My last two days on Easter Island are filled by what I originally intended for this part of my #CreativElenaRTW trip – taking an actual HOLIDAY besides all the cultural engagement & happy adventure spirit. 😀
Just imagine arriving on Easter Island as an international travel blogger being used to always reporting live & in real-time from all four corners of the world … well, it is “Ritmo Rapa Nui” here. Meaning that everything happens, when it happens (including the Internet!). Beautiful, actually: You really slow down, with “digital detox” being the norm, and “we hope it will stay like this for a while still”, Vicky at Anakena Beach Bar tells me. She laughs, and I join her not for some WiFi, but for some delightful natural fruit juice and the company of her lovely friend Antoinette. Antoinette originally hails from Tahiti and has come to Easter Island for a holiday: “My husband is Rapa Nui”, she smiles while we choose to speak French with each other. “We actually understand each other really well talking Tahiti & Rapa Nui, our native Polynesian languages – better than if I tried to understand the Spanish spoken here with my Tahitian French. You are so lucky to be able to speak even five languages, dear Elena!”
I beam at her while sharing with her my first days of magic on Easter Island: “Just now, I have been sitting over there by the Moai at the beach. It really helps you to understand what this place is all about, what with all its history & energy … Sometimes, I am even reminded of Iceland here, especially when we talk about the many aspects of spirituality & cultural evolution. The Moai and all their history, now that is something to be proud of really … Because the whole world is watching, fascinated by your stories of achievement and spirit … !”
Postcard fairytales on Easter Island …
… at Anakena Beach. Here in the north of Rapa Nui island, I find heaps of coconut shells such as these ones …
… as well as the forever fascinating Moai.
What kind of supernatural forces, or combined manpower of a society deeply rooted in spiritual belief, have actually crafted them I wonder once more? I sit on the grass in front of the “elders” of the people of Te Pito O Te Henua, listening to what they are willing to tell me.
Captured by the spell, it is hard to turn away under the enchantment here …
… only the modern temptation of beautiful palm tree beach life …
… or beautiful little details by the Anakena beach bar …
… as well as talking to new friends on the road Antoinette from Tahiti (left) and local lady Vicky (right) help me find my way back into the present here.
As well as great food, of course!
Love the beautiful, home-made empanadas of Easter Island, filled with savoury cheese & fresh tuna …
… fuelled with new energy, I let myself be embraced by beach life once more … love this day at Anakena beach!
Life, a travel dream steeped in sunlight & culture in the Pacific. Geologically speaking, the Orongo crater is the birthplace of Easter Island. In spiritual terms, the Rapa Nui refer to it as their place of origin & evolution.
Rano Kau rises as a volcanic cone some 300 metres above sea level. From up here, in the very south west of Easter Island, I look back upon the entire island as well as Maunga Terevaka, the highest volcanic crater on the island that we have only recently climbed. It is not a big island, Easter Island. You can definitely “overlook” it easily. I am having my thoughts, reflecting on the many stories about past & present Rapa Nui culture & evolution, including the central question: Why haven’t they talked to each other (before all the wars broke out)? Why have they not convened an “elders’ council” or whatever it was, as population size, egos, even the Moai carved from stone, got too big in order to sustain the culture of the Rapa Nui, their scarce resources, agricultural systems and society? Then, of course, I also think: “You simply cannot understand everything that happened here from today’s modern point of view, dear Elena. As much as you are trying to understand! Even modern-day Rapa Nui continue to be burdened by the complications of their history.”
A history that really is not an easy one. And like almost everywhere in this world, the situation has been exacerbated even further by the arrival of Western settlers and conquerors: Stories about deportation & enslavement of priests and elders from Rapa Nui to Peru, of diseases & death as well as the island’s use as a sheep station with more than 60.000 (!) sheep, forced labour & locking up the last remaining local inhabitants of Rapa Nui, continue to sadden me. Especially the story about having used Easter Island as a sheep station is really shocking, I believe. “The sheep, they would have eaten the stones, too … They literally ate everything, leveling the ground of Easter Island”, Nune tells us on the second day of our day trip around Easter Island. “There is a book, La Historia Oculta de Isla de Pascua – The Secret History of Easter Island. Patricia Stambuk wrote it. It is sad, moving – and important. Read it, if you can. We all appear in there …”
Easter Island: Breathtaking views of mighty coastal landscapes bordering the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean …
… are in stark contrast to past & present threats on the island, such as – tsunamis!
During my last day on Easter Island, I set off to explore the volcanic crater of Orongo …
… also known as the spiritual birthplace of the “Tangata-Manu”, or bird man cult …
… becoming thoughtful, almost spiritual myself: How do we in modern life actually cope with “reaching the top”? Does it really always have to be more, faster, further, higher? And where will it ultimately take us?
(First of all: To getting a stamp of achievement for your passport – I have been to Rapa Nui. Hehe.).
“And finally, I dedicate this book to everyone who only for a moment stop everything just to be looking at the magic of the sky” … beautiful lines from a book written by dear friend Fabrizio from Brasil, gifted to me on this journey of discovery around the world!
Here I am, in the very southwest corner of the “Navel of the World”: Te Pito O Te Henua, as Easter Island is referred to by the first people.
Last but not least, let me bid you farewell … farewell from a world full of dreams, myth, truth, stories, inspiration & wisdom: The wisdom or the wish to be returning here one day.
Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Te Pito O Te Henua: This special island, a tiny speck in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, has been called many things.
All words, however, fall silent against the sheer natural beauty of this island. And it is with this natural beauty, that I would like you to “fall silent” too now … Merry Christmas in any case from Easter Island, dear readers! 😀
Easter Island: Even the horses are really “chilled” out here, taking a nap break at the entrance of a luxury hotel. 😉
Holiday spirit rules: Me & my fresh Maracuja ice cream …
… followed by good music & great sunset vibes …!
Last but not least, I am “back to where I was”, visiting the very Moai by the beach where only days earlier, I witnessed the mighty Chilean Symphony Orchestra with dear local Hernán against the magic of a sunset no less impressive than this one …
… this day, too, we are lucky, watching surfers in the sunlight: In my memory, I am even reminded of the last time I saw similar scenes in the city of Porto, Portugal …
… saying goodbye with good food from Easter Island (naturally, as a foodie traveller): Lovely crêpes with fresh fruit and chocolate – what else could you desire?
New friendships and connections, of course: Saying goodbye to dear Lorena & Washington from Chile, who I was very happy to meet and spend time with and who I learned will soon be parents, too! Congratulations my dear!
I have also written & published the following stories about Easter Island:
- Dream Destination Diaries: “Sensing ‘Te Pito O Te Henua‘, The Navel of the World“
- Dream Destination Diaries: “Exploring Past & Present on Rapa Nui, Easter Island“
- Dream Destination Diaries: “Enchanting Easter Island“
Hope you enjoy! 