Rapi Nui

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Iorana!

Here I am on Rapi Nui a.k.a. Easter Island.  What a place, it is very small and not much here.   I was greeted at the airport with some flowers by Antoine, I stayed at his residence.  The hotels are few and very expensive so most of the locals will take in tourist for some extra money.  There was an australian girl Mandy also staying there so we spent most of the week hanging out.  The first day I took an island tour to see the sights as some of the Moai are hard to find.  The place is amazing, you can not comprehend how big some of the Moai are.  You are not allowed to go on the platform and you are not allowed to touch them.  If you want to see locals go ape ignore these rules.  It´s fascinating.  I had rented a scooter but the rain came so I switched it for a jeep.  Mandy and I went exploring the island finding some sites that are not on the tourist maps.  Her boyfriend Moa , who is Rapi Nui did some carvings for me, he spent hours and did not charge me very much.  Now my backs are literally full of rocks, it weighs a tonne!  Moa also took Mandy and I fishing, that was quite an experience.  He was fishing with a line wrapped around a can, he managed to catch several for supper in a very short period of time!  Moa bites into the head of the fish to kill it, it was disgusting.  What´s more disgusting is the locals are not that familiar with toothpaste and a toothbrush!!  Yikes!!  He also found some crab, picked them up and started munching on it as it was still alive.  Moa tried to get me to try one but I just couldn't´t do it!  He  cooked the  fish on the rocks like his ancestors did as we watched the sun set.  Could not ask for anything better.

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The only town is Hanga Roa, it is small, very limited and expensive.  The locals do not care for tourists but we are their only means of income.  The island is not self sufficient in anyway.  There are few clumps of banana trees around but that is it.  The island has no shade, no animals native to the island, nothing.  There are only wild horses that roam the land.  There is nothing to eat in grocery store, unless you like expired goods and flies sitting on the open meat.  I ordered some soup and a coke one day, set me back $36 USD.  You eat bananas from the trees and bread to get by!  The houses are very small, some are only one room with 3 or 4 people living there.  They rent out the larger space for tourists.  Some of the locals have no electricity or running water, it is sad to say that they call this home.

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It was expensive and difficult to get here but the experience on Rapi Nui was unforgettable.  I would recommend it to anyone!!

Argentina here I come!!