Wonderful, Wonderful Easter Island

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After no sleep we got our LAN flight to Easter Island.We had no sleep as someone rang the doorbell of our hostel at 3.30 in the morning and I was convinced it was our taxi, which was due at 6.30, so went running out to open the door. Looking back that was probably pretty stupid of me as it could have been anyone but luckily it was just another couple of backpackers trying to cheack in.

Our LAN flight was amazing! We were on a proper aeroplane again, with movies and everything! We were so excited as the flight is about 6 hours long.

We hadn´t booked anywhere to stay on the island as I thought it was better to turn up and get something when we arrived. We decided to stay at Chez Cecilia who was at the airport and was the cheapest option. Now when I say cheapest option I don´t mean cheap as it was still 45 quid for a shared bathroom and kitchen but we knew the island would be expensive. The room was nice but the kitchen and bathroom were gross. It was the family kitchen and bascially they leave bits of food out so it is covered with ants. To make matters worse someone in the family has a small child who is ignored so crys all the time. It is put in it´s pushchair infront of the telly while the mum does something else or placed into one of those things with wheels to help it walk, but then ignored so we saw it fall over once. It really wasn´t very nice so we moved after 2 nights (which we had paid for upfront).

We decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel with a private bathroom (luxury!) and decided upon O´tai Hotel which is in the middle of town and has some lovely grounds. Our room even came with a balcony so we could enjoy the views. But the more problems started! First the shower was broken, then the room has water all over it, then the shower if fixed but still we have water everywhere, finally they say lets move rooms and try to put us in a really crap room (it was smelly, hot and smaller then the one we had) so we refuse to move. It was such a shame that we had so many problems and that the staff didn´t deal with it correctly as it put a dampner on the whole experience.

But enough about the problems, Easter Island was still amazing and magical and one of the best things we have done on the trip.

We spent our first afternoon having lunch in town and watching some local football matches. Whilst watching a game someone crashed their moped and they looked quite badly hurt. It was amazing as the ambulance arrived in about 2 mins (it only had to come down the road ut still) and everyone ran over to try and help. There are only 4,000 people on the island so they probably knew the person who was injured. The worrying thing was that 10 mins before we were saying that we would like a moped when we go home but I´m not sure if this is a sign that we shouldn´t get one.

The first thing that you notice about the island is how many wild horses there are. When you walk around you now have to try to avoid the usual dogs, wild horses and the messes that these animals leave behind. Some of the locals ride the horses around which is quite funny to see. Also we saw a couple of dogs trying to attack a horse and the national park ranger throwing rocks at the horses to move them from where the Moais (the statues with the big faces) were. It´s all very strange!

The second day we tried to see how far we could get by walking round the island. We walked for a few hours and only really saw the Moais which were near town. The walk was nice though as the coast was very dramatic. There aren´t really any pavements on the island so you have to walk on very dirty roads. Needless to say our feet (well Ian´s) were very dirty!

The next day we rented a car to go and explore the rest of the island. You can only rent Suzuke 4x4. A lot of the driving is off road so a 4x4 is def needed.

We rent all the way round the island and saw loads of Moais. They are so amazing to look at. They are massive and so well made. One of the best places to see them was at the volcano as there are just so many of them scattered around. Everyone is different - some have hats, some big heads, some no necks etc. Even though we don´t understand the signifance of them they are really magical to look at. They also follow you wherever you go with their eyes. It is def not like anything I have ever seen before.

There are lots of Moais lying on the groud and they look so sad. Most of them were pushed over during a war between two tribes and some were beheaded. They are trying to redo them which is off course taking time.

That evening we finally got to see a sunset (the other two evenings had been too cloudy). It was amazing to see the sunset behind some Moais. That was until some English kids arrived and started talking really lodly to ruin the experience. Some people are so annoying.

The fourth day we got another, better 4x4 and spent the day at the beach. It was so nice to be at the beach again and go swimming in the ocean. We also got another sunset in, but it wasn´t as good as the firt one.

The fifth day we got up at silly o´clock to go and watch the sunrise. You have to go to the other side of the island for this and you get to watch it rise over 15 Moais. Again it was amazing to see and I can´t describe how beautifal it was! We went back to the beach that morning before we had to drop the car off and then spent the afternoon hanging around town.

The food on the island isn´t the best and is of course very expensive. We managed to find somewhere where you could get fish or meat with potatoes, rice or salad for C$5, which is about 7.50. The fish was amazing. We had really good breakfasts in the hotel so we tried to stock up on food for the rest of the day and also lived off bananas!

Easter Island was so nice and relaxing, although I would say that three days is probably enough time on the island. But we enjoyed being able to take our time and having the day and a half at the beach!

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