If you're interested in visiting Easter Island aka Isla de Pascua aka Rapa Nui aka "The Navel of the World," be forewarned that it is far, far away from any main airport hub and it will take a while to get there.  Lan Chile flights out of Santiago, Chile leave twice weekly, stopping off in Easter Island en route to Tahiti.  Your choices for direct flights are either out of Santiago or Papeete, Tahiti.  Be sure to book your flights well in advance. 

Further, there are limited hotel rooms on the island, and no major American or European chains.  The hotels are locally owned due to laws preserving the rights of native Rapa Nui people in landownership.  When we were there, there was a big debate among the Rapa Nui elders as to whether or not to allow Club Med to build a resort there.  As far as I know, they didn't allow it.  Part of the island's charm is the vast expanses of unspoiled land and the ability to see moai around nearly every bend in the road. Most hotels would be classified as "motels" by American standards, or large bed-and-breakfast style guest houses.

We stayed at the Tahatai Hotel, which was not exactly luxurious, but was perfectly fine.  The hotel has its own restaurant, a pool, ocean views, and a friendly, accommodating multi-lingual staff who seemed to enjoy having kids in their midst. There were a number of other families staying there while we were there, and we enjoyed our experience. 

As in Brazil, we found that having a personal guide was indispensible.  We used Kia Koe Tours, and the guide was terrific, able to change gears with a pre-schooler's varying moods.  There are also group tours available, but we have found these to be less than ideal for kids with varying levels of tolerance and stamina for hiking. I liked having a guide who was a native who could fill us in on the local politics and gossip as well as the historical facts.

We rented a car for a few days, and found the roads fairly easy to navigate. There are also about a hundred or so taxis on the island, so it's not difficult to call a taxi to take you to various points of interest.  Most of the people speak Spanish, Rapa Nui, and some English, so we didn't find language to be a barrier to shopping or getting around the island. Rapa Nui Travel can help book cars, bikes, and excursions for you.

We found the people on Easter Island to be extremely hospitable and welcoming to kids.  Our son was three and half when we visited, and he still remembers the moai, though not much else. Shop owners, restaurant workers, and people on the street often stopped to pat him on the head, say hello, and make friends with our little guy, as in other parts of South America.

Due to the lack of tree cover, the sun can be relentless, so be sure to pack high SPF sunscreen, hats, water bottles for day hikes. Most of the hikes we took were not terribly strenuous, but did involve some rocky paths that would not work for the mobility-impaired or for strollers.

The restaurants we visited while on the island were kid friendly, and many had simple kid-favorites like pasta, pizza, tacos, and chicken.  For a fine dining experience, we recommend Le Taverne de Pescheur, owned and operated by a Basque fellow and his wife, who serve up locally-caught seafood dishes with a hearty Basque flair. 

To make the most of your trip, we recommend going in late January - early February for the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival.  The entire island participates in a number of native competitions, from the Birdman Triathalon to moai carving to an all-night team singing contest. The hotels fill up quickly, so be sure to book at least nine months prior.  It's the hottest part of the summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so think of it as a great escape from our Northern Hemisphere winters.

Next year, another special event worth making the trip to Easter Island occurs:  A total solar eclipse.  On July 11, 2010, the eclipse will be visible from Easter Island, with the longest time of totality (4 1/2 minutes) landing in French Polynesia in Tuomotu Archipelago.  Easter Island will be a prime viewing spot, and the idea of the mysterious moai surrounded by 360 degrees of twilight is pretty much an ideal time to make your journey.  There are a number of tour companies offering including TravelQuest, the company we used for our 2009 eclipse cruise to China, Korea & Japan.

If you go, send me a photo will you?  You know how we love eclipses, but sadly, this one is not in the budget!

USA

Starting out on the East Coast, for all you baseball fans, Christian Carollo presents Back to Back: Philadelphia Phillies posted at Christian Carollo Photography. Christian documents last year's World Series winners and hopes for a repeat performance.  Will they or won't they? Yankee fans might beg to diffah (as we used to say when I lived in the Bronx), but the Phillies fans in Christian's photos look like they are ready to bring it home again.

Moving down to Maryland, Jennifer takes us down on the farm with Homestead Farm – Poolesville, MD – You Capture Autumn posted at Two Kids and a Map. You can feel the fall nip in the air with her photos of a lovely pumpkin patch and cute kids.

