Sabbatikos

Weaving through herds of free range horses and cows that roam the island at will, we made our way to the windward side of the island. We stopped at a windswept Ahu ruin near the ocean called Akahanga.

Anahanga is the final resting place of the first king of Rapa Nui, Hotu Matu’a. He lays somewhere amongst the ruins of several toppled Moai and their crumbling Ahu.

The red scoria pukao (top-knots) had some of the best petroglyphs we’d seen up to this point. There was also the remnants of a shelter cave which was likely used for sleeping. It was an interesting site and an intriguing way to start our day.

Next we headed to Rano Raraku, the volcano which served as the quarry and sculpting-ground for most of the gigantic megalithic Moai of Rapa Nui. Here there are hundreds of Moai in various stages of carving frozen in time.

As you approach Rano Raraku, you can see the huge Moai spread across the slopes of the dramatic ancient volcano. Many of these statues have only about 1/3 of their bodies showing with more body (and likely many more Moai) buried under centuries of sediment.

As we hiked along the trail amidst the Moai of the hill, it was an ominous and thrilling site. Every turn and vantage point was a picture postcard. It looked unreal. We were in awe of being in the presence of these beautiful carvings and of the artistry and craftsmanship carved into them hundreds of years ago.

Around the far side of the slope we approach one statue significantly different than the rest, Tukuturi. Tukuturi is the only Moai known to be resting on his knees and with a full body. Nobody quite knows why. From this vantage point we could also see our next stop, Tongariki, the largest of the Ahu, with 15 Moai in the distance.

We headed down the slopes past more and more Moai. All unique and interesting. In particular, there was one who had a petroglyph of an early European sailing vessel on it, which dates it from the 1700s when Europeans first started visiting.

From the descending slopes we could see Te Ara O Te, the trail of the Moai. We headed down from the quarry and followed the Te Ara O Te trail which is one of the transportation roads build to distribute the Moai (there are competing theories on how they were transported) to different parts of the island. Along the way you could easily see nine or so Moai left in various places of transport along the trail, now lying in fields used by cows for grazing. Look at the details of the finger nails (a sign of high class and not having to work) in the closeup of the fallen Moai.

We had Rano Raraku in our view as backdrop for a very nice lunch of grilled chicken, beef, and tuna before heading to our next destination Tongariki.

The fifteen Moai of Ahu Tongariki were toppled in the 1600s in what was believed to be the result of tribal warfare. In May 1960, the largest earthquake ever recorded took place in Chile causing a tsunami that hit Easter Island and scattered the statues and altars further from their bases.

In 1992, an agreement between the Republic of Chile and the Moai Restoration Committee of Japan, started a project to restore the Moai of Ahu Tongariki. The work was completed in 1996.

Here we saw petroglyphs carved onto the rocks where a village would have stood. You can see the Tangata manu (or Birdman) and a tuna easily, as well as others. More on the Cult of the Birdman in my next post.

The immensity of this site and the dramatic spendor of it (sea cliffs beind the Ahu from one direction, the towering Ranu Raraku in other), left us in near speechless awe.

Our last visit of the day was to Anakena Beach, the only sandy beach on Easter Island and what was the landing place for King Ariki Hotu Matu’a and his people when they first arrived on Rapa Nui somewhere between the years 300-800 CE. From his final resting place in the morning to where it all began in the afternoon, it seems like an interesting backward arc through the history of Rapa Nui in a day.

In Anakena there are two Ahus, Ahu Ature Huki and Ahu Nau Nau. Notice the petroglyphs in the stones of the Ahu Nau Nau and on the nearby stones. These Ahus were also used for storing the bones of the dead beneath them. Our guide pointed out to us the white elements in the nearby sand, saying that it was highly likely to be bone fragments from these Ahus. She told us she has even found teeth before!

We swam for about an hour before returning to Hanga Roa for a walk around town and a nice dinner while watching the surfers and sunset. It was a majestic and magical day.