Let me share some pictures with a tale from our adventure to the most remote community on Earth. Isla De Pascua AKA Rapa Nui AKA the Earth’s belly button…. AKA Easter Island, Chile!! PART TWO.
On our way home from the beach at Anakena, we saw a sign for another archaeological site. This was just past the double headed horse 😉
At this site we found just to the left of some giant toppled over Moai….
THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD
It has been said that this mysterious round rock is the belly button of the Earth. Apparently it has some super spiritual magical powers if you’re into that. Most likely though the rock has some magnetic elements which gives off that vibe.
We heard that there were some lava tubes on the island. So, off we go to try find them, to check them out! We were back on our trusty red scooter and off on our mission.
Along the way, we came across another flooded road but this time instead of a bull in the middle of the road there were horses, which was a lot less scary ha ha.
We took the scooter off road to get around them. We get to the field where the lava tubes ran beneath. Walk around not really knowing what we were looking for, until we saw about one foot of the top of a palm popping up out of the ground. This must be the entrance to the tube, so we climb down into it 🙂
We explored as far as we could inside the lava tube, til we found an opening.
Rano Raraku
The next day we went to Rano Raraku which is the quarry that all the Moai on the island came from. The Rapa Nui tribes would carve the Moai out of the side of the volcano. This was the factory where they would pump out the Moai for the island.
They would carve out the Moai then slide them down the steep slopes of the mountain to get them moving. Then stand them up with piles of rocks to lever them in the upright position. Did you know that 40% of all Moai on the island are found at the quarry? Because they never made it to their final resting place.
These heads have full bodies that over time, have been buried from the sand. They were just left where they stand probably because it was too hard to move them.
It is said that the deforestation of the island was a result from moving the statues. As they would cut down the trees to move these giants. They also have a theory that they would stand them upright with ropes and make them look like they were walking. Just imagine how crazy it would be to see these guys “walking” down the dirt roads!
Some Moai history
In 1722 the Dutch found Easter Island and reported seeing only standing statues on the island. Then in 1774 Captain Cook reported that the statues had been toppled over. The theory is that the Rapa Nui Tribes thought that they were the only people on Earth.
Which is a fair theory as they were so isolated. When they saw other people arrive, it caused turmoil between the tribes and they all went to war with each other and toppled each others Moai.
Also disease would have swept through the tribes from the visitors which took out a lot of people. I was told that a US ship came to the island and took most of the Island’s elders and strong men as slaves, back to America. In which most of the history went with the elders. Which is such a shame.
Rano Kau volcano crater
This Volcano Crater is super rad! It is such a breathtaking view.
Every afternoon we would go to Ahu Tahai to watch the sun set.
This spot is awesome to just chill with a beer or two, and take it all in.
And make a friend or three with the local stray dogs that cruise around the island 🙂
There is so much to explore on this Island. All the mystery that surrounds it and the beauty of the landscape is a huge plus too. I highly recommend the mission to visit this remote marvel! Of all the places I have visited on this dirt ball, Easter Island is a place that resonates with me the most. When I am working away printing t shirts, memories from my time on this island pop up and it brings a smile to my face. One day I will return!
I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and if you missed it, don’t forget to check out EASTER ISLAND – PART ONE !!!
We stayed at Cabanas Christophe, which we highly recommend as Christophe is a great host, he will even pick you up and drop you off at the airport! Check out Easter Island and Chile accommodation right HERE
Here are some tips for Easter Island-
Travel tip 101 -When buying beer at the local shops make sure it doesn’t say sin alcohol!!…. that means they are alcohol free beers and you definitely don’t want those.
The best way to get to Easter Island is to fly out of Santiago airport in Chile. We flew with LATAM. The flight takes about 6 hours. Or you can also get there by boat. But it takes 7 days.
Once on the island I recommend hiring a motorbike if you can, if not a scooter will do the trick. We just shopped around when we got there and went with the best deal.
Booking.com