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SATURDAY
Everyone has seen a picture or watched tv and seen the mysterious statues called maoi standing tall and watching over the flock on the green volcanic slopes of Easter Island.Theres something about going to a place thats known the world over through images seen from time to time as life wanders along its merry path.I had the same feel at the pyramids of Giza and again at Machu Pichu in Peru.So here I was again in a place that id never visited but seemed to know so well.
Lan Chile is a fine airline and put me after a five hour flight comfortably down in the small airport of Hanga Roa the islands capital.People were there to take you to a hotel of their choice but I had already opted for the far cheaper campsite that sits overlooking the great Paciffic ocean at the towns south western edge.
Put the bike together in a few minutes after unpacking it from its sheet that ive kept from the markets of Bissau and was heading off having changed from trousers to shorts to accomadate the tropical sunshine.
Birdman statues and maoi stared out at me from the now empty airport as I
left.
Hanga Roa is a small town of some 3800 inhabitants, many born there and are true Rapa Nuis but other have come from the new motherland of Chile and yet fewer still from Polynesia , an area now scientists have proven to be the land of their ansestors 1400 years ago.
There are no huge buildings in Hanga Roa,small houses with tropical gardens jostle for position with artisan shops ,resturants and other tourist fair.
Planes come in everyother day laiden with fresh tourists eagar to get abroad and hunt for mystical maoi.
I made camp at Hanga Roa paying 4500 chillean pesos per day(about 5 pounds sterling) and took in the scenery.Grand Orongo stood off to my left as laid back Hanga Roa stood to my right and the deep blue sea crashed relentlessly in front.
I cycled down to the Ahu Tahai at sunset,those of us who had gathered there were in for a treat as the sun set and turned the sky an autumn red.I sat whiskey in hand the silhouettes of the maoi on the reconstuted ahu(platform) turn darker and darker as the sky became redder and redder and realised a lifes ambition unfolding in front
of me and was glad to have a good bottle in hand if not my better half who was far away in europe.
Passed the evening with some young Chilleans(everybodies young these days) who couldnt perswade me to make merry on this fine saturday night as wisdom got the better of me and knew if I went then the sunday would be a non event.
SUNDAY
Sunday bought exellent weather,the wind seems to blow a bit here looking at the trees and bushes that grow here ,bent at gusty angles.I was ready for my 2 day trip and had bought supplies sufficient for such time.Bike was packed like a donkey and had a 5 km climb out of the town all the while wondering if id be stopped by an official asking where I would be going with so many things .
Rapa Nui is a national park and camping as far as I could gather was only allowed in Hanga Roas official campsite.But as Ray Mears says leave it as you found it,which has always been our phylosophy.Did feel a bit guilty though as I do respect the land around me if not certain rules that go with it.But
be asured all rubbish was carried back to the local rubbish tip along with some odds and ends of other rubbish.
Water was my main burden to carry,I had 6 bottles of one and a half litres which I would ration 3 a day.
I was amazed at the similarity in coastline to Cornwall in my native England or to the Kerry coastline in South west Ireland.I was stunned,was I not as far from home as id ever been yet here I stood in a landscape more familiar to me than most.
The black rock, the crashing sea and the pounding surf albeit theres alot less maoi statues in Polzeath or Catherdaniel and not so many volcanic peaks but all the same a fine hint of home.
I followed the dirt track, hard packed and well maintained along the south eastern coastline.A road called camino coastal.Fantastic views to the end of the island where the massive Poike volcano rises.
Heres where the Ahu platforms begin in earnest,most have been destroyed in the clan fighting that happened here when the tribes became desperate after using up the natural resorses on the island ,they took to toppling the statues as they beleived
it gave the various different groups their power.
Still they are impressive.One of the things I liked about Easter Island was that you get alot of the Ahu and maoi to yourself,even at the more popular reconstructed sites like Ahu Tongariki.This adds to the mystery of the place.Rather than rubbing shoulders with bus loads of camera totting tourists at other well known destinations.
