Live - SIlver Explorer October 25 2017, Guayaquil to Valparaiso

[jpalbny]

Thanks for your detailed report and fantastic pictures which brought back many happy memories from a cruise on the Silver Shadow from New Zealand to Acapulco many years ago when the weather was kind enough to allow the Tenders in and out for approx five hours.A special Island which we shall never forget.

 

Hi brimary, and thanks for stopping by. It is a unique place! Glad you were lucky enough to get ashore during your ship's call there. Happy to bring back some good memories.

 

HI JP.

Terrific thread!

Did you get to see any of the Moai that were excavated which exposed their torso and additional petroglyphs?

 

Thanks spins. We didn't visit them specifically, but we did see plenty of the carving on their torsos. We were interested to learn that the moai aren't just heads, but the majority have torsos too, and are carved down to just about the level of the waist and buttocks. The torsos used to have a fair amount of detail, but most of the ones that we saw were weathered enough that it's mostly lost.

 

We're considering doing part of this trip including Easter Island and I've enjoyed reading your posts. What would be the minimal number of days to spend in Easter Island and what are the must sees on it?

 

Three days were good for us though an additional day would not have been wasted. As for the must-sees - well, hopefully once I finish this report, you will be able to have enough information about the sites so that you can decide what you'd like to see or skip. :)

 

If you have only one day, then Rano raraku (quarry), Ahu Tongariki (fifteen moai) and probably Orongo if you can swing it (the ceremonial birdman village; misspelled as Orango in my prior post :mad: ). Some of the sites that we saw on day two were less exciting, or maybe the weather just put a damper on them, but they were still cool in their own right.

 

However, on day 3 we saw a lot of cool stuff off the beaten path, so I think 3 days is optimal. One day will leave you wanting more, and two days will make you worry too much about the weather.

[jpalbny]

Friday, November 10th

 

Day 2, Easter Island

 

The afternoon tour was going to three inland sites. There were about a dozen of us by now; the group had added a few more. Again, we were bilingual.

 

First we were going to stop at a cave called Ana Te Pahu, which was used as a place of refuge during the island's civil war. It was raining more heavily when we got there, and it was about 1 km from the parking area to the cave entrance. Time to go for a slog.

 

Off we went! We promptly had to detour around a small lake in the middle of the pathway.

 

 

But we got there, and after negotiating a few slippery steps down, we appropriately took refuge in the cave.

 

 

For anyone who's been to Hawaii, or other volcanic islands, this geology should look familiar. It's a lava tube cave. We've visited a couple of them on the Big Island.

 

 

It's reallly coming down now. Good thing we have raincoats! And shelter.

 

 

Chris is keeping pretty dry. No pictures of me here; I look like I've walked a kilometer in the rain.

 

 

Back we went, to the other branch of the lava tube. You might notice that the group is in single file despite the wideness of the lave tube. That's because there are rock walls set up in the floor to force you to walk single file. They were put there for defensive purposes.

 

 

Lava tube caves form naturally, as conduits for lava running just under the surface. When the lava flow stops, the lava sometimes continues to flow out, leaving behind a hollow empty tube.

 

If the ceiling breaks, allowing entry from the surface, voila! You now have an accessible lava tube cave.

[jpalbny]

Friday, November 10th

 

Day 2, Easter Island

 

The cave was well set up, with everything you could want. There was a natural cistern, with a pool of rain water for drinking,

 

 

And a natural supply of honey too, if you were brave enough to harvest it!

 

 

Plus there was a grove of banana trees at the cave entrance.

 

 

Chris looks surprisingly happy, considering that there is a huge beehive near by.

 

 

Alas, it was time to go back out into the rain. I wouldn't have minded staying here for a while longer, especially if they served us a few bananas and some honey to pass the time.

 

We zipped up our rain jackets and started back. This path is no easy walk in the park!

 

 

And this is the detour around the lake from the last post.

 

 

We made it back to the van and headed for our next stop, which is just a few hundred yards away. It might have been faster to walk, but I'll happily take the shelter.

[Post it]

Thank you for your reply. I look forward to hearing about the rest of your time on Easter Island.

[drron29]

We are on the cruise to Easter Island in October and disembark there.They have built a little insurance into it by having the Explorer spend 2 nights there before Embarkation Day.Wont be unhappy if we are thrown off the day it arrives at the island if they think the weather is going to deteriorate.

