Driving Easter Island – Day 1
When we were finally ready to do some serious exploring on Easter Island, Amanda and I agreed to go in on a rental car with Tamir and Susanne, the Swiss couple staying in the room next to ours. Since it’s such a small island, Amanda and I thought we’d only need one day, but Tamir and Susanne rented the car for two days. And we were so glad they did!
Cursing Nature
After stocking up on some cheap empanadas, bread and peanut butter, one of the ways to save money while visiting Easter Island, we hit the road. We didn’t really know where we were going, but there’s only one town on the island, so once you get outside the town, there’s really only one road. Obviously the main objective was to see Moai statues, but we made several stops to admire the landscape as well.
We saw that bird while looking for a historical site. After parking the car, we started wandering through a field, sun beating down on us. After 20 or 30 minutes, Tamir ran went ahead to see what he could find while we waited under the few trees we could find. When he finally came back, he reported that the only thing he saw was a rotting horse carcass. So we headed back towards the car. It turns out the site we were looking for was just yards away from where we parked, there just wasn’t much to look at, so we missed it.
The island has several caves that we decided to explore. I never thought of myself as a claustrophobic person, but the first one we went to had such a narrow, short opening that I started freaking out. It was pitch dark and I forgot to bring my headlamp that day, so I couldn’t see a thing. I didn’t make it farther than a couple feet before turning around. But I did go into a couple other bigger caves later in the day. And hit my head while in one of them.
Moai Statues
The first set of Moai statues we saw were unique because they face the water. All the others on the island have their backs to the sea.
Just to give you a little perspective on how tall these statues are, here’s Tamir in between two of them.
Towards the end of the day, we came to a huge field with some horses wandering around and a line of 15 Moai statues.
A Beach With Moai
The woman who owned the guesthouse we were staying at told us there was a nice beach on the island, so we brought our bathing suits. About halfway through the day, we decided a dip in the ocean might be a good idea to escape the heat. That’s when we realized the owner left out a major detail when she mentioned the beach.
There were Moai at the beach! What could be better than that?
After jumping in the waves until we were exhausted, we did what any normal people would do. We started building a sand Moai. You know, instead of a sand castle. It didn’t work out as well as we had hoped, and in the end we decided it looked like a cross between a dog and George Washington.
Tamir claims he did not intentionally take this picture to make it look like the sand Moai is checking out the girl in the bikini.
Amanda and I had scheduled diving and snorkeling for the next day, but we realized we really did need another day with the car to see everything we wanted. I cancelled snorkeling altogether because of sunburn, Amanda rescheduled diving, and we spent the next day exploring more of Easter Island with Tamir and Susanne. Not only was it amazing to actually be able to see the Moai, but it was so much fun to drive around with new friends.
Thanks to Tamir and Susanne for letting me use a few of their photos for this post!
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August 2, 2012 @ 10:22 AM
Those sculptures are iconic – and you lot seem to have quite a talent for making something similar judging from the sweet sand Moai.
August 2, 2012 @ 10:56 AM
Ha! Thanks! Just wait for the Day2 post, we tried another sand Moai.
August 2, 2012 @ 1:52 PM
Ah-MAZ-ing. Seeing the Moai statues is high up on my bucket list and I am supremely jealous!
August 2, 2012 @ 4:47 PM
Thanks Jennifer! I’m glad it’s high on your list because it’s such an awesome place to visit. Don’t be jealous, just go! 🙂
August 2, 2012 @ 1:58 PM
I absolutely loved Easter Island when I went there last year. Great job with the photo where you are standing as Moai statues!
August 2, 2012 @ 4:48 PM
Thanks! I loved it there too, so amazing! I can’t believe some people told us we only needed 2 or 3 days total to see the island! I felt like 6 wasn’t enough.
August 2, 2012 @ 5:37 PM
Thanks for a great tour! I would love to visit but realistically it will be some time. Looks like a fascinating place.
August 2, 2012 @ 9:51 PM
Thanks Andrea! Yeah, it’s not an easy or cheap place to get to, but I hope you do get there someday!
August 2, 2012 @ 6:34 PM
Ha! It totally looks like a cross between a dog and George Washington!! Nice work! and the pictures are beautiful 🙂
August 2, 2012 @ 9:52 PM
Thanks Tiffany! It was a fun day trying to make that sand Moai!
August 2, 2012 @ 7:19 PM
I’m a big fan of 4×4 tours of far flung places. Having Fibromyalgia means I can no longer do bushwalking or hiking but with a 4×4 I tour I could still get to see a whole lot of terrain, probably more than I could bushwalking or hiking anyway.
