Easter Island

The time had arrived and on Wednesday (after a later than planned start) I was back at SCL and checked in for my flight to Easter Island 3½ hours ahead of take-off! I even managed to get a window seat, the last one, that was in an exit row so I had to be responsible for opening the door in the event of a crash, but at least I got extra legroom! Lan, once again, did not disappoint - the meal was great and I had time to watch two films, Doubt and Fight Club. Well, they turned the entertainment system off five minutes before the end of FC, which was a tad annoying, but who cares, I was about to land on the remotest inhabited land on Earth!

Because I only had hand luggage with me, I was out into Arrivals within seconds - there was no immigration as it was classed as a domestic flight, and the airport was but a large shed and a runway! I soon spotted my name on a board (the first time that's ever happened at an airport, so I was chuffed) and after a short wait, I was soon at the hostel. There I met Jeanette (Netherlands) and Emmy (USA) and we were all chatting away about our various travel experiences. Emmy had toured the island in a rental car, and so me and Jeanette decided we'd follow suit. I was regretting not having more time there and was hoping I'd get everything done in two full days. In fact, that night I dreamt that I'd visited a little island off the coast and got there too late to see everything and then I had to fly home and I'd not even visited Easter Island at all. I was glad to wake up the next day!

So, it was a relief when I did! After a delicious breakfast, Jeanette and I headed into Hanga Roa, the island's only town (or village would be a more accurate description!) We organised a car, some cheese, crackers and water and at 10.30 am, we set off along the coast! It wasn't long before we spotted our first moai (statue) and the cameras were off! The southern coastline was also pretty amazing and was getting absolutely battered by the Pacific. We soon realised however, that we'd need a National Park ticket for one of the main sites further along the coast, which had to be purchased at Orongo, on the other side of Hanga Roa. We therefore decided to tour the complete island and see all the sights we didn't need a ticket for, and head back out again on Friday to do those that did.

Our Little Red Jimny

We continued as far east as the road went and got a glimpse of Easter Island's most impressive moai at Ahu Tongariki. This was what I had been waiting for, fifteen large statues, all standing to attention by the sea. After a lengthy stop there to allow me to take the same photo over and over again (and for some cheese and crackers), we continued northwards and spent an hour or so at Anakena beach, a lovely spot, to swim in the Pacific. Luckily, even though it was slightly chilly, it was a damn sight warmer than the Pacific in New Zealand! The weather was glorious and after all the four-wheel driving and photo-taking, we needed a break!

After we left Anakena, we still had time to head back towards Hanga Roa, but take a detour onto gravel roads to see the last of the standing moai. All day, we had practically had the island to ourselves, apart from wild horses everywhere, but as we arrived at Ahu Akivi so did a busload of tourists. Damn tourists! We had to wait a while for them to clear out of our photos, plus the sun then popped behind the clouds and then there was another long wait for it to reappear, but when it finally did, it was worth it!

Ahu Akivi

By this point, we'd crammed most of the sights in and it was time to head back to the hostel. There, we met Cinthya from French Polynesia and we spent the evening chatting and having dinner. Yep, I decided to treat myself, no more bread and cereal for Emma, I had a lovely pizza and salad! Well, when on Easter Island...

On Friday, I was up early and down at the beach by 8.45 as I was going... scuba diving! I'd not really thought about it being possible on Easter Island, but as soon as I found out that it had spectacular diving opportunities, I felt obliged! I was worried that I'd not have the time to fit in a dive, but after we hired the car, we'd gone down to the dive shops the day before and I booked the earliest one possible, meaning that I'd be able to get as much done as possible on Day One, and still be able to dive safely 24 hours before my flight back to Santiago.

Off I went (again!) in a little speedboat into the harbour and once in the water, I was amazed by the visibility - 40 metres! It was incredible and apparently it can be as good as 60-70 metres out there! We saw an underwater moai (which, admittedly, was a concrete one), loads of moray eels, trumpetfish, porcupine fish... and old anchors! Once back on the boat, the dive instructor was really impressed with my air consumption, as I still had plenty left after 51 minutes. He asked if I did a lot of sports or went to the gym, to which I replied that scuba diving was my only 'sporty' activity!

I then met Jeanette and Cinthya back at the hostel, and after picking up some more supplies, we drove to Orongo, the site of a Rapa Nui village near the top of Rano Kau, the island's largest volcano. The ranger was extremely funny and sweet and after buying our tickets, we wandered around the ancient site. Then it was time for more photos at the crater, and my goodness, it was impressive! It could have been from another planet as around a mile in diameter and filled with a lake covered in unusual plant life.

The crater of Rano Kau

We then headed to Rano Raraku, the major sight we'd missed the previous day, where the moai where originally quarried. It was again amazing, as here there are many different kinds of moai, some of which that were only half calved, and they are just scattered around the volcano, some buried up to their middles, some right up to their chins. It was exactly how you would imagine Easter Island would be...

The moai at Rano Raraku

Friday evening was a quiet one, especially as we had decide, in our wisdom, to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to go back to Ahu Tongariki at sunrise! So at 5.30, we set off for one last time in our little jeep, in the dark. After a wrong turn at the beginning, we made it onto the right road and by the time we arrived at the site, it was still dark. Well, at least we were early and not late, plus we had a great view of the stars. As the first signs of daylight started to appear, we made our way to the moai, with a tiny torch to guide the way. We were then whistled at my a small red dot of light, which turned into a man in a poncho tripping over a petroglyph - "We are filming for TV, you can't stand in from of the statues!" he cried. Well, we weren't convinced as his equipment was rather on the small side, plus there was no cordon or signs to warn us of this, so we were a little peeved that we couldn't get the spot we wanted, but in the end as the sun rose, it was all worth it.

Sunrise at Ahu Tongariki

So, on Saturday, once we'd arrived back at the hostel, it was all systems go - breakfast, shower, pack bags, return car, buy last minute souvenirs (yes, I have the t-shirt, necklace, flag AND moai statue) - before checking out and heading back to the airport. It was sad to leave after such a short time, but I'd felt I done the island proud... plus, I was about to have another great flight again with Lan!

Speaking of flights, that reminds me! I knew I had a tale to tell but in the excitement of my first week in South America, I'd forgotten all about it! Well, before I left Auckland I wanted to contact Qantas to rearrange my flights within SA. Well, at least I'd definitely be able to speak with someone in English that way! To cut a long story short, it was a bit of an effort as the freephone number I had didn't work within Auckland, their office was closed and I was running out of options. But an extremely lovely lady in The Flight Centre let me use her phone, even though she'd closed for the day, and 50 minutes later (!!!) I'd made some big changes! So, now instead of flying from Santiago to Lima, and then Lima to Sao Paulo, I will make may own way from here up to Lima via Bolivia. I then fly from Lima to Quito. From there, I will then overland it through Ecuador and Colombia, flying from Cartagena to Sao Paulo instead! So that's another 3 countries I've added into the itinerary. I don't think there will be much time for rest over before September. BRING IT ON!