Day 42: Hanga Roa

Easter Island was a shining jewel in our travel around the globe. After five days at sea, everyone was anxious to get off the ship. I had booked a private tour, and we ended up with a high tender group, and were supposed to debark at around 8:30, but due to a bunch of circumstances, didn’t get off until close to 11. The tour operator was flexible, and was waiting for us when we arrived into the tiny port. Our guide Itti, was 18, a year younger than Sage and proudly informed us the we were his first English speaking tour. Ay yi yi! He was of Rapa Nui descent and did a nice job. Jess treated him as her son, and I think that he learned to drive the day before! He crashed into another car trying to park, and said that it was his first crash! AyYiYi!

The one thing that I wanted to do was to walk among the Maoi heads. There are so many ruins, and the stewards of the land have done a wonderful job of preserving the history. Most of the island is undeveloped and extremely beautiful. There is an airport there with two flights a day from Santiago. The population is a mix of Hanga Roa descendants and Chileans.

The Tender ride was longer and a little rough. We entered the port through a channel with huge surf on both sides. We were greeted by our guide with a sign that had my name.

After we purchased our park passes, we headed out to see the ruins and learn about this remote paradise. They had a pretty nice reconstruction of the houses that looked like an overturned boat. These big rock structures were actually chicken coops! We saw quite a few of them, and the ancient diet included a lot of chicken and sweet potatoes.

The last two photos are of a Maoi different from the others. It’s said to be of the master carver who lost his son in an accident at the quarry, and if you look, you can see his grief.

These Maois were moved and erected in 1973.

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to do everything and see everything that we wanted to. I’m not sure we will ever return to this beautiful place, but we certainly will given the opportunity!