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Travel: Moai raiders

Easter Island was recently raided.  This volcanic island lies 2,237 miles west of Chile and is famous for it’s 900-plus statues (known as moai) of Polynesian ancestors. 

One male tourist decided that they liked the legendary sculptures so much that he’d like an earlobe as a souvenir.  An eyewitness said that he climbed the statue, tugged at the earlobe which subsequently fell off and broke into pieces.  He still wasn’t done and tried squeezing one of the pieces into his bag. 

The rangers promptly tracked him down. He couldn’t haven’t been too difficult to spot with a bag full of rock: the average moai weights 70 tons.  A conspiracy theory must be brewing for the missing sphinx’s nose.

Did you know that there are over 50,000 Welsh speakers in Patagonia, the south of Argentina?
Lets talk about . . .
San Francisco

Why?
San Francisco a city embodying all that is good and creative about America.  This city has more patents per capita than any other US city.  With 43 hills, a beautiful bay and sitting amidst a major earthquake zone it’s not difficult to see why the inhabitants are creative with their time. 

Architects from all over the world have been drawn here and the city is speckled in inventive buildings as well as a few quirky failures.  The city is also famous for its car chase scenes in countless films, up and over hills and shooting past the Victorian mansions that are scattered thoughout.  Leave the monuments and skyscrapers behind and find some new ideas here.

What's going on there at the moment?
There's always something interesting and different going on. The third weekend in April sees the start of the Alternative Press Expo for fans of cult comic books.  Even if you're not into cult comics you’d love the characters it draws from all corners of the country. 

Late April to early May hails the start of the San Francisco’s International Film Festival with over 325 films packed into two weeks.  Book in advance as this is popular with film lovers and a few celebrities too.
If that inspires you than take some time out down at Baker Beach to discover another eccentric twist on the city: the nude beach.

Alternatively take a trip down Calrion Alley.  The alley is the test of any graffiti artist as those that don’t make the grade get peed on. Quite a comment on street art.

www.lonelyplanet.com
Aaron Lamb
lonelyplanet.com
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