Traveling on south to Florida, Amy at The Q Family takes us on a tour of one of her family's favorite destinations with Disney's Animal Kingdom: The Condense Version posted at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog. Amy also has some great tips for families traveling to Disney parks at the end of her post that you won't want to miss.

Moving on to the midwest, and my former home in Chicago, Illinois, Dominique King takes us Inside the Chicago Cultural Center at Midwest Guest. I never got to see this when I lived in Chicago in the 1980's, and it's definitely a must-see next time I visit.

Jack Norell reminded me of one of my favorite Chicago haunts in his post, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago over at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips. He has a gorgeous shot of kids meeting a polar bear that you just have to see to believe.  I'd love to take my son there.

Moving a little farther west in Minnesota, Beth Blair shows us a great Midwest Shopping Destination: Mall of America  at The Vacation Gals.  Part theme-park, part shopper's heaven, this is like no mall you've ever seen before and worth a look.  At least on our virtual vacation, we won't be running up the charge cards!

Family travel blogger Sheila Scarborough extraordinaire gives us a taste of the South (literally) with A Route 66 Oklahoma Landmark: Johnnie’s Onion Burger in El Reno posted at Family Travel Guide. If you like onions and burgers, or rather onions IN your burgers, Johnnie's in El Reno, OK is your kind of place.  I wondered if they charged extra for mints.

What do you think of when you think of Main Street, USA?  For me, it's Mayberry and small town life. That idyllic small town vision gets turned on its head  in Mapping Main Street Las Vegas posted at TheWordWire.

Farther west, in my home state of California, Shelly Rivoli shows us The OTHER great place you've got to see in Monterey, California at Travels with Baby Tips. We go to Monterey frequently, and based on Shelly's enthusiastic recommendation, we'll be checking out her must-see place the next time we go.

The delightful Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby (trying saying that 3 times fast) shows us some fun, family-friendly attractions in Santa Monica With Kids: An Afternoon on the Pier over at DeliciousBaby.com.

Canada

Nancy D. Brown's post Best Things to See and Do in Victoria, Canada at What a Trip, reminded me of a great girl-friends only vacation I took a few years back, pre-husband, pre-kid, to Victoria, British Columbia.  It's a truly wonderful place with or without kids in tow, and Nancy's post nails the highlights.

South America

Going south, Zhu posts some fantastic photos of Southern Hemisphere: Lima, Perú at Correr Es Mi Destino. If you think Peru is all about Machu Picchu, think again. Lima looks like a vibrant, exciting city.

Europe

Onto Europe, where Andy Hayes recommends Top Three Daytrips from Madrid at Sharing Travel Experiences. I've only been to the Costa del Sol and Granada, so I'm putting these three daytrips on my list for our next trip to Spain.

Andi shares her experience with American restaurants in France in French Friday – American Food in Paris at Misadventures with Andi. Her advice: Just say no to the Golden Arches and Mexican food in France. I couldn't agree more.

Travel to Moscow and beyond, with Gary Mullen who visits Sergiev Posad – Home of the Russian Doll at Culture Blog. Gary explores the origins of the adorable Russian nesting dolls and the town that spawned them.  I have a few in my collection of travel souvenirs, and was interested to find out their origin.

Victoria and her family are preparing for an around-the-world trip (lucky people), and are preparing locally by doing a little Time Travelling.  You can read about their preparations and adventures at It's a small world after all.

Africa

Last, but certainly not least, Mark gives us a photo tour of Rocks and Rhinos (Matobo, Zimbabwe) posted at Travel Wonders of the World. I was particularly struck by his quote from Cecil Rhodes, which describes a number of travel experiences, “The peacefulness of it all: the chaotic grandeur of it: it creates a feeling of awe and brings home to one how very small we all are.”

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of cities using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

The current Carnival is being hosted by the fabulous Vacation Gals, so check it out!

