RAPA NUI

EASTER ISLAND

March 2014

The most isolated island on Earth, Easter Island [Isla de Pascua] is known as Rapa Nui by the natives; they also refer to themselves as Rapa Nui. Since the 1888, it has been a part of Chile which is over 2000 miles to the East. Modern DNA evidence affirms the local legend that the natives are Polynesian. Their stories tell of an ancient king named Hotu Matua who came from Hiva in Micronesia. The triangular shaped island contains about 63 square miles and is home to some 6000 people with slightly more than half of them being Rapa Nui.

 

Other than cruising, the only access to the island is by airplane. Daily flights from Santiago, Chile or Papeete, Tahiti bring visitors. NASA constructed the island’s runway as an alternate for the Space Shuttle. We chose to fly from Santiago and it’s a five-hour flight. We arrived after noon on Monday and departed after noon on Saturday. This is more time than many spend there, but having the four full days allowed us to see everything we wanted to see at our own pace. 

The huge stone carvings called moai are the main attraction on the island. Archeologists believe they were created between 1250 and 1500. Carved by the Rapa Nui as a part of ancestor worship, each represented a specific person with a special talent. After cremation, the ashes and bones were buried in the platform on which the moai was placed; the platform is call an ahu. With the moai facing toward the village, it drew power known as mana from the buried remains and imparted this to the village. After being placed on the platform---scholars argue about the “how”---eyes of white coral were added to the statue to give it life. When the statues were destroyed or toppled by enemies, the eyes were removed and cast into the sea or broken to “kill” the moai. All moai were eventually toppled but some have been restored by archeologists.

Our hotel on Easter Island was Posada de Mike Rapu – Explora Hanga Roa. It is part of the Explora group of hotels in Chile and Peru. Service and food were exceptional. The hotel had asked about dietary restrictions and made extra efforts to meet those. The all-inclusive hotel provides tours. Because of some physical limitations and our ability to trek over uneven ground, up steep trails and along lava-rock-strewn paths; tours were adapted to our specific abilities. 

On Monday afternoon we went with Tavi to see Ahu Akivi, the 7 moai which represent the 7 ancients sent by Hotu Matua from Hiva to find Rapa Nui.   

After driving to another area, we saw an apu near the sea. Our last stop was Tahai Ceremonial Area to see 5 moai; one moai with eyes and some other restorations.

Tuesday we drove to Rano Raraku, the quarry, and saw many moai in various stages of carving. Sebastian explained the history to us and the various theories. We hiked around and made photos. Moai have a perfect proportion with the head being one-third of the total height. They were carved from the volcanic tuff and then lowered down the mountainside for finishing. Pits were dug on the mountainside to receive them. Some have navels, tattoos, arms and legs. 

We saw the largest moai---22 meters---still in situ on the mountainside, its carving incomplete. 

We also saw the "kneeling moai." 

There is a lagoon inside the crater of the volcano.

It began to rain just as we were leaving the parking area and our seaside picnic lunch was canceled. Luckily we had the rain ponchos because gusty winds were blowing pouring rain around when we arrived at the hotel. We stayed in the lobby until after lunch; they had simply moved the picnic here. It was interesting to eat with the rain being blown against the windows. By the time we decided to return to the room it was a little after two and the rain seemed to have stopped; gusty winds blowing off the ocean made being outside unpleasant. That afternoon we saw Ahu Tongariki, the 15 Moai with Nicholas as a guide. It was still raining some but wasn't nearly as gusty. We stopped to see the 15 moai and learn their history. First, we saw the so-called "Walking Moai," which went to Japan for an exhibition in Osaka. This was in thanks to Japan for paying for the restoration of the 15 moai after the devastation by a tsunami in 1960. 

Another interesting story is that only one of the fifteen wears a topknot; archeologists were certain the topknots could not be reattached so the locals who manned the machinery did it one night to prove their point. It stands proudly with its topknot in place without any type of adhesive. 

We saw a carving of a sea turtle representing the one which guided the original Polynesians to this island; it is on a large stone encircled with small lava rocks---almost like a body of water. 

Our next stop was to see an apu with no restored moai. 

 

However, here we saw the magnetic stone, a rounded iron ore rock of a type not found on Easter Island, said to have come with Hotu Matua and the original settlers. 

Then we drove to Anakena Beach, landing site of the original Polynesians under Hotu Matua. Here we saw some reconstructed moai which represented chiefs. 

We also saw the moai of Hotu Matua standing alone; it was restored under the direction of Thor Heyerdahl and Nicholas's grandfather was one of the Rapa Nui who helped. 

