It was Larry's birthday today and we wanted to celebrate his special day with a cake and have asked for a good place to get it in town.
Overnight it rained so hard that I was woken by the downpour. Luckily, the weather turned just after 10a. After breakfast, we drove along the coast amid crashing waves to Ahu Tongariki where 15 moais statues had been restored by the Japanese donation. Despite that we have seen this place in pictures numerous times, the first sight of these statues still caused our jaws to drop in awe! The 15 moais, in various heights and expressions, were iconic to the island. The image they represent was very powerful to me. I was so taken back by the setting where these statues were all facing inland, looking at another volcano Rano Raraku at a distance, with their backs facing the crashing waves from the oceans. We got there around 10:00 am and the sunlight was behind their backs illuminating their expressions as if they had just awakened from the night and emerged into the day, offering hopes and protections for their offsprings. We tried to capture the powerful image on camera but it was hardly adequate. I was so thrilled that I had finally seen these statues in person, after all these years!
The quarry Rano Raraku where all these (and all others) statues on the island were initially carved is situated at one end of the island and over 390 of these statues were dotted in various positions on the mountain. Some of them were completely finished, in an upright position while others were face down. Some had been buried while others were only partially carved out of the rock.
There were a number of theories suggesting why these statues were created and how the inhabitants managed to move them from the mountain to the various locations on the island. One of the prominent theories stated that these figures were created to provide protection for its people while another suggested they prevent invaders coming from the sea.
We went back to Aku Tongariki for another glimpse of these mystic figures before flying back to Santiago. I was able to sit for a few minutes to reflect and contemplate before rushing back to the airport.
We learned that our prebooked seats were no longer valid and we were unable to sit together. Worse still, only the middle seats were available. Richard was quite upset about the turn of event but the plane was jam packed again so making the change of seats after we settled in the plane impossible. The only consolation was that the flight coming back to Santiago only took 4 hours, making the journey slightly bearable. I had not had to sit in the middle for a very long time and so glad that this does not happen too often on our travels. Also, it will make the business class that we booked for the return trip to Vancouver even more enjoyable. Really looking forward to some pampering on the flights back. More importantly, I'm hoping for some quality snooze on the plane.
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