We checked out of our hotel paying in US dollars. Either that or a 19% tax to pay!
They were fussy over the quality of the bank notes I’d given them and in the end I provided them with the best thirteen $20 notes of the twenty I’d withdrawn in Boston a few weeks earlier, anticipating this bill.
Rapa Nui international airport is like no other. You put your own suitcase in the scanner and when you drop it off a man wheels it away. As there don’t appear to be any other flights today I’m hoping the risk of bag loss is minimal.
With no available business class lounge we spent a small fortune on mind blowing local beer which, despite the modest quantities consumed, left me feeling newt like. For some a pre-flight tradition. For me a rather uncomfortable feeling of wooziness!
It took us six hours to get here. The stewardess proudly announced less than four hours to get home. I’m guessing a strong westerly breeze will be following our flight into Santiago.
As we sit on the runway the stewardess delivers a Pisco sour. My wooziness will be enhanced. The visit to the little boys room I’d paid pre-boarding won’t last the flight. But there’s no driving tonight so why the hell not? Not as good as street Pisco sour though.
Despite enjoying business class luxury the seat doesn’t provide me the comfort I want. Plugging in headphones is devilishly hard work as I don’t have sight of the socket in the centre console. Five minutes later I’m sorted and the crew have removed the plastic wrapping I’d peeled away from the ear warming sound providers. Chris presses a leg support button on my controls and my comfort levels improve.
I’m thinking one movie this time. Chris has recommended the strange Martian infection thing he watched on the way here. I’ll probably roll with it after a hopefully early lunch. Maybe tea as the drink of choice for the rest of the flight.
A female pilot makes an announcement. I give Chris a knowing look, full of blatantly sexist humour, without saying a word. A mock look of fear in return. The film “Life” starts on my IFE even though the plane is showing little effort to leave Rapa Nui, La Isla de Pascuna or Easter Island as I’ve always known it.
The cabin crew spray an allegedly non-hazardous insecticide down the aisles. I instant start coughing. The plane shudders into motion just as I get a rare wifi signal from the terminal. We’re on our own now!
Seeing the World 
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