The South Pacific is generally a little smoother at this time but gets worse in November.

[jpalbny]

Friday, November 10th

 

Day 2, Easter Island

 

Our next stop was Ahu Akivi. This is an unusual ahu for a few reasons.

 

 

There are seven moai here. They are all fairly similar in size. This is one of the few ahu which is located inland, and where the moai face the ocean. Most ahu were built along the coast, with the moai facing inland, so that their protective aura was focused on the people dwelling in the village. Who are these moai protecting?

 

 

Similar to all of the others, these moai were toppled in the civil war, and had to be re-erected in recent times. This one needed a bit of a repair job first.

 

 

The moai all faced the precise spot where the sun set at the equinox. Supposedly their placement was exact. Not sure how we know this, since all of the moai were knocked down. I guess this was inferred from the position of the ahu. Certainly we can't tell much about the position of the sun today...this weather is miserable!

 

 

One of the oral traditions says that the seven moai at this ahu represented the seven scouts who were the first to navigate to the island of Rapa Nui. They face outward, towards the sea, so that their protective aura would watch over other navigators.

 

 

Whatever legends are correct, it was a cool spot. Just wish it wasn't raining so much! The pineapple plant didn't seem to mind, but we were getting a bit wet.

 

 

We retreated to the van, and stayed here for a bit while we had some snacks. Cheese, nuts, soft drinks, beer, etc. There are restroom facilities here too. One more stop on the afternoon tour before heading back.

[jillyf]

Thanks for the memories JP. We were there about the same time as you in 2009. It was quite hot and only saw a rainbow as we were leaving. No rain.

We stayed at Explora after the first night in town.

One of the walks we did was about 7 km and in the heat I found it hard going ( older and not as fit as you and Chris). I think we were slower than normal and we rounded a corner to see the van waiting for us a shorter distance than expected. I could have kissed the driver! Then it was off to the beach for a swim. Fabulous.

It was festival time and all staff and visitors were taken to watch the contestants slide down a steep hill on coconut trunks. Quite dangerous for the racers and lots of fun for the spectators.

[jpalbny]

Friday, November 10th

 

Day 2, Easter Island

 

The last stop for the day was Puna Pau. This was a volcanic cone, where the islanders quarried the red scoria rock to carve the pukao (hats for the moai). There were pukao scattered around all over the site.

 

 

The weather was getting unpleasant at this point, so we made a run for the lookout point and snapped a few pictures before we got too soaked.

 

Here is the town of Hanga Roa. Our hotel is in this picture, if you know where to look. It's the two rows of long, low, grey buildings at top center.

 

 

Looking north, a view of another volcanic cone. The island is dotted with them, everywhere you look.

 

 

More pukao, inside the cone.

 

 

And that's about all there was to see here. We headed back to the van, cold and wet.

 

 

Back to the hotel to dry off and warm up before dinner. Of course, we had to try our Viogner which we had brought from the mainland, which was actually quite nice!

 

Our (former) guide Edmundo met us at the hotel, and he took us on a short drive into town, where we had dinner at a restaurant owned by one of his daughters.

 

The food was nice, but I didn't take pictures. It was very fresh fish, prepared simply, and very tasty.

 

Edmundo spent a lot of time entertaining us by telling stories, as I think he felt bad about ditching us. But eventually the fatigue started catching up with us. We finally made it home around 10:00, and by then we were quite ready to sleep!

 

Thus ended our second day on Easter Island. The weather made for a less enjoyable day outdoors, but Orongo was quite impressive.

[Unibok]

I'm loving your report! Thank you for sharing so much of your trip with us.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

After yesterday's late dinner, we were able to sleep in a little bit, but we were still ready for a quick breakfast by 8:30. On a positive note, it looked like many of the storm clouds had blown away overnight. The view from our back patio was pretty nice.

 

 

And the sun was shining brightly as we walked over for breakfast. Hoping that the weather stays this way, for better pictures! It is a touch windy, though, so we might have to dress a bit warmer than the past two days. It's a fair trade as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

After breakfast, our replacement guide arrived on time to pick us up. His name was Terry, a friend/colleague of Edmundo's. Or so we were told. We hopped into his truck and off we went.

