Easter Island Brought Back My Travel Spark
While Amanda and I were in Bora Bora, I worried that maybe I had seen too much. I was feeling burned out and I wasn’t excited by the new places I was seeing anymore. Luckily Easter Island turned out to be so amazing that I felt refreshed and in awe of everything again.
Due to a five and a half hour red-eye flight from Tahiti to Easter Island, we didn’t do much on our first day. But we did stop at a truck selling fruits and vegetables on the side of the road to see what she had to offer. We didn’t even have any Chilean pesos yet, so we told the woman we’d have to come back the next day. But she insisted we take what we wanted and pay her the next day! She had no idea who we were, but she was willing to trust us to come back later with cash. Amazing.
The next day, after paying our wonderful vegetable lady, we set off to explore the island. Amanda wanted to hike up Ranu Kau Crater, and the views were supposed to be beautiful, so we made that our first destination. Unfortunately I didn’t make it very far. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I’m not exactly in the best shape, so hiking up a steep hill with the sun beating down on me wasn’t so fun for me. I figured if I continued I was likely to hyperventilate or faint, so I turned back and told Amanda we’d meet back at our guesthouse.
From the hill I could see waves crashing into the rocky shore, and I wanted to see it up close. What I found grabbed my attention more than the crater would have anyway. A series of caves lined the shore, and the waves continually rolled into them. The force with which the ocean crashed into those rocks surprised me and captured my attention for quite some time.
That’s when I felt it again. That awe at being somewhere new, that feeling of excitement about the place I was about to explore. And it all came back to me because of some gorgeous caves, a rocky shoreline, and the sound of crashing waves. I hadn’t even seen the good stuff yet! I spent the next few days enjoying Easter Island, taking tons of pictures, and being amazed by everything. My love of travel was reawakened.
July 23, 2012 @ 2:12 PM
Glad you found your travel mojo again!
July 23, 2012 @ 2:43 PM
Thanks Jan!
July 23, 2012 @ 4:40 PM
I think when do travel long term or a lot, it’s the moments that bring your MOJO back that you remember most. It happens to all of us and well I could see why Easter Island brought it back. Looking at these photos it looks afuckingmazing. Glad you enjoyed your time thee and that your love for travel was reawakened.
July 23, 2012 @ 4:56 PM
Thanks! Just wait until you see the rest of my time there! I loved Easter Island, so awesome!
July 23, 2012 @ 4:50 PM
How strange, I just posted something today with lots of pictures of waves crashing on cliffs, too! Although your photos are MUCH better than mine.
I feel you on the hiking, too. I detest it with all my might unless I’m walking in the shade.
By the way, I love how the fruit and vegetable lady trusted you to pay her back. Little things like that make me smile 🙂
July 23, 2012 @ 4:58 PM
Aw, thanks Tom! Yeah, I always think hiking sounds like fun and then I remember, I get winded climbing up 4 flights of stairs. Not sure why I even attempted a steep uphill hike, even aside from the fact that there was no shade.
I agree about the vegetable lady. It still surprises me that there are such trusting people in the world, and it’s great!
July 23, 2012 @ 7:32 PM
I think that if you aren’t impressed by Easter Island, then that is definitely a sign that you need to take a step back and reevaluate what you are doing! So glad to hear it didn’t disappoint and that it helped you get your travel mojo back! If those aren’t the best parts, then I can’t wait to see the rest of your photos! 😉
July 23, 2012 @ 9:15 PM
I agree! The landscape was gorgeous, but the Moai statues were awesome. More on those coming soon!
July 24, 2012 @ 4:23 PM
I love a place where locals trust you to come back and pay. Things like that make me warm up to a place and its people. 🙂 Glad Easter Island refreshed you.
July 24, 2012 @ 9:24 PM
Thanks Audrey! They really were such nice people there. Easter Island was wonderful!
July 24, 2012 @ 9:24 PM
Easter Island is simply incredible. It brought a new vigor to my travels and ignited such excitement at how wonderful our world truly is!!
July 24, 2012 @ 11:18 PM
Thanks Chrystal! I know, I loved Easter Island so much! I was kind of glad it was one of my last stops on my trip because of how exciting it was to be there.
July 25, 2012 @ 12:11 AM
Beautiful pictures! I was just watching a special on the history channel about Easter Island and saying how badly I’d like to see it. Can’t wait for more of your posts from Easter Island!
July 25, 2012 @ 2:12 PM
Thanks Jennifer! Easter Island is so awesome! I hope you get to go someday!
July 25, 2012 @ 3:16 AM
Love to hear when that happens… sometimes you just lose that feeling but to get it back, it’s good to know it’s just a lull!
July 25, 2012 @ 2:16 PM
Thanks! I was really glad to be pulled out of my travel rut when I got to Easter Island. Such a great place!
July 25, 2012 @ 10:43 AM
I’ve always wanted to see Easter Island…look at those waves!
July 25, 2012 @ 2:09 PM
It’s such an amazing place, I hope you get there one of these days!
July 25, 2012 @ 5:04 PM
This post makes me smile. 🙂 <— In case you don't believe me!
July 25, 2012 @ 10:26 PM
HA! Thanks Amanda!
August 3, 2012 @ 6:42 PM
Easter Island is what really lit the travel spark in me; such an energizing place (and not like weird voodoo energy, just fun). Did you walk down into that cave where the stairs were? There were painting on the ceiling down there… very cool stuff!
Can’t wait to read more, this is really making me want to go back.
Dan
August 3, 2012 @ 8:48 PM
Thanks Dan! I’m not sure which cave you’re talking about, but if it’s the one with the teeny tiny entrance and a big opening out to the ocean that you could fall off of, that’s the one I couldn’t get myself further than 2 feet. I remember stairs in the cave where I saw the waves in the pictures in this post, that might be the same one. I loved it!
Check back on Monday for more Moai pictures!
August 4, 2012 @ 4:13 PM
It’s always great to find those places that revitalize you, it’s just amazing how many of them there are out there, isn’t it? 🙂
August 4, 2012 @ 5:10 PM
Exactly! Easter Island is definitely one of those places. Thanks Erik!
September 12, 2012 @ 4:55 PM
I’m glad you were able to re-awaken your passion for travel!
September 13, 2012 @ 3:20 PM
Thanks Mary! A place like Easter Island can do that!
5 Great Blog Posts / Flip-Flops-on-the-Ground Articles on Easter Island | Outdoor Gear and Travel
November 25, 2012 @ 3:09 AM
[…] Ali Garland’s “Easter Island Brought Back My Travel Spark“ […]