The cast, capably led by Christy Altomare as Wendla, Jake Epstein as Melchior, and Taylor Trensch as Moritz, tell the story of teens in 19th Century Germany exploring their budding sexuality.  At turns comedic and tragic, the emotions are amplified by an indie-rock score using a modern vernacular, making it more like "Rent" than an Andrew Lloyd Weber period piece.  It's quirky, creative, and fun, with serious cautionary messages for teens and adults.  I enjoyed the piece overall, and think it is one that parents could use as a lynch pin for serious discussions about sex, suicide, sexual abuse, and abortion.  I don't recommend this for kids under 14, due to the mature themes, brief nudity, and strong language. 

To me, the standouts in the cast were Steffi D as Ilse, a troubled girl who runs away from sexual abuse at home.  Steffi has a wonderful, emotive voice, perfect for ballads and rock numbers alike.  I also enjoyed watching Andy Mientus as Hanschen, whose oily, brazen seduction of an innocent classmate, Ernst, was a scene-stealing moment.  My husband thought he looked like Spike from Buffy the Vampire, and with his white-blond hair and swagger, I thought that was a fair comparison.

Where the show fell down for me was in the story line.  Based on an 1891 play by Frank Wedekind that was banned for nearly 100 years, due to it's treatment of issues like homosexuality, teen suicide, and abortion.  It seemed as though someone sat down with a laundry list of horrific events that could befall a teen and stitched them together into a loose storyline. 

While the first act is all about discovery and confusion, my husband noted that the second act could have been called "Rude Awakening."  The second half of the play seemed to reinforce nothing good can come of sex, including death, despair, and reform school.  There didn't seem to be any sense of redemption or reconciliation, though the closing number talks of hope of rebirth and regeneration.  I don't think the story naturally led to that conclusion.

I was also not thrilled with the reinforcement of the notion that all adults are the same, depicted literally by having every adult role played by the same man and woman. The adult characters seemed uniformly oblivious and unsympathetic to what the kids were going through, whether they were parents, teachers, or clergy.  I can definitely see that from a child's perspective, that might appear to be true.  I can understand why this show has such a large teen following, particularly for kids who feel marginalized or that their parents just don't understand the pressures they feel. 

Our town recently been rocked by a serious of very public and painful teen suicides that has ripped the fabric of our community.  It was particularly timely and poignant to watch this played out on stage, and the music seemed to be very much on point, particularly in showing the anger that kids feel that no matter what they do, as the song says, they're "totally f*cked".  I hope if nothing else, this should could open a frank dialogue between teens and their parents.

PHOTO 1: (l-r) Kimiko Glenn, Gabrielle Garza, Christy Altomare, and Sarah Hunt.

PHOTO 2: Steffi D. as Ilse

Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik. Photos used with permission of Carla Befera Public Relations.

Disclosure: I received two complimentary media passes to attend the show, but no other compensation for this review. Opinions expressed herein are solely mine.

I received a free pass to try out Animoto, a website that turns your short videos and photos into cool music videos in a few minutes.  I've agonized over iMovie attempting to do things like this, but lack the patience or skills to complete anything.  With Animoto, you just upload your pictures, choose some music, and they do the rest. The video here took about 15 minutes to upload the pictures, set the music, and then wait for it to be created. The hardest part was figuring out what pictures to use.

If you sign up, you can do a 30-second video for free, but an all-access pass for one year to create longer videos is $30/year.  You can upgrade to an HD version to burn onto a DVD for an additional $5 per video, if you need it for a special occasion.  I'm thinking about doing one for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary next year.

If you sign up using this link, you can get $5 off an all-access pass, and I earn a discount off future purchases.

Also, if you want to see some other great travel photos, check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday today!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary temporary all-access pass to try out Animoto, but no other compensation or incentive for writing this review or trying out the product.

February 2004

When traveling with kids to any destination, it's always good to know what kid-friendly activities there are for the time when you're not touring interesting landmarks or watching locals run around recreating ancient rituals.  I think our son would be happy anyplace in the world where we could find a playground, a swimming pool, and a soccer field.  It seems as though wherever you are in the world, and wherever you find kids, you can find opportunities to play.  It's also a great way to meet local people and see how kids in other cultures are so much like kids in the US.

Our hotel, the Tahatai, had a small swimming pool, but Alex was entranced with the idea of swimming in the ocean after our day at Anakena Beach, one of the most gorgeous spots on the island.  We forgot his swimsuit that day, but swimming au naturel (for a three year old, at least) was not a problem.

