Another marvellous place to visit is Easter Island. A lot of mystery surrounds this small island, due to the giant statues which are scattered all over it.
The official spanish name is Isla de Pascua which means Easter Island. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722, but the locals call it Rapa Nui. It is situated smack bang in the middle of the South Pacific, a mere speck in a very large ocean. The whole island only measures 63 sq miles.
But as we all know - size does not matter.
We had booked a tour for our first day, as we wanted a proper guide to tell us all about the Island and its story. It's fascinating.
The best place to see the statues is the Quarry, Rano Raraku. All of the statues were carved here and then transported to diffferent sites on the Island. And this is where the mystery starts. How did they transport these huge stones all over the Island?
The explanation?
The statues walked, of cause!
These Moai are still partially buried and about 390 remain at the site. We also visited Ahu Tongariki, which is the largest patform on the Island with 15 Moai, all standing in line to watch over - what?
These statues are huge!
All of them are facing inland, except the 7 Moai Ahu Akivi which are facing the ocean. Another mystery.
There was something else to visit on the Island. The extinct volcano Rano Kau.
In olden days there was an annual competition to swim to the islet Moti Nui and fetch the first egg of the Sooty Tern. The climb and swim are very dangerous. A lot of swimmers were taken by sharks or killed when climbing down or back up the mountain to Orongo Village. The winner would be "king" for the year.
The view from Orongo on top of Rano Kau was spectacular, even though it was cold and raining.
Life on Rapa Nui is very pleasant. When we arrived at the hotel and asked how long it would take us to walk into town - 20 minutes. We found out very quickly that everything was 20 minutes. The hired car was 20 minutes away, the guide would be there in 20 minutes, dinner was in 20 minutes - very, very laid back.
We adjusted to this lifestyle very quickly - it took about 20 minutes!
We thouroughly enjoyed Rapa Nui (it will never be Easter Island again)
The official spanish name is Isla de Pascua which means Easter Island. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722, but the locals call it Rapa Nui. It is situated smack bang in the middle of the South Pacific, a mere speck in a very large ocean. The whole island only measures 63 sq miles.
But as we all know - size does not matter.
We had booked a tour for our first day, as we wanted a proper guide to tell us all about the Island and its story. It's fascinating.
The best place to see the statues is the Quarry, Rano Raraku. All of the statues were carved here and then transported to diffferent sites on the Island. And this is where the mystery starts. How did they transport these huge stones all over the Island?
The explanation?
The statues walked, of cause!
These Moai are still partially buried and about 390 remain at the site. We also visited Ahu Tongariki, which is the largest patform on the Island with 15 Moai, all standing in line to watch over - what?
All of them are facing inland, except the 7 Moai Ahu Akivi which are facing the ocean. Another mystery.
There was something else to visit on the Island. The extinct volcano Rano Kau.
In olden days there was an annual competition to swim to the islet Moti Nui and fetch the first egg of the Sooty Tern. The climb and swim are very dangerous. A lot of swimmers were taken by sharks or killed when climbing down or back up the mountain to Orongo Village. The winner would be "king" for the year.
Life on Rapa Nui is very pleasant. When we arrived at the hotel and asked how long it would take us to walk into town - 20 minutes. We found out very quickly that everything was 20 minutes. The hired car was 20 minutes away, the guide would be there in 20 minutes, dinner was in 20 minutes - very, very laid back.
We adjusted to this lifestyle very quickly - it took about 20 minutes!
We thouroughly enjoyed Rapa Nui (it will never be Easter Island again)
Good one Irene and lovely photos.
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