolving restaurant Giratoria on 18th floor with my second cousin.....waiting for taxi to airport for evening flight return to Tampa via Miami Florida...had considered taking public transport but today is a really HOT one!

9 March 2016 Wednesday - Santiago Chile
Took the metro train to visit Museum of Memories (built in 2010 to commemorate victims of human rights violations during military regime led by Pinochet 1973-1990) but it is closed for renovation this week (bummer) but did enjoy the walk through the Barrio Brasil with beautifully architected old buildings (european style) and street art on the walls. I then walked to the cemetery (one of the largest in Latin America) which was built in 1821 with over two million graves on 210 acres. Most of the presidents of Chile are buried here in the very upmarket section (very large tombs). It is like a small city of the dead with streets and avenues with heaps of trees. The poorer section appears as rows and rows of crosses. There is a section called Patio 29 (mass grave) where political prisoners were buried anonymously; there has been a recent effort to exhume these bodies and identify them.  I then returned to the downtown and hiked up the hill at Santa Lucia with views of the city (smog and all).

8 March 2016 Tuesday - Santiago Chile
Wonderful four hour walking tour of the city with Franco.....and met another woman Emily from Juneau (she is from New York)......I met her when I did the Alaskan Dream Cruise several years ago (2012)!
We found that the galleria shopping malls have coffee shops with darkened windows......these started with the "coffee with legs" cafes in the 1970s to entice people (men) to buy coffee, which at the time was just bad tasting instant coffee.....very scantilly clad ladies serve coffee on a raised platform behind a bar with no chairs.

7 March 2016 Monday - Santiago Chile
A goodbye to the five remaining folks on the tour as they return to the UK and I will hang out in Santiago a few more days.

6 March 2016 Sunday - Easter Island to Santiago Chile
Morning walkabout in town of Hanga Roa before afternoon flight back to Santiago.....and had business seat for the return so quite nice to have full meal and then a snooze in the flat bed!

5 March 2016 Saturday - Easter Island Chile
All day tour of the famous ahu and moai carvings on the island....quite spectacular!

4 March 2016 Friday - Easter Island Chile
Afternoon tour with Christian of the Orongo Crater and village and wonderful seafood salad watching the sunset.

3 March 2016 Thursday - Santiago to Easter Island Chile
Five hour flight from Santiago to Easter Island for three nights. Only six of our original eleven will do the extension to Easter Island. And what a surprise to see one of my hiking friends from Juneau (Bonnie and her husband Greg) boarding the plane for their one week stay on the island!

2 March 2016 Wednesday - Puertas Natales to Santiago Chile
Three hour drive from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas then three hour flight to Santiago....heaps of travelling on this tour through this long and skinny country.

1 March 2016 Tuesday - Torres del Paine
Morning boat ride on Lago Grey to view glaciers and icebergs then hike up Condor Lookout.....then two hour drive for overnight at Puerto Natales.