Winds, waves, caves and , quite frankly, bloody big statues.

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So the 5 hour overnight express got us into Easter Island quite smoothly. With that once in a lifetime stroke of luck we actually got of the back of the plane, through immigration (almost a manual process by a mere 2 officers), were almost the first to get our bags, almost definitely the first to get our flower necklaces and our booked ride to the accomodation in probably less than 15 minutes.... There might have still been a few people still on the plane....

Entonces.... Anyways. We had booked the Kona Tau hostel ( hostelling international affiliated, but nothing like a hostel). Main reason being it was the cheapest on offer, but at 50US$ a night still not a bargain. With no sleep from my part (Rene) any bed would do, but after a good powernap, we did ask for a room with an actual window in it, as the first room on offer had not much to offer in the fresh air department. Dispite a few mishaps with water leakage (shower) the place was just fine, and I'm sure the rest of the vileage had to enjoy either the late night howling of dogs or indigenous dance music from the pubs as well. The breakfast was very good, and dispite some language barriers the people where exceptionally friendly. Mamma was even friendly enough to brew something hot for Bin to help her with her chest infection. We're still not sure about the actual contents, but it did work, and we reciprocated with giving her some left over pasta. Enough of all of that though.

In short, I think we were onto a good start hear. Our plan wasn't just to see all of those statues, but also take it easy and catch up on some Zzzz's. And with 8 days all up, it wouldn't be too hard to see most of the island which was just 30kms in length. You could quite easily do it all in 2/3 days I'd say. Some good tips. The museum is a must! If you don't speaka the Espagnol, book a tour with an English speaking guide (have seen a few locals struggle and not get the message across). Ours was with Tahai tours. If you have time, hike, ride or drive up to the volcano tops for some magnificent views. Try some local food, of course, as it's all relatively cheap.

The name of the museum is Sebastian Englert. Is named after a missionary who was one of the first to come across and studio the lost culture and also start some initial basic restaurations. The museum is in essence just a single small hall with pictures, old tools, artifacts and pieces of old statues. One of the more impressive being an original eye, made out of coral, of a Moai. You actually get a complete booklet with the translation of everything in the museum, including 6 odd theories of HOW the Moai's were moved from the volcano quarry to their platforms. This also being one of the fun parts of the island: any story they tell you could be completely true, or completely fabricated. No one really knows the whole truth about the statues. Either way, you end up spending 4 times as much time in that little museum than you think, but end up leaving with a great feeling of knowing so much more about the island and it's history.

And now for some quick language tips:
Moai: statue (yip, that's all)
Ahu: platform
Ana: cave

A clan chief or king would commission a Moai to be built to resemble them. Once approved as being a statue worthy to the chief, it would be moved overland to the Ahu of the clan. This could be a 10m high statue weighing in at over 50 tons, travelling over 15kms !!! My favourite theory still is that of Make Make, or the almighty force from above. It has Star Wars written all over it. Once erected the eye sockets would be carved out, and whenever the chief would pass away, the coral eyes would be set into the eye sockets, and thus absorb the chief's spirit. The Moai, and any other chief's Moai would then watch over the clan's safety and well being from the Ahu.

Apparently only 1 in 3 Moai's made it to it's Ahu. Most broke in construction or in transport, leaving the island strewn with (broken) statues.

Most Moai don't have the eyes anymore. One still has, but apparently their far from original. Most Moai are also laying down these days, either pushed over in clan wars, or thrown down by erosion and other forces of nature.

The quarry at the central volcano is where all Moai's were carved. Now it still astounds me to see that as so many other cultures, the Rapa Nui really went out of their way to make things very, very hard for themselves. They would actually carve the Moai out of the cliff face, usually at a steap angle and at least 20 meters high up the mountain! This being very porous and brittle rock, it's easy to see whay most didn't even make it out of the quarry in one piece! There are even Moai's cut out at the top of the volcano.... And as per male nature, not all Moai's are as big as others, so they started one which measures over 21 meters in hight... Someone must've come to their senses as they didn't finish it. So the whole quarry is a photographic feast, and it's what postcards are (literally) made off.

Ahu Tongariki is the almighty one: 15 restored Moai's lined up on their Ahu with their backs to the Pacific. Apparently destroyed by a tsunami in the sixties, and by the generosity of a Japanese businessman, restored in the early nineties. It's a fenominally impressive sight, and considering it's size, also very humbling. Behind it are also remains of first genaration Moai's which were found underneath the Ahu when it was restored. Tongariki being a third generation, meaning they would build new Ahu's on top of old one's from time to time.

Ahu Anakena at first glance looks like one which was left behind by Kevin Costner (who produced the film Rapa Nui) as it's set at a white coral sand beach in between palm trees. These Moai's are almost perfectly preserved as they were covered in white sand for centuries. This was also where they found the one coral eye! The eye was used to replicate the eyes for all of the Anakena Moai's but once they were set in the Moai's the Rapa Nui people got suspicious that this might awaken the old 'long ears' (the old ruling class) and bring them back again to rule over the (surviving) 'short ears' again. In fear of locals turning hysterical and toppling the Moai's the authorities decided to remove the eyes again, so at this point all that is left of this are photographs and postcards, of course.

Just a reminder at this point that this is what we've been told, and might very likely differ from the story your tour guide might tell you..... But feel free to read on any way!

