Rodney & Sheryl's Travels: 1/21 – Easter Island, Chile

Easter Island, known in the native language as Rapa Nui (Big Rapa) or Isla de Pascua in Spanish, is an island in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to Chile (a province unto itself of the Chilean Valparafso Region). Located 2237 miles (3600 km) west of Chile and 1290 miles (2075 km) east of Pitcairn Island, it is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. It was given its common name of “Easter” because it was discovered by the Dutch on Easter Sunday, 1722.

The island is 45 sq-mi (117 sq-km) and there are nearly 3,000 residents, many of them working in military or government service. Ancient volcanoes spawned the triangular island, and remnants of them can be found at each corner. All are extinct, but a series of unexplored lava caves and tubes leaves no doubt they were once active.¹

Moai remain the central focus of scientific research on the island, so of course we had to see them! There are about 600 moai that have been resurrected. All have similar features. The significance of the face and deep-set eyes will probably never be known. Almost all moai have been carved from soft volcanic rock (basalt) at Rano Raraku quarry, transported several miles and then stood upright. There are many theories on how that was accomplished by people with no modern equipment. All are enormous, many more than 18 ft (5.5 m) tall and weighing several tons. Deceased ancestors were usually buried in subterranean vaults below the statues. They were truly fascinating to see!