South America, Days 134 to 137 - Stage 26: Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

The mysterious Moai on isolated Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Day 134 Friday 

Free shuttle to the airport, which was why we'd booked the very sterile La Quinta hotel. It was easy and comfortable and actually had an incredibly helpful receptionist. A five hour flight ahead of us to Rapa Nui, the most isolated inhabited island in the world. We had to hang around on the tarmac for half an hour as they had lost a member of cabin crew. They seemed to find a new one quickly though!

Rapa Nui, in case you didn't know is where the little blue dot is, way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 3700km from South America, 2075km from Pitcairn Island, the nearest inhabited island

Our bags were almost the last ones onto the conveyor which is always stressful but we went out to a card with our names, Odette from our hotel with garlands for our necks. We were the only ones for our hotel but she appeared to be doing a taxi service so we were in the pickup, with a young Swiss couple and all the luggage for us and a load of Chinese people.

The island, 63 square miles of volcanic rock. The red dots are the places we've visited on our two days of tours so far, the blue arrow head is where we are right now

She is a lovely lady with limited English, so again Spanglish to the fore. Suddenly we had two days of tours booked which we knew we'd have to do as you have to have a guide to visit most of the sites, so that was easy. We thought we'd only agreed to one, but hey I'm sure two will be fine, we are here for 5 nights after all! We had gained 2 hours so had to put off going for dinner, so enjoyed the veranda. I took my third ever call from BeMyEyes an app that I have that blind people can use for assistance. This one was a chap in London who had come home to a package he wasn't expecting. 21.15 at home he didn't want to go knock so could I tell him the name on the package please? It's such a simple idea, I love it. He apologised for calling so late and sounded quite excited when I said not to worry, it was only 16.15 in Easter Island!

Our 'local' Moai site at Tahai, one we walk past each day on our way from our hotel into town. All the Moai have been re-erected by Dr. Mulloy (see below) in 1950's. Here was fresh water storage and a safe harbour for fishing

We walked into town along the coast and saw our first Moai (big heads) looking in at us. I'm going to let Brian talk history though as he is much better at that than me and also because he spent much of the day with Garrett one of our hotel mates who has been listening to audio books about the island while building a tiny home! Despite being 18.00, which is 20.00 in mainland Chile it was still really hot, and humid so we stopped at the first restaurant we came to which I'd seen on the drive in, and had good reviews. A good meal before walking into town and the long way home on an unsuccessful ice-cream hunt and we were still too early for sunset at 20.30

The local beer was quite palatable

Day 135 Saturday 

Breakfast at 08.00 for pick up at 09.00. and what a breakfast, hurrah, no mention of scrambled egg! We weren't the only ones there Garrett and Sarah, from near to Seattle, but claiming to be from Canada, joined us and were on the same trip. The tour company appears to have a continual rolling programme of a one day tour and two half day tours which you can do in any order. They had done the two half days yesterday so we were all on the full day today. A very smart 4x4 arrived to collect us for the office where we joined another couple and waited for the bus. No obvious cats about, but there was a very excitable puppy in the road who I encouraged in to bounce all of us. I now have puppy paw prints on my hat, but it'll wash!

The original remains of a house in an old Polynesian village

Onto the bus and I'll hand over to Brian for the history.

We had a great day, spending most of our time talking to Garrett, Sarah and Veronica an amazing British lady. I think you could have knocked us all down with a feather when in discussion on travel insurance we discovered she is 79. You'd never have guessed that! The quarry for the Moai was the most amazing place, we loved it, closely followed by the beach where we could swim (in shifts we decided) while looking at Big Heads! The water was lovely, though a little choppy which did lead to the odd collision with hidden underwater rocks. Brian was a big brave soldier though with his big plaster on his knee!

And a recreation of what experts believed the house looked like

We went back to shower and change before heading out to dinner which proved harder than expected as it was a Saturday night. We did have a nice meal which fortunately we were still eating when the heavens opened. It didn't last long though, but I guess does explain why the island is so green and lush. We headed back along the coast, just in time for sunset behind the Moai and a chat with the Swiss couple from our transfer.

