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I saved the best for last. This adventure was my final big trip during my year abroad in Chile, and it was every bit as magical as I had hoped. Although I technically never left the country, everything from the 6 hour flight to the completely different culture of the island made it feel like an international trip. The airport was one of the smallest I’ve been to, but I learned that the U.S. invested in building the runway, which is one of the biggest in the world, as an emergency means for their spaceships to land.
Kaitlyn and I were greeted with a warm welcome from the islanders right outside of the airport. Our hostel owner gave us flower necklaces and drove us to town where we settled in before beginning to plan the next few days. We went to buy some groceries and immediately realized how expensive everything was and regretted not bringing more backpacking food like we had done on our adventure south.
Our first full day began bright and early at a scuba dive shop. I was the only one with my scuba certificate in a group of about eight others, who were all complete beginners. The relaxed attitude of the tourism culture was starkly different compared to that of the U.S. where every rule is so strictly enforced because of the possibility of being sued. Luckily for Kaitlyn, the dive guides were more than willing to instruct us and take us to see some beautiful coral reefs. It was my first time diving among coral, and I truly enjoyed swimming among the colorful fish. The water was wonderfully pleasant, roughly the same temperature as the air. Even when it began to drizzle I never felt cold.
The following day we woke up before dawn and joined a couple Slovenians, who we befriended at our hostel, in a tiny rental car. We drove to the other side of the island to catch the spectacular sunrise at the ancient point of Ahu Tongariki where a long line of the biggest Moai lined the cost, all facing in. The giant heads, as I finally learned after asking a local park ranger, were carved out of stone and volcanic rock by the elites of the Rapa Nui society in honor of family members who passed away.
We spent the whole day learning more about the fascinating history of the island by visiting various historic sights, including the old mountain out of which the Moai had been carved. We also had a relaxing lunch on the warm beach of Anakena. In the evening we watched a dance show where natives performed traditional polenisian dances such as Kai Kai.
Our final full day was extra adventurous because we rented bikes and my bike chain broke as I was summiting the old volcano. After pushing the bike back into town and getting a new one, we continued the journey by exploring caves that were used long ago by the natives in times of war. The entrance of the caves were hidden and nearly impossible to see from the surface, and once I lowered myself in, got passed the pitch black parts, and walked to the edge of the cliff, I could see a beautiful blue view of the ocean and the sky.
After a tiring day of biking, we wound down by dipping into a large tide pool that had the clearest water I had ever seen. We also watched the sunset from Ahu Tahai, which is another point with many Moai. Eating delicious local tuna burgers was the perfect way to regain some energy before looking around at souvenirs and then packing up for the next day’s flight.
