Tag Archives: pacific ocean

Still on with my intercontinental switcheroo, today we’re back on Easter Island!…

The topic of volcanoes is really interesting and diverse. It’s not just volcanos’ cones, the lava that sometimes flows out of them, and the smoke from eruptions. There are also all the colors, hot springs, and geysers – which all come under the “volcanisms” banner. There’s also a unique, lesser-known phenomenon – lava tubes. And they look something like this:

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Strolling around Easter Island sounds exotic, but once you finally reach this remote outpost of humanity, the endeavor takes on a more practical nature. There’s plenty of walking to be done, and most of it is along the coastline – perfect for clearing your head after a long flight, or for meditative contemplation after viewing the moai statues up close in the quarry or on one of the surviving ceremonial platforms.

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After first checking out the moai quarry, it was time for a stroll amid the landscapes of Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island). Of course, there’s none of the vastness of the Kenyan or Tanzanian savannas, no endless Arctic tundra of Taymyr, no boundless, unforgiving desert of the Sahara, Saudi Arabia, or Australia. Everything on the island is much more modest, but there’s still plenty of wandering about to be done between lunch and dinner.

Beginning our roam-stroll, the first thing to attract our attention – a moai statue lying face down! Why, we wondered. Alas – no tourist info-plaques. Still, we’ve the internet these days, but it always gives a thousand conflicting theories. But I digress…

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Herewith, a continuation of my tales from the mid-South-Pacific side…

In my previous post I gave an introductory overall picture of Easter Island, while now it’s time to have a look at some specific sites. Where to begin? Let’s start with the moai; specifically – the quarry where all the raw material for the statues was sourced.

Our guide told us how the island was divided among nine or ten family clans, with land belonging to each clan radiating from a central point to the coast – like slices of a pizza, and one of these families operated the moai quarry on its slice of pizza, supplying statues to its neighbors. Completed statues were somehow transported down toward the shore to a “showroom” for other clans to come have a look, choose one, then take it off to their slice of pizza!

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After finally getting to Easter Island (in two senses of the word “finally”) – let’s get going around this fascinating island…

I left off last time with our arriving at Mataveri International Airport (IATA code: IPC). The airport itself is nothing remarkable, so I’ll skip ahead: what’s there to see, how many days you should spend here, and what you should pack and wear. And of course, the eternal questions: how did people even get here way back when – and why did they carve these famous stone statues? ->

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As mentioned, Easter Island – also known as Rapa Nui – had long been one of my dream destinations…

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Back in school, I think my favorite books were those hefty tomes all about geography, travel, and the world’s remotest corners. That early fascination really took root in my mind and has stayed with me ever since – as you can see in this blog!

Over time, some of those geographical – on-paper – discoveries started turning into real discoveries: the Galapagos, Tibet, Mount Fuji, Drake Passage, Tasmania (the latter – great trip, but we nearly ended up being stranded there (or on mainland Australia) for… years due to our still being there in late March… 2020!).

However, some places I’d always dreamed of visiting stubbornly remained on my to-do list – seemingly just too far and inaccessible. But then, this year, I finally got to visit two of these out-of-the-way places. Back in winter it was the Nazca Lines; and this fall it was Rapa Nui – better known as Easter Island! Oh yes…

“Where’s that?” some might ask – especially if they didn’t pay much attention in geography class. Honestly though, even those who did would probably struggle to show you Rapa Nui on a world map on their first try. Don’t believe me? Go on then – give it a shot! (spoiler: answer in next pic; no peeking!)…

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My summer tales from the Kamchatkan side have only just begun, but now – quick fast-forward to the present for a China interlude over a few days…

I spent my 59^th birthday in the Chinese resort Sanya on the tropical island province of Hainan, which, actually, seems to be the only large resort of its kind in China. It’s also literally the southernmost city of China, with Vietnam just 250-300km across the water and Beijing a full ~2500km away.

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All righty. After our brief inspection of the Commander Islands, we raced back to the Athens and set sail for Kamchatka. But no matter how fast we sailed, we couldn’t keep ahead of the storm – approaching sternwards. That last detail – sternwards – was actually a blessing in disguise: if it had come in from the port or starboard side it could have spelled disaster. So, in a word: phew.

In the photos below it may not be easy to grasp just how high those waves got: much higher than the Athens! Good Lord were they powerful – rocking the boat around like… a bucking bronco. Not for the squeamish. Most of the posse stayed on their bunks for a full two days while the storm passed, with only a few occasionally adventuring out to the dining room ).

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We’ve already had a few ‘B-sides’ – Aniva and Tyuleny – on our Kurils adventure. Now it was time for a bonus track – a previously unreleased rarity, as it were: the Commander Islands!

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