During the Civil War on the island, the moai were toppled and ancestor worship ended. It is thought that when the warriors asked help of the moai and did not receive it, they realized that no harm would come to them if they toppled the moai. Their mystique disappeared. Ancestor worship was replaced by a return to worship of the gods, such as Make-Make, god of fertility. Although there was some mist and drizzle during the afternoon, we had a great tour and learned a lot.

Wednesday morning’s excursion was a modification of the Rano Kau Volcano tour because we didn't do the trek. We met Sebastian and a French couple at the volcano rim. Then we walked around the rim to see Orongo, the "Birdman Village," the islands, and hear the stories of the competition. Each clan sent a representative across to the island to await the arrival of the Sooty Tern; the first man to return with an unbroken egg earned his clan the right to rule the island for a year. 

This competition was outlawed in 1867. We also saw a design created with stones which aligns with Orion for the spring equinox. This would tell the Rapa Nui when to expect the birds. The gusty wind was strong and made walking difficult. 

Tavi was our guide for the afternoon trip into the town of Hanga Roa. Our first stop was the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum which has a very small collection. All signage was in both Spanish and English and the well-displayed artifacts appeared to be quality. The "prize" is an original coral eye from a moai; because the original was stolen and recovered, only a replica is displayed and the original kept secure in a vault. 

After our fifteen or so minutes at the museum, we drove back into town and to a couple of handicraft markets. Then we went to the Church of the Immaculate Conception Rapa Nui to see the interesting exterior and the locally carved statues inside. 

After a drive to the harbor and a short walk, we returned to the hotel.

Thursday Nicholas was our guide. Our first stop was Puna Pau, the quarry where the red topknots were mined; the natural stone is red scoria. First we saw some topknots which were left on the mountainside. It was only a short, steep climb to reach the lip of the quarry and peer down into the man-made crater.  Interestingly, they extracted huge blocks which they rolled to the sites of the apu. By arrival, the stones were very close to the required size and only required minimal shaping before being placed atop the moai. 

From the quarry, we returned to Tahai Ceremonial Area, a site we visited the first day.  

Ana Kai Tangata, our next stop, was a cave which had some painting on the ceiling; it is slowly disintegrating because vibrations cause the sheets of rock to disengage, fall and shatter against the floor. 

We then visited another moai site which once held 12 moai. Our last stop was Hanga Te’e Ahu,  a site devastated during the 1960 tsunami. 

Our afternoon tour was a repeat of Tuesday's without the rain. We wanted to return to Ahu Tongariki, the 15 Moai, and to Anakena Beach to make photos when it wasn't raining. Gina was our guide. We made some good photos of the "15 Moai," the iconic travel poster photo for the island. Gina told us that the black basalt rounds fit into the indentions in the moai's earlobes and therefore must not be the irises of the eyes but jewelry. 

At Anakena Beach we made photos and then sat on a bench in the shade for a while. 

Tavi was our guide for Friday morning’s boat ride. We drove into Hanga Roa to the same harbor area visited previously. At "Dive Shop Mike Rapu," we met Daniella who buckled us into life vests. The water was clear and we saw small fish around the dockside. We boarded a motorboat with a local steersman, Daniella and Tavi and pushed back from the dock. The original plan was to sail east to and around the "Birdman Islands," but Daniella said the winds were too strong in that area. We sailed west past the town and along the coast to the area used for some diving and snorkeling. We enjoyed the pleasant sail under mostly-cloudy skies. The perspective from the water is totally different. Tavi pointed out some holes in the cliffs which allowed the molten magma to escape. They also told us about divers going through a labyrinth of tunnels in a small island/big rock just off the coast. The clear water is only about 40 meters deep. It's easy to see why cruise ships can't get near the rocky coast. All in all, we were on the water about an hour. 

After lunch we went with Roberto. He took us to three different platforms. We had already been to the first one but he added more details to the explanations. He operates on the theory that the short-eared moai are commoners while the long-eared are royalty. He explained about the Polynesian rats eating the bodies and the movement toward cremation. Roberto also told us about how the Rapa Nui fished using stones to form pools to trap the fish at high tide. We then traveled to Vinapu where he told us about the replacement of old moai by new ones. 

Our last stop was Huri a Urenga, the moai with four hands, which stands on the invisible line dividing the island between royals and commons and also is aligned with the winter equinox.

 

The site also includes a crematory.

 

Saturday we flew back to Santiago where we spent the night. We flew out of Santiago on Sunday night, arrived in Miami on Monday morning and were back home around two o’clock.