The day I awoke and patted Dave on the head to say “Hey, wake up, we’re going to Easter Island today!” was surreal. If I was irritatingly chipper waking him up every other morning, this was surely the one that took it. We grabbed a cab before the sun came out and got to to airport with time to spare. We were bumped up to first class for out 5.5 hour flight from Santiago, which never fails to thrill me. I could extend my legs fully and kick my feet around in the air, which I did. With glee.
Nerdy tourist photo alert.
We arrived in the tiny IPC airport on the island’s only city; Hanga Roa. I would sooner call it a small town or village. I honestly expected a bit of a city on the island. I had read about how expensive the island was, and was thus bracing myself for the minor letdown of sprawling resorts stacked high, and bustling marketplaces. I could not be more mistaken.
Upon arrival, most of the flight’s (largely elderly) other passengers were given fresh floral leis and loaded into pristine white mega-busses. The host of our hostel, the Kona Tau, met us at the airport in a small van and a huge smile, which is more than enough for me. We were asked to wait while our gracious host milled around the airport looking for possible stragglers, and I started to really breath in the ocean air and place myself in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
After a quick ride around the tiny city we dropped bags in our hostel, I slathered on the sunscreen, and we were off. The plan was to rent bikes and ride as far as we could east until we got tired. Rapa Nui is not actually easy to cycle around. And the bicycles are not at their best. We barely got out of the city before we realized that on a tropical island formed by volcanoes (read: hilly as shit) at about 40 degree C weather, we were not in shape to be riding bicycles. Note to everyone: Just rent a vehicle. And we were off!
The very short-lived rental bicycles
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