We're now in the second half of our voyage. Day two on Easter Island started very early with Angela getting position #1 in the tender line at 6:30am while I ate breakfast. Then we switched places. At 7:45am we boarded the tender and were soon ashore. Most of our group #1 assembled plus we added a few new members and were put on a different bus with a different guide (Chris). This replacement bus was very crowded and used very uncomfortable jump seats. When our guide asked if we would like to change buses, it was a virtually universal yes response. Unfortunately the replacement bus was 2 seats smaller than the original bus so one couple had to take the next bus.
We made 5 stops today with an emphasis on background culture of the moai. Those stops were at:
1. Rano Kau (large crater with a fresh water lake covered in floating flora).
2. Orango (ceremonial village at the crater and part of the annual bird man competition).
3. Vinapu (empty Ahu (platform for displaying the moai) with fallen moai.
4. Puna Pau (crater and source of stone material for red stone hats for the moai.
5. Ahu a Kivi (7 moai aligned celestially)
After our tour we were dropped off in town where we shopped and found more ceviche (not a top contender). I found a local seamstress who had a commercial serger and a sewing machine. She was surprised to learn I have a similar commercial sewing machine. I ended up purchasing a nice machine embroidered polo shirt for $14. We found the local craft market which had similar items to what we've seen at the various stops we've visited over the past two days. We then found the local post office and stamped our National Park Pass before walking back to the port.
The tender process back to the ship went much smoother and we prepared for our departure and 5 days at sea: Pitcairn Island ahead! While watching the tendering process from the outside promenade deck and hearing a public address announcement for one person, we saw the last tender boat return from shore. It was pursued and passed by a small outboard boat carrying what appeared to be a ship's passenger. The passenger passed a tip to the boat driver, jumped on the tender and then climbed up the tender platform stairs! Talk about calling it close! The same little boat then collected the Chilean officials on board and motored back to shore.
The Captain came on the PA system and announced we would do a scenic cruise past the Island next to the Rano Kau crater. This island is the one that the competitors in the bird man competition had to swim to after free scaling down the crater wall to the sea. It was a terrific gesture to have the ship pass by this landmark.
We ate a really light dinner before attending the 8pm show which featured an Irish comic/magician, Patrick McCullagh. We finished the evening listening to Dr. Cohen's stories of observing primates in the wild.
Fortunately, tonight we set our clocks back an hour as we head west. It was a terrific two days on Easter Island. It is truly a magical place and belongs on any serious traveler's bucket list despite its remoteness.
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