Let me start by writing that this is not a foodie post. I got altitude sickness right when we landed at La Paz airport from Miami that I eventually started to feel uneasy. On the second day of our land tour where we headed to the highest altitude for our entire trip, I puked twice. Alas even though I really wanted to try Bolivian wine and home cooked meals, I just couldn't.  My head was pounding. My body was not cooperating. #foodbloggerproblems

Epic shot. No photoshop here.

Uyuni from the airplane.

Onwards to the Good Stuff
Despite the fact that many complained about other organizers of Uyuni land tours - e.g. drunk and careless drivers, faulty SUVs, Spanish-only speaking guides, etc. - we were very fortunate to find a reliable tour operator, Quechua Connection, who actually picked us up at the Uyuni airport (unlike other operators who told us to take a taxi to their office), and had an English-speaking guide who genuinely took care of me while I became sick and gave me extra oxygen, which instantly made me feel better, plus an assistant who knew how to take creative photos with a DSLR at the salt flats. I rarely recommend any tour operator unless if they've done a superb job!

Big thank you to our guide who gave me coca tea and extra oxygen to cure my altitude sickness!

On our first day, my wish of taking breathtaking photos of the Uyuni salt flats came true. After all, I consider photographs as the best souvenirs. Imagine yourself in a desert filled with salt. I am glad that my tour mates already knew what to photograph and shoot since you really need a creative director to get the best shot.

First stop at the train graveyard.

Meditating so my head would not explode.

I can't bike but I do have a video of the others who biked the salt flats. Watch out for it on my next post.

Banana ice cream after lunch at the salt flats.

Standing on top of salts, which I'm not supposed to do. Oopssie!

Can you spot where our luggage are?

On our 8th consecutive year of travels and still counting.

Babes on board.

A one-of-a-kind experience lunching on the salt flats.

High kick!

We didn't get sponsorship from Pringles, ok.

On top of alpaca.

Cute Bolivian kid.

WOW! Overlooking the salt flats.

Our guides' idea of giving us an unforgettable photo memoir.

The next two days were honestly a blur to me. With my altitude sickness kicking in high gear, I can't remember much. But the photos below are evidence that I did complete the entire circuit and sat on the bus to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile without making a mess for our onward journey.

Red lagoon filled with flamingos.

Bye, Bolivia! It has been bittersweet.

Chilean food is not as popular as Peruvian cuisine. Case in point, I've never seen a Chilean restaurant in San Francisco. Even in the capital of Santiago, most of the choices I found online are Peruvian establishments.

What's really Chilean cuisine? 
My travel warrior buddy and I agreed that of all the meals we had in Chile, something was amiss - it needed a kick that we could not point out what. I'm unsure if this is due to their strong ties with Germany that has made their cooking a bit bland compared to its neighboring countries.

Fret not, though. There are many familiar and more exotic dishes to be had while in Chile.

1. Mote con Huesillos: This popular summer drink for the Chileans is made out of sweetened peaches and wheat that can be easily found in any bustling area in the capital.

Cheers!

Canned peaches made even sweeter.

Slurping our mote at Plaza de Armas.

2. Empanadas: Chilean empanadas are huge! It can be ordered as your entree for the day with your choice of meat, seafood or vegetarian and tons of cheese.

Unlike other empanadas that are made out of thick dough, Chilean empanadas are filled with stuffing and have a thin crust that is baked to crunchy perfection. A seafood empanada, for instance, is filled mostly with mussels, squid, fish, and cheese.

Seafood empanada as one of our lunch entrees.

3. Seafood soup: I tried different kinds of seafood soup while in Chile. I was disappointed that it didn't taste like the creamy seafood bisque that I had in Belgium. I finally got a unique soup that was filled with shellfish and tuna and had a distinct taste of clam juice.

Hearty seafood soup.

4. Congrio: It is a local white fish and not eel as incorrectly labeled at one of the largest establishments that we ate at the Mercado Central, which is one of the most overrated food markets I've ever been to.

Congrio, just like any other fish, can be cooked in a variety of ways- grilled, fried, or even as a ceviche.  Ceviche with corn grits is the winning combo.

Grilled white fish, congrio, mistakenly written as eel on the menu :(

Fried and breaded congrio. Simple but tasty!

6. Breads from all over Chile: I really love eating at restaurants that have a visual representation of what I'm eating. Besides the fact that it makes my life easier as a food blogger, I don't have to ask the wait staff multiple times to pronounce or spell the words for me. Thank you Peumayen Ancestral Food restaurant for introducing me to the variety of breads one can only find in Chile.

