Easter Island

I must say, our Capt does an excellent job of keeping us safe. His second priority is getting us to the places we are supposed to go. It was a close call today on Easter Island, but we made it there and back safely. It was an AMAZING day.

 

I booked a HAL tour for Easter Island because it is a small place and I wanted to be sure we would see everything. We were in the Queen's Lounge waiting to board a tender at 8:30. At 8:45 the Capt gave an announcement that the swells were too high in the small boat harbor so we would be unable to go ashore. He was researching an alternate location and would get back to us. At about 9 he announced that we would be moving to the north shore of the island in hopes of tendering in there. We were sure keeping our fingers crossed!

 

It was nice cruising around the island. I think we saw a lot more of it than we would have other wise. We spotted a few Moai on shore, but they were pretty far away for pictures. Once in the spot selected, the Capt announced that we would be able to have tender service (YIPEE!!!!), but they had to construct a ramp and were going to use one tender as part of the pier. Mel and I were on the first tender to go ashore with passengers. The area was the largest beach on the island, w/only one other small one. Most of the island is volcanic rock. The water was crystal clear, would love to have had time to swim. We boarded a bus with 21 other people and off we went.

 

Unfortunately our guide was not very informative. She sat and talked to the driver the entire time. Our first stop was back in town, near where we would have tendered in if not for high waves. There were 5 Moai standing on their platform, magnificent. All the Moai were toppled at one time, so the ones that are standing now have been restored. There was a single one in the same location that had even had it's eyes restored, coral with obsidian pupils. They were very impressive. Of course there were vendors there, so we made a couple of purchases. Things were very expensive so we bought only items that are authentic from Easter Island. The beautiful shell carvings, etc, we have seen all over the world at much lower prices.

 

Our next stop was the Rana Raraku Quarry. It was from this volcano that all the Moai were carved. We had to walk about 1/4 mile up a hill to view the Moai and quarry. There were heads tilted every which way all over the hillside, fabulous. There were several Moai that had been carved on top, but were still imbedded in the rock. Very interesting. At one time people thought the Moai were just heads because of how they were buried. They are actually kneeling with their hands on their stomachs. From the quarry we could see 15 Moai standing next to the shore, off in the distance. That was our next stop.

 

At Tonga Riki, all the Moai were destroyed by a tsunami in 1960. The wave tossed them all over, up to 200 feet away from their original positions. The Japanese had one Moai on loan for about 10 years. When they returned it, in 1997, they paid for the reconstruction of these 15, including their platform. They were magnificent. All the Moai face the island to protect the ancestors from outside forces. There was a toppled one nearby which we were able to sit on for a pic. Not sure we were supposed to, but we did. There were many people working the sites to be sure people stayed off the platforms and away from the Moai. Guess they didn't care as much about that one.

 

The last stop was back at Anakena beach, where we started. There were 5 Moai standing there, as well as a fat one off by itself. Rather than go back to the tender, we went to the vendors, then grabbed a car to take us into town. I wanted to send some postcards and visit the market. We actually went to several markets before we found embroidered T shirts. Have to have a T shirt from Easter Island! The post office showed us their  post mark, 3 Moai in a row, very nice.

 

We heard that there was one site that hadn't been included on our tour so headed that way. It was quite a distance, on an opposite point. We didn't see any Moai, so were wondering why that site was so special. We did get to see Bird Island where men used to swim to collect a bird egg, then return to shore with it. The winner was given some land and had bragging rights for a year. After walking down and around a hill, we spotted a number of homes built of rocks. The "doors" were very small. There were about 10 of them, curved, facing the sea, right on the bluff. I asked a guide who was there their purpose. They were ancient houses, used for ceremonial purposes only. They would choose a governor during a festival held there every year. As we came around one of the houses we saw one of the 3 volcanic lakes on the island. It is almost entirely filled with reeds, making it appear rather shallow. I thought volcanic lakes were pretty much bottomless! Very different. On up another hill was one last rock house with natural rocks in front of it. Carved into those rocks were petroglyphs, very interesting. I'm glad we were able to see this last site before heading back to the ship.

 

Everyone we encountered commented on my Spanish. It made it a lot easier for the vendors, etc. Our driver was happy too, asking questions of me almost more than we did of him! He said his wife was very happy to see our ship by the beach today since she runs one of the little cafes there. Said she could watch the beautiful ship while doing dishes. I asked what she sells and was told empanada and fresh pineapple juice. I had read that empanadas were typical of Easter Island so of course wanted to try one. We've been on strict orders not to touch each other, wash our hands frequently, etc, because of some bug passengers brought back from Peru. Mel and another friend looked at me like I was nuts to eat the local food. Guess I'll see if I'm sorry tomorrow! Today, it was delicious. She made the empanada right there while we waited, fried in oil of course. Inside was fresh tuna, cheese and onion, yum. You have to try the local food once in a while.

 

After eating we headed back to the tender. I did get into the water up to my thighs. I was tempted to just jump in with my clothes on, but decided not to. I wiped my forehead when we were on the tender and the kleenex came off totally brown! We were filthy from all the dust being thrown up. It was heavenly to take a shower. I got in w/all my clothes on, including my sandals, to just wash the dust off everything. What a great day we had. We are so thankful to the Capt for making it possible. Hope we can say the same about the rest of the ports.