|
|
|
|
|
|
Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE May 8, 2006
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
| March 4, 2006 |
Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile – Photo Tour |
|
| |
|
As Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, lacks a natural harbor, the TSS Topaz anchored a kilometer off shore from the main town of Hanga Roa. Consequently, participants aboard the Peace Boat landed on mythical Rapa Nui via 10-person tender boats. Just north of Hanga Roa stand five eroded moai, or stone statues, which make up the Ahu Vai Nuri complex, from which our ship is clearly visible. |
site design imagesparkle.com |
|
Between the years 800 and 1600 AD, the inhabitants of Rapa Nui erected hundreds of moai which were usually placed on stone and mud altars called ahu. Fifteen grandiose moai make up Ahu Tongariki, perhaps the most stunning of all ahu due to the sheer number of statues as well as its dramatic location. |
| |
|
Visible from Ahu Tongariki stands a unique volcanic rise called Ranu Raraku. Used as the quarry for all moai in the island, some remain unfinished and carved onto the mountain side. Out of the more than 880 moai which remain in the island, roughly 600 can be found on or around Rano Raraku. |
| |
|
Officially part Chile, Rapa Nui lays hundreds of kilometers isolated deep in the middle of the South Pacific. Its original inhabitants are of Polynesian descent which arrived somewhere around 400 AD. Despite its tiny population of 3000 inhabitants, Polynesian culture still thrives. A group of participants from our voyage held a cultural exchange with a local youth group focused on the preservation of traditional culture. Here pictured are members of such group uncovering a traditional meal consisting of lamb and potatoes wrapped in banana leaves and buried underground along with sweltering rocks which cook the food. |
| |
|
After the meal, both groups carried out performances representing their respective cultures. And as some Peace Boat participants had practiced traditional Rapa Nui dances while on route to the island, they were able to join the locals for an entertaining afternoon. |
| |
|
As tends to be the case during cultural exchanges, verbal communication limitations transcend borders. Peace Boat participant Matsumoto Kimie, on the left, expresses her feelings regarding the event: “I felt incredibly energetic from being able to interact so deeply with local people and listen to their music – in ways I probably couldn’t if I was just a regular tourist. Before coming onboard I felt uncomfortable meeting foreigners, but through exchanges like these I have realized people are just people anywhere.”
|
| |
|
|
|
