Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
How does someone start describing an isolated piece of paradise?
The Facts:
Easter Island is a 5 hour flight from either Santiago or Tahiti. Most of what people have on the island has been imported and is expensive, unless you need a horse (they are everywhere) or fish!
Rapa Nui is part of Polynesia and is one of the few islands that still has a strong cultural presence which is maintained through a unique language (rapa nui) , a variety of statues (moai) that represent ancient gods and petroglyphs that tell vivid stories of ancient Rapa Nui customs. The island has been pillaged by pirates, invaded by archeologists and the landing place for the US space program... and it is now a increasing popular tourist destination.
It is a mixture of old and new where both cars and horses are the main means of transportation ... where modernity while existant is still not clearly established as the norm.
But these are just the facts.
Now I could tell you how friendly the locals our, how I was welcomed to the island with a flower necklace and departed with a seashell necklace, how I was lucky to randomly end up in hostel where the owners took me under their wing, how I was able to hang out with the local "kids" (erhem in their early 20s) drink beer with them while watching the sunset, how I let my imagination go wild staring at the ancient moais, how i was able to share the holiday of two extremely cool chilean girls, how I danced the night away with the locals drinking pisco, how I ended up making two new friends from Tahiti who made me laugh to tears, how I went diving in crystal clear waters and swam with a turtle, ... or even how I felt so connected to the place that I nearly got a tattoo (mum, i didn´t) ... but it was more than that.
I was also lucky enough to be there for the begining of their yearly festival called Tapati where the people celebrate their culture through dance and music ( and amongst other things running with bananas, sculpt moais or race down a volcano on a banana trunk while wearing nothing more than a thong and some feathers ...). This led me to witness the preparation for their dance events and I can now confirm that Rapa Nui people are truly beautiful both on the inside and out...
Now for the eye candy ...
Next stop: Valparaiso, Chile
The Facts:
Easter Island is a 5 hour flight from either Santiago or Tahiti. Most of what people have on the island has been imported and is expensive, unless you need a horse (they are everywhere) or fish!
Rapa Nui is part of Polynesia and is one of the few islands that still has a strong cultural presence which is maintained through a unique language (rapa nui) , a variety of statues (moai) that represent ancient gods and petroglyphs that tell vivid stories of ancient Rapa Nui customs. The island has been pillaged by pirates, invaded by archeologists and the landing place for the US space program... and it is now a increasing popular tourist destination.
It is a mixture of old and new where both cars and horses are the main means of transportation ... where modernity while existant is still not clearly established as the norm.
But these are just the facts.
Now I could tell you how friendly the locals our, how I was welcomed to the island with a flower necklace and departed with a seashell necklace, how I was lucky to randomly end up in hostel where the owners took me under their wing, how I was able to hang out with the local "kids" (erhem in their early 20s) drink beer with them while watching the sunset, how I let my imagination go wild staring at the ancient moais, how i was able to share the holiday of two extremely cool chilean girls, how I danced the night away with the locals drinking pisco, how I ended up making two new friends from Tahiti who made me laugh to tears, how I went diving in crystal clear waters and swam with a turtle, ... or even how I felt so connected to the place that I nearly got a tattoo (mum, i didn´t) ... but it was more than that.
I was also lucky enough to be there for the begining of their yearly festival called Tapati where the people celebrate their culture through dance and music ( and amongst other things running with bananas, sculpt moais or race down a volcano on a banana trunk while wearing nothing more than a thong and some feathers ...). This led me to witness the preparation for their dance events and I can now confirm that Rapa Nui people are truly beautiful both on the inside and out...
Now for the eye candy ...
Next stop: Valparaiso, Chile
Labels: Easter Island January 2008, Rapa Nui
1 Comments:
WOUOUH hot!!!!!
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