 

Stuart was diving this morning, so we dropped him off at the dive shop in town, and then the remaining three of us started sightseeing. We began right in town, at the Tahai Ceremonial Complex, a site where three ahu have been restored. The work was done in the 1970s by an American archaeologist, Dr. William Mulloy.

 

This moai at Ahu Ko Te Riku has been restored very nicely. It's probably the best approximation of what all of the moai looked like in the pre-contact days.

 

 

In the morning sunshine, the moai really looked great. Even the beaten-up ones look pretty in the sunshine. You can see that they are NOT made of black rock. They are more yellow in color. This is Ahu Vai Ure.

 

 

And the single moai here sits on Ahu Tahai, in between the other two ahu.

 

 

The restored moai, and the as-is moai, together in the same frame. Those eyes are cool, but perhaps a little creepy too. Are they watching us?

 

 

Terry was a good guide so far. He took his time, and didn't rush us. He added some explanations when they were needed, but didn't drone on a lot. We were able to enjoy the site while learning a few more bits and pieces of the theory, legend, myth, etc of the moai.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

A wide-angle view of the complex, showing all three ahu.

 

 

Nearby, the foundation of a Rapa Nui boat house. So named, because of the shape resembling that of a boat.

 

 

This rock has a memorial plaque for Dr. Mulloy. He and his wife are buried on the island, but I don't think it's exactly here. Terry didn't say that the actual grave was at this spot.

 

 

A few additional moai were scattered around the complex. This one looks like it needs some repair.

 

 

And a disembodied head.

 

 

Looking inland, there was the local cemetery. And horses grazing.

 

 

Time to get some classic moai pictures. We need a good picture for our Christmas card, and the lighting is pretty nice this morning! Plus, it's not terribly crowded here. The time is right.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

Happy Holidays from Easter Island! Now you've all seen the back of our Christmas Card. Sorry it's late this year.

 

 

You can tell from our clothing that it's a little chilly today. Time to head to the museum.

 

 

The archaeological museum is just out of town. It was walkable, but since we had Terry's truck we drove. It is a small museum, with only one main room containing a number of exhibits about the history of the island, how moai were built, etc.

 

They also have one of only a few known female moai. It was found by Thor Heyerdahl in the 1950s and for a time was in a museum in Oslo before returning to Rapa Nui. Apparently there is another one in the British museum. We must have missed it last time we were there, so a good excuse to go back!

 

 

A moai with long ears. We heard about the great battle between the long-ears and the short-ears. There is much debate over whether this is even remotely historically accurate, or whether it ever happened at all. Furthermore, some think that short-ear and long-ear are mistranslations, and it's not about ear size at all.

 

 

The moai eye, discovered at Anakena. The white coral and red scoria rock are striking. We will visit that site later.

 

 

And a birdman petroglyph, like we saw in Orongo.

 

 

As you can imagine, the Rapa Nui story is far from being conclusively established beyond a doubt, and there is much that is not known. Last night, Edmundo told us that the museum was "interesting" but that 75% of what is written there is not true. Terry, on the other hand, agreed with most of what was there. Who to believe? Which 25% was actually true? I guess that is part of the mystery for now.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

So after the museum, we still had some time to kill before Stuart was done diving. We decided to go visit a nearby cave. This was just beyond the hotel, on the edge of town. We parked and started walking, just a minute or two, to get to the coast.

 

 

The surf is picking up. Glad I'm not out there in a boat!

 

 

Waves are really crashing. We were pretty dry up where we were, but then we walked down to the cave. As the waves got closer you could see the power of the Pacific.

 

 

There are some old cave paintings to be seen here.

 

 

Luckily, it was pretty sheltered inside.

 

 

A nice place to watch the the surf battering the rocks. This isn't a swimming beach.

 

 

We relaxed here for a few minutes. The surf is mesmerizing. Link to a video.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

Infinite shades of blue. But it was a few minutes before 11, so time to tear ourselves away and go to the dive shop.

 

 

Our timing was perfect to pick up Stuart. We stayed at the little marina for a few minutes, watching for sea turtles, but didn't see any. We did see some fish, feeding on some dead object in the water. Not very photogenic.

 

We headed back towards the hotel so Stuart could put on some dry clothes. Along the coastal road in town, there are a bunch of moai. This guy watches over the little marina at Plaza Hotu Matua. This is the center of town, but not the biggest marina on the island.

 

 

Another one; not sure if he has a name.

