Mystical and Magical Easter Island
Kevin and I agree that Easter Island ranks up there as one of the most amazing places we´ve ever been...on par with Egypt but way more mysterious. We could go on and on about the place--its rugged terrain, the mixture of Polynesian and European looking people who have lived there for many generations, and those very mysterious Moai that have impenetrable stares. The Moai are the monoliths that Easter Island is known for--and no picture can really grasp how amazing a sight they are to behold in the flesh.
As Kevin said earlier, we were left stranded on Valentine´s and had to drive in an extremely bouncy and super fun ATV (like a small offroading moped-like vehicle). Since very few tourists get to Easter Island (the airport gets about 1 flight a day from either Tahiti or Chile), you can wander around the island and feel like you are all alone--just you and the Moai.
A little bit about the mystery of the Moai. It´s pretty much been established that they were created by powerful families who lived on Easter Island around 1000 years ago and then mysteriously toppled between the 16th-17th centuries. What lead the people who have venerated these statues for so many generations to suddenly topple them? Was it a force of nature like a tsunami? Or was it toppled by man?
A few Moais have been reerected and our pix show some of those. But it is good to see the fallen Moai too, humbled statues, toppled giants.
This is the quarry where most of the Moai were made. I am standing next to some uncompleted statues (mostly heads).
Many of the Moai once had these red hat-like objects on their heads. They are actually meant to be top-knots, replicating the way men wore their hair at the time.
As Kevin said earlier, we were left stranded on Valentine´s and had to drive in an extremely bouncy and super fun ATV (like a small offroading moped-like vehicle). Since very few tourists get to Easter Island (the airport gets about 1 flight a day from either Tahiti or Chile), you can wander around the island and feel like you are all alone--just you and the Moai.
A little bit about the mystery of the Moai. It´s pretty much been established that they were created by powerful families who lived on Easter Island around 1000 years ago and then mysteriously toppled between the 16th-17th centuries. What lead the people who have venerated these statues for so many generations to suddenly topple them? Was it a force of nature like a tsunami? Or was it toppled by man?
A few Moais have been reerected and our pix show some of those. But it is good to see the fallen Moai too, humbled statues, toppled giants.
This is the quarry where most of the Moai were made. I am standing next to some uncompleted statues (mostly heads).
Many of the Moai once had these red hat-like objects on their heads. They are actually meant to be top-knots, replicating the way men wore their hair at the time.
posted by Karen at 2/19/2007 08:49:00 PM
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