Off the Map Chile Adventure: Easter Island

The Rapa Nui people of Easter Island believe that their Island is the belly button of the world. They might be right.

We spent a beautiful seven days on the island getting to know the place. The Moai, which are the giant statues are immense and impressive. Try and get 200 folks from your community and carve a gigantic human form (the largest one ever transported was 11 meters long and weighed about 90 tons) out of pure rock and then transport it 10 miles over rough terrain just using ropes, palm tree trunks as rollers and muscle! By the way, once you get to the final spot you have to somehow stand them back up and then put a giant hat (Pu Kao) on it.

The Rapa Nui that we met were welcoming and kind. I had a great time with the owner of a restaurant who was also a musician. Every night he would play traditional songs with his friends in his restaurant while his wife cooked. We drank wine, ate good food and laughed a lot. We’ll tell you all about the trip when we get back.

However, one story that reiterates how great and welcoming the Chileans are goes like this: We rented a 4x4 (small Suzuki Jimmy) to go on one of the island circuits. This particular circuit was roughly ten miles long. We passed massive caves, Moai, farms and could see the big blue Pacific ocean almost the entire journey. But at one point the road turned almost impassable. It was a 45 – 60 degree incline that was severely rutted with loose rocks. I got out of the car to assess the possibility of making the climb. Just as I got out, a group of Chilean tourists with two cars (both SUVs) were at the top and the men got out of their car to make the same assessment as me, except they needed to navigate going down. (In the U.S. due to insurance concerns I would have most likely just turned around. But since I was on Easter Island, the place farthest away from another inhabited place in the world, I thought let’s make it happen!) So I talked with the other folks and helped then navigate down the path. Both SUVs made it down safely with just a little excitement. Now it was my turn. Chris got out of the car just in case I rolled and the car burst into flames. Elijah decided to stay in the back seat and read his book! So a route was chosen and up I went. I made it 2/3 of the way up and then the tires started to spin! I had to go back, or so I thought. Three of the Chilean men from the group came behind the Jimmy, put rocks underneath my tires and wanted to literally help push the car over the part where I was stuck. The tires were spinning and mud was everywhere! I turned the wheel and gunned it and with the help of our friends we made it to the top. I got out of the car and there were hugs all around! We then took a group photo to celbrate and capture the moment. Chile just makes my heart smile.