I can’t say how much I love the statues on Easter Island. To this day it remains a mystery exactly how they were made. Even using modern construction methods it would take an awful long time to build and place them all. Imagine how they did it back then.
By the way which country runs Easter Island? Is it Chile or Peru?
August 2, 2012 @ 9:56 PM
Hi Matthew! Easter Island was incredible. It was fun having the jeep because we did get to see so much, and most of it didn’t involve too much walking from where we parked. The statues we saw on day 2 (post on Monday) involved a little more walking and it was on a hill.
Yeah, the mystery of the statues is fascinating. They don’t know why they were made either, though there are a few theories.
Easter Island is part of Chile, though culturally they also share a lot in common with Polynesian cultures.
August 2, 2012 @ 10:34 PM
I forgot about our posing with the Moai!!!
The shots look great!!
My fave may be Moai George Washington staring at the beautiful sun bather!!
August 2, 2012 @ 10:48 PM
Thanks! The picture of Moai George Washington is Tamir’s. So glad he let me use a few of his photos.
August 3, 2012 @ 10:51 AM
Hi Ali and Amanda. I’m just smiling while I look at the pictures. It was a great time for me (us). Thanks for sharing this moments. Hope to see you soon.
August 3, 2012 @ 10:57 AM
Thanks for letting me borrow some! I hope to see you soon too, I’ll let you know when my husband and I make it down towards Zurich.
August 6, 2012 @ 9:19 PM
Sounds great. We still live in Susanna’s parents house but next month we will have our appartement back (finaly). You are very welcome then. I’m still looking forward to visit alaska 🙂
August 6, 2012 @ 10:06 PM
I’m sure Amanda would love to have you both in Alaska! Once you’re back in your own place, my husband and I might look into coming down that way some weekend.
August 3, 2012 @ 10:55 AM
Oooo!! I want to do this!! And take my pics with the stautes!
August 3, 2012 @ 12:21 PM
It was so much fun!
August 3, 2012 @ 11:54 AM
Easter Island looks incredible! It’s one of those places that’s just such an effort to get to but ultimately it looks like it’s worth it!
August 3, 2012 @ 12:22 PM
Thanks Bethaney! It is totally worth it! You can only fly there from Santiago, Lima or Tahiti, and the flights are expensive, but I’m so glad I went.
August 3, 2012 @ 6:30 PM
AH MAAAN!!!! I’m so jealous! Easter Island is literally my favorite place on the planet; I love that place. So cool… so peaceful. The car we rented looked just like that too, which is awesome.
Great memories, thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to go back.
Dan
August 3, 2012 @ 8:41 PM
It’s probably on my top 5 now. It really was such an incredible week there, absolutely loved it! I’d love to go back too!
August 4, 2012 @ 10:19 PM
How many days do you recommend for Easter Island?
August 4, 2012 @ 10:31 PM
We were there for 6 days and I thought that was pretty good, especially since we weren’t on a tour. There are quite a few places to see the Moai statues, including one where we spent 2 hours (post comes out on Monday). Plus there are lots of caves and other historical sites, the beach. There are 2 protected rehabilitation areas, and we didn’t even make it to one of them. Assuming you fly from Santiago, which has the most flights per week, I’d recommend giving yourself a week to explore. There’s so much to see and it’s such a great place! Feel free to email me if you have any other questions!
August 5, 2012 @ 4:03 AM
When (please note, not if but when) we finally get to Easter Island, we definitely plan to rent a car and spend a day or two just like this.
August 5, 2012 @ 11:45 AM
Yes, definitely WHEN. You live in Chile, I trust that you’ll make it there soon. And give yourself a week, there’s a lot of great stuff to see on that tiny island.
August 7, 2012 @ 7:46 AM
You are brave to go into any cave without a headlamp! I get claustrophobic in caves too and I’m usually okay in tight spaces. I didn’t realize those statues were so big.
August 7, 2012 @ 3:00 PM
Well, I barely went in. I made it about 2 feet, freaked out and got out. I used someone else’s headlamp for the other bigger caves. And yeah, I don’t think I realized how big they were until I got there either.
September 29, 2012 @ 5:02 PM
Looks like you had a blast with your new friends! Cute sand sculpture 🙂
September 30, 2012 @ 12:15 AM
It really was fun, thanks! You should check out the sand sculpture from day 2, it’s much better!