Sunset at Ahu Tahai… …we sat there, mesmerized long after the sun disappeared over the horizon!
Dates visited: April 13, 2014 – April 17, 2014
I must have been 10 when I saw pictures of the Easter Island heads (moai statues), and ever since then I’ve harbored the dream of seeing them in person. Plus, knowing that Easter Island is one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands also added to the allure. Easter Island (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is little less than 2400 miles from Santiago (5h 40m by flight)! It was a spectacular trip… …something that I always wanted to do, and (bam!) there I was!! There’s so much history and mystery to the island, its culture and of course, the moai statues, that it’s worth it to hire a private tour guide and just soak in all that information. After learning about these huge monoliths—how and why they were carved, and how they might have been moved up to 12-15 miles to their final destination—it was heartbreaking to learn that the islanders themselves toppled the standing moai after their civilization broke down.
There’s just one village—Hanga Roa—on the entire island, and that’s about it! Welcome to island life, laid back culture, getting followed by stray dogs and being woken by roosters… …where time comes to a standstill.
My best site was visiting Rano Raraku—a volcanic crater that served as a quarry for carving 95% of the islands moais. The view of so many moais staring at you as you walk around them gave me the chills. I never knew that the huge heads jutting out of the ground have the rest of the torso buried in the ground. It was a spectacular sight being in the midst of where the action took place for about 500 years until the early eighteenth century.
My second favorite site was Orongo village (of the birdman cult) for the incredible expanse of the blue Pacific ocean and the stupefying view of Rano Kau (another volcanic crater). While the moai statues at Ahu Tongariki, Te Pito Kura and Vinapu were equally splendid, the Rapa Nui dance performance by the Ballet Kari Kari group edged all of them for their athletic bodies and awesome grace. Prachi was chosen by the dancers to join them on stage, and she got two minutes of hips-swaying and hands-waving with the muscular and strapping male dancers.
Some moai facts that certainly astounded me:
- Tallest moai erected: 33 ft tall and weighed 82 tons
- Heaviest moai erected: weighed 86 tons
- Unfinished statue: 69 ft tall and weighed 270 tons
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- At the Rano Raraku quarry where 95% of the island moai statues were carved
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- Moai at Rano Raraku quarry – two-thirds of the statue is buried underground
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- Tukuturi – the only moai that has a beard and is kneeling
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- Carving on this moai was discontinued after the Rapa Nui people encountered problems with the rock
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- If this moai had been completed, it would have been 69 ft tall and weighed 270 tons… …you can see the face in the top left quadrant.
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- Four out of the 15 moai at Ahu Tongariki (the second one from the right wearing a topknot)
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- At Ahu Tahai… …an ‘ahu’ is a raised ceremonial platforms made of fitted stones and rubble, or a ramp that is paved with beach cobbles, called poro, and a leveled court in front.
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- Getting a little too cozy with Mr. Moai
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- Watching the sunset at Ahu Tahai
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- Moai wearing a topknot
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- Wild horses are everywhere on the island
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- Oops! This moai fell and cracked into two… …on the way to its destination
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- A choir of moai with one slacking
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- With 15 moai at Ahu Tongariki
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- They finally restored the three missing moai statues at Ahu Tongariki
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- The only moai with a crick in the neck
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- Paro – the tallest moai ever erected was 33 ft tall and weighed 82 tons
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- The beautiful Anakena beach
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- Entrance to the cave, Ana Kai Tangata
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- View from inside the cave, Ana Kai Tangata
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- Cave paintings of the bird, manu tara (Sooty Tern)
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- Setting for the Tangata manu (bird-man) competition
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- Somewhere in there is the heaviest moai ever erected – weighing 86 tons
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- Mesmerized by the volcanic crater of Rano Kau
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- Dwellings for participants of the bird-man competition in Orongo village
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- View of the ocean from Orongo village
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- Posing with the only four-armed moai
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- Volcanic crater of Rano Kau
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- Toppled moai at Ahu Vinapu
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- Topknots strewn all over the foothills at Puna Pau
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- With a moai wearing a topknot
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- One of the few moai that has his eyes restored
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- With the seven moai at Ahu Akivi… …they exactly face sunset during the Spring Equinox and have their backs to the sunrise during the Autumn Equinox!
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- How’s that for size?
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- The seven moai at Ahu Akivi – the only ones facing the sea instead of inland
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- Dance performance by the Ballet Kari Kari group
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- Prachi swaying with the dancers during the Ballet Kari Kari show… …she was excited to be called on the stage!
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- Easter Island’s Got Talent—the moai judges are clearly not impressed by Rohan’s performance!
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- Picking a guava (fruit) for his mommy
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- Selling fresh watermelon on a hot and humid day