Isla de Pascua, Pacific Ocean

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So after meeting Sarah at Santiago Airport, we sat around for about 5 hours drinking coffee, and then took off for Easter Island. During the 4 and half hour flight I managed to watch Cadillac Records, a film about the label Muddy Walters and co were on, not bad for a film with Beyonce in it!! and Brideshead Revisited which I didnt get quite to the end, so if someone has seen it, please let me know how it ends..

Anyway Easter Island; its a beautiful place, the remotest inhabitated island in the world. population approximately 3800. The first day we were there, we walked around where everyone lives Hanga Roa. Its fairly small, but Sarah and me still managed to get a bit lost, hey ho my sense of direction hasnt improved.

The next three days we hired a scooter, 50cc of awsume power, no crash helmets, but hey there are only two roads on the island and not many cars! So we stopped off every so often looking at Moai. A lot of them are laying face down in the earth due to (they think) a tribal war where they were toppled over.

Anyway there a lots and lots of them, but we had a fanastic few days driving about in the sun shine. We visited Ranu Raraku the volcano cone where the Moai were carved, and all around the volcano there are Moai facing away waiting to be transported, it is quite amazing to see especially when you realise that some which look fairly small have infact sunk into the ground by 20-30 feet. There is one which has been carved but not removed which is 70 feet long. Truly amazing. How did they ever move them!!!

Nearby to this were Ahu Tongariki, which is where there are 15 Moai all standing in a line. They were restored (lifted onto there platform) - which took about 5 years - with the help of a team and various lifting gear from Japan.

The beach at Anakena? was absolutely gorgeous, surrounded by palm trees, and the pacific ocean as blue as blue can be. Of course we had to go for a swim (jealous!)

We also visited Ahu Akivi, which has the only platform on the island where the Moai (7 of them) face the ocean.

Orongo which is a village built on the rim of a volcano crater. The view from the top is outstanding especially as part of the rim has collapsed and you can see the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop behind it. The village was used for only a small apart of the year practicing ancients rituals etc. The stones have petrogylphs carved in them of birdman, the cult that is believed to have lived there after the statue building cult.

Anyway all in all it was a fanastic week and well worth the visit. See you in Valparaiso :-)

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