Easter Island
Ola! We have just spent a relaxing 10 days on Easter Island (a.k.a. Rapa Nui in Polynesian). This is one of the most remote places on earth – the nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn which is 2,000 km away. It was a 5 ½ hour flight from Santiago (Easter Island has been a Chilean territory since 1888) but the time flew by, since everybody had their own audio visual set in front of them (I watched 2 movies – Oceans Eleven and Troy).
Upon arrival, we had many hostels (called residenciales) vying for our business. Although we had a special one in mind from the guide book, we couldn’t resist looking at one offered for a quarter of the price (since we were going to stay for 10 days, a deal at $25/night). The photos looked nice and the location seemed perfect, so we decided to give it a try. Another Brazilian couple (mother and daughter) also decided to check it out, so all four of us squeezed into the back seat of a jeep.
Within a few minutes, we arrived at Residential Apina Tupuna (www.apinatupuna.com). We checked out a room and concluded that we would try it for a night, but would still check out some others while walking around later that day. The view facing the Pacific Ocean was perfect, it was just the room itself was a little dated, to say the least. It seemed like they had put it together with whatever materials they had laying around (e.g., bathroom tiles on our porch, porch tiles in the bathroom, two different types and colours of tiles in the bedroom area, plain wood nailed on the inside of the room, a colorful sarong nailed up on one side of the room, etc). I didn’t see any cockroaches, but presumed they would emerge come nightfall. At least the sheets and towels smelled fresh n’ clean.
Within minutes of walking along the coast to the main town of Hanga Roa, we were thrilled to see our first moai – giant stone statues. These impressive statues, as we later found out, are located all around the island. Out of a total of 887, 288 are standing upright (and I think I ended up taking photos of almost each and every one of them!). The rest were either toppled over in tsunamis, knocked down by rival tribes, or remain unfinished in the volcano of Rano Raraku, the quarry from which the moai were cut from the hard “tuff”.
As we continued through town to check out other lodging possibilities, we finally came upon the small guesthouse we had originally planned to stay at. Even though we were in low season, the rate was $125 US (up from $75 as published in the 2006 Lonely Planet guidebook), so we decided to stay at our original residenciale, and with the money we were saving, rent a 4 x 4 jeep for our stay ($40/day).
Now, we had wheels, an oceanfront room, plus 10 days to patiently tour 117 sq. km. (Easter Island’s maximum length is 24 km and its widest point is 12 km). There are only a couple of main, paved roads – one of which leads to the very north of the island to Anakena Beach (about a 20 minute drive). The other paved road leads southeast beyond the airport, along the coast to the volcanic quarry, as well as to the famous site of Ahu Tongariki. This impressive monument is the largest “ahu” (stone platform) ever built and 15 moai are erected upon it.
Having the jeep gave us lots of flexibility. If the weather was overcast in town, we’d hop in the jeep and drive north to the white sand beach where it would be sunny and clear. Although a volcanic island, Anakena and the neighboring beach, Ovahe, have beautiful white sand. Given Easter Island’s location just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun’s rays were very powerful so the waters of the Pacific Ocean, although refreshing, were welcoming.
The weather was okay during the 10 days we were there – between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius, a mix of sun and cloud, and only a few rainy spells. Since it is in the southern hemisphere, it is their spring (during our fall). The horses on the island still had their “winter” haircoats since they are just coming off their winter season.
Speaking of horses – there were horses everywhere!!! If they weren’t sporting a brand, that means they were wild. We did see many wild horses on the island roaming freely. Several times, we had to give way to horses crossing the roadway. Mostly bays with white, but some sorrels, chestnuts, and roans. They were between 14.3 and 15.3 hands high. On our second last day, we went horseback riding for almost 4 hours ($45 each). We rode to the top of the highest point on the island – 510 metres. I had a sorrel mare and Fred rode a great, bay gelding. I couldn’t believe how well-mannered the horses were. There were 10 of us on the ride (5 French, 3 German, and the two of us) with the Rapa Nui guide, Pantu. None of the horses spooked, kicked one another, or misbehaved. Fred and I were the only ones with experience, for many, it was their first experience on a horse and Pantu had them trotting most of the way. It was no easy ride either, since it was either uphill, or downhill. I didn’t quite catch the names of our horses, I just remember them each being 2 syllables and Polynesian.
Other memorable highlights of Easter Island include:
– beautiful sunsets over the Pacific Ocean
– celebrating Fred’s birthday with a barbeque chicken lunch and a couple of Coronas at the beach, followed by a swim in the ocean
– hiking up to a crater lake in the volcano
– hiking up to the most eastern side of the island in search of, and finding, “Poike“, the smallest moai at 1.13 metres
– figuring out all the different petroglyphs in the volcanic rocks
– watching kids gallop their horses up and down the main street, bareback, with just a rope in the mouth for control
– watching mens’ competitive soccer matches from the balcony of our restaurant
– visiting the museum and learning about the island’s rich, and mysterious history
– knowing that Thor Heyerdahl (author of the book: The Kontiki) helped erect a fallen moai at Anakena Beach
– having the time to revisit the sites, especially Rano Raraku and seeing “The Giant” moai
– experiencing an election (for Mayor – on a Sunday – so they closed every restaurant serving alcohol which was pretty much, every one) so we had to eat at a local’s corner shop and we finally got served after at least an hour and a half.
Now, we are back to Santiago, staying at the “Happy House Hostel” which was Lonely Planet’s “Author’s Choice”. Once again, the price has gone up since time of writing from $50, to $62/night for a double room with private bath. But, it is in a great location, in a beautifully restored 19th century building, has Cable TV in the lounge, and Wi-Fi (hence, I am able to upload this blog as well as photos to Flickr and prints to Walmart).
Tomorrow, we are off to Argentina. We’ve booked a semi-calma (reclining seat) to Mendoza ($35 each) and it is a 7 ½ hour journey. Looking forward to Mendoza – home of the best Merlot!
Until next time,
Lisa n Fred
Tags: Chile, Easter Island, Travel
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