The Dawn of a New Day on Rapa Nui

Monday, March 14, 2016 WTRD 66

Kake told us that sunrise was at 6:30 the following morning, so we decided to leave at 5:45 to give ourselves enough time to drive to the east side of the island.  Well, it turned out sunrise wasn't until almost 8:00!  Just an hour and a half early.  It was pitch black when we arrived and there was no lighting except for the stars.

With our cell phones and flash lights we made our way in the direction the park gate keeper had pointed.  The morning was cool, we could hear the surf.  The Milky Way was spectacular and we got to enjoy it for nearly an hour before the inky blackness of the night sky started to grey up as the sun started its ascent.  

There were low clouds on the horizon obscuring the sun's rise, and while the colors were not spectacular, the emergence of the Moais against the dawn was impressive.  

We spent a good part of the dawn moving about trying to get photographic angles and experiencing the spectacle of a new day from different perspectives.

We returned to our cabanas just before the end of breakfast service at 10:00 am.  After our coffee, breads, cheese, jams, and fruits, we took off again for the day.  We had already been awake for 6:00 hours.

We visited caves with indigenous art, 

fishing villages, 

Unlucky sailors ran aground

Unforgiving coast line

and an extinct volcanic crater, Orongo where bio-diversity thrives in the sweet water and the flora is protected from wind, and salt spray.  

Always in Awe of our Beautiful Earth

It is unknown, but estimated, that the Rapa Nui were part of the Polynesian migration around 800 CE.  These water travelers founded civilizations in the the Marqueses, Tuomotus, Society, Cook, Tongan, New Zealand,  and Hawaiian Islands. The people who came to Rapa Nui were the outer edge of the south eastedn migration.  It is not known whether this was an intentional navigation or one blown off course.

Either way, the people who came here with their king, landed in an environment that was remote from other islands, and not hospitable for sailors or protected by barrier reefs.  The winds, surf, and currents were deterrents from returning in the direction from which they came.  In the beginning, the natural resources for the small number that came to the island were abundant for survival, but were limited.  There were no mammals except rats that inadvertently escaped with them when they sought a new place to live.  There were birds and fish and trees.

As the population expanded, sons and daughters moved to different areas of the island.  There were numerous chiefs and villages.  Each village had its Ahu to memorialize their dead chief.  Initially, the statues were small, but as the communities grew and thrived, there was more time for art, petroglyphs, cave paintings, and the statues grew bigger.  

Village chiefs raised chickens and chickens were payment for working on the Moais.

Chicken house (cave) 

Chickens were rocked in at night, protected from thieves, and kept warm

Eventually, though, all but one of the natural resources of the island could not sustain the population.  Wood from trees had been used for making boats, cooking fires,  (perhaps moving the moais on rollers and housing).  Without the forest providing evaporation to make clouds, the rains became sparse, and the vegetation and flora dried.  The birds had been eaten, there was no wood to build boats to fish or migrate elsewhere.  The only remaining resource was rocks, lots of rocks.  Even the chicken houses were ingeniously made of rocks.

As resources dwindled, chickens were stolen.  Without chickens, life would cease.  Villages allied themselves with neighboring villages and became clans, warring clans over remaining resources.  People died from war and starvation.  Only the strongest survived and a new small population and organizational structure emerged, that of the Bird Man.

We visited the area of the new order.  The Bird men were fierce athletic competitors, scaling rock walls, swimming long distances through the surf to collect eggs from nearby islands.  Often the competition resulted in death or being a winner.  It reminded us of the Hunger games.

After a busy morning, we returned to town, got our passports stamped at the post office, ate lunch, and got back on the road to visit another Ahu and set of Moais.  

We brought the car back to our Cabana by 5:00, cleaned up, drank wine with our new friends, and all went to dinner and dance show in town.  On our way to Chile, we sat next to the owner of the best restaurant/dinner show in town. Consequently, we got front row seats for the show.

 The dinner was delicious too.  By 10;00 pm we were dead on our feet.  It was time to turn the lights out.

All is Well with the Worrall Travel Rs on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)