11/27: Last Day on Easter Island: Sunrise at Tongariki & Hike to Two Windows Cave

A couple of days ago, we had visited Ahu Tongariki, one of the most photographed sights on the island in mid afternoon but we knew to also return at sunrise if possible. Our last opportunity was on our final day before we returned to 'civilization' on the mainland in a few hours. On Easter Island, it wasn’t much of a hardship to get up before dawn because in order to synchronize office hours with Santiago, island time runs two hours behind Chile mainland time.

After driving all the way to the eastern part of the island, it was disappointing that there was such cloud cover that the fabled sunrise about 7:00 was less than perfect. However, it was still an amazing sight and one I would have hated to miss. This place was really breathtaking and there is no photo that truly captures what it felt like to be there.

Seeing the skies turning peachy pink and orange and the shimmering shards of golden light behind the 15 giant moai was still a sight to behold for all those who made the early trek there.

Since most visitors to Easter Island make a point of going to Ahu Tongariki for the amazing sunrise, our hotel's French owner/host had kindly prepared a boxed breakfast for us to enjoy there.

The 15 moai faced the volcano and the ocean behind them.

Almost as lovely a sight was watching the waves crash on the bay behind the moai.

As we looked at the faces of the moai, we noticed carved eye sockets that had coral eyes laid inside. The sockets were carved at such an angle that the eyes would look slightly upwards. The moai in the Rano Raraku quarry or in transit to their ahu had their eye sockets carved once the moai had been erected onto their platforms so the eyes could be 'opened.' That enabled the ancestor's mana to be revived and his spirit brought back to life.

Our last view of the 'Traveling Moai' and other moai at Ahu Tongariki will stay with us for a long, long time.

Once it began to drizzle, we headed to Ahu Huri A Henga to see its moai in a better light than we'd had yesterday. As you can see, we were delayed by cows who had other ideas in mind!

We marveled again at its set of double hands.

We returned to town to pick up some freshly baked croissants (always my downfall!), and to gaze at the freshly caught fish and fruits and vegetables at the Feria Municipal or local market.

We'd hoped to stop at the island's archaeological museum named for a German priest who dedicated his life to improving conditions on Rapa Nui but it was again closed. Instead, as we followed the coast road to the island's northwest for the first time, we saw a sign for Hanga Kio'e so stopped. Literally meaning Mouse Bay, it was named after an island legend in which a grieving wife mourned the death of her husband by carrying a mouse around in her mouth, before burying his remains underneath a nearby ahu.

Its platforms are thought to be from the latest period of ahu construction, sometime around 1600 AD which was much more recent than many of the other platforms and moai we'd seen elsewhere on the island.

Though the four meter high moai was nowhere as large as some of the moai still in the quarry at Rano Raraku, it had traveled about 25 km from there to its location here on the west coast of Easter Island.

Driving to the end of the dirt road, we finally reached the entrance to what we thought was Ahu Te Pito Kura, also called the 'Navel of the World.' As I mentioned in an earlier post, the island's national park signs were less than ideal so it was challenging on several occasions trying to find what we wanted to see. On a glass half-full perspective, it didn't matter as each was a new experience and opportunity to see something wildly different. When was the last time you had to nudge a horse out of the way to start a hike? This was our first!

We had a steady uphill hike for a good 30 minutes and saw 'nothing' but lovely pastoral scenes and hardly anyone else at all which made it even more enjoyable.

The many cows along the path made it clear they were not happy with our presence! We almost gave up and tuned back as we had no idea if there was 'anything' special up ahead but Steven suggested we persevere a bit longer.

I am glad we did as shortly after that, we came across Ana Kakenga, a hiding place during periods of war. The 50 meter long lava tube was used as a shelter during ancient times. At the entrance were some cut rock used to modify the natural cave mouth and to provide a narrow passage which allowed better control of those entering and leaving. The lava formed a hard crust when it cooled. In this cave, the lava flow continued all the way to the ocean, leaving two exits, or 'windows' through which the lava poured, hence the more popular name of Two Windows Cave.

The opening looked little more than a pile of stones. I wasn't crazy about entering the very narrow cave but my far braver Steven did. I was waiting with baited breath until he came out several minutes later as I couldn't see or hear him inside at all. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken the camera so was only able to describe the openings or 'windows' he'd seen.

On the hike back to the car, we discussed the conflicting theories of whether the first islanders had traveled from Polynesia as is now generally accepted or from South America as Thor Heyerdahl suggested. We couldn't help reminisce about the island's spectacular moai sites we'd been so lucky to see the last few days and reflect on the island's special energy or mana that added such an intangible element and helped make a journey to Easter Island a once in a lifetime journey we were so lucky to make.