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| Eyes of the Moai were made of Coral and Obsidian |
After leaving beautiful Robinson Crusoe Island, we spent four days at sea before spotting Easter Island, a province of Chile and the most remote inhabited island in the world. With its famous Moai and tourism now limited on the island, visiting this place was one of the main reasons people signed up for this cruise. Anticipation was high.
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| Row of Moai Re-erected Along the Shoreline |
This 63 square mile island is best known for its over 1000 Moai, statues believed to be ancestral chiefs descended from the Gods. They average 20 feet high and 20 tons and stand on stone platforms called Ahus. Most of them when in position face inland, usually guarding several graves of Rapa Nui ancestors which lie in front of them and considered sacred ground. All the Moai were from the same quarry, one of three extinct volcano caldera on the island.
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| Moai "Heads" along the Side of the Volcano Quarry |
The exact method of transporting the Moai is unknown, but most likely it was by rolling them on logs of the trees that used to cover the island. Once erected, the Moai was considered lifeless, until its eyes of white coral and black obsidian were placed, at which time it received its mana and protected the people. For some reason, these moai were all toppled by the time Europeans arrived, those remaining still upright, were on the side of the volcano quarry and were buried up to their necks.
Rapa Nui, populated by Polynesians somewhere between 700-1200 was renamed Easter Island by the Dutch East India Company when it arrived on Easter Day in 1722. (At this time the island is trying to get the name officially changed back to Rapa Nui) Native clans had already formed, the trees had all been harvested, and the Moai had been toppled by natural disasters and possibly clans clashing, but the tradition of the Birdman was still strong.
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| Site of Birdman Contest on a Sunny Day! |
When tensions began over who would rule the island in the 1600s, it was decided that a contest called Birdman would determine the leader of the island for the following year. One member of each clan was chosen to compete. He would climb down the 300 meter cliff, swim to a nearby island, search for an egg of the sooty tern, place it in a headband and swim back, climb up, and hand the unbroken egg to his clan's leader, who would poke a hole in the egg and drink it, thereby becoming the leader of the island...after spending the first six months of the reigning year in a cave. During that time the priest would be in power. Missionaries stopped this contest in 1867.
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| Town of Hanga Roa |
The population of 3000 at the time of European discovery declined dramatically due to European illnesses and the Peruvian slave trade. Currently, of the 8000 inhabitants on the island, 45% have Rapa Nui ancestry. The whole island, except for its main town is National Park Land and has UNESCO status. Further protection to this unique place was given in 2018, when Chile passed a law that no nonresident can stay longer than 30 days on the island.
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| Waves Inhibiting our Landing on Easter Island |
Our ship arrived to Cook's Bay, following a day of wind and rain, and high ocean swells. After anchoring, a tender was sent to shore but swells made passage to the small pier too dangerous for the boats, and the disembarking platform was oscillating by 3-4 feet, making it too hazardous for the crew let alone us old folks. After several hours hoping for calmer seas the Captain made lemonade out of lemons. We began circumnavigating the island with a local man Beno explaining his island's history, culture and sites. Through the rain and fog, using our telephoto cameras and
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