Day 2: Rapa Nui

We spent today on a tour with Paul showing us around the majority of the island and the major archeological sites. All deserve more time to be spent at each, so we have rented bikes and will explore most in that manner later in the week. Tomorrow we will go SCUBA diving and then hike (or bike?) to the top of one of the volcanoes to see the crater.

Moai at the Ahu Tongariki which was not placed back on the Ahu. The mountain in the background is the site of the quarry where all the moai on the island were carved.

Ahu Tongariki

Ahu Tongariki - the largest Ahu site restored. Fifteen moais are lined up here and there are several that were not repositioned (like the one in the above photo). Also many had "top knots"as seen on the one just over Drew's head. It looks like a red hat that is on top of it. However, these were thought to represent the hair of the person depicted in the moai. They were carved at a separate quarry than the moai - thus the different color. The top knots are larger than a SUV.

Ahu Tongariki - four of the fifteen moai are shown here, including a better view of the gentleman wearing the top knot.

Playa Anakena - this is one of the only white sand beaches on the entire island as most of the coastline is very rugged. It is at the very north end about 20km from town. The palm trees were a gift from Tahiti. Interestingly, you don't find too many palm trees on the island because apparently the wind that blows on the island makes it difficult for them to grow.

Ahu Nau Nau on Playa Anakena - this is the site where researchers discovered the moai likely had "eyes" made of coral.