We were able to satisfy his wish by going to a walled-off swimming hole near the hotel, right along the coastline.  There were retaining walls around the area, keeping the waves to a minimum and the water fairly shallow.  Alexander loved splashing around in the cold Pacific waters. Local kids took swimming lessons in this spot, so it definitely had the local stamp of approval for kids.

 

During our walks around Hanga Roa, we came upon several groups of kids, teens, and adults playing soccer, wherever there was a patch of grass to play on.  A group of pre-teens were playing one evening, and Alexander desperately wanted to get into the action.  They let him in, and seemed to be amused by the tiny boy trying to keep up with them.  The kids were friendly and welcoming, and didn't seem at all bothered by letting a little guy kick the ball around with them.

Near the hotel, we found a small playground with a wooden playscape.  There were never any kids around when we were there, possibly because they were in school.  Alexander enjoyed having the playscape to himself, but it would have been nice to meet some other kids his age.  One thing to note: trees on Easter Island are few and far between, so shade is not exactly plentiful. Be sure to bring along the strongest sunscreen you can find and apply it liberally throughout the day.  Hats and SPF clothing will also help.  On the day Frank and Alexander went to the playground, Frank was nearly roasted after about an hour in the relentless sun.

February 7, 2004

After trekking up to the cliffside ruins of Orongo, China took us on a tour of caves that had been used by the ancient Rapa Nui for ceremonial purposes.  One was down a steep, slippery path by the sea, and featured some amazing cave paintings.

The paintings were of some kind of bird, and were rust, white, pink and black.  The lighting inside the cave was not great, but you can see some of the outlines of the drawings in the picture above.

Inside the cave, it was cool and damp, with smooth rock walls that were carved out by the tides.  It was amazing to me that these drawings survived over the ages.  China told us that they were representative of the Birdman era on the island, and that you could see the same designs all over the island, carved in rocks and painted on cave walls.  Even the earliest people had a flair for art and for leaving their marks on the world, as though they knew this was the way to reach through time, to people they would never know or see.

China told us that the early Rapa Nui people practiced ritual cannibalism, and that the cave was used for cooking and munching on their enemies.  Lore had it that the fingers and toes were the most delicate, prized parts, often given to the chief. According to our guide, humans allegedly tasted much like pork. 

I'm sure she had an explanation for why they were cannibals (gaining strength from eating the enemy, food shortage, or whatever), but I stopped listening at that point, because I couldn't get past the idea of fingers and toes as snacks.  There are some parts of guided tours that fall into the realm of Too Much Information.  This was one of them.

Right after this excursion, China dropped us off in town for lunch, saying she had some errands to run and would pick us up to take us out to see the famous Seven Explorers in an hour or so.  I'm pretty sure I had a salad, because the idea of finger fries just made me queasy.  After lunch, we visited the Banana Cave near Ahu Ariki, another ceremonial cave used for cooking up such delights.

After lunch, China picked us u to take us to the site of the famous Seven Explorers moai, or Ahu Akivi.  These seven represent the first seven explorers who set out from Polynesia to find a new place to settle.  It is likely that they sailed east from the Marquesas Islands, not from South America as Thor Heyerdahl postulated.  One of them is King Hotu Matua.  I'm not sure which one, but I'd guess the tall one in the middle. 

February 7, 2004

On our third day in Easter Island, Chile, our fabulous tour guide, China picked us up at our hotel for a day exploring another aspect of Rapa Nui Culture: the Birdman competition.  After seeing the modern-day version involving skimpily-clad men running around a lake carrying bundles of banana, we were interested to see some of original sites.

China drove us to Orongo, part of the Rapa Nui National Park.  Orongo was formerly a village set on a cliff with spectacular views of the Ocean, over looking a small island called Moto Nui.  The micro-island was famous as a nesting ground for the sooty tern, a bird whose eggs were prized by the early Rapa Nui people.  In the 17th to 19th centuries, European explorers wrote of a "birdman cult" in which young men would compete in a contest to see who could recover the first sooty tern egg of the season by jumping off the cliff at Orongo, swimming across shark-infested waters, stealing an egg, and then scaling the cliff without breaking the egg.  The first to do so would hold be crowned as Tangata Manu ("bird man") and hold a place in the tribe for the following year.  The Birdman competitions were held long after the moai-building ceased, despite any Hollywood representations to the contrary.

