Freedom; last full day on Hopity hopity Isle

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Easter Island. Hanga Roa. Rapa Nui. Isla de Pascua. Call it what you will, but I do like "Belly Button of the Earth". It's appropriate and you do get that feeling when you are so, so isolated from anything.



Today was our last full day on the Island, we had plans to go to the beach, do some shopping, relax, enjoy and just chill. It had been 17 days of a full adventure on our vacation, and the thought of doing mostly nothing sounded appealing, and Easter Island felt like the perfect place to do so.

To get to Anakena beach, you can hire a taxi to take you round trip and you just schedule a pick up time, cost is about $25US. We had our taxi pick us up around 10 and had plans to be picked up at 12:30. 2.5 hours of the beach with intense heat, no shade and nothing to do other then lay there we figured was plenty. OK, let's be honest here. Michele could have spent the entire day at the beach, but yours truly, AKA pasty girl can't live that long in the sun and with no options for shade for me, I offered to let her go on her own, but she wanted to do some shopping as well, so it worked out in the end.

17 days of glorious weather to date, we had been blessed by Mother Nature. Until this morning. We are relaxed on the beach, it was quiet at this point (remember Chilean's don't know what AM is) other than a few other people. Ned notices black cloud off to the west. Crosses fingers. Looks again, it's closer. Thinks positive thoughts. Looks again. Points to it and pokes Michele. Yup. it poured. What to do when your at the beach and there is no shelter and it's raining? Go in the ocean!



We stayed about 1/2 hour until the rain let up; just in time as the water is not that warm, and I was getting a chill. Of course all our stuff was wet, but thankfully the sun came back out and most of it dried before our taxi came back to get us. Too bad really, Michele was SO looking forward to soaking up some sun, and the irony of the rain made me laugh!



Our lazy afternoon was filled with wandering the artisans markets, window shopping, buying and mailing postcards, getting our passports stamped at the Post Office, all those touristy things you wait until the last minute to do. We even made it to 'my' coffee shop, the one place Lonely Planet said had good coffee on the island. Every time in the past we had tried, they were closed. So we had lunch and it turns out they have great ice cream too, so Michele and I both got our fixes! Was a perfect spot to watch the first group of new tourists stroll around, we acted like we'd lived on the island for years, picking out the newbies:-)



We decided to continue with the theme of relaxing, and had Patio Party #2. I had scored the full lounge chairs while everyone else was away, and the 2 of us read, wrote postcards, drank wine/beer and just reveled in the mellowness. Man I could SO get used to that. I kept asking Michele if I should feel guilty for doing nothing (No) and she kept asking me if I was bored yet (No). Perfect afternoon.



We had agreed the food was so good at the local pizza place (it was packed with locals the previous night, for eat in and take out) that we were going back. Food on Easter Island lacked, shall we say, luster, and because the island is generally so expensive, it was getting a bit frustrating paying so much for so little. But the Pizza joint was fast, cheap and amazing. We went back, but had to wait until it opened, this time I ordered pizza without hot peppers!



I still had blogging to do, but the memories of my holiday were swarming around in my brain, and perpetually put a smile on my face. I had waited years to come here, saved for a while, and to say it was worth every moment, every penny is an understatement. Patagonia exceeded my expectations, and Easter Island submerged me in a land of mystery and uniqueness that has peaked my interest. Things like that you simply can't read in a book; you just have to see, to feel, to explore. How can you fall in love with a destination unless it can appeal to your senses?



I love traveling.

Did I mention that I love traveling?

I love traveling. It completes me:-)

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Photos

Isla de Pasqua
Local Wildlife

Isla de Pasqua
Tourist Wildlife

Isla de Pasqua
Michele enjoying the park

Oronogo
hieroglyphics

Isla de Pasqua
Natural caves