Welcome to probably the most mysterious place we have ever been to – truly in the middle of nowhere. In fact, Easter Island and Pitcairn fight over who is the farthest away from the next landmass. 3,512km from the coast of Chile, we fly in on a 5 hour flight from Santiago. Greeted by Paul, our host and guide for the next few days, with a beautiful flower necklace we drive through tiny Hanga Roa and arrive at our hotel within less than 10min. Off we go to explore and find lunch and it turns out that we are only 3 min walk away from one of the most mythical spots in Easter Island: Tahai, a large “ahu” (burial platform on which the Rapa Nui erected the Moai) with 6 Moai and a gorgeous, huge grass park, perfect for playing. 😉👍 After a yummy lunch we head off for the possibly best playground ever: on the ocean, view on the Moai and entirely made of wood ♻️, cool! I’m excited to discover more about this place that we talked about so much in school during our Race for Water project.
In the evening, on the way home in the dark after a 100% seafood dinner a lady calls out to us in French from her garden. She heard us talk and, having been married to a Frenchman who came to Easter Island with Jaques Cousteau at the time, was so delighted to speak some French that she invited us over to come and play with her son the next day, not without first gifting us 2 lovely avocadoes from her garden. Her name is Raquel but everyone calls her Pépé (short for poupée). Pépé is a passionate cook and sells her dishes in a small local stand. The next day, we buy her lovely peas and cabbage salad and she invites us to try her big speciality: tuna head. While there are pieces that I’m willing to try, I cannot get myself to eat the eyes….. Neither can Papa or Mama by the way, much to the Pépé’s disappointment. Guess we aren’t quite travel hardy yet! I also discover “Chinese apples” (basically Granny Smith apples cut up and covered in a sugary fluorescent red powder – DELICIOUS. And colourful on the clothes 😝)
Pépé and her tuna head
The next morning we start our first half day tour with Paul. This turns out to be really interesting especially since Paul joined the first excavation expedition with Dr William Mulloy. It’s a funny story how he got there: growing up in Wyoming, he went to school with Dr. Mulloy’s daughter, and, having heard so many great stories about Rapa Nui desperately wanted to go. At 16 years of age, he wrote a letter to the commission asking them to take him as a worker. They declined, saying they only took locals. He then persuaded them asking to be paid no more than a local, and convincing them that an English speaker in the team could come in handy. Figuring they didn’t have much to lose, they let him join and so it was that he ended up on the first commercial airflight to Easter Island. The plane had to navigate (and especially, to land) only with radio signal – pretty spooky I should think! Anyway, so it was that Paul is a true treasure trove of adventures, stories and history. Here some of the key facts:
- Easter Island was mostly divided into a few tribes (between 8-13 at any given time). The Moai were built from a volcanic stone quarry, with the aim to represent the wisest family member. This wise leader had a lot of “mana”, essentially spirit or energy. The priests would take this mana and transfer it into the Moai. Thus they face inland, with the idea to “watch over” their family. They used to start off pretty normal sized, just a meter or two tall. As with civilisations pretty much everywhere, this turned into a competition over who would have the biggest Moai. They finished with 21m…. This one never made it upright though…..
- They were most likely transported upright. That is why they have a square jaw, for the rope to hold underneath.
- The Moai were painted. A few have tattoos on their jaw, these probably present women.
- The civilisation became extinct through the smallpox, and when all the indigenous left were shipped off to serve in the war or as slaves by Peru.
No – this is not a montage 
possibly the most beautiful playground in the world 
Paul, our amazing guide
Do you like a tough competition? Then here is one for you:
To decide on the leadership for the coming year, contestants would gather for a big race, the Tangata Manu, in Orongo, on the South West of the island. The challenge was to recover an egg from the Manutara bird which nested on a tiny land mass just off the coast during winter solstice. You had to get down a steep cliff, swim across violent currents to the tiny island, recover an egg, swim back, somehow get back up again and deliver the egg intact. Most contestants died, 😩😵that is how perilous the competition was. All that to rule for just one year!
It was also really interesting to hear Paul’s perspective on what is happening with the direction of the island now. After much political debate, to appease the tension, Chile agreed to cede control to the indigenous Rapa Nui (who, ironically, mostly live in mainland Chile) but only for 5 years for now. A space to watch.
Our 3 days here fly by in no time. At 10pm we head off to the airport, 2 hours away from the boys’ birthday. We’re excited about French Polynesia but also sad to leave this magical place, we really loved the vibe here.