The Moai quarry on the slopes of Ma'unga Puka volcano near Anakena in the north of the island, the place where the Moai were carved and then, weighing up to 80 tonnes, transported across the island. Many didn't make it, breaking during transportation, they were simply left where they fell

Day 136 Sunday

Another 09.00 start for our two half day tours. Again I'll leave what we saw to Brian. Some of what we saw did begin to make more sense though as Tarangi the guide does spend quite a bit of time referring to things he said 'yesterday', which obviously didn't help us yesterday but was much clearer today. The best morning stop was the crater lake which was stunning.

The views I and probably most other people associate with Rapa Nui, but these are not the completed Moai in their final intended position on a platform and facing the village, but were in the process of transportation on the slopes of the quarry

We were dropped off in town for a couple of hours to get lunch before the afternoon tour. We watched turtles apparently playing in the waves crashing onto the rocks before finding a cafe to grab a light lunch. We bumped into a couple there who had been on yesterday's tour and were going to be on the afternoon tour. They are older than they look (35) and are travelling for upto a year or when the money runs out. He was made redundant and she handed her notice in and they are off, for the second time. They are visiting some of the places we have been so it's great to be able to give a recommendation or two. They also know a lot of the places we visited on our last US trip and had just been on an Antarctic expedition which did sound amazing. South Georgia definitely has a pull for me, though despite costing as much as a car, to buy, the food was apparently awful and luxurious it wasn't!

In the 1950's one of the  Moai was excavated to reveal a large body beneath the soil. This was probably a more recent carving as their technology developed. Why was it half buried and left here? No-one knows 

I think I'm now a bit 'Big Headed' out. In some ways the lack of knowledge about how and why they were carved and moved is part of the mystique of the island, it is also slightly irritating. 

The Moai in the foreground with the slight depression in the ground in front was the one in the above photo that was excavated in the 1950's

We got back to the hotel where I was a little disappointed not to find a note under the door from Garrett and Sarah about going out to dinner. We obviously made enough noise though that they appeared, so off we all went. Back to our first place as we knew it was open, and we knew many places weren't as it was Sunday. We had a lovely evening with lots of interesting chat, though our timing was slightly off. We were joined by two dogs on the walk home, with no encouragement from anyone. They actually made it all a bit fraught as they obviously upset local dogs as we walked past causing woofing and running about. We did then get caught in the downpour about 5 minutes before we got back, so it could have been worse, though I'm not sure we could have got much wetter!

Nearby on the coast are 15 Moai on their platform as the Polynesians intended. All face their village and have their backs to the sea. All these have been re-erected as all Moai on the island had been pushed or had fallen over. 

Day 137 Monday 

The rain and wind from last night continued most of the night which has led to the power and WiFi coming and going. Breakfast sort of had half power which is most unusual, power normally being there or not. The toaster did take a really long time!

We had contemplated a glass bottom boat and snorkel trip today so glad we cancelled that as although the wind has dropped a bit the weather is still not good, but we have today and tomorrow!

Of course, it was necessary to take this photo!

Brian's island background and history:

Here's a little bit about the island and it's history. I gleaned this information from our excellent guide, Tarangi, a 6th generation islander and descendent from the 111 surviving original inhabitants (more about that later), from Google and from Garrett, who with his wife Sarah are our fellow hotel guests on holiday from their home in a village near Seattle in Washington state USA (although they were telling everyone they were Canadians). He is well read on the subject and could expand further on our guides narrative.

Closer view of some of the 15, one with a topnot on

The island is one of the remotest on earth being 3700km from mainland South America and 2075km from the nearest inhabited island - the 37 people living on Pitcairn Island of the 'mutiny on the Bounty' fame. On the face of it, it doesn't have a lot going for it, it has no rivers, poor soil and almost no trees (although trees are being planted now). It has an area of 63 square miles (164km2) and is of volcanic origin, formed from 53 separate volcanos and has 3 crater lakes (or calderas), the last one erupting 2.5 million years ago.

Back in the quarry and do you see the recess where many Moai have been cut from the rock? Look to the right (to the left of the people), can you see a Moai lying down, half carved but not released from the rock?