The wind was a bit of a pain cycling along the south east coast,although locals are quick to point out that "this aint nothin".Still it wasnt all that bad and later that day I found a sheltered little bay to fish in using the bait of the island,chicken.I had bites straight away and in no time had pulled a small but tasty little fish out of the water.I thought my luck was in but they proved wily little devils and it became my only catch in a 2 hour session.Happy enough though,I wrapped him up for my dinner later that evening.
The rest of the day was spent wandering along the coast,finding the odd sea cave with cave paintings of the cult of the birdman.
This was a cult that sprang up after the fighting eased and
the people realized that if they were to continue this way then the end would not be far away.Marrooned on the island after cutting down the final trees they looked to the skies and saw great powers in the birds that flew there.What freedom!
Gone were the boats to catch fish and with no trees little chance of escape from the island.And little chance of fish.
So the clans held a race every year, each chief would take his best warrior and send him to be first to swim to a small isle a kilometre off the coast where the great birds of this cult laid their eggs.Through shark infested waters they would swim,place the egg carefully in a headband and then swim back finally climbing the steep cliffs of Orongo.
The chief of the winning warrior would then have first say in the division of food and be granted the best fields for his tribe.Thus the islanders began to prosper again.
It was disease from visiting ships that finished them off along with slave boats from Peru.
I camped not far from one of these caves and took care in not being spotted from the road.The wind had died
down alot as the sunset and I made rice and my catch while swigging from my whiskey bottle to the sounds of crashing waves.Probably my best sleep ever in this tent.
MONDAY
Got caught up in a rain shower in the morning,when it rains here it pisses down,diving for cover under my fly sheet it soon passed leaving me with wet belongings but a fine rainbow.
It was a short ride upto the extinct volcano and the "factory" of Rano Ranaku where an estimated 400 maoi(half of the islands statues) await visitors in various states of completion.Some ,half finished ones are truely massive,one half carved from the rock must of been 60 foot long and god knows how heavy.Scientists argue about how they were transported,but the main theory seems to be ropes , logs and alot of manpower,somewhat akin to the druids of stonehenge.
Its an impressive place walking amoung the heads along side this volcano over looking the ocean.The park rangers keep a beady eye on you though,and youre under strict instructions not to stray from the path.A couple of years ago a finnish tourist was caught trying to hack off an ear for a souvenier.He was banished and
fined about 8000 pounds sterling.Silly twat.
From here it was onto Ahu Tongariki.A place that can be viewed from Raraku.This is the most impressive Ahu of the lot,rebuilt by a joint Chillean and Japanese crew some years back.Amazing!15 maoi on a huge Ahu under the cliffs of the mighty Poike volcano at the eastern end of the island.
Wild horses ran about and I almost had the place to myself.
I say almost because out of the bushes a local came running out,not an ordinary local mind you a proper 15th century local wearing a loin cloth and carring root veg and a massive feathered club.He didnt seem to like where the horses were going,right over to his veg garden.He wandered passed me and seemed to mention something about the horses in Rapa Nui(the local tongue)I think I said "yeah they get everywhere" in english.He left.
My camera battery was in a bit of trouble showing in the red all the time,which was a bit worrying since I wasnt nearly done with photographing.Still on I went having a spot of lunch on the calmer north side of the island.
A steady bike ride brought me past petroglyphs of tuna and
boats,showing the ancient ways of the islanders.Many more Ahu on this side and one huge maoi called Pano.Hes the biggest at around 15 feet.Next to him were "magic" stones.This site has a smooth magnetic rock that makes your fingers tingle when pressed near to it.No doubt used in some old tradition.
My fingers were tingling enough as it was,this side of the island has the bumpiest part of the road but soon enough I was at Anakena beach......with a flat camera battery....bugger.
What a place though!Coconut palms swayed in the breeze the electric blue waters of Anakena bay looked very tempting and the Ahu Nainai finished a very polynesian landscape on this fine white beach..So this is where everyone is.Like a load of seals basking on the beach the locals mixed with the tourists down on the beach and in the sea.
