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!