EASTER ISLAND

2 posts in one day! Look at me! So I just got back today from the most incredible trip ever- Easter island! My mom and I went from Friday until Tuesday and stayed at this amazing hotel and had a great time exploring the entire island. Basically, Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui) was first settled around 1200 AD and according to oral tradition, archeological evidence and wikipedia (yeah I did a little research) the people that inhabited the island made massive statues called moai that represented their ancestors. They carved the moai out of volcanic rock or out of this fairly large mountain on the island in an area called the quarry, and then they would place the moai on platforms so that they faced the land in order to watch over their tribes.

The Quarry where the Moai were carved and then taken to their platforms by a lot of men because they weigh over a ton!

After awhile the island became over populated and the people decided they didn’t believe in the moai anymore so they took the moais down and they developed the birdman competition, where the culture and class system seemed to rely on the “birdman” which was the winner of the birdman competition—each tribe would chose one boy around 16 to compete and basically they would jump off a cliff, swim about a mile on to this mini island in order to find a specific bird egg and once they found it the head of their tribe would cut off their hair and the boy would be awarded the purest virgin as his wife and they would go live in a house for a year together and wouldn’t come out until they had a baby! Around 1860s however the entire population of Easter Island was killed or removed from the island. Most were taken as slaves to Peru, and then a few years later the Peruvians returned their slaves to Easter Island but some had gotten small pox and other diseases which spread to the whole island so after a few years the population was wiped out and the island became a place for Christian missionaries and also it was used as a sheep ranch. There were about 111 original rapa nui people left on the island and these people are the ones that carry the oral traditions about their culture and from these 111 the island population has slowly recovered—today there are about 4,000 people that live on the island however not all are originally from Rapa Nui. Whew okay history lesson over (please note I’m not positive about some of the above information) but I just wanted to give you a little background knowledge.

On our trip we did everything from hiking up to the birdman crater and saw where they had the birdman competition, to going to the quarry the place where the moai were made, to waking up at sunrise and seeing the incredible 15 moai, a day at the beach, a dance show and Rapa Nui bbq, hiking along the coast, and listening to all of the history and traditions that make you really appreciate and understand the Rapa Nui culture. One of my favorite adventures my mom and I went on was our hike up to the birdman crater. It was a fairly long hike and we weren’t exactly sure where we were going and our guide was a very Rapa Nui character, he had dreadlocks down to his hip and really funny. On our hike I think we may have seen a hundred horses, which we quickly learned being on the island was not so uncommon given that there are over 6,000 horses on the island. All of the horses are branded and technically have owners but they graze and poop wherever they want whether that is on the side of the road or right next to a giant moai statue. Also on the hike our guide told us about the birdman competition and how red bull had actually come to the island and wanted to recreate the competition (I guess cause red bull “it gives you wings?”) but they decided it was way too dangerous and not worth it.

Birdman crater

Lots of horses... I took about a zillion pictures, I couldn't help myself!

Another moment that I really enjoyed is that my mom and I got up early to watch the sunrise by the great 15 moai and it was outstanding. The island is not only beyond beautiful but there is so much amazing history and you start to see the statues not just as statues but as representing the Rapa Nui history. I’m not a very religious person but my mom and I agreed it was almost a spiritual experience standing in front of these moai statues as we watched this incredible sunrise.

the platform with the 15 Moai at sunrise

Another one of my favorite things was our last night the hotel had an authentic Rapa nui bbq and dance show! (interesting fact, although Chile owns Easter Island there is a law that all of the land belongs to the rapa nui people so for example if you want to open a hotel one of the owners must be rapa nui.) The bbq was delicious and afterwards everyone sat down to watch the dance show, which was really great because in school my friends and I are taking a class on traditional dancing and we’re learning one of the Rapa Nui dances! This dancing however was completely different than my dance class because the dancers were so passionate and crazy! The boy dancers, they couldn’t have been older than 17, were jumping around, screaming and singing while they only wore loin cloths with paint all over their bodies. My mom and I both got asked to dance which was a little uncomfortable and awkward but really fun nonetheless.

Overall the trip was amazing and if you ever have the chance to go you should! After we got back my mom and I spent one last night in Santiago before she headed back to the states and I headed back to reality. Saying goodbye was really hard, but I know that’s normal. I just got a taste of home and eating great food, speaking English, and being super spoiled and I wasn’t ready to let it go. Also the only negative of the trip was that on the way over to Easter Island I left my baby blanket on the plane and while I’ve always slept with my blanket being in Chile I just become so attached to it because it smelled like home and was something to hold on to at night or when I was feeling a little homesick. Basically I was beside myself especially after we called the airlines a million times and they said they didn’t have it, but I know it will be okay. I also have a feeling these next few weeks are going to fly by because next weekend I’m going to La Serena, a really pretty beach town in the north of Chile, and then the next weekend DANIEL LIPSEY IS COMING TO CHILE! I’m so excited I think I might actually explode from excitement!

I miss you guys a lot and will try to write again soon!