Easter Island: A Tourist Attraction

Among the most mysterious and fascinating places to visit is Easter Island. The remote island located in the South Pacific and annexed by Chili in 1888 is 2200 miles from Chili’s western coast. Easter Island often called “Rapa Nui” or “Isla de Pascua” has a long and intriguing history. The huge, curious yet famous statues carved from lava rock are an endless source for articles and conversation. The island is the single most populated, yet isolated community in the world.

These are the first things when you hear about Easter Island

Easter Island is a triangular mass of volcanic rock approximately 63 square miles in size. Chili and Tahiti are closer to the island than any other populated region in the world. Huge monolithic statues called Moai, line the coastline of the island. The first settlers called the island “Te Pito O Te Henua” meaning “Navel of The World”.  The population consists of 4000 inhabitants who speak Pascuense, a Polynesian dialect and Spanish.

On Easter Sunday, 1722, the Dutch Admiral Jacob Roggeveen landed on Rapa Nui and named it Easter Island. Today the name Rapa Nui refers to the people, the island and the language spoken by the natives. No one really knows positively from whence came the original inhabitants. This mystery remains a point of contention and a number of websites, books, articles and archeological research revealing some interesting and often difficult to believe stories about cannibalism and other activities of earliest inhabitants.

Scientists have tried to figure it out

Some of stories suggest the first natives were Peruvian because of similarities between statues found on the island and those found in Peru. Stories about its original inhabitants range from the sublime to the ridiculous. There are myths, fables and romantic tales about men from outer space inbreeding with unidentified human inhabitants. Other stories tell about American Indians; lost Egyptians and extra terrestrial astronauts such as those found in Von Daniken’s, “Chariots of the Gods” which keep the tales alive. The Moais and Petroglyphs are the main source of physical information for researchers attempting to unlock the mystery of the island’s history.

The truth is no one really knows the origin of Easter Island’s first settlers. Today, many lean toward the belief, the first islanders were Polynesian.  The original inhabitants of the islands of Polynesia and Southeast Asia were masterful artisans and there are remnants of their work present on Easter Island. It is certain, at some point down through the centuries the Polynesians did populate the island. Polynesians developed an outstanding civilisation on Easter Island as they did on many of the islands in the South Pacific.

Some believe the Pacific Islands are actually the mountaintops of the lost continent of Lemuria. Over 50,000 years ago, the continent sank into the earth taking 64 million people with it. The story of this and tales of the lost continent of Mu and Atlantis make for interesting reading. Among such authors are Werner Wolff who wrote “Island of Death”, Jo Anne Van Tilburg who wrote “Easter Island-Archeology, Ecology and Culture and Catherine Orliac who wrote “Easter Island: Mystery of the Stone Giants”

The main attraction on the island is the open-air museum consisting of the huge statues carved from the lava rock and moved to various parts of the island. In order to move the huge statues to various parts of the island, the abundant, enormous palm trees, which once flourished were cut down to build the tools needed to move the massive statues to various parts of the island.

Today’s Rapanui people are gracious, friendly and enjoy sharing the many stories of the island’s ancient past. The Anakena Beach is a tourist destination with white sand where visitors enjoy hours of fun swimming with the tortoises. With the exception of the beach, walls of black lava rock form a backdrop around the island. While building their permanent homes the first inhabitants of Anakena Beach turned their boats upside down for protection from the elements. The inhabitants built elliptical shaped homes perhaps using the design of their upside down boats as their blueprint.

When the missionaries arrived in the 1800’s they destroyed many of these homes to build fences, which is a rather strange reason for missionaries (of all people) to tear down homes. They also destroyed most of the religious artifacts, sculptures and the stone tablets containing the Rapa Nui language. This was a terrible mistake and probably not a very clever way to gain converts to Christianity.

Missionaries have destroyed the language. Nice one.

Easter Island is a World Heritage site known for its natural beauty, oceanic scenery and monolithic statues. It is a haven for archeologists and historians enthralled by unfolding the mysteries of the earth.

Lan Chile Aeroline has limited flights and limited seats to Easter Island from Santiago, Chili and Papeete, Tihiti to Mataveri Aeroport.  Accommodations on the island include hotels, guesthouses and private homes where one can experience the culture of the islanders first hand. One of the best times to visit is the first part of February during the Tapati, a festival in honor of their Polynesian heritage. During the festival, there are archeological and cultural tours of the island. There are restaurants in the hotels and few small restaurants among the shops in the city center.

This is the Tapati festival

The island has one antiquated hospital with three physicians. Once a year physicians from the Chilean navy come to the island providing annual check-ups for the native community. However, with over 4000 residents it is very evident the island has inadequate medical care.

Visitors to the island need to carry bottled water with them to avoid drinking the water on the island. Stomach discomfort resulting from drinking local water is one the most common reasons tourists are in need of medical care when visiting on the island. The second most important way to avoid stomach problems is avoiding eating anything uncooked, especially any kind of vegetables from the island.

Bring your own water, whoever you are

Have you ever been to Easter Island - what did you think about it??