The remains of the village were a set of low stone huts, that you would have to crawl into to get inside.  They were big enough for Alex to crawl into, but Frank & I would have had a terrible time in these structures.  From what I've read in this fascinating history of Easter Island, Orongo was mainly a ceremonial site.

All around the site, China pointed out various petroglyphs or stone carvings with symbols of the birdman cult.  The symbol of the Birdman was like a man with a bird's head with a large beak, in a crouching position. This particular one looked like a lizard to me.

This was one of the most scenic and beautiful spots on the island, with some interesting ruins, dwellings, and petroglyphs to explore.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Frank & me from all of our travels. 

For more favorite travel photos from all over the world, check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday this week.

This post is part of a retrospective on our trip to Easter Island for the Tapati Rapa Nui festival in February, 2004.

After our day seeing moai in various states of completion and decay, we spent a few leisurely mornings shopping in the town of Hanga Roa and visiting the Rapa Nui Museum.  The town was in walking distance from our hotel, the Taha Tai Hotel, and featured some nice restaurants and shops. I enjoyed shopping on a quiet little street at the Mercado Artisanal, which featured handmade crafts of -- you guessed it, moai big and small. 

The Mercado is actually an open air market with little grass tiki huts with various vendors selling key chains, magnets, statues big and small, and other goods.  When we visited, it was a lazy day with not many tourists. The people working the stands were friendly and charming. They forgave my poor attempts at Spanish, and many of them spoke enough English to be able to barter and complete a sales transaction.

I met a woman from Connecticut at one of the key chain vendors, who told me that she came to this island every year for the past twenty years, and it was her favorite place on earth. The island is not that big, so there's not a huge variety of things to do, but I could certainly see getting attached to it and wanting to return.  We go to Kauai every other year for the same reasons, but it's only a four hour flight from California.  I admired her dedication in getting here every year, despite the travel.

The shops in the Mercado had a variety of wooden and stone moai to choose from, from tiny to about the size of Alexander.  I wasn't sure how anyone would pack a 4 ft tall stone statuary in his or her luggage, but I guess they could ship it home to you at some exhorbitant rate.  I opted for the ones that we could fit in our pockets or in the spare spaces in our suitcases, which were already pretty full from our trip to Iguazu Falls.

  Some of the mini-moai were quite expensive, and there were a few higher-end shops along the main street in Hanga Roa that had more artistic rendering and some bark paintings as well.  Frank was particularly interested in some shellacked wood carvings of what Alexander called "skinny nekkid guys" which were some kind of special carvings of skeletal-looking men with large penises protruding out.  I had no idea what these guys were supposed to be, but we watched an Easter Island documentary narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough where he extolled the virtues of Skinny Nekkid Guys, so Frank had to have one.

We walked around the town of Hanga Roa a few times during our stay in Easter Island, visiting the post office, the fire station, a church, and a large hall that displayed the native crafts that were carved and made for the Tapati Festival.  The arts & crafts competition was something fierce, and each of the Island Queen candidates had to enlist people with skills at carving, sewing, and cooking, as well as for the athletic events and the singing and dancing competitions.  There was something for just about everyone on the island to compete in, if so moved.

We found the best deals on little moai statues not in the town, but out by one of the moai by the sea.  The moai was one of the few with eyes, and a couple of industrious teens had set up a blanket with carvings, complete with Ahu bases and top knots.  They were hanging out by the seashore, with a little blanket spread out, and one of them was carving new ones while they waited for tourists to show up. I bought one for about $5, whereas most of the ones in town were $10-$15, even after bargaining with the shop keepers.  I managed to get it home without breaking it.

There was one tiny movie house in Hanga Roa, attached to a Bed & Breakfast, that seemed to be playing the 1994 film Rapa Nui, starring Jason Scott Lee and Esai Morales, every night.  We had prepared for our trip by watching this movie, but wouldn't let Alexander see it due to the "R" rating.  It wasn't a bad movie, but it played fast and loose with the historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.  The moai carving and the birdman cult didn't actually co-exist on Rapa Nui, but it gives an interesting look at some possibilities for why the culture nearly died out in the 19th century.  We passed right on by the movie theatre, since it wasn't a film for Alexander to see, but if you're planning to go to Easter Island, you might want to watch it before you go, but only after the kids go to bed.

