Magnificent Easter Island: Rapa Nui

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I'd never been anywhere as remote as Easter Island (Isla de Pascua/Rapa Nui). It's the most remote inhabited Island in the world (the flight was 5 hours from mainland Chile and we crossed two time zones to get there). The closest inhabited neighbour is Pitcairn Island, 2075 km (1289 miles) away with just 100 inhabitants. The minute you land you realise this place is very different. Actually before you land; we flew past the island and took a large u-turn to line up with the runway. The pilot needed to get it right as the runway ended and the Pacific Ocean began about 15 foot from where we stopped. The airport resembled a beach hut, the passport control were nowhere to be seen and we were adorned with fresh floral necklaces as we arrived...I could see I'd love this place. It had a distinctly Polynesian feel about it (strange that eh?) but with a Spanish slant. Most people on the island speak at least three languages: Spanish, Rapai (the native language) and French (as the nearest island, Tahiti is French speaking) plus plenty of people speak English too, which for me, is helpful. The island is a special territory of Chile and so the currency used is the Chilean peso. The population stands at just 5,800 people according to the 2012 census, of which some 60% are of the aboriginal Rapa Nui. The island is a triangular shape, is 24.6 km (15.3 miles) long, 12.3 km (7.6 miles) wide at its widest point and has an area of 163.6 km squared (63.2 miles squared) and so is not big at all.



My taxi driver took me to my hostel and I noticed how quiet the place was. I did read on the reviews that the hostel's staff are not often around but are very friendly and helpful when they are and this was evident straight away. It was the only hostel I could find (out of a total of three) on the internet that offered dorm rooms. If I booked a private room it would cost me a whole load more and Easter Island is expensive to start with. The cleaner let me in my room, she was lovely and friendly but spoke no English at all. I dropped my bag, freshened up and took off to have a wonder around. I met a French-Canadian couple at the front of the hostel and so the three of us decided to take a walk to one of the National Park sites. I'd booked myself on a full day tour through Expedia on the internet for the next morning, so my main aim for the day was to get some money out of one of the two ATMs on the island and get something to eat as well as have a little look around. I knew things would be expensive on the island but I was still a little taken aback to pay the equivalent of £5 for a small bowl of what were essentially oven chips and £1.80 for a bottle of water! I wouldn't be eating like a king here, that's for sure.



The next morning, I was up bright and early ready for my tour. I took advantage of the breakfast in the hostel, which was none too shabby actually with fresh fruit, juice, tea, coffee, pastry, cake, bread and jams. I waited outside my hostel at half nine which was the designated pick up time and by ten I was feeling a little fed up. I went back into the breakfast room and met the girl who runs the hostel. I told her that my tour hadn't shown up and so she phoned the number on the voucher. Long story short, I had emailed the address on the voucher twice, emailed Expedia themselves twice and I managed to get my mother to phone Expedia twice as I was having no confirmation despite my efforts to contact them, yet the tour company said they didn't know what hotel I was in. Absolute rubbish! And I told her as much. I was fuming, with only two full days on the island, my time was precious. They agreed to refund me the money and the hostel manager booked me on a half day tour for the afternoon. I decided not to waste my morning and did the Orongo trek by myself. Easter Island is a volcanic island with three extinct coalesced volcanoes. It is a steep walk up to the Rano Kau crater with its wetland that looks like a huge pond. It has a lot of plant life living in the crater which is sheltered from humans and cattle as well as having protection from the salinity of the sea, the wind and any fires.



That afternoon, I was picked up, as promised and joined a tour for the afternoon. We were taken to a few impressive spots on the island where we could see the Moai statues up close. They were amazing. It was quite breathtaking to drive and walk up to the massive sculptures. It was photo opportunity galore here and I was in my element. The island has many Moai statue sites and each one is spectacular in its own way. The afternoon was pretty relaxing as we were taken to a few sites and allowed to look around at our own leisure. I met a few friends on the tour, in particular Pratixa (or P as she often goes by) who is a British/Zimbabwean with Indian heritage who is also travelling alone in South America and Sebastian, a French Canadian who works in the Canadian Embassy in Lima and who was taking a short vacation on Easter Island. Both helped me make the next stage of my 'Cup Song' video and we enjoyed getting to know each other amongst the backdrop of the amazing ruins. I told P of my idea to be up before the sun in the morning to go to see the sunrise behind the 15 statues and she asked if she could join me. I was thrilled with that, for a few reasons, not least because I'd have company and really liked P but also because the taxi ride cost was for the car, regardless of how many people were in it. P messaged me later that evening to say that she had a German couple who she'd met on the plane who also wanted to join us. Great stuff.



The next morning we were up early and set out in the darkness towards the sea and the 15 restored statues that stand with their backs to the ocean. We literally couldn't see anything in the blackness as we tried to dodge the wild horse poo on the ground to find a good spot and all noted how eerie the Moais seemed in the dark. Soon, the sun began to rise and due to the cloudy sky, we were treated to glorious purples and yellows which gave way to a multitude of blues until the sun had finally risen. We took a load of photos (you can't even help yourself here) and enjoyed the views until it was time to depart for our hostels and have breakfast before going on the day's tour. So, as is my luck, as I was eating breakfast, I had a message from P to say that she was at the tour office and I was not booked on the full day tour. You can imagine how I felt; how could this be happening again?! P said I'd have to join the tour at the office in town and so I ran as fast as I could down to the centre with P a holding the bus for me. All I cared about at this point (on my last day on the island) was that I got on that tour. And so I managed to get there and we were off. Our guide was a Chilean lady who was very knowledgeable if not a touch stern and strict (Sebastian, P and I noted how we all felt like we were back in school). We were taken to various Moai sites and told about the history of the statues and the island. There are 887 statues on the island all created by the Rapa Nui people who are the indigenous Polynesian people of the island. There were many tribes on the island and a class system which saw the Long Ears people rule. Creating the statues caused deforestation and destruction and that together with fighting between the native people caused the population of the island to fall considerably by the time the European Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen found the island on Easter Sunday 1722 (hence the name). It was fascinating to see the massive statues and it's only then can you really comprehend how difficult a task it must have been to transport them across the island. Some Moais have hats (cylindrical stone hats that have been created using different volcanic rock from the island) and some have either lost their hats or never intended to have one in the first place. Some of the statues have been restored over the years and it is amazing to see them in their intended state. There are some statues that have not been transported and a huge one that has been carved out of the side of the rock face but has not been detatched. It's the largest of the statues by quite some way and there is a theory that this was the straw that broke the camel's back as it has been left there, unfinished at a time when the Long Ears were slaughtered by the lower class who were made to work in the quarries. Some believe that they were disgusted at the thought of having to transport the humongous Moai across the island and decided enough was enough and the uprising began. Whatever is the case, the natives have left the world an awe inspiring sight; an island full of creativity, mystery and beauty and I feel privileged and lucky to have had the pleasure of seeing it first hand for myself.



We ended the day's tour with a stop off at the beach. A beach that has white sand and crystal blue sea. A beach that has perfectly placed palm trees that surround a platform of 6 Moai statues with their back to the sparkling ocean. It was a perfect way to end the day and indeed the trip on the island. I'd love to say I'll be back one day, but realistically this was probably a once in a lifetime trip, one I'll never regret doing, despite the expense. I've always wanted to go to Easter Island and have always been intrigued by the story of the huge sculptress that make the island so famous and special and I'm so glad I made the effort to visit.

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