Sunrise at Tongariki Santiago is quite literally the jumping off point to get to the most remote inhabited island in the world, Rapa Nui. The island’s first recorded European visitor, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, give it the name Easter Island when he landed there Easter Sunday 1722. I prefer, and so does almost everyone who … Continue reading
Chile, the longest country in the world, is incredibly diverse topographically and culturally. There is so much to enjoy. The primary reason for my visit was a Global Village build with Habitat for Humanity in Santiago, but I was fortunate to be able to also visit the Atacama and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) while I … Continue reading
Chaxa Lagoon I didn’t want to travel all the way to Chile and miss the driest place on earth. What a superlative! I also didn’t want to go home without visiting Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and I was lucky enough to do both. First spending a few day in the Atacama, then on to Santiago … Continue reading
What would your life be like if you gave a little bit? You don’t have to give everything, but maybe you could give a little bit more of your time, your money, your knowledge, your encouragement to help someone else. How would your giving affect the lives of those in your family, neighborhood, community, country—the … Continue reading
Day 5 What a week! We spent the morning working to finish up some things before we had lunch and brought the build to a close. We continued working on siding the soffit fascia, which proved to be a bit of a challenge, pounding nails overhead and making long cuts with only a hand saw. … Continue reading
Day 4 We started today in early morning mist and fog and a bit on the nippy side. In the end, after we started to concentrate on our jobs, we were warmed up in no time and before we knew it, “Break time.” Breaks are not negotiable on a Global Village work camp. By the … Continue reading
Day 3 Our addition is really starting to take shape. The roof trusses we built on Monday went up. The walls we framed were put into place and insulated. And we began to put up the siding. Now that the structure is in place, Claudia visits the space at the end of each workday. It’s … Continue reading
Day 1 First things first. We look to our Habitat construction supervisors Sebastian and Raul for direction. These guys have been working for Habitat, and volunteers like us, for well over a decade. Monday morning, they had three specific jobs for us: build a huge fire wall that will serve as one side of the … Continue reading
Habitat for Humanity Chile has built houses in partnership with more than 12,000 families across the country. There is continuous construction in each region of this, the longest country in the world, and various new communities are in the process of establishing an affiliation with Habitat. These accomplishments are due in great part to the … Continue reading
Final stop on our week long tour of the Thousand Islands was a small town on the waterfront on the US side. Of the four towns we visited, Clayton was the most quaint, with good food, shopping and lovely views of the water. The only hotel we stayed in during the trip – 1,000 Island … Continue reading
