#discoverchile

Every traveler dreams of going to Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) to see the mysterious moai statues along Chile’s corner of the Polynesian Triangle. But as we realized the first time we explored South America, it is seriously out there, like 3,500 kilometers off the mainland and another 2,000km to the nearest neighbor. But this fall, my lucky stars aligned for a coveted spot on the @AdventureTravelAssociation 7-person trip with @MaururuTravel, and I jumped on that plane across the Pacific! Standing at the volcanic quarry, where the sculptures of the Rapa Nui ancestors were carved for 400 years, was like standing in a National Geographic Magazine, yet it still posed so many questions! How were these ancient people able to carve and move 30-foot-tall figures, weighing up to 80 tons, without any beasts of burden or machinery? The Rapa Nui people believe the moai possess “mana,” a supernatural power, and when you feel the magic of this place, it somehow makes sense. While we knew Rapa Nui was a world-class archaeological site, we didn’t realize the remarkable resilience of its people. By the late 1800s, the island’s population was decimated by the outside influence of disease and slave raids, and their numbers got as low as 101 people. This vulnerable island became part of Chile, which proceeded in 1903 to lease it to a British livestock company, allow the seizure of locals’ lands for grazing, and confine the people to the town for over 60 years. It wasn’t until archaeologist William Mulloy’s team started excavating the fallen, grown-over moai in the 1960s, that Rapa Nui’s cultural renaissance began, and their honor was restored. Today, 40% of the island is protected as a national park, children are learning the Rapa Nui language in school, and the local pride for their unique Polynesian heritage is felt in everyone you meet. From the majestic moai to the white sand beaches, lava tubes, and Polynesian dance-offs, see these photos and videos for a glimpse of Rapa Nui's wonders...

Greetings from Chile! Our global glamping quest hits its fourth continent, and we couldn’t think of a better place to start our 2.5-month South America journey than the Adventure Travel World Summit in Patagonia! Hosted by the @adventuretravelassociation. the largest global network of adventure travel leaders, this is much more than a conference; it’s a week-long event to learn, play, connect, and mobilize for a better travel industry. This year, 700 adventure outfitters, eco-lodges, tourism boards, travel advisors, conservationists, and 30 hand-selected media were in attendance. It was not only an honor to be on the short-list of journalists, but also to be a speaker on the mainstage panel: “Content Creation & Storytelling: The Great Debate in Adventure Travel.” The Summit tackles complex topics, such as the future of AI in travel, and tourism’s role in environmental advocacy. And it gets the right people, like the Editor in Chief of Travel Weekly and former Patagonia-CEO-turned-conservation-legend Kris Thompkins, to offer answers and inspire action. The ATTA knows you can’t confine adventurers to a conference hall, so half of the event was spent in the fjords, glaciers, subpolar forests, high desert, and volcanic mountains. In the week leading up to the official Summit, Chile’s top travel outfitters ran 26 different multi-day trips, from the Chilean Antarctic to Easter Island (can’t wait to tell you about my Rapa Nui experience!), and mid-conference, all 700 of us embarked on a “Day of Adventure.” For Mike, this meant sailing to the southern end of the Patagonic Icefield to watch Grey Glacier calve canonballs of blue ice. While Anne plied a fjord to reach Bernardo O’Higgins National Park to explore two more awe-inspiring glaciers, followed by a farm-fresh feast at a third-generation estancia. We came away from ATWS2025 with so many ideas for our South America stories, a hundred new friends, and a renewed confidence that adventure travel can change the world!

Lake Pehoe, Chile