We had two rain showers overnight, and the rain pounding on the metal roof over our room sounded thunderous. Today started grey and drizzly and chilly (mid-60s), and we were happy to have no reason to rush off anywhere. We enjoyed a long, leisurely breakfast (omelets today) and then stayed in the covered sitting area where the WiFi is strongest and watched the rain while we got caught up with Internet things. Photos remain very slow to load- anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes each- but when the wifi is unmetered, who cares? I'll start loading a photo to my blog on my iPad and then let that churn (and churn and churn) while I do something on my iPhone. While our fellow travelers are bemoaning the state of WiFi on Rapa Nui, we are well acquainted with ship WiFi, and are very pleased. I was even able to call Mom twice so far using Vonage (For free! Get the app!), and, while the latency was pronounced, the calls never broke up. The early explorers would be amazed.
Hotel Tau Ra'a is a B&B, and so the owners (Edith and Bill) take the time to socialize with their guests. Edith talked with me over breakfast about family and travel, showing me photos of her family while I shared photos of the twins. Late morning, Bill and G started to 'man chat', about tools and volts and watts and roofing, etc. etc., and I was happy for a bit of a break to return to our room to do some hand laundry. While Hotel Tau Ra'a is one of the highest rated establishments on Rapa Nui, and we are being treated royally, make no mistake...this is rustic living. There are no washcloths in Chile, apparently, and we are given one towel each daily which we use to wring out our wet clothes and then hang up to hopefully (but not usually) dry by morning.
Finally, by 1pm or so, the rain stopped and, though the afternoon remained overcast, we were able to set out for a walk. I thought the museum was only 15 minutes or so away, but it turned out to be an almost 45 minute walk instead. Once again, we're making friends with the local fauna. As we'd read, there are dogs everywhere here, always big dogs, but what we didn't expect is that they all belong to someone. They're just free-range dogs. And, unlike with the island's many horses, we've seen no signs of them left behind. But, back to the dogs. One of them took a liking to G right after we left our hotel and followed him the entire route to the museum. G named him Rapa Nui Louie, and when he stopped to check out a motel, but I continued on, Rapa Nui Louie waited patiently outside the motel for G to reappear. He did not follow me.
We finally arrived at the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum, a nondescript single room museum. For some reason (maybe because of its small size), I thought I might be underwhelmed by its contents but, on the contrary, it is very well done, and almost all the exhibits are in Spanish and English. Father Englert was a German missionary priest who arrived on Rapa Nui in 1935 and set about to transcribe many of the oral legends that still existed on the island at that time. He became the uncrowned king of Rapa Nui and worked tirelessly on its behalf, on island and abroad, until his death.
Before our visit to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, I had been most excited about a map at the Englert Museum depicting the Polynesian Migration. But the Bishop Museum dedicates an entire wall to this, so the map today might not have been quite as impressive. Still, our museum visit certainly reinforced and consolidated everything that Chris has told us over the past few days (the man has an incredible memory) and was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.
We looked out of the museum's windows several times to see Rapa Nui Louie sleeping on the grass, waiting for our return, but I guess we took too long inside, because he had finally abandoned us by the time we re-emerged.
We left the museum shortly before 5pm, and walked along the waterfront back to Tahai, the site of our first moai visit two days ago. We then continued south toward Hanga Roa, coming across several lesser ahus along the waterfront (honestly, they are everywhere), including Ahu O Rongo. This area is the site of the large cultural festival called Tapati Nui, held each February and marking the height of the tourist season.
We were getting hungry by then and stopped to examine the menus of the three...well, they're like food trucks but a bit larger and with covered seating, right on the waterfront across from Pea (PAY-ah) Beach, the island's surfing beach. We were kept well entertained by not only the surfers but also another furry friend we named Rapa Nui Louie Two, who took a liking to me. He sat right at my feet, occasionally tapping a paw on my leg as if to say, "You don't really need that pollo and queso empanada, do you?" These dogs are a bit of a nuisance but they are exceptionally well behaved (and receive free medical care from the Chilean government- really) and so are well tolerated. Eventually, Rapa Nui Louie Two put his head right on my shoe and fell asleep. Now, I am not a dog lover (being allergic to something will do that to you), but if I could have taken RNLou2 home, we might not be able to travel as much as we do.
Finally, almost 7 hours after we had left our hotel, we arrived back, ready to join our fellow guests talking and interneting on the covered public porch with its wicker furniture.
Tomorrow: a very early wake up, to see the sunrise behind Ahu Tongariki. The weather was clearer tonight and we are hopeful. We are expecting rain on Sunday and Monday, and I can handle that. Just a pretty sunrise tomorrow, please!!!
