An island that should be on everybody's bucket list

3000 km west of Chile lies this small island, Rapa Nui, or more commonly known as Easter Island to most people as it was "discovered" on Easter Sunday. Famed for its gigantic Moai statues, the island attracts tourists that come to marvel at the remarkable mysteries dotting the island.



As soon as I stepped off the airplane, I could just smell the difference in the air. And compared to mainland Chile, it must've been 5 - 10 degrees warmer and perfectly sunny. I was welcomed by the hostel with a lei and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice at the airport! That alone made the trip worth it. The short tour of the town square ended in about 2 minutes - 2 banks, some small food stores, one museum, a few internet cafes - and that was it. I fortunately had a dorm room to myself. Perfect for a chill island like this.

On the first day, I booked my full day tour to the famous sites, and I visited the museum of Rapa Nui, as an introductory course since I knew very little about the culture. As I found out in the subsequent days, this island was formed when 3 nearby volcanoes connected over the years. It was first inhabited by Polynesians centuries ago, and these people built these Moai statues for ancestral worship. Each statue is one generation of the clan, which were scattered throughout the island.

A half day bike trip, along the Western coast and up the volcano was incredible, save the weather. Since it's in the middle of the ocean, the wind is quite strong, and this brings about unpredictable weather. I thought I was back in London! The Rano Kau volcano is famous for its crater lake and the Orongo village, where people performed the birdman ceremonies. This religion took over after people stopped creating Moai statues and celebrating their ancestors. As the culture shifted towards this religion, a very interesting ceremony was born: A native bird to Rapa Nui nests its eggs on this tiny island on the coast of Orongo village. Numerous men risk their lives to be the first one to fetch the egg and return to the Orongo village, where he is celebrated as a hero. In this village, one can see the petroglyphs of their god, Make-Make carved in stone. Nearby, one can also see colorful cave paintings of birds.







The last day was the tour day. I was picked up in a van early in the morning to go visit the sites of Ahu Akahanga, Anakena, among others. The first one is arguably the most impressive site with 15 standing Moais, thanks to the Japanese government. On Anakena stands 3 Moais on the backdrop of a beautiful beach, one of only 2 on the island. We also visited the other volcano, Rono Raraku, where the moais were dug in the quarry. You can still see the unfinished Moais in the quarry, a clear indication of how these gigantic statues were made.





Although I was the only English speaking person on the trip, I befriended some French people, which made me really miss speaking French. That last night, I headed to a restaurant that was showing a traditional Rapa Nui dance, which was quite a spectacle.



Although it's been the highlight of the trip so far, the only negative of the island was the price. Everything was comparable to Swiss prices, even for the locals because everything needs to be imported from the mainland. And LAN airlines has a monopoly for the flights so it's quite expensive to get there as well.

I would still say that people that love culture and history should visit this place at least once in their lifetime.

- Ryoji