South Pacific 2002: 8 - Easter Island

Apparently the ship had a major breakdown the night after we left Pitcairn Island - the refrigeration unit that services all three of the ships generators broke down, and the ship drifted with no propulsion or electrical power for about an hour at around 3 AM. They eventually got it going after a fashion, but it also blew an electronics panel that they can't fix and which prevents one of the main engines from running, so we are limping along at a reduced speed. Because there are only two flights a week to Easter Island they cannot get technicians, test equipment and parts there in time, so we will continue at a reduced speed until we get to Lima for repairs.

We are projected to arrive at Easter Island at 6:30 at night by the current estimate, instead of at 8 AM, and then they are going to stay only until 11:30 AM the following day. That will really cut into the chance to see the island well. We will be a day late getting to Lima now, as well. That will handicap Marilynn's Christmas shopping plans, but so far we can still make our plane the next day as it does not leave until 2:30 in the afternoon. I guess we will know better as we get closer to our departure date.

Thursday, November 7, 2002 After having had the estimated arrival time put forward to 8 PM we were delighted to actually drop anchor at Easter Island at around 7 PM in bright sunlight on Tuesday evening. We had to wait for a Japanese cruise ship, with "WORLD PEACE" painted along the hull in enormous letters, to depart. This allowed us to get to the proper place to anchor. Sunset is late in Easter Island, as for some reason they are on Peruvian time, which is the same as New York or Toronto. Geographically they should be on Vancouver or San Francisco time. At least there will be no more 23 hour days between here and Lima!

The first tender to go ashore was to be at 7 AM, but as morning comes very late due to the strange time zone, we didn't get away until 7:30. The sea was rough enough to be a bit of a challenge, but all those who wanted to get ashore were able to do so. The entrance to the little harbour gave us all the reason needed for the local rule which prohibits tendering from ship to shore or visa versa at night. The channel to approach the tiny harbour entrance wound through jagged spikes of volcanic rock, which were intermittently covered by the surging seas.

Once ashore all was chaos, with everyone milling around trying to sell something, rent a car, or otherwise benefit from the anticipated inflow of wealth. There were only four cruise ships here this year, and if we had been on time, two of them would have in the bay been on the same day! Our engine delay at least gave the vendors the opportunity to mount two separate assaults on incoming passengers.

We had a four by four rental car arranged by the ship's concierge to share with Ted and Barbara, but the concierge department were conspicuously absent when we got to the docking area. The other crew members on the dock had no idea about what was going on with rental cars.

We were finally sent to "the woman in the red shirt" who indeed had a car for rent, for the modest amount of $200 for 3 ½ hours. Our agreement for the car which was arranged was $80, and the price quoted on the internet was also $80 for a full day - so I was pretty sure that was the going rate. One woman with a car for rent shouted to the other in Spanish not to go under $150, that there wouldn't be enough cars for everyone and we'd have to pay their price. Marilynn shot back in Spanish that the rental rate for cars was $80 and something to the effect that they were crooks. This caused a bit of embarrassment, as they didn't think anyone spoke Spanish, but it did little to lower the price.

I went back to the gangway where I saw the immigration official who lives on the island that had been on the shop from Papeete doing the pre-clearance. Marilynn and I had a good talk with him in Spanish on the ship, so I told him what was happening. He got into action and soon came up with the placards with the names of people who had confirmed rental cars. They were supposed to have been held up by a representative of the rental company, but this step was somehow overlooked.

In the meantime the rest of our group had found the right rental person, who was also in a state of complete confusion. A Mexican lady who was with Lord Tony, one of the on board lecturers, claimed they had cars prearranged for twenty people. Marilynn was also hammering at the fellow in Spanish that we definitely had a car arranged, and that there was no way the other group could have all five of his cars booked. At that point I arrived with the customs fellow who had the large pieces of paper, each with the surname of an approved renter on it. Things then started to become a bit more organized.

It turned out Lord Tony had two cars arranged, and Nick, who was going with Lord Tony had one, given them three for their expedition. What they did with the 20 people the Mexican lady was claiming is a mystery. The rental fellow dealt with them first, and us second, putting off the people who couldn't speak Spanish until the end. I also had my Costa Rican driver's license in front of his nose very quickly as well.

In the end, we were off before 8 AM. Through pure bullying and being very vocal, we had ended up with the nicest of the cars which ran well, but being a two door was a little tough for leaping in and out of for Ted and Barbara in the back seat. The paperwork had consisted of signing the piece of paper with my last name on it - no terms or conditions, and passing over the $80 in cash - no credit cards here!

Easter Island, known by the Polynesians as Rapa Nui and Islas de Pascuas by the Chileans, is 64 square miles in size. It was originally discovered by seven Polynesians from the Marquises Islands. They thought it was paradise, being well treed and with lots of water available. They returned to the Marquises for their women, and everything required to start a settlement.

