Week 16, Part 1. Isla De Pascua

Be careful on the beach: coconut can fall on your head

(Introduction to National park rules given by ranger)

I looooove flying: waiting in the cafe in the airport (especially in the morning when it is empty), airplane food, watching movies (LAN has good selection)... I finally go to Isla de Pascua (Easter Island)! Sooooo exciting.

Isla is a tropical Polinesian island of volcanic origin
Location: 5hrs from Chile mainland, 6hrs from Tahiti
Population: 6000, 2000 of them immigrants from LA
Main (and only) village: Ranga Hoa
Main attraction: Moai (heads)
2/3 of island is National park full of mistery and volcano craters.

Sunrise


Heads' factory


I stayed in the camping in the tent that a guy from the hostel kindly offered me.

island is absolutely beautiful and magical, reach of legends (there are no confirmed theories at the end) and not as much of nature. According to archeologists, the island was green and treesome, but locals used trees up for boats, food, etc.

Typical landscape


it is also very small, possible to walk in a couple of days, everyone knows everybody (which is terrifying!). A lot of children in the families, but from different farthers. Fishing along with farming stay the main activity of the island (after tourism, of course, and everything is VERY expensive).

Santander bank


Church

Locals are of polinesian origin, so in theory very beautiful people. But. Apparantely being big means beauty. So they are very big. They do not like immigrants ('Tourists are ok: tourists come and go'), but have similar machismo atittude ('Why are Russian woman more beautiful than Chileans?'), they also composed songs for me, which had mostly (and only) my name in lyrics.

Market morning


There are a lot of Russians coming for diving, it was the first place where they were not impressed I am from Russia. I met only two on the plane. They were in Business class. That kind of Russians.

Wild guayava trees: oh, we've eaten a lot of it: first time I've tried it as a fruit, not as yogurt.



I have met there with a girl that I was travelling with before (check out updates for Puerto Madryn - Patagonia photos: orcas are added!).



All in all beautiful place,third best in my list for this travel (after Iguazu and snorkelling with sea lions)