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Exploring Mystery IslandRapa Nui aka Easter IslandBy Sandra Scott
But after a week on Easter Island, I think I have found my favorite place, surely my favorite island. For me it has everything: beautiful scenery, mysterious ruins, a couple beautiful beaches, friendly people, and a relaxed Polynesian ambiance. Lying 2300 miles west of the Chilean mainland, enigmatic Easter Island is the world's most remote inhabited island. More Polynesian than Chilean, the presence of Pacific Islanders in this isolated part of the world is as much a mystery as the reason for the famous stone statues called moai.
Our five-hour flight arrived in mid afternoon so we had plenty of time to walk around town. It was January, mid summer south of the Equator and high season, and yet there were no crowds. We were able to explore the town in an afternoon, ending on the patio of the Pea Restaurant. On the small adjacent beach young children played in the sand, preteens on boogie boards rode the waves to the beach, while further out the more experienced rode the big waves. The scene seemed timeless. We dined on empanadas – meat filled pastries that are the “fast” food of South America, and let the island magic take hold. We had prearranged a day tour with AO Tours so one morning Patricio, our guide, picked us up in his VW camper van and off we went. Since there were only the two of us we went slowly and took our time.
The entire island, which is only 22 miles by six miles, is ringed with ahu. The stone ahus were topped with the giant monolithic moai. It was a form of ancestor worship that took much organization and community effort. They made larger and larger moai, possibly in an attempt to outdo those made by neighboring groups – an early version of “keeping up with the Jones!” Something happened and the construction of the moai came to sudden halt. The most widely accepted belief is that a growth in population and the construction of bigger and bigger moai led to the deforestation as the wood was needed in construction and for rollers to transport them to the ahus. Both issues in turn contributed to a bloody war over food and power. Construction of the giant moai ceased and those already standing were knocked over during the wars.
The questions are many. How were they made with primitive tools? How were the transported? Some feel that they were transported in a standing position because legend says, “they walked to the altars.” Once they arrived at the altars they had to be lifted into place. And, then the multi-ton topknots had to be placed on top. Amazing! And, after creating such magnificent structures why did they destroy them? The entire island is enigmatic. It was amazing to lay on the beautiful beach Akakena and look up to see the moai on the ahu, albeit with their backs to the sea.
If you go: Photos by Sandra Scott & John Scott |
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Upon hearing that my husband and I have
visited nearly 100 countries, we are often asked, “What is your favorite
place?” We usually say, “We don’t have a favorite because each place is
unique.”
It had long been a dream of
ours to see the great moai. I never expected that evidence of the ancient Rapa
Nui culture would be everywhere including in the main town, Hanga Roa. Amazing,
people go shopping, eat in the seaside restaurant, and ride the waves with the
view of maoi standing silent on the altar near the shore. There are nearly 1000
moai scattered around the small island. The whole island is a museum.
Our first stop was Vinapu not far from
Hanga Roa. Here the mystery deepened. The stone work on the ahu (altar) is
similar to that found in Peru’s Machu Pichu. The workmanship is so precise that
the stones fit perfectly without any mortar. It is the only ahu with Machu Pichu-like
stone work. The common theory is that the Rapa Nui arrived from a Polynesian
Island that was destroyed by some natural disaster such as an earthquake,
volcano, or tsunami. However, at some prehistoric point in time there was a
cultural exchange with the mainland of South America. Besides the Inca-like
construction the sweet potato, which is indigenous to South America, was
introduced. It is still a favorite food, especially the dark purple variety.
One of the most intriguing sites is
the side of Volcan Rano Raraku, the quarry with nearly 400 heads sprouting out
of the ground. They are the finished moai that were waiting to be transported to
altars. Due to erosion two-thirds of their bodies are buried in the ground.
Higher up the hillside are more moai in various stages of completion. It is as
if one day the order came to stop work and everyone just walked way. One moai,
had it been finished, would have been over 60 feet tall.
The most impressive ahu is Tongariki,
where 15 moai have been restored to their upright position, including one of the
tallest, which is well over 30 feet. Many of the finished moai are adorned with
a topknot hat-like structure of red stone weighing up to 11 tons. It is thought
to be a later embellishment and to represent the hairstyle of the Rapa Nui. 
Nearly all the ahu and moais face
inland except a grouping of seven located in the middle of the island near the
manufacturing site of the topknots. The altars where the moai have been restored
to a standing position are impressive. 
We were lucky to meet Eliza Riroroko-Mason,
a Rapa Nui married to an American. Her family owns one of the best hotel on the
island, Iorana, which is the Rapa Nui word for “hello” and “good bye.” Her
family is building an impressive Interpretive Park that shows the different
stages of Rapa Nui development including houses and adaptive agricultural
practices. Plants were grown in pits encircled by a wall of rocks that
protected them from the wind, salty air, and helped to retain the moisture. She
expressed concern for the island’s future. “My island is small and people want
to build big name-brand hotels and a casino. Once again my island will be
destroyed. I don’t think the change will be good for the Rapa Nui people only
for the people who want to make money. Also, look closely at the moai. You can
see the moai are being eroded by the rain. This is a very special place. We
need to preserve it.”
More than a thousand years ago King Hotu
Matua and 100 people crossed the ocean and settled in a place he called “The
Naval of the World.” Today, people fly five hours to marvel at the society of
the Rapa Nui and all they accomplished. It is truly an amazing place. It is so
tranquil yet intriguing. Like Eliza, we hope that desire to capitalize on what
the Rapa Nui created will not result in turning the small island into a
commercialized tourist attraction. Iorana.