 

 

This one is much older, and worse for the wear.

 

 

And a more modern-looking monument. With a tsunami warning siren. A fact of life here in the Pacific.

 

 

We already knew of the 1960 tsunami that devastated Hilo (Hawaii), from a visit there some years ago. We didn't realize that it was the same one, which had struck here first and caused the damage at Ahu Tongariki that we'd learned about on our first day. It didn't do much damage to the town, because Hanga Roa is on the opposite side of the island from Chile (the source), and a little higher up than Hilo used to be.

 

After getting Stuart some dry clothes, it was time for lunch! No tsunamis today.

[spinnaker2]

loved the video of the crashing surf!

[Post it]

We've booked our cruise and made the Easter Island hotel reservations - now I just need to wait for another 9 months :) This thread has been so informative - thank you!

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

So we reconvened with Terry and headed out to lunch. We went to Hanga Piko, the island's main harbor, which is a few hundred meters from our hotel. No big cruise ship docks, I am afraid. You have to brave that surf, in a tender, in order to come ashore.

 

 

Another moai watches over the harbor, projecting his mana out to sea where it will keep the seafarers safe.

 

 

A close up of his hands. He has a bit of a belly, too. I think that I shall look like this, after all of the delicious food that I've eaten these past few weeks.

 

 

We picked up a companion. Terry wanted to keep touring, but this guy wanted to play. Whenever Terry moved, the dog would bite at his feet. Video.

 

 

In the grassy plateau above the harbor, there were more moai lying in repose.

 

 

Our dog grew bored with us and found a new friend. We were free to keep exploring.

 

 

The views were pretty here. So we took a few minutes to enjoy the sunshine. It was a welcome change from yesterday, even though the wind made it too cool for tropical wear.

[jpalbny]

loved the video of the crashing surf!

 

It sure was intense! I can see why it is a challenge to get everyone ashore from a cruise ship.

 

We've booked our cruise and made the Easter Island hotel reservations - now I just need to wait for another 9 months :) This thread has been so informative - thank you!

 

Glad to whet your appetite for the trip! We really enjoyed our time here, at this unique place. Which hotel are you staying at?

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

We found a nice shady spot under some palm trees, where we could enjoy the view. Looks like there are a few nice restaurants in this area. The fish should be fresh.

 

 

Our pup had abandoned us for good.

 

 

Back down at harbor level. The two green boats with brightly-colored stripes are cargo barges. Cargo ships do not dock here either. They stay offshore, and the cargo is loaded onto these barges to be brought ashore.

 

 

A small boat braves the surf to come in. It didn't look like my idea of fun.

 

 

Here are two brand-new cargo barges which have just arrived to replace the ones in the earlier picture.

 

 

Now it was definitely time for lunch. We were hoping that our location was favorable to catch sight of the LATAM flight coming in this afternoon. If it takes the same course that it did when we arrived, it should fly right overhead, because we are situated at the end of the runway. But we hadn't seen it yesterday, so we'll keep hoping.

[Post it]

Glad to whet your appetite for the trip! We really enjoyed our time here, at this unique place. Which hotel are you staying at?

 

Unfortunately, the Hangaroa Eco was fully booked so we are staying at the Explora.

[jpalbny]

Unfortunately, the Hangaroa Eco was fully booked so we are staying at the Explora.

 

That may not necessarily be a bad thing. The Explora is more inclusive, with all meals and tours included. It looks amazing and I hope you post some pictures so I can compare. As I said earlier, we always assumed that we'd stay there, until they happened to be booked.

 

I did like the idea of being right in town. It made for a very easy last day (tomorrow), when we just visited some close-by attractions on foot. That would not have been possible had we stayed at Explora. And we wouldn't have needed our private guide; it was fun to go around with just our group that one day.

 

So, no worries. I think your trip will be great too!

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

So Terry recommended a restaurant along the coast, at the far side of the harbor. We settled in at Tataku Vave Restaurant. I think fish will be on the menu.

 

 

You can see that we were well situated to see the plane come in, if it should happen to take the same approach that it did on Thursday, when we arrived. I bet we are no more than 300 meters from the runway.

 

 

Being the tech nerd that I am, I opened up my flight tracker app to see how far out the plane was. Theoretically, about 25 minutes to wait... So we had drinks, and ordered some nice fish dishes for lunch. Oh...yes, by the way...T-Mobile international roaming works when you're near Hanga Roa, and can get a signal! Pretty amazing.

