Rapa Nui - Easter Island

Easter Island is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is geographically part of Polynesia, but politically it is part of Chile! That's why there are direct flights from Santiago to Mataveri Airport. I had never thought about visiting this island before, but when I heard it belonged to Chile and saw that the flights during this period fit into my budget, I saw the unique opportunity to see the indigenous culture here with my own eyes. But I was somewhat surprised by the distance: 3500 km to the Chilean west coast and a two-hour time difference. You also travel by a large intercontinental airplane (with full service) for 5 hours. The island is 24 km long and only 13 km wide, so the airport extends over a complete tip of the eastern side of the island. Right next to it is the only town, "Hanga Roa", with only about 8000 inhabitants on the island.

And what is there to discover there?! I think most visitors come because of the famous stone statues "Moai", which you surely know as the house of Thadeus from Spongebob. There are a lot of cultural sites, traditional places or dances that are performed. In addition, the island is of volcanic origin, with 3 different craters distributed on the island. Nowadays, these do not have any volcanic activity. There are many coral reefs off the coast, so snorkeling or diving is also great.

The climate is subtropical, it rains a lot and of course the island is small. That means a lot of wind and the weather changes every minute. Unfortunately, I had a bit of bad luck and it is supposed to rain all week. I also had some cleanliness issues at my first camping hostel, so I spent the first day looking for a new accommodation. Without internet (it is also the end of the world) and completely soaked, it was not that easy. I also had to recover from all the party days and it was not that easy to suddenly be alone again. I was practically never alone for 3 weeks, I wished for it so much, but when the time comes, you feel somehow empty.

First, I made my way to the "Procession Path" of the Rapanui, because in the east lies the crater Rano Kau with the sacred city of Orongo. Rongo is the god of song and appears as a kind of half-bird-half-human. The path there led slightly uphill, but due to the humid climate, it was very sweaty to hike up. Once I arrived at the top, I was surprised. The entire crater is a bog. I have never seen anything like it and it was very impressive. Orongo itself runs along the edge of the crater and consists of several old stone buildings that were used for religious purposes. From there, you also have a view of the offshore island "Moto Nui", which is a special nesting place for the "Manutara" (a seabird). Then I arrived at "Vinapu", half hiking, half hitchhiking, half wet, half dry. It didn't really blow me away, it was somehow just stone mountains in a meadow. (Maybe it would have been better with a guide). In the afternoon, I had booked a diving course, but the weather ruined my plans. There were such high waves that they had to close the entire harbor.

Instead, in the evening, I visited a very traditional tourist dance event. Our faces were painted and we were given flower wreaths on our heads. Then a band of 5 drummers started playing. Five women and men danced to the music of the Rapa Nui. It was a very extraordinary experience, also because the dancers made a lot of exclamations (as if they had just hunted an animal). In the second round, guitars were added and the dances were more modern in nature, which reminded me a bit of Hawaii.

Frieda (January 7th)