I've learned that some of the best times to be had when traveling, are when you wake up before anyone else. This, fortunately, is made easier when you travel towards the West. We decided that we just had to see the sun rise over the famous Easter Island Moai (these big, enigmatic statues). We woke up well before sunrise to take the 45 minute drive across the Island to this sacred stand. While the sun rose, we enjoyed a small breakfast picnic. The company was excellent; the view was magnificent.

Easter Island is a strange, remote, and magical place. After a full day of wandering around this tiny island, we were fortunate enough to witness an absolutely breathtaking sunset over the Pacific. The "beach" here is made up of pitch black volcanic stone. I found it to be utterly fascinating.

During my stay at the new Hotel Surazo, I fell asleep to the sound of the Pacific surf pounding the sand. Located in Matanzas, a village on the sparsely populated, mountainous central Chilean coast, this low-slung, modern surf lodge is about 50 feet from the waves. The friendly Chilean owners, Andrés Tobar and Felipe Wedeles Tondreau, built two bunk-filled dormitories and eight minimalist, wood-and-glass private rooms equipped with terraces, ocean views, and hammocks. Daytime activities include sport fishing for merluza (hake), surfing, or windsurfing (lessons arranged by the hotel), and strolling along lonely black-sand beaches strewn with giant cochayuyo (an edible kelp that Tobar cooks for guests). At night, soak in one of the Surazo’s wood-fired hot tubs. —Vanessa Gregory Hotel Surazo, 56/99-744-2439, bunks from $28, private rooms from $60. Photo courtesy of Hotel Surazo. This appeared in the March/April 2010 issue.

While I still have my doubts that this Moai is authentic, and that it has somehow survived underwater in such pristine condition, while its above water compatriots have been so abused my time, and that it made it's way far off the shoreline to a conveniently beautiful coral reef without being destroyed what whatever natural disaster supposedly brought it here.... it was still a most memorable experience to scuba dive right up to it and say hello.

We awoke long before sunrise and drove our car across the island to Ahu Tongariki, the picturesque, and probably most recognizable site on Easter Island. We had seen this once before in the daylight, but were anxious for the chance to see it at sunrise. We brought a blanket from our hostel, canned peaches for breakfast, and our tripods. We huddled together in the dark waiting for the sun to rise, and as it did, we marveled at the row of stone staring back at us. The morning was perfect until a local woman charged with guarding this ancient site spotted us from her tent up the hill, and angrily told us we were not allowed to camp here. Despite our protests and denials that we had slept below the heads, we trudged away giggling guiltily (although we were quite innocent), still exhilarated from the rising sun.

Southern Patagonia is home to the legendary Torres del Paine National Park. The best way to observe the park’s wildlife, which includes guanacos, deer, and pumas, is to join Tierra Atacama hotel’s new six-day wildlife photo safari, led by Chilean photographer Pía Vergara. Or explore aboard Nomads of the Seas, a 15-person yacht equipped with helipads, and zodiacs for whale watching. To book a trip, contact Shelby Donley of Camelback Odyssey Travel, (602) 266-4000. Photo courtesy of Tierra Patagonia. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.

Visitors are reaping the benefits of an ambitious program to preserve this port city’s heritage. Last fall, the 23-room Palacio Astoreca Hotel, and its destination restaurant, Alegre, opened in a Victorian mansion. The Palacio Baburizza, built in 1916, reopened last year as a fine arts museum, and Chilean architect Emilio Marin has transformed a former prison into a cultural center that now welcomes 170,000 visitors per year. Photo courtesy of Palacio Astoreca Hotel. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue.

As we walked back to our hostel from the main village of Rapa Nui, I noticed this small collection of ruins in the distance, detail worn away, but still majestic. I huddled in the flickering grass and captured the beings, still magnificent even when far away and out of focus.

Valparaíso, Chile’s main port city, rises from the water into steep hills laced with staircases and winding streets. Generations of poets, mariners, and adventurers have passed through. While the city has some of Chile’s best dining, the streets retain a Bohemian vibe. In the course of a weekend, visitors can stay at a high-ceilinged bed-and-breakfast, ride 19th- century funiculars up and down coastal bluffs, travel back in time at Pablo Neruda’s home, and relax over local microbrews. Just watch out for drunken sailors—Valparaíso’s port still welcomes vessels daily. —Steven Bodzin This appeared in the November/December 2011 issue. Photo by Roberto Ruiz.

The avant-garde design of Refugia Lodge somehow fits its setting on the largest island in the Chiloé archipelago, just north of Patagonia. Hike the island’s primordial evergreen rainforest and then visit UNESCO World Heritage−designated wooden Jesuit churches in the hotel’s private boat, Williche. Local shellfish, meat, and potatoes star in curanto, Chile’s version of a clam bake. The owners sought out local artisans to create items such as wool slippers (which guests take home as a gift) and art found throughout the hotel. The picture windows look out on the Andes and Reloncaví Sound. From $530, all-inclusive. 56/(0) 65-772-080. Photo courtesy of Refugia Lodge. This appeared in the June/July 2013 issue. .

Along with bars and restaurants aplenty, Santiago's lively and hip Bellavista neighborhood offers some of the city's most colorful streets. Graffiti is elevated to inspired, unlikely art, often covering entire facades of buildings. The entire day could be spent strolling Bellavista and snapping the transcendant wall interpretations. The explosive murals sometimes stretching entire blocks might make you wonder if you've stumbled into some alternate cartoon dimension.

Here you see mashed purple sweet potatoes. There is NO artificial coloring here. These potatoes are indigenous to, and grow only on, Easter Island. They were DELICIOUS, and I must say, quite a sight.

