Did you get your taxes done?
I spent most of the day walking up the west coast of Easter Island, to see heads and ruins. It's not the part of the island with the most things to see, but it was easy to reach on foot from the twon. I might have walked, I dunno, between 6 and 8 miles, but it felt like much longer because the ground is kind of hilly, and it's very rocky, so it's more of a climb or hike than a walk. That's fine. I like walking and I'm here to see the island, not take it easy.
Kind of like how I didn't know there were volcanoes and petroglyphs here, I also didn't know there were ruins of dwellings. They're not very extensive, just some stone outlines of foundations. But when I realized that, I was like "
dur!" because
of course the people who lived here had to live somewhere. I discovered a few other things about the island. One is, there are a
lot of horses. I
think they are all owned by people, but maybe not. There's a lot of open area on the island that's not suitable for farming, but horses can live there. There's also a not insignificant number of large, bleached animal bones, which kind of creeped me out, as I don't think I've seen anything like that before.
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| Anyone recognize this animal? |
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| Random petroglyph, lying in the middle of a field. |
The west coast of the island has a small number of heads, including the only one who has been restored with his eyes. Not all of the Moai had their eyes put in, even during the Island's "golden age" in the 15th Century. But not all the Moai were even erected on their pedestals, and the eyes would go in last.
Another thing I didn't expect to find here (because I just didn't think about it) was the island cemetary! It's a modern cemetary, as in, it's from the 20th Century, but it is one of the coolest I've ever seen. Very colorful, and most of the graves have been made into flower beds. What a nice idea!
 |
| Dear loved ones: If you insist on burying me when I die, make sure my tombstones are as cool as these. |
I got back to my hotel in the evening, spent some time putzing around, then went to a local restaurant for dinner. A polynesian pizza: tuna, pineapple, tomato, cheese. I'll note that
all restaurants here are local because there is not a single chain to be seen! Yay! I stayed up reading, and forgetting to blog. I knew I was forgetting something, but just couldn't think what. So I'm writing this about 24 hours late.
I spent most of the day walking up the west coast of Easter Island, to see heads and ruins. It's not the part of the island with the most things to see, but it was easy to reach on foot from the twon. I might have walked, I dunno, between 6 and 8 miles, but it felt like much longer because the ground is kind of hilly, and it's very rocky, so it's more of a climb or hike than a walk. That's fine. I like walking and I'm here to see the island, not take it easy.
Kind of like how I didn't know there were volcanoes and petroglyphs here, I also didn't know there were ruins of dwellings. They're not very extensive, just some stone outlines of foundations. But when I realized that, I was like "dur!" because of course the people who lived here had to live somewhere. I discovered a few other things about the island. One is, there are a lot of horses. I think they are all owned by people, but maybe not. There's a lot of open area on the island that's not suitable for farming, but horses can live there. There's also a not insignificant number of large, bleached animal bones, which kind of creeped me out, as I don't think I've seen anything like that before.
Another thing I didn't expect to find here (because I just didn't think about it) was the island cemetary! It's a modern cemetary, as in, it's from the 20th Century, but it is one of the coolest I've ever seen. Very colorful, and most of the graves have been made into flower beds. What a nice idea!
I got back to my hotel in the evening, spent some time putzing around, then went to a local restaurant for dinner. A polynesian pizza: tuna, pineapple, tomato, cheese. I'll note that all restaurants here are local because there is not a single chain to be seen! Yay! I stayed up reading, and forgetting to blog. I knew I was forgetting something, but just couldn't think what. So I'm writing this about 24 hours late.
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