The history of its colonisation is sketchy to say the least, no-one really knows, but experts agree that Polynesians settled on the island between the years 800 and 1200 AD, lets say 1000 AD for ease. Garrett's information is on the earlier side and Wikipedia suggests it could be as early as 300 AD. Sometime after arriving they began to carve Moai, the statues of a head and torso that the island is so well known for. They used a quarry at Anakena in the north of the island, which is one of the three mounts that has a crater lake, to carve the Moai. We visited the quarry and saw the holes where Moai had been carved from, many parts carved statues, still attached to rock, a lot that were halfway down the hillside, many upright, others flat and many broken. It was as though production came to an abrupt halt.

Looking down the slope are many Moai, standing, flat and broken

Why they carved them no-one knows but our guide says they were carved by the families of the deceased 'important person', maybe a king, he believes no forced labour was used. The Moai were erected with their backs to the sea, facing into the village where they lived. Deceased of the family of the Moai were wrapped and left to dry behind the Moai and later buried at the foot of the Moai. This tradition continued for 500 to 600 years, during which the design, size and technique of the carving inproved and, after about 1400 AD, had a 'topnot' added to the heads. These were made from an iron rich volcanic crater on the island that is red in colour. During this time estimates of the population vary, originally it was thought up 50,000 people must have been required to carve and transport the Moai, which could weigh up to 80 tonnes for the tallest, 10m high one and up to 15km across the island. However, subsequent simulations of moving and lifting by people using what is believed to be traditional equipment available at the time has shown that as few as 4000 inhabitants could do the work, so 4000 people is the figure that is generally accepted today (although some say it may have been up to 9000 and others saying agriculture on the island could have supported a maximum of 15000 people). A king was in overall charge of the 14 separate tribes and he and his entourage occupied the north (best) part of the island, the others living in the south.

Another view from a different angle. How many here? Who knows, there are many

Around 1600 AD production of Moai abruptly ceased and was replaced by a different ritual, the Tangata Manu, or 'bird man'. This ritual happened every September when the Sooty Tern (Manu Tara in local language) lays its eggs on the small island of Motu Nui, the largest of three tiny islands about 1 mile off the South Western tip of the island near the largest crater lake of Rapa Nui. Representatives from each of the 14 tribes would compete to be the first to return to the clifftop around the crater with a tern egg collected from Motu Nui. To do it they had to climb down the sheer cliff face (we were told head first by our guide), swim the mile across to the island through the open Pacific Ocean, climb onto the island, collect an egg (about the size of a chicken egg), strap it to their head, return to Rapa Nui and climb back up the cliff to the crater rim where crowds watched and cheered. Remains of the houses they used during the 28 days ceremony still remain. 

Here's another section with two Moai in the course of production

Why did  they do it? Our guide believes it was to be appointed 'King of Resources' for a year, second only to the main king. It's an indication that the situation on the island had changed, resources had become dangerously depleted, most trees had been cut down and competition for food and remaining resources becoming critical. Remember there are no rivers on the island, water had to be collected in hollowed rocks and food grown in the crater lakes and stone protected recesses. It may be that production of Moai became less important than survival, although there is some evidence a few Moai were made after this date.

Looking down from the quarry can be seen the 15 Moai in the photos above. The story of the re-erection of these Moai is that, in 1960 a huge 9.2 magnitude earthquake hit Chile (we were told about this when we were in Valparaiso) at 12:30pm. 5 hours later, at 17:30pm a 10m high tsunami washed ashore here toppling all 15 Moai. The Japanese came over with heavy lifting equipment and, over a period of months, repaired and re-erected them. By careful examination we could see where concrete was used to put them back together

1722 was the year Europeans first arrived and it was a Dutch ship that arrived on Easter Sunday of that year, naming it Easter Island. They only stayed 2 days as the island had few resources for them, but they noted a population of about 3000 people and around 1000 Moai standing. They aalso noted a large population of very large rats that the Polynesians probably brought with them. Could this have played a part in the destruction of the trees and resource depletion? Several other Dutch ships visited over the years and the English explorer Captain Cook visited around 1780 and described the island as desolate with most statues no longer standing. Whether they had been pushed over by man (perhaps during conflict or revenge?) or had decayed to the extent they could no longer stand no-one knows. The only ones standing were those half buried at the quarry and it is these Moai that are most photographed today.

