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.
