With a bit of luck, some timing, and a huge amount of generosity i found myself with a round trip ticket to Easter Island and the amazing oppurtunity to explore one of the most remote islands in the world.
Not going was not an option
I sat first class, my seat alone seemed to have enough buttons to control the entire airplane. I took advantage of my position..."yes, i'd like the lamb AND the tuna please. A glass of the high end Port would be nice too, oh and a Whiskey, a pisco sour, a glass of champange, and a glass of Shiraz once im done with the first 4 drinks too, please, and thank you" (Im not exaggerating). It was a 4 hour flight - i didn't get bored - i did get drunk!
I arrived on the island at 3am, it was raining and would continue to do so for the next 36 hours. The campground flooded, the power to the entire island shut off, many people were not having fun...I on the other hand had not felt warm tropical rain in years (the only rain i've known for the last 5 has been the 36 degree piss-drizzle of the PNW). I dawned my board shorts and was off to wade in the torrential downpours. So Good!
The weather eventually cleared and for next 5 days I dirt-bagged the island as well as any dirt-bagger could. I "found" an unused bike, ripped off the bent front derailleur, adjusted the back, derusted the chain, lost the rear brakes and dialed in the front. I "found" snorkeling equipment, i found free wifi, found free rides to the other side of the island, i brought all my food from mainland...it was good!
I met two younger Chilean guys who had brought their bikes and snorkeling equipment as well. We rallied together, they made the trip for me. I walked away with two great friends, a wild experience on a wild island and some amazing memories to boot.
The ocean is clearer than anything i have ever scene. The denuded landscape sits pocked with random Moai statues worshiping the ancestry of the island, volcanic craters crash out of the ground everywhere, thousand foot cliffs drop to cragged crusted lava shores. It was at once surreal and grounding. Stone relics of a civilization cast their shawdows across destroyed landscapes. Erosion tore away the top soil, invasive species filled in where endemics could no longer survive. Trees were sparse, shade non-existent, and where trees did grow they were Eucalypt brought over from Chile (where they had been brought over from Australia). It was a strange contrast to see such an ancient civilization, cherished by the locals, surrounded by the abuse and waste that is carried in by day-to-day tourism and supported by the day-to-day life of the locals.
Its an interesting point to argue...should there be more of an effort to return the island to is original form, to remove the wild horses and fenced in cattle who graze the land and stall its environmental recovery...or since the original cultures were the original destroyers of the landscape (cutting the last tree hundreds of years ago before seedlings could be produced) is the current island really just a natural progression that exists without the need to change....who knows. I cant say that the pleasure i took from the island in any way gave back or helped...in the end i was just another tourist as well - just a cheaper than usual one, so who am i to judge?
Here she is in all her glory...20 minutes to drive across, 90 to bike, 300 to walk. High point 511 meters. 2 volcanic crater lakes, 40 + volcanoes of varying size. No surface runoff (i.e. no streams). 400+ Moai. 2 Beaches. 1 international airport, 3 ATMs, no legal camping outside of town. Some of the best diving in the world, very friendly locals and Thousands of tourists.
Roads to no where
And once at the end of the road...views to no where!
The 3 musketeers, Me Pablo and Diego
Snorkeling the other side of the island - i'll have underwater pics and a movie up shortly once i get some computer issues sorted
Orongo Crater lake with Totora reeds - the native plant used for its fiber to make rafts and other such things...
Originally hostile with each other, the different clans on the island eventually eventually shifted towards competition as a means of determining which clan ruled the island. Each year a race was held that pitted the strongest from each clan against each other...Climb 1000 ft down the islands cliffs, swim 2 k's of open ocean out to Rotu Nui (this small island), survive the breaking swells on the island vertical cliffs, retrieve an egg from the Suti Tern and be the first to bring it back in one piece and you get crowned Birdman for the year. What do you win? The virgin kept in a cave on the other side of the island (i shit you not, in the cave to shield her skin from the sun and keep her pale and pure), reclusivity for half the year (living by yourself at a sacred site on the side of the crater) and your clan is the leading clan for the year...whoever came up with this kinda shit is awesome!
1 of 2 beaches on the island...Anakena
High rollers come to lounge under the palm frawns
Low rollers gorge themselves on deep fried tuna an cheese empanads ....mmmm mmm delish
Hitching across the island, easy!
