Arcane Candy

Friday, August 30, 2019
Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui, Chile

Horses graze on Rapa Nui, Chile.

“Rapa Nui is a Chilean island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. Rapa Nui is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called Moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Rapa Nui a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. It is believed that Rapa Nui’s Polynesian inhabitants arrived on the island sometime near 1200 AD. They created a thriving and industrious culture, as evidenced by the island’s numerous enormous stone Moai and other artifacts. However, land clearing for cultivation and the introduction of the Polynesian rat led to gradual deforestation. By the time of the arrival of Europeans in 1722, the island’s population was estimated to be 2,000–3,000.

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Thursday, August 29, 2019
Santiago to Rapa Nui, Chile

The Eco Taina Cafe in Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui, Chile.

Since I had to set out for the Santiago airport in the middle of the night, I just stayed awake. There was no point in kidding myself that Mr. Sleep would bestow even the slightest amount of shut eye upon me. A few minutes before 3:00 am, a driver in a grey mini-van taxi showed up and whisked me at breakneck speed through the trafficless streets and roads to the airport around 20 kilometers away from the city center. Inside, I took a big plastic bag of produce I had bought at the market the day before and crammed the contents of it into every available nook and cranny in my backpack and messenger bag until they were both bulging. I did this because I read that food is considerably more expensive on Rapa Nui.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Santiago, Chile

The friendly receptionist Aiylin at the Hostel Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Santiago, Chile

Wooden funerary statues made by the Mapuche people of South Central Chile at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago, Chile.

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Monday, August 26, 2019
Santiago, Chile

An apartment building for the deceased at the Cementerio General de Santiago, Chile.

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Sunday, August 25, 2019
Santiago, Chile

A fanciful building in Yungay, Santiago, Chile.

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Saturday, August 24, 2019
Santiago, Chile

La Musa de André Chénier (1907) by Denys Peuch at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santiago, Chile.

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Friday, August 23, 2019
Santiago, Chile

The Catedral Metropolitana at Plaza de Armas in Santiago, Chile.

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Thursday, August 22, 2019
Santiago, Chile

A fruit vendor at the Mercado Tirso de Molina in Santiago, Chile.

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Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile

Heading west from Mendoza, Argentina into the Andes mountains.

At 10:00 am, I boarded an Andesmar bus in Mendoza, Argentina bound for Santiago, Chile. I was stoked I got a front seat on the upper level again for maximum viewing pleasure. About 30 minutes or so south of town, we hung a right and proceeded west across some desert scrub land toward the Andes mountain range. For breakfast, we were served a little box containing some crackers and a cookie sandwich. For lunch, I had a bunch of fruit and vegetables I bought the day before, which I had planned to make a sandwich with.

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