Well I had a wander around,not going into the sea today,but im coming back,my cameras seen to that.I was happy enough wandering around and getting water from the ladies toilet sinks.I was reasured that if I had a strong stomach then the water from the tank wouldnt kill me.Good news then.This was the only water I could get,
and I was clean out.I ll boil it ,things should be alright.Certainly not paying for a can of coke here ,itll bankrupt me.
As im short on water im going to have to change tactics abit.I decided instead to head back over the island using the"main" road.It was avery steep 6km uphill to the top where I had stunning views back across to Poike and then down through lovely smelling ecyliptus wood land and down and down back to an area I passed yesterday near to the quarry that would be suitablr for camping.
Had a fish in the evening without success but plenty of bites and headed up to my camping bluff for a night of high adventure...in my book that is.Anyone whos read Moonfleet by J M Falkner knows its a good book to read to crashing waves and a drop of smugglers whiskey...yaaarrrrrrr!
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
Short trip back into town today,where I chucked my tent back up on the camping after checking online weather.Its not good reading for tomorrow here so it looks like im gonna get to know Hanga Roa a bit better.
Which is a busy little place but in that laid back Rapa
Nui way.The 1st thing you notice is that everyone seems to know each other.As you wander along the main street people call out in spanish or rapa nui to friends and collegues.
There are about 3 bigger supermarkets there,all a bit pricey considering they have to import all the packaged goods.Wine was cheap enough though,too my delight.There are many minimarts but I steered clear of them after one expensive visit.Also there are many tourist based shops including numerous craft shops,mountain bike hire,scuba,internet,tour guides and many resturants and bars.Lots of the buildings there are single storey with corrigated iron roofs.Houses are a fair size with lovely tropical gardens.Hanga Roa also has a church, harbour and football pitch(which attracts a fair crowd on match day).
Today I washed a few odds and ends at the camp and got to know a few more of the guests.Matt and Andrea the maple flag wearing canadians were a good laugh.Matt and I became entangled in a grueling 3 hour plus game of chess(which I have to point out I won),although he had his revenge the following evening.
The afternoon was taken up with a ride upto Ahu Kivi or siete maois as they are better
known.My company was a young fellow called Pancho a Chillean lad who knew a bit of history on the island and told me the siete(seven) maoi were also called the "bad boys" due to the fact that they are the only statues that face the sea and therefore are being punished by the gods.
They are also the furthest inland, reconstructed and are another remarkable effort on behalf of the archieologists and builders to give us a fair idea of what they looked like hundreds of years ago.
After ,Pancho and I went to a cave towards the sea(the nameme of which escapes me now)What a cave too ,very long which opened up several times from passage ways to chambers.Glad to have my headtorch with me we investegated the dripping wet tunnels until we came upon and opening at the far end that brought us back to the surface a good 100 metres away from out bikes.It felt very adventurous as we were the only ones and greedly had the place to ourselves.We seemed to pick up one of the many stray dogs that took a like to me after I gave him a buiscuit and the silly bugger followed
us back to town, a good 8 km away.
The following day brought the rain that was predicted and washed the whole day away.I recomend waterproofs for the island as its prone to rain storms due to its isolation and its rain attracting volcanic peaks.Having thrown away my waterproofs in the western sahara some months ago I took to the honourable art of wine drinking in the afternoon and the rest of the day became somewhat of a blur.
THURSDAY
Feeling clever with a red wine carton hangover I began my 53km circuit of the island late with a 10km uphill ride through the centre of the island and sweated out the previous nights festivities.Passing through a ecyliptus forest which was sweet with the smell of oils thanks to yesterdays rain.Following that theres a great view of the eastern end of the island and a steep 5km ride down to Anakena beach which soon blew away the remaining toxic cobwebs.
Anakena is, as ive said before everything poynesian,with the added bonus of a female Ahu.This ones quite famous and a regognisable landmark due to its powdery white sands, electric blue waters and coconut palms in the background.A fine place for
Ahu Nuinui to stand watch over the people.
I was in the sea pretty quick, far too tempting to just sit on the beach.A bit chilly to begin but very calm due to its northen sheltered beach and cove.After I took to fishing ,sadly though my "killer" bait was rubbish and the tinned mussels I had bought were far too soft for the hooks and fell off pretty quick.So I tried the lure and watched with antisipation as large eels chashed the spinner through the water.Alas it wasnt to be my day and left for the coast road empty handed.
