A long, long time ago, on a small but beautiful island deep in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean, there was a settlement of people, living on this place they called Rapa Nui. It was about 300 AD when this clan of people had settled on the island that we call today - Easter Island. We call it this now, because a Dutch ship "discovered" it on Easter Sundy in 1722. At that time, there were only a few thousand people living there, and 100 years later, that population had dwindled down to just over 100 Rapa Nui surviving.
The big deal about Easter Island has to do with the nearly 900 moai that are there. They're stone "statues" that are believed to have been built from a stone quarry some miles inland called Rano a Raraku. It seems to have been an engineering feat that these moai were carved, and carried across to all parts of the island, then erected. Each moai is estimated to weigh about 70 tons. TONS. And there is no evidence of tools, or machines, or even ways that these moai could have been transported from the quarry to their final resting places.
The moai statues date back over a thousand years. They are tall, carved monolithic structures made out of volcanic rock. Each moai has a huge head, long earlobes, and only a torso. Each is about 13 feet tall, but a few exceed 40 feet in height. They have wide noses, and jutting chins. They also all have eye sockets, but only a very few included eyes. It is thought that the eyes were made of coral with black stone as the iris, and the reason many are missing today is because when the tribes on the island went to war, many of the statues were toppled and it is thought that the enemy stole the valuable coral eyes.
Since the polynesian history includes many carvings with spiritual meanings, so too, are the moai at Easter Island. Archealogists believe that these moai represent the Rapa Nui ancestors, because the statues are always facing away from the sea and towards the village, or community, in essence, looking after it's people.
When the Dutch arrived in 1722, according to historical accounts, all of the moai were still standing, but 100 years later, many were toppled, and most of the Rapa Nui people were gone. Some theories say it was because of a terrible earthquake, another theory is tribal wars that decimated the statues and the people. The most eccentric theory is that of a woman on the island who possessed special powers and she knocked all of the moai down during an angry outburst. I can see that. But maybe it’s really just this:
So, how were these moai moved from the quarry, once completed, to the various spots all over the island? Well, once again we have some theories. First of all, right on Rapa Nui people! You guys were pretty amazing. So why did you all but disappear? Some believe that the elders of the island commanded the statues to move. Others believe aliens controlled the carving and moving of the moai. But, the most likely and practical theory is that the Rapa Nui people chopped down the many trees originally on the island, to use to move the moai. But they destroyed the trees in the process and eventually this resource was used up, because new trees could not be planted. This disturbed the whole balance of their survival abilities and eventually the people, too, disappeared.
So now you know the story and the mystery of Easter Island. Hopefully you can appreciate what a wonderful opportunity it is to be able to visit here. And, if you're coming along on a cruise ship, it's not an easy feat. Between wind and waves and currents, it's about a 50/50 shot that you'll make it onto a tender and to the shore. On last year's world cruise, stories abounded that it was an absolute disaster and debacle. Only a few of the people that wanted to go ashore last year were able - the loading and unloading of passengers onto tenders was extremely difficult - sometimes taking 45 minutes just to load one tender. Many passengers with private tours never got the chance to go, because the conditions became too dangerous around the middle of the day.
This year, I hedged my bets and spent the extra money to purchase a ship tour, and a morning one at that. And then we all prayed to the the gods above to have good weather so that everyone that wanted to go ashore, could. And we were blessed with getting our prayers and wishes answered. We awoke on this beautiful Sunday morning to clear skies and temperate waters.
A glorious and "best day ever" kind of day awaited us. And what a day it was.
Our first stop today was at Tahai. Several groups of moai are close by the marina. Note the jet coming in for a landing in the first photo, below!
This is one of the very few with intact eyes, below. And I'm talking about the moai....
I was fascinated by this tour guide's tattoos.
This was Snort and Ollie's first look at the moai.
There are very few cattle on the island. But lots of horses. In fact, there are more horses than people, we're told.
The scenery on the island is heart-stoppingly gorgeous, especially on a day like the one we had here during our visit.
This is the airport, near Hanga Roa, the one city on the island, and close to where the marina was where our tender boats docked. There are just a couple of flights to/from the island per day. One comes from Tahiti, the other from Santiago. Easter Island "belongs" to Chile.
There are hundreds of these moai that can be found all over the island. Below is just one example.
Horses everywhere. Many are branded by local farm owners, but they tend to run wild and most have never been ridden. They also have a penchant for walking out into the middle of the road, just when you're coming along.
Below are a series of pictures of the big quarry where the moai were carved. Absolutely fascinating!!!
This fellow, below, was unique in that he has a tattoo on the front of his neck.
The very famous "15" at Tongariki, near the quarry.
Snort was so glad I brought him to the island today. He had been looking forward to coming here as much as me.
The quarry, below, from a distance.
There are moai just laying around, all over the island.
Ollie was as entranced as I.
This is the view of Ahu Tongariki, just a 5 minute drive from the quarry.
Our last stop was at Anakena Beach. It is a very popular beach to swim and spend the day - lovely white sand and a few moai nearby.
This little moai was restored in 1955.
Fresh sweet pineapple was a favorite of visitors and locals alike.
Views from the ship, below.
My friend Karen Macdonald took this awesome rainbow photo - what a perfect end to a more than perfect day!!