Alexander enjoyed running up and down the streets of Hanga Roa, since there was not much traffic.  He was fascinated by fire trucks, so the fire station was a hit.  We didn't see any firemen around, but the truck was sitting outside and looked fairly new.  Every little boy's mom knows that any sighting of a fire truck of any kind is enough to make them lose their minds with joy. 

I liked the look for this little Catholic church, which had the trappings of a regular church, with an island flair. The markings on the front of the church were like the petroglyphs and cave paintings we saw during our trip in various parts of the island.

This post is part of a retrospective series on our trip to Easter Island in 2004 for the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival. Note: some of the photos in this post are rated PG for partial nudity.

February 5, 2004

In the afternoon of our second day on Easter Island, we caught a cab to take us to the big "Birdman" competition at the lake in the volcano.  By 'taxi" I mean beat-up, grimey blue Gremlin with no seatbelts and a driver who was about 8 months pregnant.  I think she may have been our tour guide China's cousin.  China wasn't with us on this day, but promised she'd send a taxi for us, and she did.  Anyway, the driver didn't speak much English,but she knew where we needed to go. She drove across the dustry roads and went off-road a bit to drop us  near an entrance to the festival that didn't require risking life and limb and a steep climb up the side of the volcano to see the race. 

We walked through a narrow canyon of red rock a with a stream of people all headed toward the same destination, the volcano crater lake, Rano Raraku.  In this event, young men representing one or the other of the Rapa Nui Queen contestants compete in a sort of native triathalon. 

This event was supposed to be a modern version of the "Birdman" (tangata manu) competition that took place on the island in the 17th and 18th centuries, long after the moai-building had been abandoned. The tangata manu (bird-man), was crowned on the island after an annual competition to collect the first sooty tern (manu tara) egg of the season from the islet of Moto Nui, across from the clifftop village of Orongo.  Whoever could swim to the island, retrieve the egg and return it unbroken to the tribe was named "birdman" and held a place of honor in the tribe. The Birdmen cult worshipped the god Meke-meke, the god of all humanity and fertility, so the egg symbolized fertility.  At any rate, the competitors had to jump off a cliff and swim through dangerous waters to get the first egg of the season. Think of it as a more difficult version of an egg-on-a spoon race, only with sharks.

In the modern-day version, there weren't any bird eggs to capture, but athletic prowess was definitely tested.  The contestants started by swimming across the reedy lake, then rowing back across the lake in a  tortora raft, which looked like a surfboard that they fashioned out of reeds. The third part of the event is picking up about 50 pounds of bananas, then running the half circumference of the lake with bananas on their shoulders, dropping the bananas, race up the side of the volcano crater to the finish line.  I'm not sure about the order, but all I know is there were about thirty nearly-naked men running, swimming, and dropping their bananas to the cheers of an adoring crowd.

We walked into the crowd just as the men were taking their places to start swimming across the lake.  They were pretty far away, so I couldn't see what they were wearing. I started up a conversation with a woman from Dallas as the men were starting to take up the bananas and run around the lake.  We were comparing notes about our stays on Easter Island (both of us were enjoying it).  Alex was busily digging in a mud puddle and not paying much attention to the race or the crowd.

Just then, a couple of nearly-naked, muscular men wearing not much more than face paint and the skimpiest of g-strings made of some kind of natural fabric, darted past us.  I managed to get my camera out and focus long enough to get a picture.

Alex momentarily looked up from his digging, giggled and said, "I saw his butt!"

The fellows each picked up a load of bananas and headed up the side of the mountain.

There were quite a few more naked butts to follow, each of them equally trim fellows carrying bananas.  Further up the trail, they dropped their bananas and we could see them running up the side of the mountain.  One older-looking fellow brought up the rear, about five minutes after the rest of the pack, which caused great a roar from the crowd. 

Just as the race was ending, we were treated to a sudden downpour, where the skies just opened up and we were drenched almost instantaneously.  We traipsed back through the mud to find our taxi, and our driver was not far behind us.  On the way back to the hotel, the skies cleared as suddenly as the rain started, and we had a view of one of the most spectacularly vivid rainbows I've ever seen.

 
Clearly, the gods were smiling.

