Easter Island

I had an amazing time on Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as everyone there calls it. The Chileans call it Isla de Pascua, which translates to Easter Island, and they constantly affirm how it´s a part of Chile. The natives are considerably less enthusiastic about being part of Chile, though they´re mostly indifferent. Anyhow, it´s a stunning place, completely isolated in the south pacific. The people are a fascinating blend of latin american and polynesian, with a mix of facial features, language, and music that reflect the mixture. The pace of life more relaxed than anywhere I´ve ever been, its definitely island living.

The Moai, the giant statues, are awe inspiring. Ive never seen anything like them. Massive stone heads all over the island, for miles and miles, all taken from the same quarry in the side of a little of a little volcano. And the island is completely quiet outside Hanga Roa (pop. 4,500). Ive never been anywhere so quiet. Stone heads, grass blowing in the wind, and waves crashing. Thats the only sound. It adds to the effect of the Moai, no question.

The hostel was FANTASTIC (my first use of caps on this blog). They pick you up at the airport and give you a lei, and it´s run by a lady named Ana Rapu and her nephew Nane and his austrian wife. The hostel consists of little tin roofed buildings with chickens and puppies running around the grounds. The tour they gave us consisted of Nane, his wife Agnes, and their 9 year old son Joaquin Tosauro driving around the island in a Ford 4x4 and taking hikes around the monuments as each parent took turns with the baby in the car. It was like taking a family outing among the ruins. Also, it didn{t hurt there was a lovely girl from Paris named Nadej staying at the hostel who wanted to see all the same things I did. The 5 of us had a fantastic day touring the Moai and seeing Rapa Nui.

All in all, the 5 weeks ended on a high note by seeing such an incredible place. I´m at the Santiago airport, on a flight to Atlanta in two hours. This is my last post from South America, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read it. I´m putting together some internet photo albums when I get back, let me know if you´d like to see them. Hasta luego...

Kirt