Most thankfully, our flight was petty much on time. We even knew (because G had checked (he is fascinated by this stuff)) that our aircraft would be a brand new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. He knew that our takeoff would be steep and fast, and it was. But I don't think we anticipated the level of comfort we'd have in flying in that plane overnight. Digital everything...window tinting in lieu of shades, power plug ins for electronics at every seat, on demand video, of course, digital overhead light controls... everything. It helped our comfort a great deal that the plane was far from full, and we had an empty middle seat between us (it's a 3-3-3 configuration). However, knee room was limited, especially when seats were reclined, sliding the seat bottom forward. But the empty middle seat certainly helped.
But, again, I don't sleep, and by the time we landed I was in a near zombie-like state. Although only six of us on the plane were actually staying in Rapa Nui (the rest were South Americans returning from vacations in French Polynesia and continuing on the flight to Santiago- poor them!), all passengers had to disembark to go through Chilean immigration. The line for the transit passengers was long and slow moving, but we lucky six were quickly ushered through. Next, our suitcases (there were only five of them taken off the plane!) were xrayed to check for agricultural products. We had brought plenty of food that we had purchased at the Hilo WalMart (a later story) and were asked to open one of our suitcases, but all the food was processed and packaged and there were no issues. (An aside: travelers to Rapa Nui from mainland Chile are allowed to bring coolers full of meats and cheeses. Both are in short supply on Rapa Nui.)
There was nothing sweeter than exiting that tiny airport to see a lady from the Cabanas Ngahu holding a sign with our name on it in one hand, and gorgeous flower leis in the other. We were greeted and leid and accompanied to her waiting car for the short drive to the hotel and our first glimpse of Rapa Nui. It quickly became obvious that we were going to have language difficulties this week. Thank God we arranged for English speaking guides and at least knew how to say 'hello' in Rapa Nui ('cause it's the same as in Tahitian- Ia Orana). But Spanish is spoken here, through and through. And that's the funny thing about my lack of linguistic ability: I spoke French better until I tried to learn Spanish. Then I spoke Spanish better until I spent three months in French Polynesia. Now I am left unable to speak either. Oh I try...I start a sentence in one language, fill in words from the other and complete it in English when all else fails, rendering me absolutely un-understandable.
It was only when we arrived at Cabanas Ngahu that things really began to go south. The larger cabana we had reserved had been given to a family until October 1, but we were assigned a newly decorated smaller cabana as a "present". In fact, we were the first people to stay in it since it had been remodeled. It might be more accurate to say that we were the first people to stay in it while it was being remodeled. The kitchen sink leaked, the door opened the wrong way causing a trip-hazard door stop to be in the middle of the room, the safe was small and not bolted down (making it a handy box to carry away all our valuables quickly and easily), and, most egregious of all, the water was scalding hot- for 30 seconds- and then disappeared all together. Clearly, we were off to a rough start.
But we were too tired to deal with anything and collapsed on the bed. I woke three hours later to find G had gone out (leaving a note telling me his plans and also his litany of Cabanas Ngahu faults) to try to find us 1.) water; and 2.) another hotel, not necessarily in that order. I had drank only the welcoming fruit juice at the hotel since arriving; things would soon get critical. He warned me about the shower but I could not stand myself another minute and risked the scalding burns and frostbite to shave my legs and wash my hair.
He was gone a long time after I woke up, so I had no idea how long he had been away altogether, but had a feeling change was coming our way and reorganized but didn't unpack anything. Sure enough, he finally showed up telling me he had waiting taxi and a waiting hotel and went to speak with the owners of Cabanas Ngahu. I don't know what was said (but, with the language barrier, it couldn't have been too much) but I stood by as our taxi driver (in the tiniest taxi possible with his friend in the front seat) loaded our luggage. G and I squeezed into the back seat along with a suitcase and were driven just a few blocks away to the Hotel Tau Ra'a, owned by an Aussie named Bill Howe and one of the nicest guys around. He carried our suitcases up the stone steps, got us settled in our room, unlocked the safe (this one is bolted down!) and even unlocked the tiny restaurant kitchen so I could heat up the first of several Hormel Dinty Moore beef stews we had purchased at the Hilo WalMart.
G walked just a couple of minutes away at Bill's recommendation and found a bakery where he purchased Coke, water and a dessert treat for both us. And we sat on this little porch in front of our room (this place has much the same feel as a roadside 1950's motel) and ate our feast while we listened to the ocean waves crash just a block away and the drumming and music from a folkloric show being held just down the street.
It's not the Club Restaurant, but, in our exhaustion, it suited us perfectly. (Especially my dessert that managed to combine cookie and meringue and cream and Nutella all in one handy treat.)
We even have our own moai in our room, that we've named Morty (from Seinfeld). Morty Moai, Stevie Stingray...ain't travel great for making new friends?
Sleep will come quickly tonight, and tomorrow morning we start the first of our Rapa Nui tours.
I am so excited. Actually, I am so tired. Tomorrow morning I will be so excited.
Life is good.
