Blogs from Easter Island, Chile, South America - page 6

Geo: -27.1308, -109.342The rain today is "forcing" me to learn a little more about Rapa Nui's history and culture. So i went to visit the Museum of Anthropology, founded by German Missionary Sebastian Englert in the 1930's. In the afternoon i had some interesting chats with fellow travelers from the UK, Russia, Spain and Chile and we decided to watch Kevin Costner's "Rapa Nui" in the local movie theater. By the way, i would like to thank National Geographic Magazine for publishing a fascinating article on Easter Island in their latest issue. Nice birthday gift, NatGeo! ;) The fact that all three offer slightly different views on what happened at Rapa Nui reflects the ongoing controversy among scientists. Who's right...?Der Regen "zwang" mich, heute ein bischen mehr ueber Rapa Nui's Kultur und Geschichte zu lernen. Somit ... read more

Geo: -27.1112, -109.351Today i was hiking north along the West coast to Tahai and Hanga Kio'e to see the first couple of Rapa Nui's famous statues known as Moai's. Also, i saw the second famous thing about Easter Island, the incredible prices ;) Someone was trying to sell me two medium size tomatoes for $4. I thought: Nein.Heute bin ich entlang der Westkueste nach Tahai und Hanga Kio'e gewandert, um die ersten Moai's, Rapa Nui's gigantische Statuen zu sehen. Ausserdem konnte ich die zweite Beruehmtheit bestaunen, die unglaublichen Preise ;) Jemand versuchte mir heute zwei mittelgrosse Tomaten fuer US$ 4 zu verkaufen. Ich dachte: Dann nicht.... read more

I knew very little about the Easter Island except that a bunch of Europeans anchored their ship and pitched their tents there on Easter day a couple of centuries ago. I was aware of the statues that littered the island, but I think that was the extent of my knowledge. So, visiting this place with the goal of expanding my knowledge was enticing enough. Months ago I reserved my ticket (I was even able to fly business class cheaply on my way over there!). I settled into my obnoxious electrical seat that could adjust to accomodate my body up to a centimeter. Served with wine and delectable dishes, I wondered what this new world would hold. Or I could act crazy and hopefully be allowed to make the return trip to the mainland yet again in ... read more

Last day. It's almost over. Except for the painful part of flying for 2 days. Leaving Easter Island January 3rd, arriving home late January 4th (in theory) YYC.DFW.MIA.SCL.PLC.FTE.EZE.SCL.IPC.SCL.MIA.ORD.YYC 11 flights! We allowed a sleep in again (amazing we were getting used to this laziness so quickly), partially because we didn't want to go home, and partially because neither of us wanted to pack. Michele had 4 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of olive oil and a jar of jam. I had 2+2+jam plus now tee-shirts, gifts and other odds n sods to stuff in my bag. What was I thinking buying presents? Seriously? I love you all, but.......... To give you an idea of just how much stuff I had acquired, when we finished our trek, my pack was just over 13kg (after I ate ... read more

Today was a sleep in day; and that surprisingly we did! After a lazy breakfast where the hotel had left each of us an individual plate of chocolate and cookies for New Years, we decided to go for a hike to the window caves I had read about. As I mentioned, getting lost on Easter Island is virtually impossible, however it is still a bit unnerving not knowing where you are going exactly; other than 'north'. Freida had offered to bring me a map, but we were not seeing him until the afternoon and we both wanted to do the caves that morning, so off we went, 'that way'. It was a quiet morning, sun shining and of course no shade (remember, no trees.....) so we were both heating up, even with my 55 block and ... read more