Easter Island, Chile
Ahu Tahai, Vinapu, Orongo, Ahu Akivi, Puna Pau, Ahu Tongariki, Rano Raraku and Anakena, Rapa Nui. Sounds exotic doesn’t it? It is. Locals call it Te Pito o Te Henua, ‘The Navel of the World,’ and for people who live 1900 km from tiny Pitcairn Island, 3700 km from mainland Chile and 3200 km from the Marquesas, it is. Isolated and shrouded in mystery, Easter Island is, in a word, extraordinary.
Where else can you find over 1000 bizarre gigantic multi-ton statues (called moai) carved from a steep volcano and hauled all over an island in the middle of nowhere? Why did they add the hats or ‘top knots’ to the statues? How did they erect these monoliths and why did they continue to get bigger and bigger, until the last one carved at the quarry was almost 70 feet long?
Imagine a place where the local clans were periodically at war and toppled these massive statues; where sacrifices and worship took place at the altars (or ahu); where Captain Cook landed in 1774 and found the locals at peace even though some of the statues were toppled; where little is known about how the population collapsed (or when it started); where tropical breezes continuously bathe the island. Imagine a place so peaceful, that at night you can hear the stars.
We had three wonderful days to enjoy and explore the archaeological sites, three days filled with stories and mystery. Three days to meet and enjoy the local people and their island home. Then one morning, from our seaside hotels in Hanga Roa (the tiny capital town on Easter Island), in sailed the National Geographic Endeavour, our home away from home for the next 15 days.
We are at sea today sailing for the Pitcairn Island group. Here we go!
Ahu Tahai, Vinapu, Orongo, Ahu Akivi, Puna Pau, Ahu Tongariki, Rano Raraku and Anakena, Rapa Nui. Sounds exotic doesn’t it? It is. Locals call it Te Pito o Te Henua, ‘The Navel of the World,’ and for people who live 1900 km from tiny Pitcairn Island, 3700 km from mainland Chile and 3200 km from the Marquesas, it is. Isolated and shrouded in mystery, Easter Island is, in a word, extraordinary.
Where else can you find over 1000 bizarre gigantic multi-ton statues (called moai) carved from a steep volcano and hauled all over an island in the middle of nowhere? Why did they add the hats or ‘top knots’ to the statues? How did they erect these monoliths and why did they continue to get bigger and bigger, until the last one carved at the quarry was almost 70 feet long?
Imagine a place where the local clans were periodically at war and toppled these massive statues; where sacrifices and worship took place at the altars (or ahu); where Captain Cook landed in 1774 and found the locals at peace even though some of the statues were toppled; where little is known about how the population collapsed (or when it started); where tropical breezes continuously bathe the island. Imagine a place so peaceful, that at night you can hear the stars.
We had three wonderful days to enjoy and explore the archaeological sites, three days filled with stories and mystery. Three days to meet and enjoy the local people and their island home. Then one morning, from our seaside hotels in Hanga Roa (the tiny capital town on Easter Island), in sailed the National Geographic Endeavour, our home away from home for the next 15 days.
We are at sea today sailing for the Pitcairn Island group. Here we go!
