Iran Saga--why we're in Chile instead

Bam Citadel, Iran

We were supposed to be headed to Tehran tomorrow, but instead, we'll be flying to Easter Island while 4 members of the group we were supposed to lead to Iran will be traveling to Iran without Don and me.  I'm not very happy about it, but the Iranian government works in strange ways, which it's useful to know about in advance.
Last year, Don and I spent 3 incredible weeks in Iran, touring the entire country and loving every minute.  It is beautiful, fascinating and filled with the most wonderfully warm and welcoming people.  I highly recommend visiting Iran.

the magnificent Pink Mosque, Shiraz, Iran

Here's the catch.  Getting a visa is a grim process.  Last year, we found out we had been granted our visas 4 weeks before we were leaving for Iran.  Once you finally get approved, you still have to get your visa (another large fee) at the Iranian Interest Section, part of the Pakistani Embassy, but located near the State Department, in Washington.  And, by then, you have already booked your flights, so if your visas are denied at the last minute, you're stuck with big change fees.  As we were this year.
Iran randomly denies visas to Americans as payback, according to the Foreign Minister, for Trump's denial of visas to Iranians.  I doubt that Trump cares a whit about this, but be prepared if you want to go to Iran.  This year, everyone in our group received their visa approvals except for Don and me (the random ones, I guess).  We learned about the visa approvals 3 weeks ago and about our denials 2 weeks ago.  Not exactly timely notification. 

Santiago, Chile, with the Andes in the background

So, we've made sure all the details are in place for our 4 hardy friends who are leaving for Iran tomorrow.  Meanwhile, I somewhat frantically looked for an alternative for us, which is Easter Island (I've wanted to visit this far-off Pacific island ever since I read Kon Tiki as a teenager), the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile and, after driving over the Andes, Salta, Argentina.
Last night, we flew to Santiago, Chile.  Today, we hiked to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, with its beautiful poppies blooming all over the mountainside and its great views of the city, about a 7 mile loop on a perfect day. 

Springtime in Chile--poppies everywhere

Tomorrow, we fly 5 1/2 hours to Easter Island.  So, I will be blogging about South America rather than Iran.  I'm excited to see Easter Island and the Atacama Desert with its 18,000 to 21,000 foot high volcanoes, geyser basins and stark beauty.  I'll attach lots of photos.  If we love this trip as much as I think we will, we'll be organizing a tour to these remote places in 2019 or 2020.