Raahi – A traveling family

Tag: rapa nui

Easter Island and the french connection 🏝️

March 1st, 2023

Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for Easter Island and it’s accessible only by air. There are cruise ships coming every now and then and that’s about it. It was a strange feeling when we landed on this remote island. It truly felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.
Our Airbnb host Patricia came to pick us up at the airport with garlands of flowers. We soon figured out that the Moai monuments can only be visited with a guide or a local Rapa Nui resident. There were very few places we could visit alone.
We began by visiting the parts of the island which didn’t require a chaperon. We ventured to the other parts with French guides!
There are many French people living on Easter Island. It’s not very surprising considering the fact that there were regular flights from Tahiti before the pandemic. One of our French guides came here in the 80s and never left the place. He told us that the island was very wild back then. There weren’t any roads, no television. The islanders favourite hobby was to go to the airport once a week and watch people visiting the island. This was the only way for them to know what’s happening in the world. Women on the island knew of the latest fashion in this way. The French men we met here had fallen in love with the vahines. They can’t be blamed. The Polynesians are good looking… especially the men 🤪😍
One of the places we loved to go was the pea swimming pool which was a rocky beach with gigantic sea turtles. The turtles weren’t shy and they’d constantly come and swim close to us. The other one was the Poko Poko natural pool which was along the shore and enclosed with huge rocks. The waves constantly lash on the rocks, bringing seawater in and pulling the water out. We also went trekking on various volcanic mountains and walked around craters. One of the craters has freshwater inside and supplies drinking water to the island. A lot of fruit trees are grown there by the islanders. We rented a car for a day and came here after nightfall to see the stars. As we lay on our backs trying to identify stars 🤩 it felt wonderful.

There aren’t any predatory animals on the island except for hawks. In a few days we were waving out to the baker, the grocery store owner, the bus driver who gave us a lift. It’s a tiny island with friendly people and everyone knows everyone!

Time flies and it was time to get on our planes to Santiago. We nervously smuggled some guavas and mangoes which one of the guides gifted us from her backyard.
From Santiago we headed to Valparaiso a lazy coastal town. I had booked an Airbnb but the host sent me a message saying that it wasn’t suitable for families. This was the cheapest listing and the rooms looked big, so I insisted. Once we reached the place, I figured why he’d have said that. It really looked like a squat. Except, there was electricity and water supply in the building. Most of the apartments were abandoned and the common area weren’t maintained. There was another bedroom with members of a rock band. Arjun had a jam session with them and we were invited to a charity concert.
Valparaiso looks like a town that has run out of funds. The areas near the coast were particularly run down. The conception and allegria areas were full of graffiti art and looked charming. We had the best empanadas here in Valparaiso. On our last day in Latin America we went to see the dunes near vina del mar. They looked amazing. A large part of the dunes have apparently been destroyed to make way for hig rises.
Leo and I were super excited about going to Asia. We couldn’t wait to try the food in South East Asia! We flew from Santiago via Mexico to LA. Our flight from LA to the Philippines was at night and we had the whole day to kill at the airport. Arjun absolutely wanted to go to the Hollywood walk of fame. Why would anyone want to see names of people written on the floor. I reluctantly agreed and we took two buses to get to a locker. After leaving our bags we took a cab to the Hollywood walk of fame. Then we walked around sunset Blvd before taking a cab to the locker and heading to the airport. Goodbye Americas! Farewell!

Land ahoy!

Arjun and Leo with the turtles

This cat was literally standing all the time

My favourite crater

This is where the birdman competition took place

The majestic moais

This was my favourite site

The only know female Moai

Arjun jamming with our roommates

Inside the squat like building

Cola de Zorro concert

Good bye Valparaiso

Dr Seuss

Michael Jackson
The Big Paddle (aka Rapa Nui)

February 23rd, 2023

Every trip around the world should have its “end of the world” destination! And Easter Island fits the bill perfectly: 8000 souls on a rock lost in the immensity of the Pacific Ocean, 5000km away from the nearest continent and 2000km from the nearest neighbouring island.

