Search - Globe Trekker: Chile & Easter Island on DVD

Amateur-ish and full of mistakes.

D Alcazar | 05/13/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Full of mistakes, mispronounced names and missing many more interesting locations.

This may be an interesting view for those who are simply channel zapping, but for anyone planning a trip to chile it's mostly worthless. It shows very few of the main attractions in chile, and for those it does show, there are either mistakes or omisions of facts that need to be known such as: rodeos are only held around the 18th of september, cerro tololo observatory is far from being the biggest in the world and a trip to the juan fernandez or easter island is outrageously expensive. The author is notably uneducated about what he is visiting and could have read all the information given from a travel guide book like lonely planet.

In a single phrase: Look elsewhere for useful information."

Valley of the Moon

Rebecca Johnson | Washington State | 06/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ian Wright provides laughter therapy throughout an exciting journey to Chile and Easter Island. When he is not running into the ocean with a sense of abandon, he is walking across steam-covered landscapes infused with a sense of adventure.

As one of my favorite travel guides he excels at making you feel you are on a journey where you never know what might happen next. The scenery in this DVD is spectacular as he travels across the driest desert in the world, visits some of the best observatories in the world and has a go at llama herding.

He walks with observers of religious traditions and takes a ten-mile hike to one of the most beautiful locations in the world where towering mountains showcase climber's dream rock walls.

It doesn't matter whether he is sipping tea to ward off altitude sickness or asking other travelers for advice about setting up his tent while camping, Ian Wright is one of the most adventurous travelers in the world and connects with the culture and people living in any area where he travels.

Truly inspirational and who would have thought you could find apple strudel in Chile?

~The Rebecca Review"

Practical off-beat travel tips as seen on TV

Jim Trethewey | Hillsboro, OR USA | 07/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an episode from the TV series (depending upon your location, called "Lonely Planet", "Globe Trekker", or "Pilot Productions").
You can see more about it at http://www.globetrekkertv.com
This episode covers travels on mainland Chile, Robinson Crusoe island, and Easter Island.
Your travel host is Ian Wright (a truly zany bloke).
Focus is on travel-on-a-shoestring methods, and off-the-beaten-path sights, and gives you a realistic sense of "being there".
Mainland locations visited: Pintados, San Pedro de Atacama, Los Vasquez, Santiago, Temuco, Frutillar, Punta Arenas, and Torres del Paine National Park."

The Long And Narrow About Chile,

Craig Connell | Lockport, NY USA | 09/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"How many people know much about Chile? Not me, and suspect not most people, so I thought I'd take a look at this "Globe Trekker" DVD and get my first look at host Ian Wright. I found Wright to be a a bit full of himself, but tolerable. I rent these DVDs for the scenery and to learn things. I've seen five hosts so far on these shows and only Justine Shapiro hasn't "mugged" for the cameras, but that could change.

Anyway, Wright first tells us that Chile is a country with a remarkable "shape:" 3,000 miles in length and never more than 100 miles in width. There were few visitors this country, he notes, until about 20-30 years ago, because of a brutal dictatorship which ruled the nation.

The first stop is in the northern area, home to the driest desert in the world. We see plenty of the country's biggest source of income: nitrate, sulfur and copper. We find out later much of the country is extremely dry, which lends itself to helping preserve mummy-like skeletons and for observatories to see deep space.

There are interesting sights as one travels south in Chile. It's a long way between stops, too. San Pedro is "a main oasis for tourists," and a bit further down the road is "Moon Valley" with some beautiful scenery, then a spot where Catholics come in droves to worship the Virgin Mary.

I didn't find to much of the first half of this travelogue to be that intriguing. It just seemed more of an excuse for our host to ham it up. I can see why some posters here say this guy annoys them. However, the second half offered some good sight-seeing. For instance, who would expect to come across a German town way down in Chile? The town is "Frutillar" and it's as German as you can get - a beautiful little village that began in the 19th century when the area was trying to encourage European settlers to stay. The scenery in the distance, highlighted with a volcano, is spectacular.

Later, we go inside Torres del Paine National Park which has geysers (Wright pronounces them "gee-zers") and some tremendous glacier scenery. We see a penguin colony, too, which reminds us we are getting nearer Antarctica, which means very, very cold temperatures.

Wright heads back up to Santiago and then goes due West to the Robinson Crusoe Island and then on to the special Easter Island. This is the first time I have seen in more detail all those huge rock statues that make that island so famous. They are incredible, a real archaeological mystery to this day.

Easter Island is a memorable way to end this travel DVD. It makes you forget for a minute about the stupid host of the show.
"