Rapa Nui (More photos)

I went to Abu Tahai for sunset. So beautiful. The cemetery is near the archaeological site.

View of Hanga Roa.

I rented a bike one day and rode across the center of the island. Harder than I thought and very sunny. But I made it to Anakena Beach, had a swim and some pineapple juice and made the trip back. One way is 1.5 hours stopping for pictures.

Vinapu

There are only so many female maoi statues. This is a drawing of what a complete one would look like.
The column in front is the female statue minus the head. The head however has not been recovered.
The pukao or top knot which is the hair (man bun) and are made of red scoria a lighter weight volcanic rock.
Many platforms were reused especially when resources were scarce. The stones were reused for houses and underneath the platforms was a place for burials or houses.
This is an older style maoi.

.irador Rana Kau

This crater is a collapsed volcano and some produce found here grows on some of the slopes of the crater.
The petroglyph on this rock is that of the  birdman.

Orongo

This is on the other side of the volcano Crater. There is remains of Rapa Nui houses from the 1700’s and reconstructed houses to show what they would have looked like. Here the birdman competition would happen. A representative(s) from each klan would go to the island on a log like surfing to retrieve the egg of the sooty tern.

Island they surfed to
Looking back across the crater
The ruins of a Rapa Nui bouse
Reproduction of the Rapa Nui house

Ahu Huri A Urenga

Puma Pau

Interesting tree. Not a pine but leaves that are stiff and a bit sharp.

Ahu Akiv

Maoi generally face inland. This looks like it is facing towards the water, but there would have been a village in front of it. The maoi always face towards the people as they represent mana and enlightenment.

So what if there was an alternative explanation to the Rapa Nui culture disappearing?

A theory is the inhabitants of Rapa Nui could have attempted to move to another island They were skilled Polynesian navigators capable of long ocean voyages. Why it is not likely:
1. Rapa Nui is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world.

2. By the time of their decline, deforestation meant that they lacked materials for constructing large seafaring canoes.

3. They also had less capacity for organizing expeditions.

Daytime view of the cemetery.

It has been an amazing 5 days here. Relaxing and so peaceful. Not overly touristic but just enough.

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