The costal camino is a fantastic place,I think this has to be my favorite area of Easter Island.Its so wild here with the wind wipping up crashing the sea against a rugged volcanic shoreline and the mighty Poike standing sentienal along with Rano Raraku and the very immpresive Ahu Tongariki.
So much more too,broken Ahu ,fallen maoi ,caves,shrines,wild horses, fishermen, barren grasslands and changing skies add a huge element to mystery and remoteness as this island holds each visitor in captive awe.
Back at camp that evening it was another staple dish of rice and hotdog sausages.
Tomorrow it will
be fish.Im going hunting.
FRIDAY
Armed with some of Hanga Roas best frozen chicken I decided to make the executive if somewhat lazy move to fish in Hanga Roa instead of the costal camino.Other fishermen were out,always a good sign and here the waters are sheltered and beautifully calm for my float.
Standing on an outcrop of volcanic rock you could clearly see the fish attacking the bait and every few seconds the float would disapear under the water.But they are wiley little things and were proving hard to outwit.
But today was going to be my day I could feel it.Sun was shining,sea was calm and there was plenty of activity.Sure enough after about 15 minutes the rod was pulled under and a pulled in a small but very colourful green fish,that I decided I would eat with my chips that night even if it did resemble a bag of pick n mix.
I carried on and within 10 minutes my rod bent over double.This was a proper fish an angry fish that wanted very badly to escape.My reel couldnt handle the weight as my float dashed about under the surface.Now he wasnt the worlds biggest fish but with
the telescopic rod I was using he put up a good fight.I even had to land him by pulling him up by hand.It felt great to finally land an "eater".
Feeling chuffed after bagging my catch I continued and caught a little black glittery number.......twice!At least he looked the same as the previous.I put both back as I had enough now to make a fine dinner of fish n chips.
As the tide began to ebb the fish dried up and I made off after cleaning the fish in the sea back to camp and stored the catch in the kitchen fridge.
The rest of the day I wandered around the harbour area of Hanga Roa.They have a working fishing harbour here and these fearless guys seem to go out in any weather in their small boats.The shore fishermen here use an old technique.Their "rods" consist of an old coffee can wrapped in line which they hold in one hand and lasso the line about 30 metres out into the sea and quickly retreave.It seems to work well for them although alot of the locals have up graded to beach casters and other more modern rods.But chicken seems to rule
and on todays evidence its the one for me.
So my last evening here after one more sunset at Ahu Tahai consisted of a fantastic meal of fish and chips at the campsite.The big fish I caught tasted really good and the green one wasnt so bad either.Washed down with a bottle of white, or carton of white to be precise.Really nice end to a cracking location.
I sacrificed a trip upto the top of Orongo(by all counts its a worth while trek) but I do enjoy my fishing and having bagged a few today felt I made the right choice.
I definetly recomend a trip to Easter Island.Its a long way to go.But if youre anywhere near Santiago then it should be on your "to do" list.Well worth the effort and price.I was here for a week,but in hindsight I think 10 days would suit better.Or even 2 weeks.
Ten out of ten.
Info.
dates travelled 25 04 2009- 02 05 2009
cost return flight lan chile 305 000 chillean pesos or 360 pounds sterling
weather in may usually the wetest month although in 7 days only had one wash out
quite hot when the suns out(25 degrees) usually
windy.
distance travelled on bike 172 km
cost of 2 litres of carton wine 1800 pesos
bottled water 1000 pesos 1.5 lt (although the tap water is fine
camping 4500 pesos a night
shops can be expensive( bring packet soups,whiskey and any various from the mainland to keep prices lower)
camp ground has all the facilities including double rooms ,dorms and a cracking view of the paciffic
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E. Ifan
non-member comment
Nice story
Hi, Great story, loved reading it. You've really made me want to go there :) One question: is it possible to make a roundtrip of the island in 1 day by bike? I mean starting in the morning and arriving back to town at night? I was just wondering that. Cheers