Jul 2013 – Jul 2013

I can be a pretty non-discriminating bear.

Give me chocolate-covered alfajores?  I’ll take them.

On the drive back to the airport we made one last stop and pulled over at Aha Hanga.

I couldn’t resist.  These statues were resting the way I like to nap.

Actually though, by 1722, this is the condition in which all the moai on the island were found – face down.

Once seen as a sign of prosperity and an hommage to ancestors, the twilight years saw a thriving civilization descend into inter-tribal warfare, starvation and cannibalism.  The moai were now a poor reminder of those past times.  So down they went.  By the 1680s, the last of the chiefs and priests were overthrown by the military and the Birdman era began – with its corresponding craziness.

And with that, I am content to going back to my cocoa sipping chocolate eating gaming ways. Easter Island, it’s been a peach.  Or should I say chocolate-covered peach?  Time to go back home Nicholas!

Our last day at Easter Island started at the beginning.

First of all, it was the 4th of July (happy 4th to my best bear bud, Nicholas!).  It was also off to Rano Raraku, the birth place, quarry and carving grounds for the 887 moai statues that eventually dotted the fringes of the whole island.

Fortunately, we left at the more sensible hour of 9:40am.  I wanted to be awake for this!

They say it is a magical experience visiting the grounds of  Rano Raraku under the early morning rays of sunlight.  I was just glad to get there before the busloads of other tourists that would surely ruin my tranquility bubble.  At least at this moment, we seemed to be there by ourselves.  In fact, the rangers who were supposed to check our park pass weren’t even at the gate.

And there they were…scattered all over the quarry in all states of completion.

Here’s one still being carved out of the rock.

The sign here said mirador, so I obliged by posing for a scenic tourist picture.

We made our way to the interior crater where there were more moai in varying stages of completion.

About the time the van-loads of tourists started arriving was when we reached the end of the trail.  And with that, here is Tukuturi, one of the last moai ever carved, and the end of an era.

So we turned around and walked back to the car for our trip to the airport.

So long moai!  So long, truckloads of German tourists!

Another day on Easter Island, another sunset.  This time in the one and only town on the island, Hanga Roa where most of the town’s ~5,000 people live.

They even had a better exercise park than most of mainland Chile.

Well given we were already at these Ahu anyway, we went and checked them out.  They are one of the few inland Ahu that actually face outwards (normally they face inwards from the sea). Despite being inland, they are still positioned to face sunset during Spring and Autumn Equinox and supposedly their backs are still towards the sunrise during Spring and Autumn Equinox.

Cool stuff.

Later in the afternoon, it was back in the car and out to Maunga Tere vaka, yet another extinct volcano and the tallest point on Easter Island at 507m in height.  Out we drove to Ahu Akivi, the starting point of the trail.

There, we ran into some lady who had lost sight of her son during the hike and went back to the parking lot to wait for them.  The 4 of us decided to hike together.

Well 4 until a dog decided to join us.

Make it now 5.

She was entertaining - the dog I mean.  So I didn’t mind the company – well at least until she started to see me like a chew toy.  A chew toy, I am not.

Since it was a nice day out, I decided to stay out of the bag to soak up more of the nice weather.

It was a nice way to get the lay of the land.

Our temporary pet also liked being outdoors, chasing animals.

As we got close to the top, there they were - the lady’s son and her friends.  Nice friends.  Nice son.  They reunited, we continued on.

At the summit, Nicholas rewarded the dog with some water.  Clearly she was thirsty.  She deserved it for accompanying us all the way up.

At which point she decided to leave us.  Ingrate.

Well it just meant more quality bonding time between my best bear bud and I, that’s all.

And we got back to the bottom of the hill in time for the sun to start to set.

Nice hike, overall.

After an exhausting morning of early rising, it was back to the hotel for a lunch, well deserved nap, and a chance to wear my new bling.

I mentioned wild horses being found all over the island.

Add to that cows.

And dogs.

On the road.

Where they stay.

And stay.

Not even the threat of getting mowed over by a 4WD makes these animals move.

Zen, self.  Stay zen.

Promptly after sunrise, I fell asleep in the car only to be woken up by horses.

Turns out they were about as excited to see me as I was to have them wake me up by walking near the car.

Herds of wild horses are found minding their own business all throughout the island.  ALL throughout the island.

Apparently every single hotel on the island alerted their tourist guests to the fact that Ahu Tongariki is the place to go for sunrise.

Because around 7:30am, all sorts of cars started arriving.  In fact, this ended up being the busiest location of all (we came in low season with just about no one - the island gets 65000 visitors a year, almost all in the months between December and February).

Well I felt more comfortable to venture out of the car with all the other sunrise-seeking tourists, so we went and set up station.

Actually though everyone was wrong, the sky didn’t start getting bright till more like 8!

Well, this was almost worth getting up early for.  Ahu Tongariki has the most number of Moai on an Ahu in the entire island, including an 86 tonne beast.