March 16th
Our flights were on time and we made it to Easter Island … YAY! I am so looking forward to this.
We were greeted at the airport by the owner of the Cabanas Raupa. She placed a flower lay around our necks and a kiss on each cheek. She drove us to our accommodations which was about ten minutes away from the airport. As we drove through town, she showed us Main Street, best places to rent a vehicle, where the restaurants are, etc. We get to the accommodation up a small dirt road. She has four separate cabins that she rents. As we unloaded our luggage from the vehicle she informed us that she has placed two complimentary cold beers and two waters in the fridge for us. Now this is what I am talking about! It was hot … we were tired and to have a cold beer waiting for us was awesome! She showed us around the cabin and stated that if there is anything we need to let her know. What a great start to Easter Island!
We did a short walk down past the cemetery to watch the sunset over Ahu Vai Uri. The sunset was not the best, but we met some lovely people while watching the sun set.
After the sunset we took a stroll around town and bought some groceries. Relaxing at the cabin for the evening.
March 17th
Today we were awakened by a major downpour. The rain was relentless until about 8:00am. We had just finished breakfast and the sun came out and we caught a rainbow over the cottage.
We headed out not planning much for the day, but ended up doing a major hike of over 25km, close to 9 hours. We ended up hiking along the coastline up to the Volcano Rano Kau. We walked along the coastline and saw a few Moai’s and other artifacts along the way.
At one point by the ocean the waves were shooting high enough that a large amount of spray would fly off the top … and the water was such a beautiful color blue.
We continued our walk until we got to a cave, Ana Kai Tangata, that has colored paintings in it. We walked down the steps and reached a barricade. They have closed this cave off because of rocks falling inside the cave. Bummer.
We continued our walk and crossed a parking lot that was close to a harbour. Near this parking lot was a Moai that was standing and one that was laying down.
They have barricades around some of them or signs stating not to go up to the Moai’s as this is sacred. Earlier today I was standing in an area that had two Moai’s and just in front looked like a walking area. I started to walk on it and had one person yell out to me and wave for me to come off. At the same time a vehicle went by and a woman hollered in Spanish, for me to get off the grass. I apologized to the gentleman and explained that there was no sign there. He understood and waved to me, I sure felt bad though … lesson learned.
Anyway, we continued up a hill and found a path called Te Ara O Te Ao, that goes through a park and works its way up to Volcano Rano Kau. At the entry to this path it explains that this was a path used over 150 years ago that they took to reach the ceremonial village of Orongo. We are walking on history.
Well, let me tell you … it was a very hot day! We were a little on the foolish
side as this was the first time we did not bring any food or water … not smart. We made it to the top and what a view! It made you forget you are thirsty and hungry … okay, not really. LOL
From the top we walked the rim of the volcano to the village Orongo, the bird-man village. Orongo is an ancient village that has over 27 reconstructed homes
and a large amount of original petroglyphs and was the only village that was used for ceremonial, religious purposes.
While walking, a young gentleman told me a few interesting facts about his ancestors. He pointed out some of the petroglyphs that were created by the man that won a "race". The idea was to swim out to the island, get a specific bird egg and then climb the cliff to this point. If they won, they were able to tell their story through a petroglyph. Many died climbing this cliff. If this young gentleman had not pointed this petroglyp out we would not have known that the petroglyph’s were there.
At one point you can see a large number of petroglyph’s but cannot approach the area as it is blocked off. I was so glad I brought my zoom lens to take some close up pics of them. What an incredible location for a village.
There was also an area where a Moai once stood and they call it the "stolen friend". It is presently displayed in England. Near the end of the walk, I ran into the gentleman again who was talking to a couple other people.
He pointed to the petroglyph in the middle of the field and you cannot approach. This was the petroglyph relevant to fertility. This was so interesting.
We left this area and worked our way around the rim to Cape South. About half way around, a dog started to follow us and for the next several hours did not leave us until we were back into town. It managed to survive, by eating from cow patties and found water to drink left by the rain in cavities of the volcanic rock. This was one smart dog.
Along the rim we took different photo’s of the ponds in the volcanic cone, and the ocean on the eroded part of the cone. We saw some petroglyphs, and other items of interest along the way.
We got close to the end (Cape South) and it was so hot … we had no water or food … we almost opted to head down the loop of the path. Both of us felt that we should take a little more energy and hike the last 300 meters to see the end of the cone as we had already been on the other side. This side, the path was not well worn, but we just felt the urge to do check out the view. Well, this was a wise choice! What a magnificent view from this point! Unbelievable beauty! To look over the eroded part of the cone rim to view the village of Orongo, but the lighting on the thin rim below us was just amazing.
After about 20 minutes of admiring the scenery, we walked on the looped path that eventually got into some woods. Many times the dog ran ahead and started to bark at cows. It almost got a hoof in the head, but this dog was relentless. When we got into the woods, there was a large pool of water on the old road that is a path. This dog layed down in the pool to cool off … I told the dog what a great idea and certainly felt like joining him. LOL
We ran into more cows and horses and the dog would go up to them and start barking. At one point it kept barking at the cows as we passed and then the dog flew by and started to bark at some more cows in front of us. I heard this loud sound of something running towards us and turned around to see a bull charging in our direction. Just about 15 feet behind us it crossed over to where the dog was barking. The dog went after it and it ran into the field. We had just joked about how this dog could start a stampede when we heard the bull coming behind us. Let’s just say that there was almost more than cow paddy’s on this road. Ha Ha Ha.
It was a long haul back to town. I was so tired; hot; sun-burned face, neck and arms; thirsty; and hungry. After entering town we stopped at one restaurant to find out that it doesn’t open for thirty minutes. She was kind enough to offer us a drink, but we asked where we could get a big meal that was not too expensive. On the way, I couldn’t go any further and suggested we go into this store and get a beer. The beer cost $7.00 CDN each! I didn’t care how much it was and they must have known that … it was gone in under 30 seconds. LOL
We walked a little further down the street and the dog was still with us. We walked into this restaurant, called Club Sandwich, and that was the last we saw of our friendly dog. The meal was awesome … as was the next beer! LOL
Certainly will fall asleep early tonight, that is for certain.