“Chile has nearly 4,000 miles of coast, one of the most arid deserts on earth, and mountains that climb to 22,000 feet. Imagine the diversity,” marvels Rodolfo Guzmán. The chef behind Santiago’s restaurant Boragó is on a mission to promote his country’s over-looked ingredients, such as the superacidic copao fruit, which grows in the Atacama desert. “We want to show diners something that is only found here.” Many chefs source locally but then use European techniques in the kitchen. Guzmán, however, bakes his grouper and basil chlorophyll in a mud oven—a technique the indigenous Mapuche people have used for centuries. Avda. Nueva Costanera 3467, 56/(0) 2-953-8893. Photo by Antoinette Bruno/starchefs.com. This appeared in the October 2012 issue.

I saw the best sunrise of my life at the End of the Earth. Torres Del Paine National Park in Southern Patagonia is one of the world's most beautiful places. Located at 51°S & 73°W, about 200 miles north of Punta Arenas, Chile this park is truly a wonder of fire & ice. It also boasts one of the best hotels in all of the Americas -- the famed, Explora Lodge (http://www.explora.com/explora-patagonia/). It's expensive but worth it. If the weather cooperates, the mountains and sky make for some of the most amazing sights on Earth. This photo was shot about 300 yards from the back of the Explora, looking out over a small lake onto the Cerro Paine range. The fist day I tried shooting the sunrise, nothing happened. I sat out in the cold for two hours and barely saw a hint of red. The next day, I almost gave up and slept-in but, at the last moment, packed up my gear and climbed a nearby hill. I could hardly believe my eyes when the sky exploded into the best sunrise of my life.

This poor, compact, city car was not designed to travel over the dirt tracks that we made it travel in Cajon de Maipo, in the Andes of Chile. It was a trooper though! And while the rental company employees gave me some pretty strange looks when I returned it in Santiago (all covered in mud) it certainly held it's own! Thank you citroen! You were the little red car that could.

The 196-room W Santiago, which opened in 2009, was designed to emphasize the surrounding landscape. That applies especially to the 21st-floor rooftop pool area, where guests can enjoy views of Santiago and the Andes while slurping oysters and sipping pisco sours served in champagne glasses. W Santiago. From $329. Isidora Goyenechea 3000, 56/(0) 2-770-0000. This appeared in the May/June 2012 issue. Photo courtesy of W Hotels Worldwide. 

by Steven Bodzin Valparaiso has the world’s biggest concentration of hillside railways, known locally as ascensores, or elevators. Victorian developers built 30 of them to shuttle residents and their goods up and down the city’s steep coastal bluffs and ravines. Today, the few that remain in operation are a highlight of any trip. The Ascensor Concepción has a glassed-in machine room where visitors can see cast original iron wheels from 1883 hauling the cars by winding inch-thick steel cable. Board off Almirante Prat, opposite Gómez Carreño. Runs 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily; occasionally closed for maintenance. 300 pesos per person, about 65 cents. http://ascensoresvalpo.cl/ Photo by PJFurlong06 via Creative Commons.    

This picture does not even do the beauty of this area justice. It was simply breathtaking. My friend and I spent 4 days in the Park at an Eco Camp. It was such a once in a lifetime type experience. Hiking with no one around, animals everywhere, winds that could knock you over, warm sunshine all day, a glacier and we were lucky enough to not only see 1 of the elusive pumas in the park but 4!

I went to chile, I was born there and it`s a real pleasure to try the food there... more than the typical food , it is the flavors, the size of many thing there, seafood market of santiago de chile, it is so cheap and you can eat so fresh seafood that you can see them alive still,of course if you really like seafood, and with a good chilean white wine how much? for like less than 5 dolars or 4 € you can eat a stu full with more than 20 different kind of seafood in a ceramic little pan, smell fresh and the mixes and the sizes are totally different. totally recommend it.

As an avid wine lover, I make it a point to visit various wine regions around the world. When I came across a place like Concha y Toro, and their sprawling caves of wine, I couldn't help but feel that I had stumbled upon a little slice of heaven. Located in Pirque, in the Maipo Valley, 45 minutes outside of of Santiago, Concha y Toro has steadily been making wine since it was originally established back in 1883. Upon arriving, visitors are instantly taken on a fantastic tour of the grounds. You begin in the tasting room, where you sample a few of their choice selections of white wines. The tour will then take you around the grounds, through the vineyards, and eventually into bowels of the winery where you will learn about the cellar Casillero del Diablo! Legend has it that the fine wines that reside in the cellar below are not only great libations, but are also eerily protected by the Devil himself. Some will not venture to the cellar, some say they know people who have not returned from the cellar, while others claim to have glimpsed a shadow or a flicker that gave them the chills so they quickly fled back to the safety of the daylight above. I do not know if any of this is true, but I DO know that the selection of reserve reds I tasted at the end of the tour were absolutely divine. As I departed from Concha y Toro, I couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, while down in the cellar that we weren't quite alone. Perhaps the Devil lives in heaven after all.

A strange name for a trek - but the W get's it's name from it's shape. If you trace the complete trail on a map you will end up with the letter "W" The W trek is a 4 to 5 day trek in Torres Del Paine park covering approximately 50 miles. It’s the most popular route in the park so expect to see a lot of fellow hikers. It can be started either at the Refugio Las Torres or Refugio Chileno end, or the Refugio Grey end, or even at Refugio Paine Grande, which is almost central in the route. Or if you'd rather rough it you can camp - if you like a bit of an extra challenge. The trek is a serious trek, you scramble around rocks, climb for hours, you carry your packs - it's a great workout! However the real treat is the views. The majestic mountains and glaciers surround you as you trek this remote land. As you hike the W it's hard to not fall in love with Patagonia.