Chile - Easter Island and Santiago

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The number of unresolved mysteries about Easter Island is enough to make the mind boggle. Where did the inhabitants come from, and when? How exactly did they get those huge stone statues from up in the hills to down on the coast? And how did they practically eliminate their entire population?

Well, we weren´t about to discover the answers to any of these questions on a five-day visit to the world´s most remote, populated island (governed by Chile). All the same, we were looking forward to seeing it. Having booked a room at a campsite, and arranged an airport pick-up, we were quickly whisked to a dramatic spot on the coast, where waves crashed furiously and relentlessly against the rocks below.

Hangaroa is the only real settlement on the island, and we spent an afternoon wandering in and out of the shops, chatting to the locals in Spanish, or at least we tried to. For ages, we had known this was a task on our list, and now we had over ten weeks of Spanish-only travel ahead of us.

On our third day, we hired a car with some friends we had made at the campsite. Elizabeth and Robert (US) and Tal (Israel). We had a smashing day round the island; spending time on the beach, taking tons of pictures, and listening to the i-pod in the car. We still had the car until noon the following day, and we got up early to catch the sunrise. This turned out to be a disappointment; rain pelting down continuously, and no sign of the sun behind thick, grey cloud. The rain eased off as we reached a view point at the quarry. We took in the rugged scenery and watched the blue appear through widening gaps in the clouds. Soggy, but high in spirits, we enjoyed excellent cake and coffee in a cute cafe in town!

On our last full day on the island, we booked a horse trek to take us up to the top of the main volcano. David´s was a frustrated racehorse, and needed no encouragement to start galloping off into the distance. Louise´s was quite the opposite, and needed a fair few thwacks on the bum to get the merest trot. We got to the top, where you could see the whole island´s coastline, and then descended a little to find a wind-free lunch
spot.

Climbing back on our horses, we started off into the eerie landscape again. About five minutes later, our guide was whistled over by a couple of guys down the way. We trotted over to them and dismounted. We ended up learning Rapanui - the local tongue - and watching them play chess, before jumping on our animals once more to trek the breathtaking coastline towards the village. It was a long day in the end, and when we got back we flopped onto our bed in exhaustion.

That evening we made some more friends, this time from England - Alex and Caroline. We played guitar and sang into the night, or until we were sent to bed! Easter island had been a captivating destination, and we had spent a good bit of time reflecting on the history and culture of these people, as well as marvelling at the dream-like landscape. Next, off to South America for real.

We entered Chile´s capital, Santiago, spending a few days taking in urban culture in one of South America´s most modern cities. We stayed at an excellent hostel in the centre of town, and made more friends again. Corey from the states, and Stuart and Joanne from England.

Santiago has an impressive market and decent food for the cheapest we have seen since Indonesia. We also had to buy sleeping bags for our ten-week tour of South America. Making our way to the mall was an excellent way to familiarise ourselves with Santiago´s biggest gripe, the public transport system. Train after train passed through the metro station as people attempted to get onto the bursting carriages. Other passengers helped to push people on before the doors closed, and locals shook their heads as they watched ten trains pass them by, unable to board any of them! We thanked our lucky stars that we didn´t have to go through this every day!

Our time here was done. We made the early morning flight onwards and upwards to Quito, Ecuador!

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Comments

[june&graham]

Easter Bunnies
Hi Easter Bunnies! - I always wanted to see those statues! We totally agree with Jimmy. Please don't drive anything more powerful than a space-hopper until you get home. Lovely pictures. xxx

[Michael]

The mysteries of Easter Island
I know how this population died out; I saw it on the telly! It was actually a very informative David Attenborough programme about Mans' destruction of the earth. The story goes that 500 years ago the Easter Island Inhabitants were thriving. A pinical of art and culture and a strong ecomony built on the fishing industry. The industry required a lot of boats which came from the trees. Eventually the inhabitants used all of the trees and the last of the boats wore away. No boats, no food and hence a massive in fighting and ultimately there downfall. A perfect example of how we have to live with our environment and sustain it. As for how they got those statues onto the shore; thats must be one of lifes mysteries much like the pyramids or the inca temples - it must have been good old fashioned slave labour

[Jimmy]

Feeling better
I hope you're having a great time in South America. Looking at your last entry I had to laugh at Louise's comment about David riding off into the sunset-must have been a really scary moment. I had no idea the film was over! It was also quite nostalgic to see some of your pics from Easter Island and Chile. Apart from the sixteen Easter Bunnies,(sorry June and Graham for pinching your title) everything looked quite bleak, with craggy outcrops in abundance, just like Scotland. Never complain again about the British transport system, keep using the horses, much more economical and less stressful. Love you both, a happier Jimmyxxx