December 17, 2007 - Easter Island , Chile

December 17, 2007 - Easter Island, Chile
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I woke up late and had to hurry as breakfast closed by 9:30 AM. Breakfast consisted of fresh juice, coffee/tea and buns. (Ah, the things I´ve resorted to stuffing myself with in the name of breakfast!). The Chilean Couple (manolo, wife and daughter) joined me for breakfast. We greeted another Chilean couple also staying at Cecilia´s. "Hola" is such a nice simple greeting. Not sure what the TAMIL equivalent could be. "Vanakkam" just does not happen outside the Tamil TV newscasts. "Nalla Kaalai" (Buenos Dias / Good Morning) sounds quite idiotic anyways!

Manolo decided to assume the role of the host proffering milk, tea, coffee and so on. I told them that I wanted to visit the Cernatur (Chilean tourist) office. He told me to hold on as he wanted to join me as well. After a few minutes, he joined me and told me to jump into a Jeep he had rented for the duration of his stay. Given his pregnant wife and his 5-year old, I guess it made sense. His wife and daughter joined presently and we set off for the town centre.

We stopped off at Entel Chile and a bank before heading to the Serntur Office. At ENTEL Chile, I inquired about Mobile Phones but decided against it as it would mean getting a NEW Mobile number again. Micaela kept conversing with me. From time to time, her dad interpreted her queries, so I could reply to her! While at the Entel Chile office, I watched Tomka Tomisic on TV again!

After obtaining a local MAP at the Sernatur office, I was all set. I thanked Manolo for his help and set off on my own. We promised to catch up later in the day. I walked north along HANGA ROA beach for about 90 minutes and almost reached the North-western part of the Island at Hanga Omohi.

Due to the overwhelming requests for pictures, I switched my camera shooting more to RAW+JPEG. This would certainly give me a lesser number of pictures per memory card, but would enable me to upload pictures to websites like Shutterfly or possible even attach it to my blog.

The setting was quite serene. As my walk was all along the coast, there was always a nice breeze keeping me cool. With the exception of the sounds of the Waves crashing on the rocky coastline below, there was not a sound to be heard. The walk was quite easy as well across mostly green pastures with the occasional walk on some rocks. At the northern end of the Island, I was the sole human. Using my backpack (Lowepro Fastpack 200) as a beanbag, I was able to take some pictures of myself. (I did not carry a tripod as it was such a sunny day).

I walked back along a dirt track (rather then the coastal trail) and took a shorter route (by accident, of course) to get back to the hotel. It was close to 1:30 PM. I rested and spent time labelling my pictures. As I was thinking of setting out again around 2:30 to get some lunch, Cecilia knocked on my door and asked if I was ready for the tour! She had apparently presumed that I had caught her Spanish gabbing from the day before when we were being driven to the hotel from the airport. Who does she think she is? Tomka Tomisic (for me to hang on to every word she says!)

I grabbed my camera bag and we headed out. The other Chilean couple (Jose and Sylvie) joined us for the tour. This would be one of the half-day tours I am being provided gratis.

We headed past the airport to ORONGO hill. We stopped at a viewpoint close to the top of the hill with an excellent view of the island. After taking a few pictures we continued on to RANO KAU volcano. This was a spectacular sight. My visit to Easter island has definitely been rewarded. After taking a few pictures, the three of us started on a short hike along the rim of the volcano for about 200 metres or so where Cecilia picked us up again in her minivan.

This has been perhaps the stress free (despite being on the rim of a dormant volcano) and spectacular hikes I have ever done!

We continued onto the ORONGO trail office. The fee of US$10 is payable only in US$. The cashier, however, would not give me back change in US$ for my $20 bill! Between Cecilia and myself we cobbled a few singles for $10 and paid my entrance fee.

We were given nice maps of Rapa Nui and the Orongo Trail. The trail would take approximately 30 mins and would take us around a ceremonial village related to the Make-Make cult and their Tanguta-Manu competition. The village was set along the rim of the Rano Kau volcano as well. Though many of the status are in museums in Chile or elsewhere in the world, the trail showcased some excellent Petro glyphs.

The locals cultivate fruits even today on the inside slopes of the volcano. It was quite extraordinary to see the walls of a collapsed volcano being covered in green vegetation. while the bottom of the volcano contain many small pools of water. A part of the cone had broken giving an excellent view of the azure pacific.

In short, this was an excellent excursion. From orongo, we headed to our final stop at VINAPU. Some of the construction here is similar to Macchu Picchu (where huge stones and cut and joined to perfection without the use of any cement / or equivalent glues). At VINAPU, we spotted a few female MOAI. We headed back to the city centre. Cecilia wanted to take us to a nice empanada place, but it was closed. We settled for an alternative empanada place, but the vegetarian choices were limited and I settled for a Cheese empanada. This empanada substituted for lunch (rather late at 6 PM).

The Chilean couple and I were interested in seeing the movie ´Rapa Nui´being shown at 9 PM at a local hotel. I got back to the hotel, showered and spent time writing my diary. I think I am getting sunburnt. I never thought I´d say this: I want 60 degree Fahrenheit weather from now on. I think I have had enough of 25 Degree Centigrade weather!

The ticket prices for the movie was CLP 3000 (US$ 6.5). Although the movie is based very much on facts, the dramatization was rather poor. It has served and continues to serve as a good publicity for Easter Island.

Tomorrow we go to Anakena Beach. I will need to see what I can do there, as I do not swim. The Chilean couple are doctors. Jose is a traumatologist (Bone) and Sylvie is a dentist. Not sure why all dentists have BAD TEETH. Sylvie was no exception!