Easter Island, or Rapa Nui

Jan 24-25, Stopping at Easter island, Chile on our Azamara Onward World Cruise

I’d been so excited about this stop. After a 5 day run at sea I couldn’t wait to see the island appear on the horizon. We were scheduled to arrive at 8 am. In our new cabin I can open the blackout shades with my toes and peek out our window without getting out of bed. I found myself doing that all through the night. Round about 6 something I spotted what I thought was a warm light on shore. It had the strangest glow and kept growing. I eventually figured out that it was the moon! Giant and orange, I watched in fascination as it melted into the sea. I drifted back to sleep and by the time I opened my eyes again the bay was wrapping itself around us as we rolled in to anchor.

We knew it would be a mob at the tenders with everyone anxious to get to shore after so long at sea, so we chilled out with a leisurely breakfast onboard. We had fun picking out the Moai statues on shore from our table. Once the crowd thinned we headed for the tenders. The ship carries its own tender boats which get craned out from its sides. A small platform is attached midship on the third deck and a team of crew members assist passengers into the waiting vessels. The sea of course is rolling and the tenders, the platform and the ship are all bucking against each other. It’s no easy feat getting 100 people of varying sizes and mobility launched through that little opening, but somehow they get it done. 

There was a pretty good swell as we made the 20 minute transit, and the drama of water crashing against the outcropping of black lava rocks near the shore was spectacular! I was relieved to see a pretty significant breakwater, and we slipped into a sweet little bay called Hanga Piko to disembark. 

Hanga Roa, the main town on the island, is a short walk from our landing spot. We strolled the length of the main drag along the water. It was filled with cool dive shops and shack-style eateries. All the signage was hand painted or chalked. We found a restaurant with a huge deck hanging over the water. Our friend Mario joined us and we feasted on fish, quesadillas and local beers. We watched surfers paddle out to catch the waves breaking in front of us. On the left hand side of the deck was a sandy little beach full of swimmers and sunbathers. On the right side giant sea turtles floated in the surf. At one point I had three in my viewfinder lifting on the same wave. 

After lunch we rented scooters and rode to Anakena Beach on the other side of the Island. It is cartoon perfect; ultra blue water, what sand, palm trees. Up above the beach a row of majestic Moai statues stood sentinel over the whole scene. Pinch me. 

Visiting the Moai above Anakena Beach

We headed back on board and did a quick change for our White Night Party. They do one of these parties every cruise segment, which is about every two weeks. I love me a White Night Party, but honestly I was sunburned and exhausted. I threw my hair in a quick bun, put on some lip gloss and went up thinking we wouldn’t last long. But the ship’s deck gets transformed for these events. Everything looked so elegant, and the live entertainment was so great we couldn’t leave. There we were on the dance floor YMCAing and Uptown Funking until the final encore. Will we every learn? Probably not. 

The next day we took a tour. Our guide, Chris, was from Virginia. He came here 20 plus years ago, fell in love with the island and an islander. His kids have Rapa Nui blood and he has become a wealth of knowledge on the culture and heritage here. He took us first to the volcanic crater at Rano Raraku where the Moai were quarried and carved. These huge statues were toppled over time, mostly by warring tribes here on the island, but time and tsunamis also played a part in their destruction. Now many have been resurrected, and we’ were in awe as we walked the trail through this National Park full of them. Some are lying down, some are partially carved with their spines still attached to the rock hillside, but many stand tall facing the sea. From there we went to Tongariki, where 15 of these giants have been resurrected on a platform overlooking the sea. We all looked so tiny posing for selfies at the base of these magnificent things. We hit a few more sites and absorbed as much of the lore as we could from our guides before heading back to the ship. Hello room service. I could hardly move, but I felt lucky to have been able to have these days here. It’s the most remote inhabited island on earth. Pretty amazing to be able to visit it like this. 

I did the sketch above in preparation for my class the next day. We’ve all been painting Moai now for the past two days, with great results from the students. These statues are a natural study in values, as they’re all carved from the same lava stone. My painters are all doing so well! I love the teaching part of this whole deal. It’s a sweet way to catch our breath and recalibrate between these wild experiences. 

Part of my “Around the World in 25 Novels” reading list was Jennifer Vanderbes book Easter island, A Novel. I finished it the night before we arrived. Of all the trip reading I’ve done so far I think it’s been my favourite. It’s a dual story line, with a woman who arrives in Easter island in 1913 and another in the 70’s, both on research expeditions. The two stories are woven together brilliantly, and it’s full of accessible science and interesting history. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who’s been or is thinking of visiting the island. It definitely enriched my experience having read it.  Here’s a link If you want to add it to your reading list:

Easter island, A Novel by Jennifer Vanderbes

Now we’re making our way to Pitcairn Island. I’m trying to devour John Boyne’s Mutiny on the Bounty before we arrive. It is of course where the mutineers ended up, and the scant population of the island are all said to be dependents of the original mutineers. But more about that after our visit. 

Here’s a little glimpse into ship life. Our buddy Mario runs the jewelry shop on ship. They sell incredible gem stones, fine watches and the like. He asked Greg and I to be models in a fashion show onboard last night. We put on nice duds and he draped us and a bunch of other willing participants in rubies and rolexes. A crowd gathered, the music played, and we strutted our stuff on the makeshift catwalk as the ships photographer took pics. A good time was had by all. Here are the three of us at dinner after the show. How could you say no to this guy, right!?

Thanks so much for reading. Don’t forget to sign up for updates, and I’ll keep you posted as we make our way around the globe. 

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned and don’t forget to sign up for updates if you’re interested in more books set in cool places as we set off on our journey.