Steemers.. let me share some pictures with a tale from our adventure to the most remote community on earth, Isla De Pascua AKA Rapa Nui AKA the earth's belly button....... AKA Easter Island !! PART TWO.
So on our way home from the beach at Anakena, we saw a sign for another archaeological site. This one was just past the double headed horse :)
At this site we found just to the left of some giant toppled over Moai....
THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD
Now it is said that this mysterious round rock is the belly button of the earth. And has some super spiritual magical powers if your into that, but most likely the rock has some magnetic elements which gives off that vibe.
Now we heard that there was some lava tubes on the island so we had to go and find them to check them out! So we were back on our trusty red scooter and off on our mission.
Along the way we came across another flooded road but this time instead of a bull in the middle of the road there were horses which was a lot less scary haha
So we took the scooter off road to get around them.
We get to the field where the lava tubes ran beneath, we walked around not really knowing what we were looking for, until we saw about 1 foot of the top of a palm popping up out of the ground. So we climbed down into it :)
We explored as far as we could inside the lava tube, till we found a opening
Rano Raraku
The next day we went to Rano Raraku which is the quarry that all the Moai on the island came from. The Rapa Nui tribes would carve the Moai out of the side of the volcano. This was the factory where they would pump out the Moai for the island.
They would carve out the Moai then slide them down the steep slopes of the mountain to get them moving and stand them up with piles of rocks to lever them in the upright position. 40% of all Moai on the island are found at the quarry. They never made it to their final resting place.
These heads are full bodies that have been buried from the sand over the years. And where left where they stand.
It is said that the deforestation was a result from moving the statues they would cut down the trees to move the giant statues. They also have a theory that they would stand them upright and with ropes make them look like they where walking. Which would be so crazy to see these guys walking down the dirt roads.
A fallen Moai with a horse skull
In 1722 the Dutch found Easter Island and reported seeing only standing statues on the island. And then in 1774 Captain Cook reported that the statues had been toppled . The theory is that the Rapa Nui Tribes thought that they were the only people on earth as they were so isolated. And when they saw other people arrive it caused turmoil between the tribes and they all went to war on each other and toppled each others Moai. Also disease would have swept through the tribes from the visitors which took out a lot of people.
I was told that a US ship came to the island and took most of the islands elders and strong men as slaves and took them back to America. In which most of the history went with the elders. Which is such a shame.
Rano Kau volcano crater
This Volcano Crater is super rad! Its such a breathtaking view
Every afternoon we would go to Ahu Tahai to watch the sun set.
This spot is awesome to just chill with a beer or 2 and take it all in.
And make a friend or 2 with the local stray dogs that cruise around the island :)
There is so much to explore on this Island, all the mystery that surrounds it and the beauty of the landscape. I highly recommend the mission to visit this Island! Of all the places I have visited on this dirt ball Easter Island is a place that resonates with me. When I am working away printing t shirts, memories from my time on this island pop up and it brings a smile to my face. One day I will return !
Thanks for reading and if you like it please give it an upvote or even a resteem that would be super RAD!!
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if you missed PART ONE you can check it out right here
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/the-most-remote-community-on-earth-part-one
Here is a article about our escape from a crusader castle in Jordan
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/escape-from-a-crusaders-castle-in-jordan
Happy and safe adventures !
Much love
G