11-14-2016 Takerea hotel, Easter Island
Yesterday was an uneventful flight and we arrived at our hotel at the airport and welcomed the comfy beds, AC and quiet. I spent the day reading, napping, catching up with photos etc... We ate dinner at the bar, drank some beers and enjoyedSunday Night American football games. Today we had a four and a half hour flight to Easter Island, We arrived1;00 PM.We were met at the airport by a guy from our lodging. We arrived at our rental which is a 3 bed 2 bath house, which is connected to a B and B and the owners quarters. The owner Paul, is from Wyoming, but first came to Easter Island in the 60s in his teens as part of an archeological expedition which was one the first that starting restoring Moais. He returned the states, finished college, had a long career in software development, then returned to Easter Island later in life, married a naive Rapanui women, and continued his work with the archeological work. We went on about a five hour tour with Paul and another cute young couple couple from NYC, Luke and Michelle. We started at tour at Rano Raraku which included a hike up a volcano with multiple Moais, and beautiful vistas. We then hiked on the backside of the volcano to a crater lake. We then drove about five minutes to Tongariki where they had a ocean front restored site of about 15 Moais all set on top of a Ahu - platform. One of the Moais had a hat or top knot which they called a pukao. We learned that the dead bodies were left out to dry out, then they were cremated. They then carved large literal head stones that were an image of the dead person. Multiple Moais represented a clan. The taller the Moais, the more powerful the deceased was. It was a spectacular place and we plan to return to get pictures at sunrise. Next we continued our drive to Anakena which is a beautiful beach, And site of two Ahus, one with one Moai, adn one Ahu with seven Moai. We then drove back to town, and Paul dropped the four of us off in town where we had a great meal, then walked about a mile back to our place. Easter Island is a volcanic island that got it's name when the first europeans arrived in 1722 on Easter Sunday. Paul is an encyclopedia of info. And it is great to be with someone that has first hand knowledge of all of the Archeological sites. He also provided us with a very detailed history of the island. There is quite a divide between the Rapa Nui people and the Chilean government that own the island.
Tues. 11/14/16 Easter Island
We slept in this AM and awoke to a fabulous breakfast that had been delivered of eggs, banana bread, yogurt, meat and cheese plate, bread,cereal, and juice ! We leisurely lounged around all AM then headed back out on tour in the afternoon with Paul, Michelle and Luke. Today's first stop was at one of the highest points of the island, Teravaka which provided us with sweeping vistas of the island. Next we hiked around part of the Ranu Kau crater. Then we ended up at Oronga village which was an area that became inhabited each year around the winter solstice. Members from each clan stayed here until the Manutara bird laid their first eggs on an off shore island. The clan representatives would then swim to the island, and the first to return, was the ruler for the year. We hiked around the village. We then returned to town and visited a site with in walking distance which was the Ahu Vai Uri Tahiti archeological complex. We plan to return here at sunset one night which is at about 8:30 PM to get photos. I am overwhelmed by the gorgeous dogs here that are wild. Many look like purbread labs, retrievers, shepards, and then there are tons of Heinz 57 s. All the dogs get along, and they look at you with a depth in their eyes that is heart breaking to me. We played with one dog tonight who kept dropping a rock at our feet for us th throw and he would fetch. I would have loved to give him a tennis ball ! We got back around 6:30 PM and had cocktails on our porch that has a distant ocean view, then ate our breakfast food for dinner.Tomorrow we are leaving 6:30 AM with Luke and Michelle to return to Tongariki to photograph the sunrise.
