Rapa Nui!

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Rapa Nui, Rapa Nui! That's how the song goes that is playing constantly on this cool little island in the middle of the Pacific. The song is playing in the airport when you land and get off the plane onto the tarmac and people are waiting to put flowers around your neck, it's playing in your taxi, it's playing in the restaurant, in the hotel...it's a good song, really, and catchy...yeah, really catchy.
Anyways, we had an awesome time here, starting with appropriating a room, it was easy enough, as there are booths of all the hotels and hostels right next to the baggage claim, and whichever place you pick out gives you a ride, also.
First of all, the place we stayed, Cabanas Vaianny was great, we had our own bathroom and breakfast, and we managed to get the price down to $25 a night, since we were staying for 10 days...that's a bargain price for this very expensive (in south american standards) island. Oh, and the only ATM on the island doesn't take visa debit cards, good thing that's all me and Todd have. I hate Banco Estado, I really do. But we were able to manage a cash advance at the bank, but it wouldn't have been possible if we waited until the weekend, and no cash=no fun.
The Cabanas have a nice garden, complete with the cutest chicken and her 10 little chicks wandering around, and the absolutely cutest kitten hanging out on the porch.
Back to Easter Island, called Rapa Nui, by the indeginous population, and Isla de Pascua by the Chilean government,who, you know, runs the show nowadays.
There are Moais (the big head statues made from volcanic rock) right in the main town of Hanga Roa, but if you travel around the island, which we did, by bike, and also, by hiking the entire north shore, you realize the entire coast is full of Ahu, or ceremonial sites...some of which have fallen Moai, some of which were the site of ancient towns. As we hiked back to Hanga Roa from Playa Anakena (beautiful, perfect beach) we never could not see an Ahu, or some sort of ruins...it's an amazing place.
The food is good, if you're prepared to step outside of cheap south america budget land...we had some excellent Ceviche with a view of the sunset...my favorite dish, it came complete with a local dish, banana bread that they call poi, and sweet potatoes...not the orange kind, they are a little less sweet, but i think, my favorite potato from now on.
We went to see the film Rapa Nui, which we'd never heard of till we got there, but it was pretty cool...if a little strange that everybody had a british accent in the movie, cause, you know, everybody has spanish accents there...well, it was produced by Kevin Costner, which explains a lot.
It rained for a few days, but that didn't really cramp our style, we still had an action packed time, and the cloudy weather helped us from 3rd degree burns from the intense sun. When we did get some sunny days at the end, we decided to kick back at the beach and we rented a snorkel and goggle to try to check out some of the fish that are unique to Rapa Nui. There are 2 nice beaches, one, Playa Ovahe is smaller and is right in front of a huge cliff with caves, which give a little shelter if it rained or for camping, the second beach, Playa Anakena, is, I think the ideal beach, with an area of palm trees that provide much needed shade, crystal clear water, and you know, some moais looming just behind, making those beach pictures a little more interesting!
We were sad to head back to Santiago after 10 days, but all in all, our budget probably couldn't have handled any more time here. Next stop, San Pedro de Atacama!

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