Arrived safely after 10ish hours from NYC. Wandered the city a bit before settling at hotel(rooms not yet ready when first arrived). Took the funicular up Cerro San Cristibal for view of the city. Not much smog.. Nice clear day!
Wandered through some cool shops and lunch at Mexican restaurant.
Dinner at hotel then orientation.
We found that our habitat family had twins earlier this year - one with cystic fibrosis. Sadly the healthier one passed away a couple of months ago and the cystic fibrosis one is in hospital with infection.
We were warned that UV indices will be in the range of 12 to 14. Yikes!
Early to bed...tired and big day ahead.
Day 1 of build started with 45 minute drive to Curacavi. We are in a rural area surrounded by small mountains covered with scrubby vegetation and many 12 foot cacti.
We were treated to cheese sandwiches and tea before starting on our first project of building trusses. We then continued on - working on the floor so by the end of the day we had gone from pilings to framework then subfloor covering ..ready for walls! The addition that we are building is about 20 by 20 feet.
Were fed well throughout the day including semolina dessert for lunch for which I asked the recipe from Miriam our smiling and hardworking cook. At lunch, the men were served first..not used to that! The servings were massive but the food disappeared nonetheless.
One thing that I have to deal with in my "infection control" little mind is that there are no serving spoons. Everyone just digs in...multiple times! I learned to take what I thought I could eat right off the bat..and don't go back!
We also had fabulous ice cream bars in the middle of a hot afternoon! What a treat!Long day on site. Got back to hotel about 730. Supper served to us by lady who Habitat had helped when her son had leukemia. He died just days after they had finished the build.
Too tired for any nightlife that night.
This is at least the fifth trip we have booked with AdventureLife. Jess has always had excellent ideas.
Thomas Brayshaw
2 months ago
Rapid response.
kym
3 months ago
great people doing a wonderful job to make our voyages happen.
trudy
4 months ago
Kassandra rocks! She had our trip planned and helped us arrange our air travel within the day we contacted her. She has helped us with our trips to Chile Argentina and Costa Rica, and she always finds us wonderful activities and accommodations. We’re looking forward to seeing what she’s planning for us this time when we go to Easter island
Janet
4 months ago
This is our 7th trip Kassandra has planned and she is wonderful to work with. She is responsive, helpful, patient and knowledgeable. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to work together with her. We love Adventure Life!