Our first full day in Easter Island started early as we were trying to make the sunrise at the Ahu Tongariki, the largest shrine of the island with 15 statues which are all in a row in a beautiful spot at the water. After a fairly decent sleep, only interrupted by torrential downpours overnight (usual for this time of year) and roosters in the morning, we made our way with our tour guide Cecilia who took care of us for today and also a half tour the next day. Cecilia was half Rapa Nui and half American with perfect English as she lived in the States most of her life and then got settled here after becoming a Mom to 3 little kids. She couldn't have been more than mid to late 20`s and obviously knew her way around the land and people.
We got the shrine in the dark around 6:45 or so and waited for light and it was amazing to see the statues appear in the morning light. We spent an hour or so taking pics and taking in the scenery and continued on our way to see several sights for the day. Next was the volcanic cone Rano Raraku where almost all moai were carved. Almost 400 different statues are around, showing different steps of carving. It would take about a year to make one and they were basically carved into the volcanic rock, face up, then slid down and then the theories differ how these statues, up to 70 or 80 tons in weight made it to their final destination, as far as 10-15 km`s or so away. Theories now say, they were stood up and ``walked`` upright as ropes held them. All face the land versus ocean except for some we`ll see later.
The moai quarry or ``factory`` was amazing....the fact that a number of moai were literally left just when they seemed ready to be moved. From the quarry, we went up a hill to also look at a place where they held triathlons including running around the crater`s edge barefoot, swim across the crater lake and then run around again holding banana plants etc. The competition was held centuries ago and is now held once a year to uphold the tradition. We also saw the magnetic stone also called the bellybutton of the world which is actually a meteorite and is magnetic so if you put a compass on the top, it works correctly. Anywhere else on the stone the compass needle spins around ``confused`` which was neat to see.
Then we went on to a beach Anakena which is packed during summer months. It also had some moais, most with the traditional red hair knots called ``pukao``. The beach was beautiful and some folks were in the water. I think we would have gone in if we had bathing suits with us. Weather is so strange here....not cold but damp and rainy off and on, so that you are constantly changing clothes and layering even though it is likely 20 degrees. We had empanadas for lunch, the Easter island fast food it seems (around $5 or so) and then went out for a nice dinner later, accompanied by wine which was also continued in our backyard when back at the hostel. Fun night but I bet we were in bed by 10pm or so. Days are packed, long and even though the time difference is only 3 hours or so for us who are used to AST, all the activity and the hiking had us craving a good night`s sleep.
Some Easter island facts:
- very bumpy roads
- dogs everywhere, but friendly, well fed and super friendly
- meals not cheap at restaurants
- 2 medallion``120``Chilean wine about $6 or so a bottle..we finished the whole row of bottles at the Supermercado....
- conversion from Chilean pesos to US dollars works like this: pretty well drop 3 zeros and double. i.e. 9000 Chilean pesos is about $20US
- the seafood here is delicious. `ceviche`might be my new favorite dish: raw fish (often tuna) served in small cubes with cut up tomatoes, onion, avocados and some spices with lemon juice over top. soooo good!
- gas is about $1.50 a litre
- most big things come by ship, 3 cargo ships a month. everything by plane is about $3 a kilo. the islands need everything to be brought in, as they only grow a few things like pineapple, sweet potatoes, papaya, banana etc. very dependent on Chilean goods to be brought in.
- they have Lays chips (only regular, about $4 or so) and really scary looking chip puffs which had 3 or 4 colours showing on the bag...so we stayed away
- Nescafe for breakfast...Mom, you`d be proud: am drinking your favorite coffee every day!
- Internet is unfortunately not the most reliable and super slow...so hang tight until we get to Chile and we can hopefully upload pictures, too.
- horses pretty well run wild here...otherwise a little light on wildlife after last year`s safari...we DID see a field mouse! :)
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