Giant stone statues are the stars on Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui). The Moai, as they are called, were carved out of the side of volcano craters and moved somehow to the shore, where they were lined up to stare over the tiny island. It is a mystery today how they were transported, in some cases to the other side of island over rugged terrain. The history of Easter Island is full of ancient legends, controversies and guesses – though Thor Heyerdahl's wild speculations about how the island got populated by South Americans is today put to shame by genetic evidence, that tells they came from Polynesia. Due to local warfare most statues has been knocked over, where some still remain today. Beside the stone faces, the civilisation also left behind petroglyphs (rock drawings), ceremonial villages (more rocks) and a curly alphabet that nobody today can read. Even if old rocks and mad history is not your cup of tea, the Easter Island is still worth a visit just for the sheer fact that it is the most isolated place on earth, being 1900km from the nearest populated landmass, the Pitcairn.

Have you wondered how fast you can go on a trunk of a banana tree? Well, at the annual Tapati festival on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) one of the competitions is the Haka Pei race, where semi-naked Polynesians slide down a very steep hill on top of two trunks tied together. It takes bravery to do it, for they reach speeds up to 80km/t. The whole festival runs for two weeks and starts in January or February, and the goal is to pick a new queen for the year. Each candidate is back up by their whole clan and the groups then compete against each other in a range of traditional arts and sports, like the Haka Pei. It is an unique opportunity to see ancient Rapa Nui traditions come alive and get spoiled with muscular warriors and seductive beauties performing traditional Rapa Nui dance.

You are in for a surprise when coming to Santiago. The city is either surprisingly dull when going to some of the conservative suburbs, or surprisingly attractive when venturing into neighborhoods like Bellavista and Barrio Brasil. Though those areas can seem a bit scruffy in the edge, they boost a down-to-earth bohemian vibe. The streets are either filled with abandoned shops with graffit or arty fashion shores and there are great eateries around every corner, ranging from fancy hip sidewalk cafes to charismatic restaurants.