After 5 days at sea we arrived at Easter Island at 8:00 in the morning. Well, we arrived near Easter Island as there are no docks big enough for the ships so you tender in.
Our planned tour wasn't to start until 2:45 but we wanted to go in early and "explore". As did most of the ship. Getting from the ship into the tender is not for the faint hearted, especially when the swells around the island are infamous, and then we sat in them for about 20 minutes waiting for a tender to get out of the docking area. On shore we were met with the usual souvenir and tour vendors, but not horrible.
We made the rookie mistake of thinking we could walk into town from the pier. It was uphlll and hot! We never made into "town" but we did collapse into a restaurant with a great porch looking over the bay with swimming children, body surfers, turtles and a delicious lunch of whole fish served with a salad, sweet potatoes and bananas.
(The photos are refusing to load up in this format so I will put them on my FB page.)
A taxi was called to return us to the pier for our bus to tour the Island and all the important Moais.
The Moai always face inland to look over their family. Traditionally when the head of a family died the family would go to the Moai carvers, "buy" with fish and chicken, enough to feed the carvers family, a Moai with a representation of the person. Like a long neck, or bigger nose.
After the figure was carved out of the motherstone, the family would then hire the transporters to take them to the family plot. Again paid in fishes and chickens for his whole family. There they would be put on a platform and the person would be buried right below them, covered with salt . After a significant passage of time, when there were only bones left, the bones would be dug up, another ritual performed and the bones buried under the Moai. At that time, quartz eyes would be placed in the eye sockets because now the Moai was awake. The only ones we saw with eyes are reproductions - several were destroyed in a tsunami- and the quartz is very susceptible to erosion. The Moais were carved from 500 AD to 1500.
It was surreal to see these figures and hear the stories. 80% of Easter Island is a National Park and it takes a while to go around to see them all. One of the walks was quite taxing and the dust/sand overwhelming.
When we returned to the ship, making the leap of death from the tender, all we wanted was a hot shower, room service and to go to bed. Last night was a White Night celebration but we were so past that. Lights out at 11 and we literally slept round the clock until noon!!
I've been fighting a bronchial thing for a couple of days- and I'm not the only one I hear - so taking it easy was just the ticket for today.
Two sea days before Pitcairn so send good thoughts I can beat this thing quickly and for good
Watch FB for pics.
Stay tuned!
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