And just to top the visit to Anakena of, there was a great surf that day for some body surfing. A couple of great slam dunks, nearly lost a contact lens, but very refreshing to end the tour !

After 2 nights of drinking mamma´s magic potion - to which I am still as curious as ever to find out what it was ... i was ready, willing and able to jump in the saddle and check out some of the sites of the islands via horseback.
yee haa
giddy up.
lets ride em hills, lets put some dust behind us and feel the wind rush through our hair.
ok, Easter Island is only 30km and since we had seen most of the other side of the island, the remaining part was the caves.
lots of ém.
big. dark. cliff straddling caves.
¨Dos ventanas¨ means 2 windows.
unlike most countries you may travel, there were no guard rails, no warning signs to watch your step … just a lovely Rapa Nui lady called Elissa reminding us to ¨mira tu cabeza¨ ¨mira tu pie¨
So with not much more than some torch light, we ended up overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean from the inside of the cave.
back into the saddle and hi ho silver away, at break neck walking speed, it was time to check out another cave. this time, it was explained that the locals lived and dwelled, grew fruit and veg and had fresh water. approximately 20 m into the dark cave with the same warnings issued as above, our lovely guide ran out of the big torch light … you´d think this would be sufficient to back back a little, but loss of light didn’t stop her, it was onwards we went, with only some small indiciation of light to guide us.
no sign of light behind us, no sign of light in front of us.
it was at about this point that i started to wonder if this was such a sensible idea and where in fact we were heading (information we hadn´t sourced prior to entering the cave). I thought about communicating these ideas to Rene, however I couldn´t see him … I knew he wasn´t far behind though as I could hear the comforting sound of stumbling footsteps.
turns out this was a the big kahuna. the 100m underground tunnel.
quiet impressive reallly, but the horses were waiting outside ...
a wander up the road and an opportunity for a wee canter for the goose and we got to admire the 7 moai that face the sea. one of the stories is that they were erected in honour of the explorers that found the island. inspiring if only for the distance they were erected away from the quarry and allows some foray into the possibilities of how the moai were moved from the quarry all the way to the platform ... my favourite theory being that once complete the moai would take on a spirit of their own and walk themselves there.
i like the thought of the big stone statutes wandering the island in search of a final resting place ....
back to the ranch and after a quick wash, it was time to spruce up and head out for an evening of traditional culture. most of the town was set to be at the umu that night and there was an allocation for the tourists who would be interested in some traditional home cooking and dancing.
an umu is an underground barbie - pretty much the same as the kiwi (hangi) tradition.
a barbie is a barbie anywhere in the world really and here was no different.
the big boys dig a big hole and make big fire in the bottom. the lovely ladies then pass the boys the meat wrapped in banana leaves and the boys deposit it at the bottom. the layering appoach is then adopted and the chicken is layed next, then the fish, then the veg. its all covered over and presumably everyone sits back with something refreshing to drink while the cooking is done.
some time later, there is a big comotion and the boys return to dig up the food. the food is placed on platters and then walked over the big tables where the salads have been prepared.
the only difference perhaps at this barbie was the lovely big boy in the moo moo (dress) serving up the meat.
to the elation of all the meat eaters in the room the meat was cooked well and portions were plentiful.
i can confirm that the sweet potato was lovely.
the dancers arrived next and what a treat for everyone. body paint, shaking hips, fierce tongues, big drums, spears and of course strategically placed coconuts.
the island´s best two dance groups were on show that evening and we were swept away for a few hours and transported to the native beginnings of the Rapa Nui.

As per usual when travelling, we ran into some like minded trallers, Alex and Lisa from the south east coast of England. They were one a tighter timeframe than us, and as we just wanted to do a few more things, agreed to double up on renting a small Suzuki 4wd for 2 days. With a slight delay (as the 2 of them also lost track of time in the museum) we set out on a short tour again, in which we could regurgitate some of our knowledge to them, after which they dropped us of at Anakena so we could enjoy the (only) white sand beach once more. That evening also walking out to enjoy the sunset at Ahu Tahai. And as per guide books, this is also where every man and his dog goes to do the very same thing. The photographic trick this time being to try to hide a cargo ship behind the statue so it doesn't show up in your photo!!

On the second day of 4wd pleasure, we revisited the caves, Ahu Akivi, and then made our way up the big volcano. At just over 500m it's not a giant, but you can make it all the way to the top to enjoy the 360 degree view! We couldn't really see the curvation of the earth, but either way, very spectacular indeed. The drive up had been an adventure to the dutchman anyway, requiring a downshift to low gearing several times, and even having the women abandon ship (sorry, car) when it got a bit too steep!

On the way back, visiting the red rock quarry where the big top knots (yes, they are hair knots, not hats) were made, and also visiting a few Ahu's near the airport, one apparently sporting a female Moai! To top of the drive we went back up the southern volcano Rona Kau again to enjoy the view once more. Arguably walking up is just as quick, considering the state of the road.

The entertaining part here being, that of all the things one can break in a car whilst four-wheel-driving, we managed to break not one, but buth window leavers....

The last night of our stay we finally got to have dinner in Pea, the restaurant overlooking the Pacific, and watching Costner's 'Rapa Nui' movie at one of the hotels. As per tour guide Bill's words, 'the story is crap, but the scenery is breathtaking'! No truer words about this flick.

A great stay, in one of the most mystical and desolate islands of this big planet.

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