Days 34-42 Rapa Nui / Easter Island Day 2

The next morning we set off: But not in the promised modern vehicle (which had a sudden engine failure 😳) but in our landlord's rather rickety, seemingly 40-year-old pickup truck of Indian production.

No matter: The first stop should be the ancient cult site ‘Orongo’ on the western side of the Rauno Kau volcano. Unfortunately, the road was closed at the top. Supposedly, there had been a fight between locals 😳😂😳 (old tribal feud?!).

So we turned around and headed for ‘Vinapu’ - a place that is as interesting as it is unique. Here, there exists a non-island typical, precisely crafted stone wall with almost no gaps, almost identical to the Inca walls in Cusco. A coherent explanation (when? by whom?) for this could not be found so far.

Here (below) is the first encounter of the third kind - and certainly not the last one on this island: at the entrance (guarded by three “guards”) we had to show not only our ticket (okay!) but also our passport. Additionally, we had to specify which accommodation we were staying at. Everything was meticulously documented. However, we were not allowed to enter until our landlord revealed himself as a ‘guide’ and went in with us … more about this at the end of this description ….

The next waypoint was ‘Rano Raraku’ on the eastern side. At the entrance again the previously described procedure. This site, also called