Easter Island

Rapa Nui 

Day 1. We woke up at 3am in order to go to the airport and catch the flight that had us arriving at the famous island Rapa Nui, more commonly known as Easter Island, midday. We got of the airplane to be welcomed by a necklace of flowers and the sweet tropical smell of the island.  Once we arrived to the hotel, I set out on a run in order to explore a little. After a mile or two, I was running on a road with a lot of rocks, so my gaze was fixated on the road. I then looked up for a second to see that there they were! The famous stone sculptures of Easter Island, called Moai, right in front of me! I then immediately tripped on a rock and fell hard, leaving a huge bruise on my leg, but I didn't care. As I was getting up I realized that I had fallen next to a fallen Moai. This was a fun way to see them for the first time, because I wasn't expecting it in that moment. After lunch we had a free afternoon in which we walked into the town, and I sat for a pair of hours watching the waves with my friend Fanni. We talked about the death penalty as the waves sprayed us and the clouds stayed glued in place in the sky, looking unreal. 

Day 2. After a delicious breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, we set off on our first tour of the island. Everything was green, and it reminded me of a mixture of pictures I have seen of Hawaii and Ireland, so the bus ride to arrive to our first destination was amazing in of itself. First we went to the crater of an ancient volcano, which had rock houses beside it and a fascinating story of traditional competitions between tribes. Each year, to decide who would be the great leader, they had a competition in which each tribe sent representatives to win a race. This race included scaling down the volcano, swimming on a grass board to arrive to an island two kilometers away in order to be the first one to find a special bird egg and return with the egg in tact. This sometimes meant waiting almost a month, for the birds to arrive and lay their eggs. The first one to swim back, scale back up the mountain, and arrive with an egg was crowned chef for the year. Then we went to see the only Moai that look towards the ocean. The Moai represent the high class ancestors who had died, and the idea is that their souls protect the people, which is why all the other Moai are facing inwards, facing the people in order to protect them. But these seven Moai are looking towards the sea in order to protect seven sailors who navigated from the mainland to Rapa Nui. We also saw many Moai which are laying face down. We learned that at one time, all of the Moai were laying face down, because during a civil war on the island the people pushed them over, to cover their eyes. All the Moai that are standing up today have been refurbished. Next we went to a huge cave, 800 meters long, and walked carefully in the dark from one end to the other, in silence because our guide told us that the sound waves of our voice could possible cause weak rocks to fall, which would be dangerous. After arriving back at the hotel and a quick run and swim in the ocean, we had dinner. Before going to sleep, we walked around the town and watched an intense local soccer game. 

Day 3. I woke up early, a long with three other girls, to run before breakfast. It was still dark when we set out, and the sun only began to rise when we got back from the run and went swimming. I think that there are few things better than a pre-sunrise run and a sunrise swim in the warm ocean. Everything feels calm and special. After breakfast, we toured all day, seeing more Moai, and hiking to where they made the Moai. The place were they fabricated the Moai was beside another volcano, where they carved the huge sculptures out of the rock and then transported them from there to all the places where they can be found now. As a result, from far away the volcano looks like someone has taken a hug bite out of it. Next we went to the only sand beach on the Island, and I spent the rest of the day doing back-flips into the clear water. 

Day 4. After another run, swim, and breakfast, we went snorkeling. We set out in boats, prepared with life jackets and goggles, to snorkel at the island where the egg competition was anciently held. The boat ride to arrive was beautiful, with the wind in our faces, flying over huge waves and getting to see Rapa Nui from another angel. A brilliant view of bright green hills, dark sloping rocks, and clear crashing waves. It was also cool to see the egg-competition-island from up close. We jumped into the water and the time flew as we observed the coral and little silver fish swimming beneath us. I ditched the life jacket and kept diving down as deep as I could to see better. The visibility of the water, combined with the coral rock beside me and the little fish around me, were unreal. I felt like I was in a whole different world.  Then we went back to the same sand beach as day 3, and spent the rest of the day there. Along with doing back-flips, we also spent a considerable amount of time trying to get coconuts out of trees and then breaking them open on the rocks. There are few things more delicious then a fresh coconut. We had a fair amount of success, but my sad story is that the coconut I got down ended up back in the tree. This happened because you are not allowed to climb, nor throw rocks and the legally protected coconut trees. At first, we were throwing up a sturdy bamboo stick to know them down, but then the stick got stuck in the branches, so we started to use my coconut to try and get the stick back down, along with more coconuts. This was a complete failure, because we didn't get the stick down, neither did we get more coconuts down, AND my coconut got stuck back up in the tree!  On the way back from the beach, we went to see the same Moai that I found the first day running. We did yoga as we waited for the sun to set. After watching the glowing pink clouds, dramatically contrasted with the dark outlines of the Moai, we set back to the hotel for dinner and bed.

Day 5. The schedule to start off this morning was morning, swim, breakfast, then tree planting.  There is an organization on Rapa Nui dedicated to preserving the environment, especially focusing on reforestation. They encourage groups like the group of exchange students who I was traveling with, to dedicate of their time on the island to planting trees. The idea is that by planting trees, each tourist can minimize a little bit of the damage they bring to the island through the contamination of the airplane, increased garbage, etc. This was really cool not only because of the support to the environment, but also because how many people can say they have planted a tree on Easter Island? We ended our time at the tree planting organization by knocking more coconuts out of trees. Delicious. Then we went horse back riding to the highest point on the island, where you can see the ocean in 360 degrees, and the entire island below. I hadn't horse back-rode since sleepover camp when I was little, so I found it pretty exciting. On the way there, I had a lazy horse who won't go faster, no matter how much I nudged his side with my foot. I spent the whole time trying to hype it up and get it to go faster, but I had no success. It was beautiful anyway, despite the slow horse, and I enjoyed looking around. The clouds on Easter Island are very dramatic and make everything look picturesque. On the way back, I switched horses with someone, and the real fun began. This horse would start walking with a simple kick, and with a second kick would happily trot! I had a lot of fun with this and joined the group of people in the front with equally fast horses. We did mini races, as the guide reminded us to be careful, but at the end we went all out and flew! I had never felt that sensation of galloping on a horse and it was amazing. I think it was actually less terrifying to gallop than to trot, because the movement is smoother. 

Day 6. After another morning run and swim, we had a free morning to explore and buy gifts. I ended up just going to the beach and reading and swimming until lunch time. It was nice to enjoy the water and clouds all morning. After lunch we went on a hike to another cave, eating guayaba the whole time. Guayaba are a circular yellow fruit with a pink inside. The skin is acidic, and the seeds and fruit inside is sweat and delicious. The island is full of the little trees that carry these fruits, and nearly everyday I ate large amounts of them. The cave had a small entrance, but after a few hundred meters opened up to two large windows looking over the cliff of rocks that lined the ocean. This was an enjoyable view. That night, I got to meet my host cousin who lives on the Island. It was fun to talk to him and hear about Rapa Nui life from his point of view. He also showed me some amazing places and we had quite an adventure. 

Day 7. One last morning run and swim. The sunrise was the best one yet, with the stars still glistening while the morning light illuminated the shadowy clouds. We laid on our backs and tried to take in as much as we could before having to return to the hotel, pack our bags, and hop on the plane back to Chile. A successful trip which I will never forget, to say the least.