The 'navel of the world' a revered stone

Following these visits something fairly catastrophic happened on the island to the extent that, by 1877, the population had reduced to just 111 individuals. Exactly why is unclear, but explanations range from an epidemic of smallpox or some other disease introduced by European visitors, to people being forcibly removed by Peruvian slave-traders (some say they may not have been forcibly removed, but just offered a better life working in Peru), or possibly a combination of both. Settlers began to arrive on the island and the native population recovered to the extent that, today there are around 8000 people that call it home. Archaeologists have studied the Moai, the most notable being Dr William Mulloy, who repaired and re-erected many of them in the 1950's, recreating, as far as was known, the original platform arrangement. Today the island is a UNESCO world heritage site, 60% of food for the island comes by cargo ship once a week from Valparaiso in Chile and they home produce the other 40%. Electricity is from diesel generators and internet seems to be mainly from Starlink satellites. 

Not all of the Moai have been re-erected and this is also important as it is the history (but less interesting).  This is how early explorers found them

Last stop on Day 1, the beach, one of only two on the island (but littered with sharp rocks hidden under the surf amongst the sand!)

With a backdrop of eight Moai

Here's the back view of 7 of them showing the red topnots

The eighth one, shown here was re-erected using a team using what they believe were traditional methods, to find how long it would take. It took them 18 days

Day 2 tour and a visit to the crater lake in the SW of the island. Down there is Motu Nui island and it's two small neighbours. In the Tangata Manu ceremony tribal chiefs had to climb down this cliff face, swim out to the island, collect a Tern egg, swim back and climb back up the cliff. The winner became 'King of Resources' for the year

Here's the impressive crater lake

These are the remains of the sleeping accommodation used during the 28 day ceremony

And that was the cliff they climbed down head first before their mile swim to the island

Visit to the only harbour on the island. Look at that narrow, rocky entrance with the surf beyond. No boats will be landing today and, in fact it's frequently like this. Any cruise ships due will cancel their landings on the islands

A frigate bird flying over the harbour 

In front of the harbour stands a Moai and I happened to capture the frigate bird flying above it's head

Afternoon visit to Ahu A Kivi, a site of Moai in the original fallen state, but an interesting site for several reasons...

The first is this wall. We have, along with many people, visited Inca sites around Cusco in Peru and witnessed the precision cutting of stones to create a wall with no gaps. Here 3700km away is a similarly constructed wall that some have postulated is evidence of Inca presence. However, modern DNA testing shows no Inca DNA in the native population so this has been ruled out. It's origins are therefore a mystery

Alongside, the face of a Moai looks out from the ground 

Adjacent is a site that is said to show the only female Moai and here it is. We defer to experts but it is made of the red volcanic rock and features were pointed out that we were told shows it is definitely a female statue, the only one found. I can't point them out now and I can't say we were convinced, but hey, we're not experts

Lunchtime was spent in Hanga Roa town and this little inlet has turtle residence who seem to like the crashing surf (incidentally, we're hoping to try out that restaurant on the headland there tonight. It's been recommended by other travellers but was closed on Sunday. It's open tonight, so that's our plan!)

And here in the inlet are turtles playing and feeding in the surf. We counted 4 of them. Not the best photo I know, we had a much better video of turtles swimming when we were in the Galapagos. Look back in our blogs or our Youtube channel to have a look

Afternoon visit to the quarry of the red topnots. It's up there on the hill (crater) and these are some that were on their way down. They weren't rolled down our guide said but moved down. They are round, why wouldn't you roll them? And this is a civilisation that hadn't discovered the wheel. This is such a short step away from a wheel it's a wonder they hadn't made the connection

And this is the quarry crater. He pointed out about 6 or so topnot's down there, but could probably pick out only about three

This is the thing to do, watch sunset at our local Tahai Moai site. It happens at 8:40pm and coincided nicely with us finishing our dinner

So, along with quite a few others on a warm evening we stayed and watched the sun set

Here, alongside is a model of the Moai and, on the left a braille description so blind people can feel the models and read a description in braille. Very inclusive, but the only question is whether the braille is in Spanish or English. Our guide couldn't answer it!