To Ranu Raraku

Half the time, I felt like I had the island all to myself most of the time riding along the coast seeing and hearing the crashing waves.  I can´t get enought of that stuff.  Then I had to stop to let some beautiful brown and black horses and their calves cross the road.   Stopped off a little later to eat some almonds and raisins (that I bought in Santiago of course!)  Then used my table tripod to take this pic.  There was a wonderful breeze and couldn´t feel the heat of the sun.  (My bottom lip got toasted and hurt for 5 days.)

Taking a break on the way...

Most of the road was paved.  The weather has been beautiful everyday.  I think it rained for about 2 minutes last night. 

Finally made it to Ranu Raraku and couldn´t wait to take more pictures.  Here are some Moai facts I wanted to share that I learned at the museum.

-  Moai phase is considered to be when Rapa Nui culture reached it´s peak
-  They started building the Moais from around 800AD to 1680
-  Moai represent the ancestors of each clan (I believe there were around 6)
-  The Moai were built to protect and have a presence in the daily lives of the people.

Ranu Raraku aka the quarry

-  There are 887 registerd Moai.  347 still at the quarry. 
-  No more than 10 Moai have female features ie breasts & vulva
-  Less than 1/2 of the Moai carved ever made it to their Ahu (platform)

Moai Madness

The story goes that the Long Eared tribe were the rich ones who had the Short Eared people building these statues.  They range from about 2 meters to 21 meters.  They got bigger as time went on.  The Short Eared people kept having babies and the Long Eared people refused to give them a raise. 

Around the time they were carving a super sized Moai, there was a revolt by the Short Eared tribe.  The Long Ears didn´t want to pay, so the Short Eared guys refused to keep carving and started knocking down the Moai.  There was also a Tsunami in the 60´s that knocked some of them down as well.  It´s always about money & power isn´t it?

Then it was 4:30 and I had to get the bike back.  Gorgeous ride back until I made the right away from the coast.  Had to get off of the bike and just walk.  I was hoping someone would invite me to hitch a ride, but it never happened.  A few times, I wondered if I would make it back.  I had some energy, but my legs were tired.  I had no choice but to take it slow because I no longer had the ocean breeze to cool me down.

Moai Madness Confirmed

I had to remember that no one was worried about me taking this trip, so others had survived it.  I finally made it into town before 6pm.  I felt pretty good for someone who wanted to die!!  Dropped off the bike and then bought a candy bar.  Caught sight of myself in the mirror and thought I´d share.

The price of madness.