Tues. 11/14/16 Easter Island
We slept in this AM and awoke to a fabulous breakfast that had been delivered of eggs, banana bread, yogurt, meat and cheese plate, bread,cereal, and juice ! We leisurely lounged around all AM then headed back out on tour in the afternoon with Paul, Michelle and Luke. Today's first stop was at one of the highest points of the island, Teravaka which provided us with sweeping vistas of the island. Next we hiked around part of the Ranu Kau crater. Then we ended up at Oronga village which was an area that became inhabited each year around the winter solstice. Members from each clan stayed here until the Manutara bird laid their first eggs on an off shore island. The clan representatives would then swim to the island, and the first to return, was the ruler for the year. We hiked around the village. We then returned to town and visited a site with in walking distance which was the Ahu Vai Uri Tahiti archeological complex. We plan to return here at sunset one night which is at about 8:30 PM to get photos. I am overwhelmed by the gorgeous dogs here that are wild. Many look like purbread labs, retrievers, shepards, and then there are tons of Heinz 57 s. All the dogs get along, and they look at you with a depth in their eyes that is heart breaking to me. We played with one dog tonight who kept dropping a rock at our feet for us th throw and he would fetch. I would have loved to give him a tennis ball ! We got back around 6:30 PM and had cocktails on our porch that has a distant ocean view, then ate our breakfast food for dinner.Tomorrow we are leaving 6:30 AM with Luke and Michelle to return to Tongariki to photograph the sunrise.
Wed. 11/15/16 Easter Island
We were up and caught a gorgeous sunset behind the Moais. We then returned home, and took our car out to explore for the day. We drove all along the water on the south west coast, then drove up the middle of the island back to Anakena, then drove back along the east coast. It was a full days adventure. We saw more Maois, lots of wild horses and cows, and varied scenery through a small forest, rocky coastlines, flat lands, and volcano peaks. It is one of our favorite ways to spend our day exploring and photographing. We stopped for lunch, then had cocktails again on our patio, and breakfast, which was delivered again this AM, for dinner. At about 8:00 PM we waled down to Tongariki to watch the sunset, but it was a bit overcast. Michelle had cooked a dinner which we had been invited to join but declined, so upon our return we enjoyed sitting and visiting with them, Paul, and a gal from Germany.
We were up and caught a gorgeous sunset behind the Moais. We then returned home, and took our car out to explore for the day. We drove all along the water on the south west coast, then drove up the middle of the island back to Anakena, then drove back along the east coast. It was a full days adventure. We saw more Maois, lots of wild horses and cows, and varied scenery through a small forest, rocky coastlines, flat lands, and volcano peaks. It is one of our favorite ways to spend our day exploring and photographing. We stopped for lunch, then had cocktails again on our patio, and breakfast, which was delivered again this AM, for dinner. At about 8:00 PM we waled down to Tongariki to watch the sunset, but it was a bit overcast. Michelle had cooked a dinner which we had been invited to join but declined, so upon our return we enjoyed sitting and visiting with them, Paul, and a gal from Germany.
Thurs. 11/17/16 Easter Island
We spent the day driving all over the island on our own photographing, and visited the last three sites our list, Ahu Akahnga, Pana Ana and the third whose name I do not recall. Pana Ana was atop a hill with panoramic views in every direction. This is where they use to make the top knots for the Moais and you could see lots of hats all over. We ate a late lunch in town at an Empanadas restaurant, then did some shopping. We had planned to go out for dinner tonight, but did not want to leave our patio so we ate at home again. It was a beautiful last night as we watched bands of light rain come and go over the water. We have really enjoyed Easter Island and would definitely return if not so travel intensive to get here. So, our memories will last us our lifetime, and we are really glad we came !
We spent the day driving all over the island on our own photographing, and visited the last three sites our list, Ahu Akahnga, Pana Ana and the third whose name I do not recall. Pana Ana was atop a hill with panoramic views in every direction. This is where they use to make the top knots for the Moais and you could see lots of hats all over. We ate a late lunch in town at an Empanadas restaurant, then did some shopping. We had planned to go out for dinner tonight, but did not want to leave our patio so we ate at home again. It was a beautiful last night as we watched bands of light rain come and go over the water. We have really enjoyed Easter Island and would definitely return if not so travel intensive to get here. So, our memories will last us our lifetime, and we are really glad we came !