 

The waves outside were incredible. This little boat is getting tossed around like the toy boat that it is. Sorry for the crummy video; I shot it with my cell phone instead of my camera.

 

The time passed quickly, and we thought we heard a noise like a jet engine. Sure enough, the plane was coming, flying exactly on the route that we had hoped for!

 

 

We all got up and went to the open porch at the front of the restaurant to see it fly just overhead. What a beautiful airplane. And, what a great view of it!

 

 

Well, that was exciting! Now it's time for lunch. Fresh fish with some tomatoes and green onions. This must be Chris's entree, because of the wine.

 

 

And lightly fried, with a creamy peppercorn sauce. Yum!

 

 

And some more local beer, of course. You don't want to get dehydrated in the sun...

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3

 

After lunch, we talked with Terry about what to do this afternoon. He suggested that since it was sunny with good lighting, he wanted us to see the north shore of the island. There would be some pretty sites on the coast that might look extra special in the bright sun. So, off we went.

 

It was a little over a half hour's drive to get to Anakena. We walked through a grassy field, in and out of a grove of palm trees, not really knowing what to expect. There were some stone carvings along the way. A whale.

 

 

And a dolphin, perhaps? But this was just a preliminary. There was a lot more to see here.

 

 

We saw sand ahead, and then suddenly a row of moai came into view.

 

 

A pretty impressive ahu with a good group of moai. And the setting! It's beautiful here.

 

 

I can't decide which picture I like better. The one with more emphasis on the blue water, or the one with the darker sky. Now I know why Terry wanted to bring us here when it was sunny. The colors are amazing.

 

 

 

Time to get a closer look at the ahu. Oh, and are people swimming here? That's crazy. It's cold!

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3 - Anakena (AKA hanga rau o te 'ariki)

 

Seven moai. Some are in near-perfect shape, and they even have their pukao as well.

 

 

Apparently they were buried by the sand after they were toppled onto the beach. This helped to preserve them quite well. Note also that the pukao on the left is cone-shaped. That is unusual; most are cylindrical.

 

Apologies for the severe backlighting. I had to tweak these a little so that some of the details were visible.

 

 

A few other shots of the ahu. The whole site is referred to as Anakena, or hanga rau o te 'ariki (meaning bay of the king); the ahu is called ahu nau nau.

 

 

You can see some details on the torsos. The burial in the sand helped preserve that as well. More on that later, but there is one other interesting detail here. If you look underneath the next to last moai (second in on the right) you'll see a stone with a black hole protruding from the ahu, just above the shrub. That's a broken moai head, used to build the ahu.

 

 

There is another ahu here called ahu atura huki. This is the first moai which was re-erected in modern times. The work was done in 1956 by Thor Heyerdahl. Sources vary; supposedly it took 9 days or 18 days. He only used traditional tools (wood, rocks, and rope), and Easter Islanders for labor! I like how the intense backlighting outlines the deep eye sockets here.

 

 

Pretty impressive! We headed down to the beach. This view shows the moai head in the ahu much more clearly. At least the backlighting is good for something.

 

 

The area is steeped in history. The oral tradition holds that this beach was the landing site for Hotu Matua (the first king) and his landing party. It remained the ancestral grounds of the ruling clan. Archaeological evidence here puts the first phase of ahu construction at around 1100 AD, with human settlement 200-300 years earlier than that. Pretty cool.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, November 11th

 

Easter Island, Day 3 - Anakena

 

So we walked down past the beach, and out onto a concrete jetty which overlooks the rocky part of the coastline. People were swimming, but we thought it was too cold for that. The colors were gorgeous, though.

 

 

After we'd had enough of being whipped around by the wind, we went back to ahu nau nau to look at the moai again. The torsos have some intricate carvings on them. These represented loincloths, and/or body tattoos. Great detail.

 

 

 

 

Also in the ahu, some of the building stones have carvings. Monkey, or human with a tail?

 

 

It's time to leave and see what else there is on the north shore. One last look. I am struck by the sharp edges on these statues; their chins and noses are so well-defined. They are in good shape!

 

 

So, I'd highly recommend this site for a visit. Great moai, great historical significance, and a beautiful beach view. What's not to like?