February 4, 2019: Touring Rapa Nui

February 16, 2019 cjbishop@yahoo.com

We left at 9AM to continue our tour of the various archeological sites along the east side of Rapa Nui. We were told it was likely to be hot with a good chance of rain so come prepared for all options.

Typical European style breakfast buffet- cold cuts, fruit, vegetables.

Our first stop was at Vaihu, a reconstructed village of one of the Rapanui clans. It was a wise decision as we could then envision what we later saw in unrestored areas. When we arrived at Vaihu we could hear chickens but could not see any chickens. Nico, our local tour guide, led us to a stone structure that he said was a replica of the type of chicken houses used in ancient times by his ancestors. He proceeded to take out a stone in the wall and suddenly a dozen of chickens emerged, eager to start their day wandering around, eating and laying eggs. The chickens always return to the stone chicken house in the evening and the local guard replaces the stone doorway to protect them from predators. They only sleep there; they lay all their eggs outside and Nico told us that when he was a kid it was a game to try to find their stash of eggs. Chickens were and still are a mainstay in the diets of the Rapa Nui people. In ancient times they also ate rats!

Nico explaining what our day will be like.

This is a Rapanui chicken coop, but where is the entry?

Nico opening the coop for the day. The “door” was hidden to confuse any chicken theifs.

The site also had rebuilt homes, made of strong local grasses, that were used by the humans living in the clan. The home was shaped like an upside down boat and had a nice stone patio outside it. Again the structure was only used for sleeping; cooking was always carried on outside in fire pits made with 5 or 7 stones; a superstition about the number of stones prevailed. There were even carved stones that could hold water for the chickens, accumulated from the local rains.

Replica of the homes used by the Rapanui in ancient times. It looks like an overturned boat hull. Note the rock patio outside the home.

Roosters using the watering trough outside the home.

The “garden” where crops were grown. The rocks offer shelter from the wind and because they are porous they act as a water source for the plantings.

Explaining the background of the fire pits, which always were built with an odd number of stones with 5 being the predominant number.

It was getting hot and at this point there was no breeze. We were concerned that it was going to be a brutal day for being outside and hiking in the sun.

Ten minutes down the road was the next site we visited, Akahanga. What was unique about Akahanga was that it also was a village of a clan once but it had not been restored so all we saw were the remnants of chicken houses, patios for homes and a few fire pits.

The site of an unrestored Rapanui village.

Fantastic million dollar views from the village site.

The remains of the foundation for the home and the stone patio.

A local craftsman selling her wares. Her husband was the carver of the statues. Some were very expensive($500).

This 3” tall carved head called out to me and it is now in my office with my other travel treasures!

We still had not seen the sites that have made Rapa Nui famous- moai standing on a pedestal called an “ahu”. Our next stop at a site called Tongariki changed that, as here is the location of 15 restored moai on an ahu that was over 200 meters long. In 1960 a huge tsunami wave scattered the ahu and the moai. In 1993 the Japanese funded the restoration of this area and local inhabitants oversaw the restoration of the moai. The Japanese even donated a big crane to assist moving the moai back in their rightful spot.

Scientists have cataloged 887 moai so far on Rapa Nui, of which 288 were moved to and erected on an ahu, 397 remained at the stone quarry in varying degrees of completion and 92 enroute to an ahu, but abandoned before reaching their final destination.

The largest restored ahu on the island with fifteen moai standing on the ahu. Note the size of people compared to the moai.

15 moai are here. There is a 16th still lying on the field, waiting to be added.

Closeup showing a “pukao” (the top knot) on the head of one of the moai.

These moai are quite large, ranging in size from 6 to 9 meters tall, with an average weight of 40 tons. The heaviest moai weighs 86 tons!

Yes, I was there, computer with my cooling towel around my neck. It was hot in the sun.

Leaving there we went the nearby quarry Rano Raraku, where the moais began their lives at the hand of skilled stone carvers. The archeologists have counted 397 “ undelivered” stone statues in various states of construction still here at the quarry site. Why they were not finished and delivered to the ahu is not known. We followed a trail along the slopes of the quarry viewing the various statues and taking a lot of pictures of this eerie site. The front (face and body) of the moai is carved in a prone position first, then the back is carved enough to free the statue from the base rock. It was then slide down the quarry slope, into a hole to make it upright where the back can be properly finished. It would then be transported to its final resting places where the eyes would be added to give it life.

Wild horses are a problem on the island. There are simply too many!

The trail leading up the side of the quarry.

We had a steep path to climb. OSHA would not be happy with no hand rails available!

Upright moai being finished before being moved to an ahu. Note foundation of a house in the picture.

