Easter (Island) Sunday .... what?!

Sunrise at Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua)

Everyone woke up early today ... after five days at sea, everyone is so excited to see land!  LeRoy has been up since 4:45.  He's like a little kid on Christmas morning.  We had an early tour, only to find out that the swells were very big, and it was going to be very tenuous to board the tender boats.  Our 9:15 tour left out at 11:30.  There was so much that could go wrong, and did.  It rained, a tender boat got hung up in a cable at the dock, a lady fell .... you name it, but believe it or not .... we smiled all the way through it.  There are lots of times that people have stopped here, and were never able to get off the ship and to the island!  We are blessed to be on the island, and we know it.

Our tour began at the site of five of the Moai statues called Tahai.   They welcomed our ship this morning, and we could actually see them through our binoculars from the balcony.  Our guide gave us a little of the history ... The island actually is a territory of Chile.  It's closest inhabited island neighbor is Pitcairn which we will visit in a few days.  No one really knows who the first settlers were or how they got here.  It is named Easter Island because the first European to arrive here did so in early 1700's, and he arrived on Easter Sunday!  Easter Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The only Moai statue that has had its eyes re-inserted at Tahai

Vi says, "he ain't heavy... he's my brother!"

Then we went to another site to see the statues at Ahu A Kivi.  There are seven of them, and they appear to be looking out over the ocean, but in fact, are looking over a series of sacred caves.  They are though to represent the seven ambassadors sent to the island by King Hotu Matua.  According to legend, King Matua was a king of two canoes of originating people to Easter Island. The really cool thing is astronomical in nature.  At the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, the stars are said to align perfectly over the statue heads.  One is a sign to plant, the other a sign to harvest!

The seven ambassadors at Ahu A Kivi

No one really knows too much about the origin of the statues.  It's all speculation other than they know that they were carved 1100-1680 CE (rectified radio-carbon dates).  They are made of volcanic rock that is somewhat soft.  A total of 887 monolithic statues have been counted on the island and in museums so far.  They were first referred to as Easter Island heads, but they are actually complete torsos.  The figures are kneeling on bent knees with their hands over their stomachs.  Some were buried up to their necks by the shifting soils.  

Stop signs are just a lunch stop for the horses on Easter Island!

Almost the entire island is a national park now, and everything is very protected.  There are free range horses and cows.  We saw some horses grazing in front of a church and several just walking down the street!  They all seemed very healthy and happy, and they live in perfect unison with the people.  There are said to be more horses on the island than people.  There are about 6.000-8,000 inhabitants on the island.

When we returned to the ship, there were many people who did not get to go to the island as the tenders were stopped mid-way through the afternoon because of ocean conditions.  We were so lucky, and yet we heard a couple of "stoopid Americans" on our bus say something like, "so much for Easter Island" as if this was something that everyone sees everyday!  

It was a beautiful island, and difficult to believe it is about 2,400 nautical miles from the coast of Chile.  What an incredibly awesome experience, and somebody needs to pinch us!  We are like sponges, absorbing everything possible.  It truly is the adventure of a life-time.  

I will close as I always do by thanking those who are keeping the home fires burning.  We appreciate you so much.  We thank God for each of you everyday, and we pray for His protection over you and us. Amen and Amen.

Love,

Vialula and LeRoy