Day 68 - Rapa Nui - Easter Island

I awoke to the ship a rockin’ & a rollin’. Wowser! I haven’t felt the ship roll like that in awhile! I was lying in bed thinking to myself, ‘Oh no. We’re not going to get in! The water is too rough & we’re going to miss Easter Island!’ Luckily my thoughts were wrong!



I didn’t manage to get a tour, as they were sold out. I decided to head ashore myself & hire a taxi to take me to a few of the Moai, the giant statues so famously associated with Easter Island.



Feeling rather miserable again, I took my time getting ready & finally headed off the ship about 15 minutes after they announced open tenders (previously you needed a ticket & had to wait in line for a tender). I hopped onto the tender after one of the Italian officers tried hard to flirt with me, until the Security Officer pulled him aside & told him I was the wife of someone on board! Shame, poor fella. He’s the reason why Italians have the reputation they do. He was relentless with 2 of the female pursers on the tender. Most of the Italians on the ship are quite pleasant, but this fellow. Yeesh!



Anyhow, it was the slowest tender ride I’ve ever had. The swells were so big, if we would have went fast, our tender would have been drenched in sea water. The waves crashing on the shore were spectacular! The would roll into this giant white cap, the lip of the wave misting white before it turned into the frothing mad smash of white water crashing onto the big black, porous rocks lining the shore. It was spectacular & so were the surfers further down the shore.



To the right of the tender, the island showed a massive hill, sporadically covered in lush, green trees. The cliffs below the hill were layers of red rocks leading to the ocean below. To the left of the tender sat the town & further past that, more rolling hills, carpeted in green grass.



I found a taxi driver right away, as I only had about 2.5 hrs to see as much as I could. We agreed upon $100 for 2 hrs. A little steep, but I was anxious to get going. I later learned that this was VERY steep. I could have hired a car for the same price for 8 hours!!! Anyhow, I told them we had to stop at an ATM before we left, as I needed to pull out some cash for them. We stopped. My Interac card didn’t work. I had Jaco’s credit card, but no pin, so I couldn’t use it. The English speaking girlfriend of the driver decided we could go to her father’s hotel & swipe the credit card & then Daddy could give them the money later. Okay. Nope. Daddy takes me to the campground to try their machine. Nope. To the grocery store. Nope. To the car rental shop. Nope. The car rental shop finally told us that the machines were down all over the island. Great. I’ve got $20 – ½ an hour’s worth of sightseeing. I’ve just wasted an hour trying to get money. Argh!



We head back to Daddy’s place & they take me to a group of Moai close by. It starts raining. Whatever. I head down to the Moai. There are 2 single Moai & a group of 5 Moai. I photograph them all & by the time I am nearly finished, the sun pops back out. Thank you! I shoot a little more & then hike back up the hill to head back to the ship.



When they drop me off at the pier, I walked back a little ways & photographed another weathered Moai & then headed down to a little patch of sandy shore. I collected my sand & a few rocks & then headed back to the ship.



For those of you who don’t know, I’ve collected small bits of sand from all the beaches I’ve been to since I started my travels. One day, when Jaco & I have a house of our own, I’ll layer all the sand into a beautiful jar. I have sand from 6 continents & at present, I have no idea how many baggies of sand that equates! If you were at our wedding in Waterton, you would have experienced or were, perhaps, a part of the sand ceremony. Instead of flowers, I gave each bridesmaid (15) a jar of coloured sand. The groomsmen (4) got the same. We all poured our sand into a massive vase & it created a wonderful work of art. Much like a unity candle, the grains of sand represent moments in our lives before we met. Once the sand is poured together, it can never be separated again. I am anxious to do the same with the ‘Sands of the World’! :o)



I must add – The Daddy with the hotel, he speaks Rapa Nui, English, Spanish, French & Japanese. Impressive! His daughter speaks Rapa Nui, English, Spanish, & some French. She wants to learn German as well!



My experience of the village was very interesting. The people are an interesting mix of Polynesian, Chilean, & Japanese. The island has little to no crime, the vegetation is green year round & apparently the wind blows a lot in their winter. Daddy said the island can be seen in a day if you are a ‘typical’ tourist, but if you want to delve deeper, you can take 3-4 days & see much more. Supposedly 1200 years ago the Polynesians showed up in their double hulled canoes. For centuries that followed, an advanced society developed, but unfortunately, the land was unable to sustain the agricultural (food) demands the people placed upon it. Wars broke out & the people began to kill each other. Then they began to eat each other. Somewhere in there, they carved these giant statues or Moai out of the volcanic rock, that continue to fascinate 1000’s of people every year. I guess that makes me one of them! (The fascinated people, not a cannibal, just for the record!)



I am not sure if I’ll ever make it back to Easter Island. I would like to think so, as there is much (most) of the island that I didn’t see. Only time will tell I suppose!



Jaco didn’t make it ashore with me, as one of his 2 nurses was medically disembarked. This was quite a headache for him, as now his team is down to himself & the Senior Nurse. Heaven forbid something happens between now & the next landfall in 4 days time! He’s had a full plate of work these past few days, so hopefully it will slow down & he can catch his breath! He told me tonight, ‘Don’t ever marry a Doctor’. I replied, ‘Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?’. :o)



Have a wonderful night…

Maria & Jaco

xxxx

The waves crashing on the rocks

Like no where else on Earth.

Moai.

Ancient Moai.

2 Moai.

One Moai.

No more Moai. (Pretty blue water though, eh?)

Sailing away from Easter Island. And the Moai.

Me & My Moai.