We are sleeping well at night, exhausted from our days of touring. When we had read about Rapa Nui before leaving home, we were warned about the vicious sun (it's sunny, but not as intense as French Polynesia), mosquitoes (we've only seen a few), hot days (No. We're wearing fleeces much of the time, and, in fact, by evening we're pulling on slacks), and wind. The wind part was dead on. It is windy here all the time, sometimes ferociously so. But we arrived ladened with sunscreen and bug sprays and rain ponchos and really haven't needed any of those (sunscreen, sure, but not in quantity).
Panoramic view of Hanga Roa and west coast of Rapa Nui (click to enlarge)
From rear to front- Motu Nui (Big Islet), Motu Iti (Little Islet), Motu Kao Kao (Thin Islet). Motu Nui was the island where the sooty terns lay their eggs.
The pukao (top knots) still at Puna Pao
Today the alarm was set for 7:30am and breakfast was served at 8:30am. The same mango smoothie, fresh bread, lots of fruit and today we had banana crepes. These good breakfasts are really sending us on our way! Chris arrived at 9:30am and we headed out for another full day of exploring.
Our first stop was very close to Hanga Roa at Vinapu. Here there are the remains of three different ahu platforms that have not yet been restored. It is quite amazing to see toppled moai and top knots strewn around the platforms partially to almost completely buried. We then went to the lookout over Hanga Roa, offering stunning views of both the western and eastern seacoasts as well as the two dormant volcanos to the north: Puakatike and the island's highest point on Terevaka.
G was thrilled with our stop at Ana Kai Tangata, a cave on the island's southwest coast. This cave is believed to be the training ground for the hopu manu. the competitors who swam out to Motu Nui for the Birdman competition (more on that below). The sheer rock walls above crashing surf were thought to provide the same kind of experience the hopu manu would face climbing down the cliffs at Orongo and swimming across 1.4km of rough ocean.
Ana Kai Tangata
We were stunned by the beauty of the caldera of Rano Kau, Rapa Nui's third volcano, on its southwestern corner. The freshwater in the caldera is covered with mats of freshwater reeds, that float atop about 43 feet deep water. These reeds are the same species of giant bullrush found in Lake Titicaca in South America, adding to Thor Heyerdahl's conviction that Rapa Nui was settled from South America, but this has been scientifically disproved. In ancient times, this was the island's only source of fresh water.
The crater at Rano Kau
At the top of the volcano is Orongo, the site of the island's Birdman competition every September when the sooty turns returned to Motu Nui. Motu Nui is the largest of three motus (islets) located just off the coast of Rapa Nui, where the birds lay their eggs. This is how the various island tribes competed for power and rank on the island from about 1720 to 1870, when the tribal system had largely broken down due to depletion of resources and there was intraisland warfare. The Birdman competition was seen as a means of restoring order.
Each tribal chief would select a hopu manu, a strong, athletic young male, who would train at Ana Kai Tangata for the competition. When the sooty terns were spotted arriving on Motu Nui, these hopu manu would race down the 1000 foot sea cliffs at Orongo and swim across 1.4km of rough ocean, and then scale the sea cliffs of Motu Nui. The first hopu manu to return with a sooty tern egg to Orongo presented the egg to his chief, who became the island's spiritual leader for the next year. The arrival of the Catholic missionaries put an end to the practice in 1867. :-(
Orongo features an excellent national park visitors center and walking trails along the top of the sea cliffs to see the 54 stone houses, 52 of them restored by archeologist William Mulloy in 1974 which housed the tribal chiefs and elders and councils for a short time while waiting for the return of the sooty terns. So sacred was this village that all women and most men were forbidden to walk on its ground.
Chris dropped us back in town for a short lunch break. We went to his favorite empanada restaurant (delicious) where we sat at an outdoor table and watch the town go by (dog, scooter, dog, horse, jeep, bike, dog). Chris picked us up an hour later for the afternoon's tour, two sites in the middle of the island.
The first site, Ahu Akivi, features the only moai (7 of them on a single ahu) that are positioned to look out at the sea. Ahu Akivi is the first excavation and restoration to take place on the island in 1960. While much is made of their positioning, the reality is that moai were always erected overlooking the village over which the commemorated chief had ruled. It just happened that this village was 3km away from the coast. What is fascinating about Ahu Akivi is the fact that this platform is actually aligned with certain stars on the spring and autumnal equinoxes.
Our final stop of the day was Puna Pao, the quarry where the pukao (topknots) that adorn only about 100 of the nearly 1000 moai on Rapa Nui. The red volcanic rock found in Puna Pao was softer to carve than the compressed volcanic ash used in the construction of the the moai themselves. The topknots were not meant to be hats, but instead represented the hairstyle of the time: long reddish hair tied up in a bun on top of the head. Several pukaos are still spread on the hillside of the quarry.
Chris returned us to our hotel just after 4pm, at the end of a thankfully shorter day. We rested a bit and then walked down to the oceanfront for dinner and sunset. Evenings are definitely chilly here, even in town. We wear fleeces always and long pants often. The locals' dress ranges from winter wear to summer sleeveless, so I don't know if this is unusually cold or not. But thankfully the days have been in the low 70sF and not sweaty...'cause there's no Elite laundry here!
Tomorrow: a day "off" to explore on our own.