Class V snorkeling
Raw and rugged coastlines
Sunrise at Tongariki
Rano Raraku, the volcano in the background, was the source stone for the 400+ Moai carved on the island
The top piece is called a top knot - supposed to be representative of their hair
Wild and crazy walking around these giants
Absolutely endless sunsets, we'd get a 90 minute show every night. My tent was 40 feet from the western edge of the island
Beach 2 of 2 on the island
Not many trees around here
Yours truely in the early morning light trying to get the climb to the islands highest point out of the way before the sun got too hot. She rose late, but she was high in the sky for 15 hours a day and she burrrrrned!
Hundreds of caves, mostly lava tubes, dot the island
Caves are some of the few places you can find water on the island, you can drink the streams pouring off the roofs
With the trees gone rainfall infiltrates easily into the porous volcanic soils and streams on the island no longer exists, luckily there is plenty of groundwater, unluckily there is also plenty of surface erosion.
Wild horses everywhere
A little guy fighting it out in the crater of the islands biggest volcano (511 m)
Mid jump shot, turned out to be spirit fingers - and a throwback to the month we spent on the grand canyon (thank you Kathy Young!)
Standing on the highest point, looking out to the farthest point - Easter Island in its entirety.
While trying to bike through this shit i invented a new sport...i call it Gnilwob (silent G). Its the exact opposite of bowling. There is only 1 pin (you and your bike) and many balls. You throw the pin at the balls and try to get it stay upright. High Score is 1. If you dont reach high-score, by default you've lost. Add flip-flops, board shorts, no helmet, needle sharp thistle and well, you've got yourself a true sport.
She musta been hurtin' for some action
This is the Moai with the erection, or that was erected, whatever...obviously a dose of viagra is needed to get round 2 going again
Wild backdrops
Rano Raraku - the Quarry where the Moai were carved an where hundred still lay around in all forms of completion. This was easily my favorite place on the island
Had it been completed this 20+ meter giant woulda been the largest Moai moved...too bad the civilization collapsed first!
Looking out from the Quarry onto Tongariki
How many partially completed Moai can you see in this pic - there's between 10 and 15 of them
Thats a stiff upper lip!
The backside of the Quarry (also a crater lake). You can see some partially finished Moai in the background. I took one of their reed rafts and swam out to the center of the pond. Was a crazy feeling being watched by all the statues, trying to visualize thousands of workers here chipping away night and day (and probably swimming in exact pond as well).
Horses, with Moai on the left flank of the volcano
Despite seeming exotic in some places the island is actually quite a destroyed landscape void of any real endemic vegetation and chalk full of soil erosion and poor land management
Cant find this one on the tourist map...Easter Island Quarry, take a look at the rocks on either side of the rock crusher, little ones on the left, big ones waiting to be little ones on the right...thats one bored dude!
Unfortunately I left the first day of the annual 2 week festival that pays homage to the ancestry and history of the island...Traditional dances are performed by different groups and they practice for months leading up to the event. Here's one group in the local gym putting finishing touches on their routine
Downtown Honga Roa...with a good break out front, good snorkeling, Moai in the center and a chilled atmosphere, this place is hard not to like
Downtown surfbreak, literally 100 m off shore of the town center
Training for the many races had during the 2 week festival
Most popular time of the year for the island, the population doubles, all ATM's are sucked dry, every car on the island is rented...its a massive tourist trap!
Sunrise over the campsite on my last day on the island...
The casual island lifestyle extends to the boarding of the jet...what a place
What a wild trip, nothing i would have thought i would be doing on my 6 month tour of SA! Thank you for the opportunity Jeff, it was unreal!
So now the Patagooch Adventure Begins...tomorrow i fly from Santiago to the southern tip of the continent, spend 5 days hiking around an island (Navarino), another 4 around another island (Tierra Del Fuego), hitch north to Torres del Paine for 2 weeks, then Fitz Roy and Los Galciars NP, then north again into the Austral Region - one of Patagonia's most remote and least visited...it'll be spotty on and off, and for the most part i'll be falling off the grid, but i will try to get some pics posted...Here's a quick map of the general plan for the next 4 to 6 weeks.
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