Once back on Rapa Nui they divided the island into seven portions, one for each of the clans. The famous Easter Island statues, called "moai" (pronounced MOE EYE) were carved and erected between the years 300 and 1200. It is speculated that they were a form of thanks to the gods for the prosperity the families found on these islands. All but one group are erected on the coast looking inland at the land of the clan who constructed them. One group of moai in the hills looks to the sea.

Erecting more and bigger moai became a status thing between the competing clans. When they started carving the moai were constructed somewhat larger than a life size person, but the final ones were enormous. They were carved from the rock of Rano Raraku, one of the islands volcanoes, slid down the slope of the volcano, and then rolled on tree trunks to the seaside platform on which they stand. This led to the downfall of the island; as it was completely deforested - all the trees having been cut down to move the moai. It is interesting to speculate upon what the person who cut down the last remaining tree must have been thinking!

Eventually, the clans began to war with each other, with the victors pushing over the moai of the defeated. From this chaos a cult, called the bird man cult, was formed. They lived on the cliffs on the seaward side of another volcano in relive isolation. Their houses were stone, as there were no more trees, with the floors dug into the ground. The population of the island, once estimated as high as 20,000, was sharply in decline.

In the 1700s Easter Island was ceded to Chile. Later in that century Peruvian raiders captured some 2,000 of the islanders for slave labour in the mines in Peru. Protests from Chile eventually secured the release of the remainder of the islanders years later - there were only 24 left alive. They were returned to the island, where they introduced smallpox, further decimating the population. By the turn of the century there was a little over 100 people still living on the island. The population today is around 3,500.

When we headed off in our rental car we went first to the village of the birdmen, now a national park. No one has lived here for a very long time. We had the area to ourselves, other than a woman and child selling souvenirs, being well ahead of the bus tours. It turned out we were also ahead of the national park employee who charged those following $10 each entrance fee. The village was much more extensive than I had imagined. It is perched on the edge of a cliff, with the cauldera of a spectacular volcano directly behind, making it quite easy to defend.

From there, after a false start on a dead end road, Ted's navigational abilities saw us on the road to the far coast where we visited the sites of some of the moai which have not been restored and are laying face down as they have been since being toppled by rival clans centuries ago. We then found our way to Rano Raraku volcano where there are large numbers of unfinished moai in all stages of completion, from the cuts just being started in the rock, to being almost completed. We climbed the volcano to look down at the lake inside, and to see more moai which dotted part of the inside slopes.

Our tour around the island took us to all the important sites, including the islands one beach which is absolutely beautiful. It is further enhanced by a grove of palm trees and by the most complete set of moai which we had seen, facing stoically into the interior of the island. We managed to arrive back at the landing site with several minutes to spare before the last tender left. These few minutes were spent productively shopping, as the chaos at the dock had been replaced by a relatively orderly impromptu marketplace.

It was a great tour, enhanced by the fact that Ted and Barbara had been here before and were a good source of knowledge. For anyone interested in visiting Easter Island, allow about three days there to give time to really enjoy the place, and see things at a leisurely pace. There are lots of rental cars, and the people, although appearing ferocious, are very friendly. Although we did see all the highlights, a couple of more days would have been truly welcome.

Friday, November 8, 2002 I tried to send this yesterday without success - the file was apparently corrupted on my floppy disc and I was able to access only parts of it, so some has been rewritten this morning.

Last night one of the restaurants had a "truck stop diner" night with hamburgers, meat loaf and so on for a menu. Marilynn and I showed up in baseball hats and looking as truck driverish as possible. There was a party of 12 at our table, as we were celebrating the birthday of one of our new friends. A country band was playing, dancing was between the tables and then the final survivors from the other tables joined our table for a sing-a-long for about an hour after everyone else had left.

The staff, who were all dressed like truck stop cooks and waiters, were very patient and didn't throw us out! The evening ended up in the upper level dance bar and the party went on until the wee hours. Marilynn is paying the price this morning! I indulged in only beer (they even found me some Labatts Blue) and although I drank it in copious quantity, I am fine this morning as we all know beer don't count!

We are now on route to the port of Callao, which serves Lima, Peru, in moderately heavy seas and battling headwinds of about 80 km per hour. The sun is shining, the sky blue and it is reasonably warm. We were scheduled to arrive in Callao at 6 PM on November 11, but this is now unlikely. They have offered us accommodation on the ship for one extra night, so we will disembark at 9 AM on November 12 now. This must be going to cause major problems for the people due to come on board on the 11th - they will now be one day late with everything.

We are all delighted that we were able to get ashore in each of our destinations, and so are counting the cruise as a great success. Now, there is nothing to do but relax and enjoy the food, drink and entertainment for the next few days. It's a tough life!