Another Look at Easter Island

Easter Island boasts the largest and most awesome collection of prehistoric monuments in the entire Pacific.

Most of the strange formations we'd seen during our first few days on Easter Island were the moai, those gigantic, very mysterious statues standing still and upright like chess pieces all in a row. (My first story about these statues is found at http://worldisround.com/articles/342296/?e )

But then we came upon a very different kind of carving, many heads scattered to and fro on a hillside. This was the place from ... (more)

This is Tahai, just outside the only town on Easter Island.

Another collection of statues, or moai, is here at Ahu Akivi, in the...

Over the centuries since they were built and raised, time and the...

Most seem blind, but a few moai have eyes gazing off into the distance. Some...

The most magnificent group of all is Ahu Tangariki, fifteen massive stone...

Up on that hill is the quarry, from where the ancients took the stone to make...

Turning toward the ocean, you can see the fifteen moai of Ahu...

But how were the moai moved from the quarry to spots like this, so many miles...

Our guide told us the story of the quarry.

He is Eduardo Edwards, a Chilean and long time resident of Easter...

Up the hill we went, and it didn't take long for us to welcome a...

We continued to climb higher.

Looking down, we could see a number of statues scattered about.

Unlike most of the others, these two heads looked fairly well placed....

Two of our more intelligent companions decided that enough was enough. They...

These statues fared better than the others, standing erect as they were...

At the top of the hill we found ourselves on the rim of a crater, with...

Coming down from the crater. Exploring Easter Island can be quite energetic!

Then we came upon this scene of total disarray.

Some perspective as to the size of these immense heads.

Just no way to put these heads back where they belong!

Why are all these figures at this place, some erect, some not? For...

Close-up.

There are more than 900 statues scattered around Easter Island. Some 300 are...

One stone head staring at the visitors trespassing on its resting spot.

So we learned a lot about the island and its people's history. But many...

Nearby the quarry, a local shows his pleasure - and a rather full head...

I couldn't help but admire another local with a definite edge in the hair...

Eduardo, guide and host at our farewell dinner.

A toast to him for making our visit to Easter Island such a memorable one!

The last restoration we saw, where a painter was touching up some...

Off the island for a five hour flight back to Santiago, and another twelve to...

article published 02/27/2008

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After six months since I posted this article,I revisited our adventures on Easter Island. I'm curious, and admittedly somewhat disappointed, that nobody has been inclined to comment on the words and pictures. As of today there have been a total of 895 visits from different folks to this particular article.

Easter Island is a phenomenon, a mysterious place far away from most of the rest of the world. But it's also a mystery to me to try to to contemplate why a reader responds or choses not to respond to an article, any article posted on Worldisround. Not that this effort alone justifies anyone's comments, but I took a bit of time to post the pictures and write the comments in an attempt to entertain and perhaps even educate my audience. And then... nothing. Hmmm. Just wondering.
— Bob Fairbanks, July 16, 2008

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