Rapa Nui or Easter Island or Isla de Pascua
Shared from Upside down in Chile: Two years living in Santiago
This beautiful island has different names with Rapa Nui being the original name; Easter Island due to the conquerors arriving there the morning of Easter day, and the translation of this name in Spanish is Isla de Pascua. The locals also call it “Te pito o te henua” which translates to “El ombligo del mundo” or “The center of the earth.” Today the main language is Spanish and the traditional Rapanui. They have the Rongorongo which is a system of glyphs that represents an older version of the Rapanui language.
LAN Airlines has a straight flight from Santiago (Arturo Benitez Airport) to Rapa Nui (Mataveri International airport). We stayed at the Hotel Manavai in Hanga Roa which is the main town, it´s a very small harbor, and the capital of Rapa Nui. We wanted to have a hotel where we could walk to restaurants, to the harbor, and walk to see the Hanga Roa Moai.
Rapa Nui is located to approximately 3800 kms from Santiago de Chile. The busiest months are during summer season starting in December through March. Consider that the hottest summer months are January and February especially the last one. Same goes for Santiago weather.
It´s is fairly easy to rent a car to travel the entire island. If you are in a hurry you could actually visit the whole island in one day. This is easy because the island is not very big. If you visit Rapa Nui and have little time do consider the National Park it is a must do.
If you are spending more time visit Anakena beach, Ovahe beach (best for snorkeling), Rano Kau (largest volcano crater), Ahu Tahai (ceremonial complex), Ahu Akivi (sacred place), Ahu Akahanga (ceremonial platform), Puna Pao (quarry), Anthropological museum, Ahu nau nau (sacred place), a horseback ride, and book a reservation for the Kari Kari show.
We enjoyed Rapa Nui a lot starting with the peculiar airport. The roof has the shape of a canoe. The food is different with lots of seafood dishes as one should expect served with taro (poi). They have plenty of restaurants for tourists to try. Jim found Mahina (moon) beer made right there in Rapa Nui and Hinano beer from Tahiti.
During your visit to Rapa Nui you will learn a few local words. The main one is “Iorana” which means hello and good bye, similar to the Italian word “Chao”. This is a word you will hear a lot from everybody being as friendly as they are. Another useful word is “Ahu” which means sacred ceremonial place. On one of our trips we encounter this place “Ahu Vinapu” it caught my attention due to the stone masonry being very similar to the one you will find in Machu Picchu with perfectly fitted basalt slabs.
The main dish to try as a tourist will be their famous “Umu Rapa Nui” or “Rapa Nui Curanto” cooked in a hole in the ground with firewood and red hot stones, as it have been done since centuries ago. The hot stones are covered with plantain leaves, and then the meat is put on top of the leaves. These could be chicken, beef, fish, covered and one more layer of the same plantain leaves but with sweet potatoes, taro and tapioca at the end its sealed with more leaves and covered with dirt. The hot stones cook all the food. It takes a while but it sure tastes delicious! I have to mention that in Peru, specifically in Huancayo, we do have a similar dish called “Pachamanca” which is a Quechua word for “earth pot” (Pacha = earth, Manca = pot). Considering this dish is made in the Andes we use beef, chicken, rabbit, potatoes, fava beans and corn, covered and buried with dirt while cooking and it is super tasty as well!
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