I arrived in Easter Island, Rapa Nui, late Wednesday night (March 5). My host, Cecilia, was there to greet me with a traditional lei, which she made. The accommodations were not up to my 5 star standards, but what do you expect for $55 a night (23,000 pesos). A clean room, shower and no air conditioning or fan. I later found out that no one had air conditioning in their hotels or cabins at $200 a night. I think I will survive three nights.
On Thursday I took a tour of the Rano Kau Volcano. Long inactive, luckily, but very impressive. The guide didn't speak English, so I only picked up part of the history. Each year there was a competition to see who would be king for the next year. The tribes went to this treacherous small island to search for a hidden egg. Of course the royalty didn't go - they sent their warriors. The winner reigned for the next year. This practice ended when the missionaries arrived in 1860. Maybe we should use the same method for electing our president. It might be more fun.
In the afternoon, I walked along the coast looking for Moi - the giant statues. I saw about 10. The temperature was probably over 90, so I went back to my non air conditioned room for a siesta.
During the night I was awoken by the sound of many dogs howling. There must be 1000s of wandering dogs on the island, and apparently they stay up all night. Next came the roosters - not at dawn, but at 2 am. Again, there must be 1000s of roosters, keeping all the tourists up. Luckily I had some earplugs from the flight, and was able to get back to sleep.
Friday I took a full day tour of the island. I learned that at one point or another, all the Moi were toppled over - either they never made it to their platform (only 1 out of 3 gets to their location), they were knocked over during local civil wars, or a sunami took them out. There are probably only 25 standing today. The 12 I saw were re-erected by a Japanese company. Pictures will follow, I promise.
We then visited the quarry where the Moi were carved out of rock. Hundreds remain partially buried or in the process of being carved. To this day, no one knows how the completed Moi made it from the quarry to their final destination, which can be miles away.
At one point during our ride, the driver stopped the car and we rolled backwards, uphill, due to a very strong magnetic field - or maybe it was the magic from the Moi.
The island has 5000 residents and 4000 horses. One decided to get in the path of our car, and luckily we were going slow and there was only a small dent in the car, the horse appeared to be unharmed.
After a picnic lunch we ended the afternoon with a refreshing dip in the cool South Pacific Ocean waters. After dinner I saw a beautiful sunset but forgot my camera.
Everything on the island was very expensive since its all flown in, even the bottled water. The fish is all locally caught, but still expensive. My ATM card did not work. Glad I got $100,000 pesos in Santiago. Hope the card works in Rio - my next stop.
On Thursday I took a tour of the Rano Kau Volcano. Long inactive, luckily, but very impressive. The guide didn't speak English, so I only picked up part of the history. Each year there was a competition to see who would be king for the next year. The tribes went to this treacherous small island to search for a hidden egg. Of course the royalty didn't go - they sent their warriors. The winner reigned for the next year. This practice ended when the missionaries arrived in 1860. Maybe we should use the same method for electing our president. It might be more fun.
In the afternoon, I walked along the coast looking for Moi - the giant statues. I saw about 10. The temperature was probably over 90, so I went back to my non air conditioned room for a siesta.
During the night I was awoken by the sound of many dogs howling. There must be 1000s of wandering dogs on the island, and apparently they stay up all night. Next came the roosters - not at dawn, but at 2 am. Again, there must be 1000s of roosters, keeping all the tourists up. Luckily I had some earplugs from the flight, and was able to get back to sleep.
Friday I took a full day tour of the island. I learned that at one point or another, all the Moi were toppled over - either they never made it to their platform (only 1 out of 3 gets to their location), they were knocked over during local civil wars, or a sunami took them out. There are probably only 25 standing today. The 12 I saw were re-erected by a Japanese company. Pictures will follow, I promise.
We then visited the quarry where the Moi were carved out of rock. Hundreds remain partially buried or in the process of being carved. To this day, no one knows how the completed Moi made it from the quarry to their final destination, which can be miles away.
At one point during our ride, the driver stopped the car and we rolled backwards, uphill, due to a very strong magnetic field - or maybe it was the magic from the Moi.
The island has 5000 residents and 4000 horses. One decided to get in the path of our car, and luckily we were going slow and there was only a small dent in the car, the horse appeared to be unharmed.
After a picnic lunch we ended the afternoon with a refreshing dip in the cool South Pacific Ocean waters. After dinner I saw a beautiful sunset but forgot my camera.
Everything on the island was very expensive since its all flown in, even the bottled water. The fish is all locally caught, but still expensive. My ATM card did not work. Glad I got $100,000 pesos in Santiago. Hope the card works in Rio - my next stop.
No comments:
Post a Comment