Tuesday, January 21. Same old routine ,blue and about 28C.
We were up at six AM as we sailed by the island in the dark. It looked, long, high, dark and foreboding for sure. We ate a hearty breakfast and were in the boats by 8:30. There was 190 on the same trip as us, broken down into small groups of about 25, maybe 12 to a small bus. Our guide was a native whose ancestors have been here forever. Today we visited about all that we needed to see, which was more than I ever expected to see. The quarry, where most if not all of these giants were cut from, some are still there, incomplete, was about the most interesting to me. After a while they all started to look the same, no matter where on the island we went. After a few hours of buzzing around we were driven back to the tender wharf.
I am nor being casual about today's experience, it was wonderful and the weather and sea could not have been better. But as is usual on a half day tour things do get rushed and become a bit of a whirlwind. I could not really see spending much time here unless you were an Easter Island fanatic.
We decided to look for a bit of shade and see if we could locate a cool drink. We were warned about the high prices on the island so we were cautious. The menu was not at all overpriced so we had a long leisurely lunch at the best table in the house right on the corner of an open-air restaurant. It was a fitting way to end the day as we reminisced about other memorable adventure-meals on past trips to foreign lands.
The tour was about what we expected but a bit more civilized than I thought it may be. It is basically a sleepy little south Pacific Island that has these mysterious moa on it. Otherwise it could be Maui in a native town without the modern shops. Things are quite expensive here, both for the natives and the residents. They look more South American than Polynesian and the language is Spanish. American dollars are accepted at a fixed rate of exchange, no hanky lanky with the exchange.
The people are polite but not as friendly as on some of the Pacific Islands we have been on. I can somehow sense the feeling of why this island failed and has never moved on: There are 4000 horses on the island, without a set home, except somebody owns them, it is sort of like "I have more horses than you do" they run wild, without fences. It is almost like it was years ago when they tried to build a bigger statue than the previous one, of their leaders or upper class members of society. It ruined the island and left it without resources as all the trees were cut down for rollers and statue transporting. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
We did manage to slip into the ocean for a cooling dip around noon but it was only wading as we did not have long to be there and we would have been soaking wet in the bus so we settled for a wade.
Clocks start to go back again tonight, Easter Island stays on Chile time for convenience. Easter Island is considered Chilean, sort of a protectorate, but they pay no taxes and are basically a welfare state, the natives at least.
At least that is the way I see it!
Pictures are self explanatory I think.
Just a few ancient characters and some moa
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