Day 4: Rapa Nui

Yesterday we intended to watch the sunrise at the impressive Ahu with fifteen moai that showed up in pictures a few days ago. From there we were going to set out on bike to visit the northeast part of the island including the area where the moai were made and then on to the beach. Unfortunately, we encountered a whole lot of rain and instead of a sunrise per se, it just kinda got light out. So we got a ride back to town and slept through the rainstorm. By midday the weather had improved and we set off on bike to explore the southeast part of the island which is littered with a bunch of ahu sites where the moai have not been restored to their upright position. Not only were the sites pretty cool, but also the views of the ocean and the massive waves crashing against the rugged coast were an awesome site.

Ahu Vinapu - this ahu is thought to be from a later period of construction and conspicuously appears to have the same fine mason work as that found in many of the Inca sites in Peru.

Ahu Vaihu - This site was kind of neat because many of the top knots ended up quite a distance from the acutal moais after they were tipped over. Some even rolled down to the rocks of the inlet that is adjacent to this ahu.

Lovely sky above Ahu Ura Uranga

Ahu Akahanga - the last stop on our bike tour before turning back towards town.

Ahu Huri A Urenga - This moai is interesting in that he has four hands. If you look closely at the belly of this moai you can see the four hands carved into the stone.