September 22, 2018

September 22, 2018

We have visited all the major reconstructed sites on Rapa Nui. That is just a fraction of the nearly 1000 Moai that were carved and of which 600 were moved from the quarry. Most remain face down beside their Ahu, untouched for hundreds of years. The product of a ruinous civil war, probably over the limited resources of a small island. In other Polynesian islands, overcrowding was likely solved by sending the unlucky onto the ocean in search of a new homeland. This makes one wonder whether the Moai craze somehow disrupted this pattern.

This morning we followed the southeastern coast road stopping frequently to checkout unrestored Ahus. Most have at least one toppled Moai. The backs look highly eroded from exposure to the elements and from a distance just look like big rocks. The first two Ahu also show Inca-style stone expertise. Humorously many of the cylindrical topknots have rolled far away. The site of Akahanga has an extensive village with the outlines of many boat houses discernible. They were usually reserved for the elites of the village.

Too much coffee and the paucity of bathroom facilities in the National Park forces us to speed ahead to the quarry at Rano Raraku. Here we also have a relaxing lunch. Tongariki is just around the corner; its impressive fifteen Moai are a siren call for our return. We sit and contemplate what drove this society to expend so much energy on their creation.

On the way back to Hanga Roa we stop at Vaihu, the site we sped by earlier. It has an Ahu with eight toppled Moai. With its ocean setting, this would make a nice restoration project. The park has recreated two thatched boat houses here for us to examine and crawl inside.