Easter Island!

Well hey everybody! Long time no post... Sorry about that! It has been a crazy few weeks here in the land of Chile. I would have posted this blog a lot sooner, but I was rather distracted with Nathan's visit to come see me (next blog post...)

Ok, enough excuses. Lets talk about EASTER ISLAND!

Every single one of these photos is my own and unedited. Those of you close to me may see prints of these in the future.

This blog is mildly educational and packed with photos. Enjoy :-)

I had wanted to go to this amazing island for years and years, after hearing about it on some arbitrary news show when I was a kid. Something about it fascinated me and called my attention, but always just sat on the back of my mind. But, when I started planning to come to Chile for this study abroad program, I realized that this tiny island is actually part of this crazy country. Some shallow research into getting there showed that it is flat out expensive, but worth every penny. I didn't really see a feasible way of going without really dipping into my funds... but what the hell? I'd rather spend my money on experiences rather than things, so off to Easter Island I went with my friend Isabelle and her parents :-)

Lost? Here are some directions.

Easter Island is the most isolated, inhabited place in the world. It's closest inhabited neighbor is Pitcairn Island, 1400 miles to the west. It is also 2,400 miles away from the coast of Chile; which is just short of the distance from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. 

So being there provided an interesting experience of solitude. Although, since it is part of Chile, everything chilean was still offered there: Entel phone coverage, empanadas, manjar... We have succeeded in flattening the world.

Aside from the interest of location, Easter Island has also had an interesting history that resulted in some rather remarkable creations. 

Let me introduce you to the Moai.

These statues are iconic of the island. They are huge and carved to resemble a rough human figure. They have large heads, fat torsos, no legs, arms that wrap around to the body, and a distinct facial structure. The Moai were created to serve as a monument and embodiment of ancestors past. There are something like 800 of the statues around the island, though most of them never made it to their final destination. What was their final destination you ask? 

Well...

After carving, these statues were brought to platforms like this, called ahu. Here they stood looking over the land as embodiments of the souls of the ancestors. It is absolutely incredible to think about how these things were carved, moved and stood up onto these platforms in a time well before modern machinery. 

Moai are huge.

Here I am standing in front of one, in absolute awe. (ps, evidence that I was actually there)

You'll notice that this one has those bright white eyes looking forward, which was a symbol that the ancestors soul was alive in the statue. The red rock that sits on its head was actually a later addition to the Moai that they somehow lifted up on top of the thing. Incredible. 

Isabelle with one of the Moai hats.

The history of the island is rich and complex, full of tribal battles and Western destruction. I am no expert about everything that happened here, but I can tell you that this whole Moai thing was just a phase. The people of Easter Island, called Rapa Nui, spent only a part of their history developing these statues. It was apparently a very popular thing to do, since so many were created. Though at some point in the line all of the statue making came to a halt, seemingly abruptly. Historians argue this since the main quarry, or rather, volcano crater, Rano Raraku, contains tons of Moai in various stages of production. 

Each of the odd spots in the green grass are Moai, just hanging around the crater.

Some are stuck to the rock wall, others laying in the grass, missing details. Others were broken and abandoned, some just look forgotten.  

 Additionally, after the time of Moai carving ended, something happened in the Rapa Nui clans and they toppled the ones that were stood up. Every single one. Most of the statues broke, lost their hats, their eyes and the splendor. Most of the ahu have moai laying down face into the earth, eroding in the weather. 

Since all of them were toppled, that means that the ones that are standing up were raised in modern times. They were reerected at various times and in different ways, including help from the Japanese and a large crane lift. And we should be glad that they did so we can see the amazing sight of the Moai standing tall on their platforms. 

Ahu Tongariki

Here is a line of 15 of them, basking in the afternoon sunlight. 

How the Rapa Nui managed to lift these things is beyond comprehension. 

There is still continued research into the history of this crazy island. 

Not really sure what this crap does, but probably good to not touch...

In addition to the whole Moai thing, the Rapa Nui also lived on an absolutely beautiful island. It was formed by volcanic activity, but now is composed of rolling hills and craters filled with lakes. 

And lets not forget beautiful sunsets with purple water.

And white sand beaches... with Moai

The warm pacific water is just out of the frame to the right of this pictures, but you can be sure that I went swimming there!

My trip to Easter Island was absolutely amazing and truly and experience of a lifetime. There is a ton more information about the island and it's people online and in numerous books. If you find yourself interested I would encourage you to go look. And also take a hop, a skip, and a jump on down to the island yourself. 

Just for good measure, to please my family, and also a bit for showing off... here are a few more photos:

Thank you for reading everyone, I do apologize for the delay.
Stay tuned for more (frequent) updates!

With love,
Matt

PS, I found a Mickey-Mouse-Cow...