Can you match the breads to the next photo below?

Ready to take my pick. The green ones are the best!

7. Horse ham: You read that right! I am fond of horses so I was skeptical to try horse ham. Since I was up to trying something exotic other than the alpaca meat in Bolivia, I ordered a salad entree filled with horse ham, which looks and tastes similar to pastrami, from Peumayen Ancestral Food, an establishment that celebrates native Chilean cuisine. I squealed with delight when I discovered a salad that had horse ham, Chilean hazelnuts, and eucalyptus in one dish. It is as unique tasting as it sounds. Sweet, savory, and everything in between.

While on my way to Peumayen.

Salad with horse ham. Savory and sweet all at the same time.

Moana means "ocean" in most Polynesian language. I found it in Easter Island or Isla de Pascua, a 5-hour flight west of Santiago, Chile. Discovering the mystery of this island is reserved exclusively to those who can get a flight on the only airline, LAN Airlines, that flies to this isolated location.

Admiring the Moai statues at Rano Raraku, Moai quarry.

Moana in Easter Island
In the center of Rapa Nui, my travel buddy and I passed by a quiet restaurant named Te Moana. Luckily, I was at the end of my altitude sickness, which I picked up in Bolivia, and regained my appetite. Te Moana is the only restaurant in the island that impressed me with its food quality, location, and service.  Its outdoor patio area is the best spot for watching surfers do their thing in the Pacific Ocean. I appreciate that they didn't skimp on ingredients for my seafood pasta, which was perfect for replenishing my empty tummy that needed some carbohydrates.

Te Moana means by the sea.

Always make it a point to try the local beer. Made in Rapa Nui.

A generous portion of tuna for lunch.

Another generous portion of seafood pasta.

Spot the surfer!

An image of a Polynesian man.

What's in the Moana? 
Being an isolated place, this island's daily necessities are very expensive. We were on the hunt for a liter of still bottled water one afternoon (you can drink the tap, which has a funny taste, but because I was sick, I had to get bottled water to be on the safe side), and it turned out that multiple convenience stores were out of stock because there was no delivery yet from the mainland, Valparaiso.

Tip: Buy necessary goods, such as water and wine, from Santiago instead and put it inside your check-in luggage.

What the Moana has to offer is local fresh seafood. I tried a simple rice meal with fried fresh white fish, and it turned out to be surprisingly good. Expect restaurant food on the island to be more expensive though since it caters to many tourists from South America as well as Europe.

Simple but flavorful. Local white fish.

You can't leave the island without trying a local delicacy called Po'e. My buddy and I were so intrigued when we saw it in the cafeteria at the Rapa Nui National Park after devouring our packed lunch. I curiously asked the server what it was made of since it looked like a native Filipino snack made out of sticky rice, but I was told (and later confirmed by googling) that it is made of sweetened banana and is a common Polynesian snack or dessert.

Half of a po'e. Perfect for a pre or post-hiking snack.

Indulge in History 
Everywhere you go, you're bound to find moai statues, unique monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people, that can only be found on this island. I learned that these statues face the villages that they've conquered and wear a pukao or topknot on their heads, symbolizing hair worn as a bun. It is not glued on to the statue itself so there are some pukaos that have rolled off, most likely during an earthquake.

The Moias in Anakena beach.

Can you spot the ship from Valparaiso?

The famous photo of 15 Moais at Tongariki.

Up, up away.

Outdoor Pursuits
What I love about Easter Island, which has only a few thousand in population, is that there is zero traffic. In 2 days, we were able to drive around the entire island and see varied terrain from the famous Anakena beach to the Rano Kau volcano crater. Did I say that the island, during a clear day, has amazing sunsets? We watched the sun setting one day at Te Hai, but the most striking one turned out to be right outside our cabana the next day.

The amazing crater at Rano Kau. Now inactive, our tour guide told us that he used to take a boat and paddle around the crater when he was a boy!

Sunset at Te Hai.

The Downside of Being Isolated
Note: If LAN is delayed coming out of the island, just like what happened during our flight back to Santiago with a connecting flight to Punta Arenas (PUQ) via a budget airline, Sky Airline, you're basically screwed and won't have any option but to go in as a chance passenger for the next available flight the next day on Sky or pay for a higher fare at LAN, which has more daily flights to PUQ. This is exactly what happened to my travel buddy and I. Both airlines provided the worst customer service in getting our flights sorted out! After speaking to both supervisors at the Santiago airport, each of us paid $400+ for a one-way ticket from Santiago to PUQ via LAN just so we can get to our destination without any further delay.   

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