Ahu Ko te Riku at Sunset.
Easter Island - 120 kms
Total Distance So Far: 8,550 kms
I thought it a good idea to take the opportunity to fly to Easter Island whilst I am in Chile and it fits into the tour, as all flights out to the island go from Santiago. It would be a cool place to spend Christmas too, and I could not see any other circumstances of getting the chance to see this remote little island. It's just 15 x 10 kms in size, and is the most remote inhabited place on the world being about 4,000 kms from Chile and 7,000 kms from New Zealand.
Things did not start well. When we arrived at out hotel it was right in the middle of a complete refurbishment and 35-room extension. It was a building site! Sergio, the owner told us the booking should not have been taken, as he had told all other tour companies that the hotel would not re-open until August 2010. We were therefore the only guests in the 40-room hotel. We were treated like kings though and the fact work was going on was soon forgotten. Sergio Rapu the owner was the main reason I wanted to go there. He was the islands and world’s expert on the mystery of Easter Island and its people. An archeologist by training, come hotelier, Sergio spends much of the year lecturing about Easter Island around the world. If you see a National Geographic, or Discovery Channel documentary it is likely he will be the expert used. He has added more than anyone else to the information about the riddles of Easter Island, restored many of the statues, kept the language alive which is spoken only on Easter Island, is responsible for many of the dig sites and the Easter Island museum, and has uncovered many new finds. I can’t say how lucky we were to have so much of his time and attention. He told us what sites to see (there are over 100,000 listed items of interest on Easter Island), and we spent many hours discussing the still unsolved mysteries. For example it is still not known how the statues, called moai, were moved from the quarry where they were carved to the different resting sites. Sergio has his theories as do others but it has not been proved. Some weighed up to 50-60 tons, with the largest at 180 tons. The average height was 9-10 metres but the tallest one is 21 meters. It has been estimated it would take 2,000 men about two years to carve, move and erect one of the smaller statues, but this has never been proven. We also discussed where the original islanders initially came from and why they started to carve the statues, again this is not known with some people saying South America, but the majority saying Polynesia. The Norwegian explorer Thor Hyadahl even spent several years trying to prove they came from South America. Some say carved statues in honour of their ancestors, but it could also be for a god or belief system.
The later story of the islanders is largely known, and is a very sad affair. From 500 AD to 1,500 AD the population swelled from when the first ship that landed there with the initial settlers to about 15,000. But at that point huge over population on such a small island meant that they used all the resources to depletion. For example it was known the island was once fully covered in tress from pollen samples, but by the time the Europeans first landed on the island in 1722 on Easter Monday, hence its name, there were no trees left. The lack of trees meant no weapons firewood, floor coverings, roof coverings, tools, ability to repair make fishing boats etc. This caused different groups to form and war to break out. The starvation also meant cannibalism took hold . The population then went into decline over the next two hundred years to about 2,000 to 3,000 when the Europeans first arrived. Then in the late 1800’s Peruvian slave traders came and seized most of the rest of the islanders to work in Peruvian mines, which caused worldwide condemnation at the time. It took 10 years to free them and send them back but only 15 was recorded as being returned, not having died either in the mines or by disease. Sadly these 15 brought new diseases back which wiped out almost the rest of the Easter Island population, so by 1890 the official population was recorded as 110. Almost all the elders died taking away with them the customs, beliefs, and history of the people. Hence leaving the rest of the world with lots of mystery.
The island itself is a geological masterpiece. Formed by a volcanic eruption the island has blackened lava stone, and hardened lava streams everywhere. There is fertile areas, and newly planted forests. The are three large volcano’s with craters and about 100 smaller cones. There are sheer cliffs as well as white sand beaches. The waters, constant at about 23 degrees are said to be the clearest in the world, having been filtered the longest by the time they reache the island. The dive shops say you can see clearly every day of the year in excess of 60 meters. The island also has several thousand wild horses, which seem part of every view.
We had a fantastic time exploring the island and being shook to death by its pot-holed tracks. There is just one tarmac road running from one side of the island to the other. Everything thing else is a rutted track.
There are about 400 tourists at any one time being limited to the 6 flights a week that make it to the island. It therefore means when you get to the various sites you are almost invariably the only ones there. It is almost like the island becomes your private museum for the few days you spend. It’s really great, and perfect for photography. I managed to reel off a couple of thousand shots in 4 days and I have put a selection of 25-30 in the blog.
The only town of Hanga Roa houses most of the islands population of 4,000, who are all very friendly and laid back. It also has some great restaurants that are mostly run by the French who seem to have set up shop here in some number. Tourism is really the only income the islanders live off, plus a small income from NASA. The runway was extended so the spaceship Challenger can land there. It's even longer than Santiago International!
Three or four days is enough time to spend here. I have no idea how people can live on such a small plot of land. Sergio thought about 10% of the population could have perished in the seas trying to ‘escape’ the island, especially when food became scarce and cannibalism and war set in. So our time spent here was just about right, leaving with great memories, but excited to get back to civilization and to get on with the ride into Northern Chile.
Upon leaving Santiago you get treated to a great view of the mountains that surround the city poking through the city haze.
Sergio Rapu told us so much about the island and its history.
These 7 moai known as Ahu Nau Nau were restored by Sergio in 1978. They stand guard over the beautiful white sands of Anekena Beach
The black water and reed island in the Rano Kau crater.
