Hello, fellow Steemers.. Easter Island (La Isla De Pasqua) https://www.google.com/maps/place/Easter+Island/@-27.1259756,-109.3738341,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x9947f017a8d4ae2b:0xbbe5b3edc02a2db6!8m2!3d-27.112723!4d-109.3496865
was one of those places I always wanted to go to and finally made it. Even though some people may be like "why or whats there". The main goal of the trip was focused around a spiritual thought of being out so remote that your life distractions are removed. I've always regarded Easter Island as my trip of a lifetime. Ive been a lot of places and many great experiences I've had. Around 48 countries so not to bad compared to most folks i know.. It was epic to view the Moai and to wonder how the heck did they get there without any machinery nor any spectacular resources. I wondered how a population that was so prosperous at times in there history could be so decimated. I wondered how the "Birdmen" made that swim to gather the bird eggs and survived... Sharks are hungry I thought.... The Statues and Rock Art of Rapa Nui. Using basalt stone picks, the Easter Island Moai were carved from the solidified volcanic ash of Rano Raraku volcano. They are all monolithic the carvings are created in one piece and an average weight of 20 tons and measuring 20 feet tall or more thus clearly not an easy task by hand only. I know I would not enjoy that work....
There are over 800 Moai (rock art) and they created over 1500 years ago by most estimates. Why,, there are numerous camps on that one.. One was to worship the gods and protect them, another one was to protect them from Leoprasy..
So I approached the trip via Santiago of course... And the only airport you could get there from at the time. We took two months and rented an apartment in the Belle Vista area of Santiago which we used as a base to visit Chile and out our side trip to Cuzco Peru where my wife is from. Viva Peru:)..
The flight was five hours and distance was about 2000 miles off the coast of Chile. LAN Chile is actually a very good airline by gringo standards, the service, cleanliness and customer service that was... We landed in Hanga Roa which is a one gate airport..... Hanga Roa is the only city on the island.. There are some small villages but if you need anything dont leave the city without it.. Below is my wife and my daughter
One of the challenges of going to a remote island is that your very limited in choices like hotels, restaurants, activities etc.. Not a surprise... The cost of lodging is very expensive so be prepared for to cough up some funds.. If your more of a camper there was of course some great options it appeared.
So why do locals refer to the island as Rapa Nui, while most others refer to it as Easter Island. The name Easter Island was given to the island when Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen found the island on Easter Sunday in 1722 during his search for David’s Island.
So Easter Island is small only about 64 Sq miles and you can drive around in less than two hours with a rental car..
You can easily see everything in about 4 days. Below is photo from the Pea Restobar...
So the first order was for me to rent a car and start touring... But with a 4 year old we had to check into the hotel which was the Tupa Hotel and get settled in.. They had a shuttle that picks you and a continental breakfast without eggs... (Yes, no eggs even though all over the island chickens are running around which i thought was sort of counterintuitive....) We had a nice room with a view of the bay. (Well there is no harbor, everything really had to be manhandled off of small boats or flown in..
The next day we rented a car and started touring. Below is Orongo essentially the volcano which is now dormant
The best view is the little rock islands where the birds congregate and where the "Birdmen" went swimming to... If you saw the climb down they had you knew these guys were flat out Studs... The climb down and up had to have ripped them apart and never mind the swimming....
We then went on to Rano Raraku (The Quarry) where the islander crafted the Moai
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Interesting to see what was hundreds perhaps of basalt rocks being carved and essentially planted around the quarry.. For me it was like,, What were we they really thinking, what was the process and how many years did the labor on these... No tools and essentially there are no trees on Easter Island and the history stated that trees were used for "rolling the Moai" around the island perhaps.
Perhaps my favorite part of the island (The eastern side) Ahu Tongariki is the largest ahu on Easter Island. Its moai were toppled during the island's civil wars and in the twentieth century the ahu was swept inland by a tsunami.
Then off to the beach . There is only really one sizable sand beach on Easter Island which is called Anakena. Has both clear and warm water with white sand. The are Moai' s in front of it guarding the beach Usually quiet, perfect to relax and get some sleep. BBQ areas, tent styled restaurants, bathrooms, parking are there. Although, One day we went it was clear all the islander went there and it was packed because of a local holiday...
Easter Island although remote, it was a spiritually powerful place that enhanced your deep thoughts..Challenged you to find out who you were and what you could dream up. You can certainly breath free of "Chemtrails" since the sky is clear blue even on partly cloudy day.. (Try that in the USA with the chemtrails http://beforeitsnews.com/chemtrails/2017/04/chemtrails-richie-from-boston-documents-operation-solar-shield-by-harvard-2459865.html in full swing)... At night there is almost no lights so the sky is clear.... You can envision what the world was like a very long time ago when things were simple and less chaotic.
One final thought.. What would life be like like simple with just horses... No Ipads. No cable... Where you could just tune out?>
Waves crashing against the volcanic rocks on the southwest side of Easter Island near Orongo..
So Thank you for reading. If you do go sometime please reach out since Id love to hear about your experience..
Hasta una Vez mis amigos!
Joe Holbrook
The Cloud Tech Guy