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Arriving at the Easter Island Airport - the most remote inhabited
place on the planet!
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Our favorite dinner restaurant had a trampoline right on the shoreline. Nice to jump a bit while waiting for dessert!
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| One afternoon we hiked to the top of the Rano Kau valcano. |
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| The view over the crest of the crater was jaw-droppingly beautiful. A section of the rim has been eroded by the Pacific. |
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On our way down, a stray dog joined us and hiked the entire trail right in line.
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| For some reason Carol was fighting to get to the front of the line for some face painting!? I always thought that was just for kids? Hmhh? |
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For the love of god, will you please just all line up for this photo!
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If you'd like to see more photos of these Maoi statues, let us know. We might have a thousand more to share!
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| View of another volcanic crater |
We happened to be on the island during the annual Tapati Festival which includes concerts and competitions between the local people. On Sunday our guide took us to the banana trunk races. About a dozen participants, dressed in loin cloths, race down a very steep slope of about a mile while sitting on a banana trunk. This was truly a spectacle. Thousands and thousands of locals show up in a very remote field to watch - very much like a rock concert. We sat in about three or four feet of grass to watch. Back in the U.S., the super bowl was on TV, and we realized we had no idea who was playing this year!
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| Walking through the grass toward the race course |
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| Locals out in force |
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| Sitting in the tall grass waiting for the races. Our guide Terry on the right. |
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| Suzuki Jimny. Never heard of that car? Neither had we. Count yourself lucky if you never have to drive one. |
"Lots have fallen over"
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered why they fall over..Soil issues?, Earthquake?, Winds?, Vandals?....What's the deal?
"Back in the U.S., the super bowl was on t.v. And we realized we had no idea who was playing this year!"
It was not the Browns :)
The main reasons they've fallen are tribal wars, earthquakes and tsunamis. So pretty much what you suspected. The ones at the quarry that stick out of the ground at odd angles have been buried at least halfway because of soil that has filled in around them over time from erosion. Production and delivery of the statues stopped fairly suddenly. There's no proven reason for that but the theories are that war or disease wiped out enough people to stop the whole operation in its tracks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know about the Browns. I'll break it gently to John.
ReplyDelete