When I first learned of our plan to visit Easter Island (since we are already in Santiago), I didn't realize it is actually a six hour flight from the city, not quite an "on the way" sort of destination although it is part of Chile. This was further confirmed by the hefty air fare, which cost more than the 10 hour flight from Toronto to Santiago. That aside, the island did take us into a totally different world and way of life.
Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for Easter Island. The locals call it Te Pito o te Henua, "the Navel of the World" It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, known for its monolithic Moai statues, carved from volcanic ash representing deified ancestors of the first settlers. What struck me when the plane flew over the island before landing in Hanga Roa, the only town on the island, was the lack of trees, not quite your typical lush tropical island. It seems that the first settlers had almost entirely cleared the tropical forest and replaced it with the statues. The starkness of the bare rocky landscape together with the massive statues inspired a sense of awe, stoicism and mystery which made the island such an attraction.
We spent three nights on the island but in reality we only did one day time tour - the Historic Pathways Tour which visited the island's archaeological sites. We did two sunrises and two sunsets, a night astro and a morning astro. Afternoons tend to be so hot it is most comfortable indoors - there is good reason for siesta time. We stayed at an airbnb which gave us some contact with the locals and an inkling of their lifestyle. Below are places we visited on our first full day.
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| This is my favourite Moai location. Love the Moai statues in their different poses, probably unintentional but the disarray added to their charm, far more than the tidy rows in other locations. |
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| The island and the town Hanga Roa from the air |
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| Rapa Nui Airport with its welcome sign "Iorana" Rapa Nui greeting |
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| A first walk by the seaside near our airbnb |
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Sunset by the beach |
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Sunrise at Tongariki, the largest ceremonial platform on Rapa Nui |
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| Almost all the Moai statues on the island face inland towards the land. They are spiritual guardians of the communites, not the sea. |
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| The long shadow of the Moai statues reached inland towards the settlements |
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| This lone moai, "A Vere", near the entrance of Tongariki, is also known locally as the Travelling Moai. It was sent to Osaka, Japan for exhibition in the 1990's as a thank you gesture to the Japanese who helped restore the 15 moais at Tongariki after a tsunami |
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| The moais at Anakena beach, one of only two beaches on the island. |
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| A closeup look at the statues. The box like structures on top of the heads, called pukao,, are supposed to represent long hair tied up, a topknot or hat |
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| Heike, our guide, is descended from the original moai ancestors. Check his profile! |
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| My favourite spot on the island - Rano Raraku, a volcanic crater and the main quarry for most of the moai statues on the island. There are supposed to be almost 400 moais around here in various stages of completion. We did not have enough time to really have a good look for them as we arrived just after sunset. But I like how they are not on a platform but on the ground, closer to human height. |
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| The big volcano seen from Rano Raraku |
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| Tongariki at sunset |
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| Anakena - the moon was too bright for the stars - this must be the one time we wished it would disappear! |
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| Away from the moon, we could see the milky way. We then figured out where to go for our second astro adventure. |
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| Map of Rapa Nui with key sites |
