Special thanks to Joe and Perla for arranging one of the best tours ever. Our tour guide was a very pretty lady named Guia of Aku Aku Tours. Guia was born on Easter Island, then lived in southern Oregon and other locations on the West Coast before returning to the island. Here she ran into a childhood friend who also had recently returned to the island, sparks flew, they were married a year later, and 10 years later they are permanent residents and hoping to have a baby. We all wish them the very best in their efforts because that child would be so multicultural. Guia's husband served as the guide for the other half of our group. Guia's in-laws own a mini-mart and bed-and-breakfast where she and her husband work when they are not providing tours.
At the last census in 2002, Easter Island boasted 3,794 residents of which 50 percent are descendants of the original Polynesians. Horses outnumber people on the island. Three TV channels are transmitted to this 64-square mile volcanic island. Tourism is the major industry with about 50,000 tourists during the peak season of October to March. About 12 cruise ships sail in annually with today being a banner day with two ships, ours and a German cruise ship.
Easter Island was created by the eruptions of three volcanoes. The giant stone monoliths, the major tourist attractions, have fascinated and puzzled Westerners since the Dutch seaman Roggeven first made landfall here on Easter Sunday, 1722. The society of Rapanui, part of the great wave of Polynesian emigration that arrived in 400-700 BC. They possessed considerable masonry skills, on par with those found in the Inca Empire of South America. The standing statues range from 1.5 to 9.3 meters.
Guia's first stop on all her tours is Ahu Tahai, home to the only Moai with carved eye inlays. She likes to spend time there providing her guests with a comprehensive history of the islands. Unfortunately, just as we came to the row of five statues, the skies opened and rain started to pour, soaking everyone to the skin. Fortunately, I was safe in the waterproof purse that Sara's friend Judy told Sara to buy when they attending a craft show in Venice (Florida, not Italy). When zipped, the purse makes a decent temporary burrow. Guia pointed out the statue with a piece on the top that represented the hair style of high-status men. Because the power of the men is concentrated in the head, the men never cut their hair. Earlier statutes did not have the topknots that became common in 1300-1400 AD.
Once we all ran for the buses, the rain stopped and we headed for the Orongo Trail, a restored ceremonial village with rock art in the form of petroglyphs. Here the Birdman Ceremony to determine political control of the island was held each year until 1868 when the missionaries arrived. The early king had divided the island into 10 sectors, giving a sector to each of his 10 sons. Every year at the time of the Spring Equinox, young men with considerable physical capabilities vied to be chosen by one of the 10 chiefs to represent that chief. The selected athletes climbed the volcano and took shelter at Orongo to wait for the return of the sea birds that were the only evidence to the islands that they had another world out there. The natives believed that the birds may have flown to where the body's spirit went when one dies and had contact with the supreme god.
Once the birds returned, the athletes had to swim 3 kilometers to the largest of three islands off the shore and bring back an egg of the birds to the chief. Sponsors left supplies for the athletes on the island, who took shelter in the caves while waiting for the terns to lay their eggs. The first athlete to find an egg shouted, "Shave the head!" Once the chief's head had been shaved, he never cut his hair again and no one ever touched his head. That chief ruled until the next celebration, and members of the other tribes gave a portion of what they produced to the clan of the Birdman--an early form of taxation.
Eventually, the natives depleted the wood on the island, started warring with each other for supplies and trapped themselves on the island because they had no wood to build boats to escape. Part of their warfare was to knock over the statures in the sector of their enemy and destroy them.
Near the Orongo Trail is the largest crater on the island, which gave rise to the theory by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl, who concluded that the early inhabitants actually came from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia because the reeds in the crater must have come from South America. I had my picture taken with the statue of the god who was the creator of all things. Guia informed me that I now had the power of a chief. What she didn't know is that I already have more power than any chief ever.
Next we visited Rano Raraku, the main quarry for the Moai, which is actually the crater of an extinct volcano and home to 397 Moai. The head of a Moai is approximately one-third of the statue so if only the head is visible, the rest of the figure is still buried in the ground. Theories for how the figures got to other sectors of the islands are that they walked, they were pulled vertically by a series of ropes, and they were moved horizontally on rollers made from logs. I noted that all the statues were either very pensive or downright grouchy with no silly grins. Guia also took us to view a statue with its legs tucked under its rear who sports a beard. She said this one was discovered by some native assistants to the Norwegian Archaeological Expedition in 1955-56. They were eating lunch by themselves to escape the Norwegians when one noted the top of a head. We hiked to the largest statue, which is lying down and is 21 meters long.
Our last stop was Ahu Tongariki with its platform for 15 statues, the largest of which weighs 90 tons. In 1960, the largest earthquake in Chile created a tsunami that hit Easter Island causing some of the stone statues to slide 150 meters. In 1992, the Japanese donated a 50-ton crane and then almost $1 million dollars for the restoration that was completed in 1996.
Time was running out for us to return to the ship, and rain started to pour again so we were whisked back to the tender to board the ship. Did I mention that I had my own seat on the van so that I could see everything?
If you want me, Punxsy Phil, to blog again in my own special voice, please comment to this blog. I could give you the low down on Pitcairn Island, where we arrive on Sunday, Tahiti, Moorea, Auckland or Sydney. Check back on Monday for information on Pitcairn Island, a famous site in Mutiny on the Bounty.
Great job, Punxsy! We are really enjoying your posts! Keep them coming! We look forward to meeting you when we join the cruise in Sydney.
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