We landed on the island, almost like on an aircraft carrier, on a tarmac who’s length is almost the width of the island. Ground control is fairly straightforward here as there is only one flight per day, returning an hour later to Santiago. We got off the plane and passed a big sign saying IORANA. It means hello in Rapa Nui. Conveniently, it also means good bye, so the same sign can be used for arrivals and departures.

Patricia, our host was awaiting us and, following the Polynesian tradition, passed a flower necklace around our necks. We were happy to be picked up, for our heavy bags, but we simply walked with her, for 20mins to the hostel.

Everything is about the same price as in Paris. And much like in Paris, you can easily pay any small amount by card. In the end, the most notable difference with Paris is the total absence of Eiffel tower. And, yes, the fact that Paris is not a 150km2 volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific. Anyways.

The first Polynesians would have reached the island somewhere between 800ad and 1200ad. The name Rapa Nui, meaning « Big Paddle », would be derived from another another smaller island near Tahiti, called Rapa, which also has the triangular shape of an paddle.

Rapa Nui is most famous for its Moais; massive sculptures of men torso and head, varying in size from 2 to 20 meters, often aligned on a Ohu, the platform on which they stand.

Each Moai stands on the tomb of an ancient member of the ruling class and is meant to keep his soul alive, to protect the island.

Much has been devised about how the Moais were transported from their place of manufacture to their Ohu. Turns out they just came “walking and dancing”! This is how the elders described the Moais pivoting on their base, like you do when you move your fridge!

The Moais protection story worked well for the ruling class for as long as the population was small and the land generous enough. After a while, somewhere around 1700, resources became scarce and people realised that the Moais weren’t protecting them much, so the ruling class was overthrown and the Moais pushed to the ground and abandoned.

After that a new system was adopted, sightly more democratic -or meritocratic- where each year,, selected members of each clan (some 20 to 30 on the island) would compete to become Tangata Manu, the Birdman. The one capable of bringing the first egg of a migratory bird from a nearby islet, was turned into a deity. The ceremony, held in Orongo, in the south of the island, turned into a council of the elders.

Oh by the way, don’t take anything I write here for solid truth! I merely report -and interpret- whatever I understood from what some guide told me – which he himself reported and interpreted! .. You know, it’s like that moment where oral tradition is finally written down and makes the history books 😛

Besides listening to Moais stories, we also climbed the 3 main volcanoes that for the skeleton of the island, and visited gigantic underground galleries formed by flowing lava. And of course we bathed in the warm waters of the pacific, while big beautiful turtles came swimming right next to us ❤️

First look at the island from the plane (photo Mary). We see the southern volcano, Rano Kau, where the Birdman ceremony was held.

Hello / Goodbye

Leo in flowers 🌺

Rano Kau, the most beautiful crater 😍

Mary on the edge of Rano Kau, facing the Birdman islet

Leo near the crater of Rano Kau

Leo and turtles 🐢

First sunset on the island

Our first Moais, by the beach Anakena

The “traveler” and the 15 Moais

Buried Moais at the quarry of Raro Ranaku

The tiny dot on the path is Mary walking amongst the buried Moais

Leo and “big nose”, his favourite Moai!

Sitting in front of a traditional hut

Starting our climb of the Poike (northeast volcano)

View of the northern coast

Almost there

Around the crater

Picnic under the Eucalyptus in the crater

Too happy to get back down!

View of the eastern coast from the Poike

View of the Milky Way from the Rano Kau

Top of the Terevaka at 511 meters, highest point on the island – the lion king

Mouth of a lava tube open on the sea, Ana Kai Tangata, where the men where preselected for the Tangata Manu contest

Exploring lava tubes

Exploring Ana Te Pehu

Leo collecting rain water in Ana Te Pehu

Mary looking at the only supposedly female Moai on the island – not much explanation given!

Kids playing in the harbour of Hanga Roa

Kids jumping in the Poko

Last sunset, in the Poko, the natural pools of Hanga Roa

Night shot of the Poko

One last sunrise behind Hanga Roa

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