Author: Jack

This morning we got up at half past five and took a ride out to Tongariki. It’s the big platform with 15 moai that is on the eastern shore, perfect for sunrise. We got there while it was still dark, found a small hill and waited. And waited. Waited. Finally colors splashed the clouds and we saw the sun lift up between the moai. It was quite pretty. We only ran into two people there that we knew, haha. It’s very odd being in foreign places and knowing people. This island is such a calm and relaxed place. Wild herds of well fed cows and horses roam a landscape dominated by the moai. Chicken are everywhere, constantly pecking and chatting. Super friendly wild dogs run around in packs having a grand time and running up to the humans when they want some love. This brief moment of island life was lovely.

Then back to Chile. Rapa Nui is also Chile but there is a lot of horrible history and bad blood between them, so the mainland is referred to as Chile and Rapa Nui a separate entity. Sat next to a lady on the plane we had met a couple days before at stargazing, and at our hotel we had drinks with a British couple we’d also met on Easter Island. Such a small world down here! Off for a five hour nap and then to begin our long flights home.

The alarm started pestering us at five today, it was hard to get up. Off at 6, still pitch dark, some good starts though, haha. We arrived at Poike at 7. It is a whole corner of the island that is being rehabilitated to stop erosion and you can only go in if you are Rapa Nui or have a Rapa Nui guide. We hiked along the cliff edge for a couple of hours watching the dawn light paint the landscape in pinks and corals. It was spectacular, giant cliffs diving down to turquoise clear water. Then we climbed down the cliff edge, and visited an ancient religious cave. The cave was a lava tube that had been carved with petroglyphs depicting whales, fertility, and birds. Climbing in was an adventure, very small entrance on a cliff edge! After exploring the cave a little we hiked back up the cliff and started climbing to the top of one of the volcanos. It was still morning but hot! Our guide Jo-jo had no problem and did it in a straight shot but Matty and I took a few breaks along the way. At the top was a small caldera filled with Eucalyptus and stunning views of the whole island. You could see ocean on all sides and the beautiful green expanses of the landscape. We hiked down, running down sandy erosion ravines and went back to the hotel for a good long nap.

After an exhaustive search for a restaurant that was both open and had something other than Ceviche, we had some amazing empanadas for dinner. Then a wander around town and then time for midnight. We found a great spot to photograph the fireworks with two moai in frame. Coincidentally our hotel was right by the fireworks, I had no idea when I booked it. The let us get practice ones before midnight that helped Matty set up the framing perfectly. Midnight struck, the fireworks started their percussive music, and the heavens opened up with a deluge. All simultaniously. We tried valiantly for 30 seconds haha, and then fled to our nearby hotel. Under an overhand we watched the rest of the spectacular show. It was loud bright majesty.

Today we got to sleep in till 8, a luxury, and we were off to learn about the moai and the Rapa Nui people and the island that bears their name. First we started back at the Rano Kau crater and this time visited the Orongo village. This was a holy village that was only inhabited for less than a week each year for the birdman competition. The competition decided which of the 16 clans would rule that year. It involved groomed athletes that would do this grueling competition of physical activities. First they would climb from the village to the sea side of the caldera and further climb down that to the sea. Then they would swim on their reed surf boards to the largest island and snatch an egg from a sea bird and bring back the egg whole. It took between two to three hours. They started this competition to replace the carving of the moai after a brutal civil war that lead to ultra violence and cannibalism.

We then visited an unearthed and recreated village and saw how they lived. Their houses were boat houses, looking completely like a large upside-down canoe. Their gardens were fascinating, they built 1.5 meter walls around all their plants to protect them from wind and because they were made out of lava rock, moisture. Then we visited the quarry Rano a Raraku where almost all of the moai were made. It was a crazy landscape of giant heads sticking up out of the ground at odd angles. The moai would be made for an important person and erected in their village to watch over them forever. The more moai you had, the stronger your clan. Then a visit to Ahu Tongariki, the most famous spot on Rapa Nui. Here the Japanese restored the moai and platform, leaving 15 standing moai. It was impressive, all those stone faces staring in. Originally all the moai had eyes made of white coral and pupils of obsidian. After that we went for a nice dinner at a ridiculously small table of a pile of fries with meat and sauce, a Chilean specialty. Think poutine. A fun day where we learned a lot and got to see some amazing artifacts.

Wow, just wow. When we arrived, the green hills, palms and bananas swaying in the wind, was a balm for my ice weary soul. Even in Santiago we saw little green, it being high summer here and a similar climate to California, it was brown. After getting leied we went to our hotel which I love. We have a view of several moai from our room as well as a beautiful tropical garden. Heaven! We were then picked up by our guide Jo-Jo (pronounced Yo-Yo) and he took us to hike the rim of the Rano Kau crater. It was stunningly beautiful, an oasis of freshwater right next to the sea. The caldera was huge and it took us awhile up figure out the scale. The tiny green smudges you see at the water line are trees 4-5m tall! The scum in the water are giant floating reed beds which the local people once used to make beds and surf boards for the birdman competition. More on that tomorrow! We hiked to the very edge of the cliff and then back all the way around the caldera to the other farthest point. It was awesome after having spent five hours in a plane. Along the hike we saw obsidian everywhere coming out of the soil as well as spots where the ground reverberated, a sign of a lava tube cave. It is truly a volcanic landscape.

After the hike we grabbed a quick dinner of tuna Ceviche and it was time for star gazing. We met our guides in town and they took us to the other side of the island where they had telescopes set up, blankets, and hot chocolate. It was cloudy, haha. The lead guide sang some songs and had a beautiful voice and good skills at the guitar. Then a lecture about astral navigation, all in attempt to wait for the stars to come out, and finally a change of plans. We then went and got our pictures taken with the moai in the dark with one or two stars. Matt tried getting pictures as well but it was very dark and he wasn’t sure if he was successful. Final transit to another part of the island, still no stars, defeat. Then back to our hotel, our guide couldn’t find it. Hilarious! This island is so so small, it was funny in a I’m ready for bed hurry up kind of way. We were unsuccessful with stars but heard some nice music.