In the morning we went to the bank, where people in Hawaiian shirts were extremely friendly and helpful. After, we bought a fresh pineapple and some lunch, as we were sharing a 4WD with Isabel and Sonia today.

We picked up Isabel, who is staying Chez Oscar, which was actually where we thought it was, only there is no sign. We took off with a few hiccups, stopping for petrol and cd's (Isabel had a slightly strange taste though she probably thought the same of me).

There was a horcerace as part of the festival and we saw a few riders galopping by at breakneck speeds, some had their face painted but perhaps they were at the bodypainting last night.

After that, we worked our way around the main sites on the east coast. Ahu Vaihu had eight toppled moai, their topknots (thought to be a once-common hairstyle, not a hat) scattered around them. Most of the fallen moai have their face down, which, as a sign of disrespect, could have been part of the warfare which has been said to decimate the original Rapa Nui population. Akahanga, the next one along the coast, also has most moai face down.

The first highlight of our trip was Rano Raraku, the quarry where there are 50 unfinished moai, some of them half buried. In the rocks are about 160 moai in various stages of carving. When you come over the top of the rim, you get a great view of the crater, which has freshwater in it. As part of the festival, the islanders hold a totora reed boat race in the crater every year. There are about 80 more moai inside the crater. With about 30 at the bottom of the mountain, this makes a grand total of 320 moai!

After that, we got to Ahu Tongariki, another highlight and place to get snap-happy. Fifteen huge moai were re-erected after a tsunami hit them in 1960 and they were washed inland. The topknots are still scattered, only one has been replaced. There are a few petroglyphs around as well. Keiron and I got a bit carried away with the camera.

Ahu Te Pito Kura is one of the biggest ones, but it has fallen and we only stopped briefly. The ocean in this part, the northern side of the island, is a colour of amazing blue and turquoise and the four of us stared, mesmerised, at the waves crashing into the rocks.

Next stop was Anakena beach, picture perfect, with palm trees, clean white sand, rolling waves and bright blue water. Not only that, it is overlooked by Ahu Nau Nau, with seven moai, all restored, and one lonely moai, Ahu Ature Huki, a bit further up. We had lunch and after, Sonia and I had a swim, while Isabel sunbathed and Keiron relaxed under a palm tree. It really doesn't get much better than that.

At about six, we took the road through the centre of the island and in the evening Keiron and I had dinner, this time just the two of us. We went to Te Moana and I had a great ceviche (with raw fish, lemon juice, tomato, cucumber and onion) and rice. Keiron had a huge plate of cerdo (pork) chau mein. It was the perfect end to a great day.