This is my favorite photo of Alexander from our trip to Easter Island. The perspective makes him appear nearly as big as the moai, which are actually at huge in comparison. Our family has a tradition of standing in front of statues and posing like them.

This is one of the few moai in a seated position.  It also had a more rounded head that most of the others.

It wasn't easy to get Alexander to stand still long enough to get this pose.  This guy was just standing out in field by himself.

Here's proof that I was actually in Easter Island.  Very little photographic evidence exists, since I'm normally behind the camera.

For more fun travel photos, check out this week's Photo Friday at Delicious Baby. 

February 5, 2004

After spending some time at the fallen moai site, our fabulous tour guide China drove us to Ahu Tongariki.  This featured 15 stone moai of varying sizes and in various condition, all facing out to sea. This is one of the largest display of standing Moai on the island, and was quite impressive.  Some of them were being restored, and had scaffolding and blue tarps over them, which made them look like some of them were using porto-potties.  

It was quite amazing to me that somehow the ancient Rapa Nui had carved these multi-ton stone statues, somehow managed to drag them down the mountainside, and place them upright on a platform or Ahu.  This was some feat of engineering and physics to be able to manipulate stone using only primitive tools.  The Ahu also served as the final resting place of various chiefs and tribal nobles, so you can't walk on the ahu, but can get close enough to admire the size of the statues. 

It's thought that the original statues had large top-knots made of a different kind of stone than the bodies, and the eyes were made of white rock with obsidian irises.  None of the original eyes survived, so most of the statues have haunting, eyeless sockets.  I'm not sure if that is something that was added by the restorers, or if it was discovered that way.  The rock that made up the top-knot is much more porous and crumbly than the stone used in the bodies, so it was easily broken.  Even though China told us these head pieces were supposed to be top-knots or hair, we still called them hats.

While we were there, several workers scurried around moving piles of rocks to and from the ahu.  Alexander wanted to help out and move some rocks, but they were too much for him.

We continued our tour with a stop at Anakena Beach, a gorgeous, crescent-shaped white sand beach on the north side of the island.  The sand was fine and pure white, and the water amazingly clear.  Alexander couldn't stand being that close to the water and not diving in. He waded and splashed around, and begged us to let him swim in the water.  We finally relented, and he stripped down and ran naked along the beach.  There weren't many people at the beach, and China assured us that no one would think twice about a naked kid running around on the beach, so we let him have his fun. I'm not posting any pictures of that episode, for the sake of not embarassing him in front of his future prom dates.

Just off the beach were another group of Moai, most of whom had managed to keep their hats on. 

For some reason, these guys had their backs to the sea.

It's too bad, because they were missing out on a gorgeous view.

Next to the beach was a little snack stand in a grass hut selling fresh pineapple, drinks, and grilled brochettes.  We sat at a picnic table and had lunch by the beach, admiring the view of both the ocean and the moai. 

On our way back to the hotel, we passed a large stand of eucalyptus trees.  This was notable because there were not many trees on the island.  China told us that the more recent inhabitants planted these trees because all vegetation was gone when Moai people disappeared. Archeologists theorize that the trees were cut down to help transport the moai to their locations, which upset the ecosystem. 

Easter Island is a mysterious and wonderful place, with a rich and somewhat tragic history.  What we saw there were incredibly friendly, warm people working hard to make a life for themselves in one of the most remote islands on earth.  The more we learned about it, the more our fascination with the island grew.

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February 5, 2004

On our first day in Easter Island, we met up with China, our tour guide from Kia Koe Tours.  Before she arrived, we complained to the Taha Tai Hotel staff about the broken air conditioner in our room, and they very nicely allowed us to move to a larger room with a working air conditioner. We spent the morning scrambling to move all our belongings from one room to another.  When China arrived to pick us up, we were a little harried, but glad to see her and ready to see some moai.

China (pronouced like "Tina") is a native Rapa Nui who was educated in Chile and had moved away for a time. China is not her real name, but her nickname.  She said when she was born her eyes were small and almond shaped, like a Chinese person, so her parents nicknamed her China. She seemed like an industrious woman, who worked several jobs on the island, and had big plans for the future. She was friendly and talkative and seemed to know a great deal about the island history and people.  Alexander warmed to her immediately, and the four of us set off on an all-day excursion to see the stone heads (moai), caves, and activities around the Tapa ti Rapa Nui fesitival.

