As I am now in a hotel in Tahiti which appears to have vaguely working internet, I will try to put all of Easter Island in one go. I will add some photos in a following post so at least you can read this if the photos get stuck.

Leaving Tahiti at 3am to go to Easter Island was made slightly chaotic by the fact that the Chilean government had just introduced some sort of form to fill in before flying which half the plane (including me) didn’t know about. I had to fill it in (at 1am) on a government laptop with a French keyboard. Ho hum.

On the following day – having slept most of the one I arrived on – I was given a lift to town, went to the bank and the tour company. The town is v small – although bigger than it initially appears – and almost all the residents live there. There are dogs and horses everywhere. They all belong to people but are not confined in any way. There are approximately 7500 residents, doubled by the number of tourists. Almost all food is imported which makes it quite bland and basic. Nice fish though and the restaurants work wonders with what they’ve got. Sleeping is made more difficult by the dogs barking, the wind howling and the fridge in my room. There are also lots of cockerels but they only start around 6.30.

Tour of Island to biggest and most interesting sites. History appears to go something like – Polynesian explorers appear around 1000ad. At the time the Island is uninhabited and covered in trees. Each tribe gets its own area and the ancestor worship cult takes on massive dimensions. The moai (figures of late tribal leaders on platforms) got bigger and bigger over time and the biggest – still in the quarry and unfinished – was 21m long. Around 16th – 17th century, tribes started quarrelling about resources and started to push each other’s moai over. Last one was overthrown around middle of 19C. Population decreased, Europeans arrived (and, in 19C, missionaries) so by mid 19C there were v few people left. Abolition of slavery in Peru meant that they needed workers so most of the population kidnapped. Only 15 of them got back and they brought smallpox with them. Luckily anthropologist who visited in 1914 was able to interview some of the very old who remembered the old stories.

After the break in the cultural traditions, another cult arose – the bird man. A bit like choosing a leader by winning the Ironman triathlon with birds eggs. Interestingly, the moai in the British Museum is the only one that was made during this time and has birdman symbols on it’s back.

Borrowed car from hotel for 2 days to see sites not on tour agenda. Unfortunately it broke down on 2nd day – thanking god it did so in town where I could walk back to hotel! It’s a small island but some of the sites are v remote. Roads require slalom driving round potholes. No car insurance on Island so was just given keys and told to get on with it. Didn’t charge me for 2nd day!

Posting this, then will try photos.