The largest uncompleted moai. It is 22 meters (72 ft) long and estimated to weigh over 160 tons! People questioned whether it could have ever been moved.

Two more moai being carved from the quarry.

The only example of a kneeling moai ever found.

Moai carved from rock with varying color, unusual for the area.

Once carved the moai are placed upright to complete the backside.

There are at least 27 theories of how the moai were transported to their final resting spot, involving a variety of techniques in both standing and reclining positions. We will never know.

A hot lunch was served nearby in a covered palapa and included chicken, rice, salad and a jello cup with canned fruit in it for dessert( a real childhood memory for most of us). Our companions were flocks of chickens and cats looking for a handout.

Chicken, vegetables, salad and beer for lunch

Chickens and cats looking for a luncheon handout.

Te Pito Kura was our next stop after lunch. There was only one moai (named Paro) at this site but it important as it was the biggest moai ever successfully delivered and erected. It was 10 meters high and weighed 80 tons. It was toppled sometime after 1838 and still remains lying on the ground. The other important feature at the site is a round rock that has magnetic properties. No other rock on Rapa Nui exhibits magnetic properties and it is speculated that it was brought here by the first visitors to the island.

Te Pito Kura, the site of the largest moai successfully erected- 10 meters tall and weighing 80 tons.

The “magnetic” Stone , thought to have been brought by the original settlers and considered to have magical powers.

It was late afternoon by now and deemed “beach” time at the nearby white sand beach called Anakena. Anakena is important as it is felt that this is where the founding Rapa Nui king, Hotu Matu’a, first landed. It was a lovely site with several moai and two ahu, a grassy area with palm trees and some restaurants and concession stands. I walked the beach, tested the water temperature( not as warm as I expected it to be), and took more pictures. Unfortunately shortly after we arrived it began to rain fairly heavily and we hurried back to our bus to return to the hotel.

The sandy beach at Anakena. There are only two sandy beaches on Rapa Nui; the rest of the coast is rocky.

This ahu with only a single moai is called Ature.

Small, very sweet pineapples grown on Rapa Nui.

One of several restaurants at the beach.

Although rain has been predicted for the day we only encountered it late in the day and we had excellent viewing at the archeological sites during the day. Also because of the cloud cover most of the day we were not exhausted from the tropical sun while we walked the areas. By the way, foreign visitors must pay $80 for admission to the archeological site on the island; Chilean citizens pay only $20.

Admission to Rapa Nui archeological sites. It costs $80.

Everyone (10 of us) agreed they would like to eat in town for a change of pace and stay to see part of the special “Tapati” spring festival that is underway here in Rapa Nui. Our “adventure” began with a decision to take the local free bus to town. It supposedly ran every 20 minutes and we could catch it right outside the hotel, so we stood by the roadside and waited and waited. Cars and trucks passed, bicycles passed, motor scooters passed, cabs passed but no bus. Finally after waiting 35 minutes we went back to the hotel lobby and asked for three cabs to take us to the heart of town which was about 2 miles away. By 8PM we walked into a waterfront restaurant that had been recommended to us to find there was no way we could get a table. We wandered down to another nearby bar/ restaurant that had lovely outdoor balcony. Yes, they could serve us but we had to break up into two tables. No problem. We were given menus and sat…and sat..and sat. The hostess/waitress who seated us was nowhere to be found, the bartender simply stood behind the nearby bar. We were thirsty and hungry. There was a younger couple next to us who were from Switzerland. We got to taking to them and were told they had ordered dinner over 30 minutes ago and have seen nothing. They probably were waiting longer than that as the bottle of wine they were drinking was almost empty. Looking around we saw a couple of other tables with people but NO food! We were warned about “island time” but this was ridiculous, so much so the Wladimir got up and went down the street to another restaurant to see if they could accommodate us. They could and so we got up and left. The bartender either said or did anything and we still did not see any other staff. It was really weird! Well, the final spot was right on the water, the breeze was blowing nicely and we did get to eat even though it did take almost and hour from the time we sat down to when the food was delivered. Note to those headed to Rapa Nui: do not expect fast service in restaurants; they live on island time here.

Waiting for the local bus that never came!

Booths selling food and crafts during the festival.

We did wander over to the evening show which was featuring drumming groups that night. The entertainment does not begin until 10PM and goes to 1-2 AM each night for two weeks. Needless to say we did not stay long as we had another day of touring in front of us. We waited for cabs which in this town can be any type of vehicle. A four door pickup truck stopped and told us we could all (10) hop in, which we assumed meant some would be sitting in the pickup bed. We politely passed and waited for two more cabs. Cabs are cheap, $4.50 for up to 4 people.