We boarded China's red Suzuki jeep and bounced around the rocky roads as she talked about the history of the island.  About a thousand years ago,  the Ariki or King Hotu Matua crossed the ocean from Hiva (probably in the Marquesas Islands) and settled on the island with a group of other explorers.  He called the island  "The navel of the world" due to its remote location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, some 3700 kilometers away from the continent of South America.  The island is small, at only 75 square miles in size.  There aren't very many cars, and many people get around on horseback or by walking.

Easter Island was discovered by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen on Easter Sunday in 1722, which is where the name Easter Island or Isla de Pascua comes from.  The island was annexed by Chile in 1888. The island, the people and the native language are all referred to as Rapa Nui.  In the late 1960s, the island started welcoming tourists and soon became one of the world´s leading cultural travel destinations, with an average of about 20, 000 visitors per year.  Rapa Nui National Park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

We arrived in Easter Island in time for the annual Tapa ti Rapa Nui festival, where natives of the island celebrate their culture by re-enacting ancient rituals through various events (sports, fishing, arts, dancing, traditional dress). The ostensible goal of the festival is to elect a new Island Queen, who reigns for a year. 

The contest is no ordinary beauty contest, as China explained, because the young ladies who vie for the honor have to use their organizing and persuasive skills to get people on the island to join their team for the week-long competitions.  Some recruit family members, and others recruit friends and neighbors to represent her team in a variety of competitions, ranging from horseback riding to singing to crafts (including carving mini-moai), culminating in modified "birdman" competition that would wear out even the most fit Ironman Triathalon competitor.  The prize is a college scholarship, a car, and great glory for the tribe.  We were lucky to be there and be able to witness some of the competition.

China's Red Suzuki jeep darted through what little traffic there was on the road, and she occasionally honed at her friends and relatives walking along the road, waving at them. One of the things I like most about native guides is getting a sense of how a place really works.  We ran into groups of tourists with Australian guides, and even though I'm sure the information they were presented was similar, it seemed to lack the authenticity and passion that China's narratives had.  These were her people, and her history she was relating, not just interesting archaeological facts and figures.

Our first stop with China was near the ocean, at a long stretch of dirt road where a horse race was supposed to take place.  Like many things, it was on island time, so even though it was scheduled for a 9:00 am start, when we arrived at 9:30am, it had not even begun yet.  We saw horses tied to posts, just hanging out waiting for the action to start. 

We met a man dressed as a Rapa Nui Chief, and took some pictures of him in his native headdress, loin cloth and feathered cape.  Alex got a little scared of him, and didn't want to stand too close, in case he might turn into a bird and fly off or something. 

After waiting around for about an hour for the race to start, we got bored and China suggested we move on. We wanted to see the race, but at this rate, we could be here all day and just see horses standing around.  No one seemed to be in much of a hurry.

From there, we drove to the site of many fallen moai.  It seemed like everywhere we looked there were heads or parts of heads, stuck in the ground, lying face down, lying face up, broken top knots, and other remnants of moai manufacturing gone terribly wrong.  China speculated that these were broken in transit, as the moai were being carried or rolled or dragged down the mountainside from the quarry where the rock was mined to their final pedestals by the sea.

She took us up to Raro Ranaku next, which is the mountain quarry where Moai were made and dragged down mountainside to their final perches by the sea.  We had to climb up the side of the mountain, up a narrow and slippery path.  Alex didn't mind, and I was convinced that he was part mountain goat. 

Unfortunately, Frank didn't inherit that mountain goat gene, and as we were climbing up, he suddenly went tumbling down the side of the mountain.  It seemed to happen in slow motion, before I could reach out a hand to help him, he was rolling down.  He only fell about six feet, but it was pretty frightening.  He didn't get hurt, which he attributed to having akido training in his youth which taught him how to fall without killing himself.  China said it was a good thing, because she once had a guest who fell down this mountain, broke his ankle, and it took four hours for an ambulence to come and get him.  Frank, fortunately, got away with a nasty bruise, brushed himself off, and proceeded up the mountain.

We made it up to the quarry, which was really a big pit of rocks.  There were various parts of moai lying around, as though they were abandoned before they could be finished, or people just got tired of carving big rocks.