Dinner with Rapa Nui Dancing

Our group went to a traditional Rapa Nui Cultural dinner and show on our last night on Easter Island. It was like going to a Hawaiian luau. Thy opening the pit where some of the food was cooked and then there was a dance show.

 

Here are some pictures of the dancers.

Visitng the Volcano site named Oronjo

The breakfast at our boutique hotel here on Easter Island is served very meticulously. The butter is in the from of a Moai. The rolls are served warm in the cloth bag. We can order freshly made eggs served to our request. 

We had the morning free to walk around the town and then had a nice lunch right on the seaside.

Our lunch spot. 

 

 

 

 

The letter NJ is combined in the Rapa Nui language and has a guttural sound.

The inhabitants lived in these stone houses. At one time there was a competition for one member of a tribe to swim the an island a mile off shore to get an egg of a tern and bring it back unbroken. The winner was entitled to take food as needed from other inhabitants. This is all oral history. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near to this site was the location of a volcanic crater. The crate is more than a mile across. When it erupted it blew out the side toward the ocean. The estimate is that it erupted 180 thousand years ago.

 

It was a spectacular site. There nice breeze so it was quite pleasant to walk and see the views. 

 

 

 

Our final stop was at a site called Vinapu  were the construction of the blocks suggested some Inca influence because the cuts were to precise and angular. The Moai there were all toppled but there were some parts like heads lying on the ground. 

This is a head of a Moai that is now embedded in the ground.

These are toppled Moai 

These are the blocks that are more like Inca construction that Rapa Nui. 

Sunset on Easter Island

We went to a large grassy area for views of the sunset. It has the only Moai on the island that still has the original coral eyes. 

It was a very pleasant end to a day of learning about Moai. 

Day of Moai

We started the day at a park where houses and other structures that the early Rapa Nui probably used had been reconstructed. 

 

We learned that chickens were very important in that culture and chickens were given for a dowry

When had a quick but heavy downpour while there and we all scurried back to the tour bus.

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is famous for nesarly 1,00 giant stone monoliths known as moai. They believe thye were carved by the Rapa Nui people between appoximately 1250 and 1500 AD. These statues, often weighing several tons and featuring oversized heads, represent deified ancestors. They were mostly carved from volcanic tuff in the Rano Raraku quarry and transported to coastal platforms called ahu to honor deceased chieftains. There are several theories of how the statues were moved from the quarry to the many locations on the island. I'll just post a few of the pictures I took. 

Some were lying flat and others were just pieces. 

The most famous Moai are located at Tonjariki. We could see them from a distance. There of 15 of them and they are most impressive. The Japanese, US, Chilean and Rapa Nui are worked together to restore them.

Seeing them up close is quite impressive.

 

This is Simon our local Rapa Nui guide.
 

 

 

 

 

 

After going to these sites we went to one near a beach and then went swimming. 

We are staying at a boutique hotel named Hare Nua. When we returned from a full day of exploring I took a dip in the small pool at our hotel. 

Rapa Nui, (Easter Island)

Today we flew from Santiago to Easter Island. The flight was totally full and was a wide body plane with a 3-3-3 configuration. We had extended leg room seats which was an unexpected treat. They even served a hot meal. Rapa Nui is a remote Chilean territory and is one of the most isolated inhabited locations on Earth The entire island is a UNESCO World Heritage site, This is the picture of the screen of our flight path. 

The native language is Rapa Nui and Iorana is like saying Aloha in Hawaii. The picture is the sign with this greeting when we arrived at the airport.
 

 

We were also greeted with leis made from leaves and island music.

 

We did see some of the carvings late evening before having dinner.

 

Today was not my best travel day. I was in a crappy mood when we arrived at our hotel. For the first three weeks there were 22 in our group. We had an outstanding tour leader - organized, great communication, cheerful. We are now a group of 9. They are all wonderful people but we have a new guide. Her style is much different and I haven't adjusted very well. Plus we are back to hot and humid which is not my best travel weather. The island only has 8000 permanent residents. We have a local tour guide who is Rapa Nui and he is excellent. He said last year there were 100, 050 tourists who visited the island. Tourism is almost the only industry on the island. 

Wine tour and seeing more of Santiago

This morning we toured the Cousino Macul winery. I thought of all the wineries in the Yamhill County and wondered why visiting a winery in Chile was different. The winery in Chile was over 100 years old. The old oak barrels that were used until 40 years ago are still in the winery. The owner of this winery was Isidora Goyenechea Gallo (1836-1897) who was a Chilean industrialist. She inherited her business from her late spouse Luis Cousiño (1835-1873). She owned and managed the coal mines in Lota and Coronel, the silver mines of Chañarcillo, the vineyard Viña Cousiño Macul and had her own trade fleet, and was at the time regarded as one of the richest people in the world. Our tour guide said she used much of her money to provide schools for the children of miners. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day in Santiago. When we returned to our hotel the rest the day was free time. Jo Ellen and I walked to a wonderful gelato shop and indulged. It was just as good as the gelato I enjoyed in Italy. 

The angle of my camera makes it look like I ate a super giant serving. I can assure you that it was in a normal sized cup with a regular sized cone on top. This is the street where the gelato store is located - so many modern buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This evening we walked to the Cenco Costanera Mall where I got my haircut.  It is 5 levels and has shops and more shops. My goal was to purchase a new sun hat because the strap on the one in the picture broke and even the slightest wind blows it off. This is sad because this is the hat it wore in 2013 when I walked across England.  I purchased a new hat so when I'm on Easter Island I will have protection from the sun. The mall rivals the size of the KLCC and The Pavilion malls in Kuala Lumpur. We ate a light dinner in the food court. 

Tomorrow morning we fly to Easter Island. The flight is 5 hours and 15 minutes. Our tour guide told us that we should not count on Internet access there so don't expect any postings until Friday or later.