As I travel the world I take many photos that pique my interest. During the year April 2025 to March 2026 our travels included visits to many islands large and small. My theme for 2026 Island Hopping will give precedence to Islands visited in the past year but for those difficult letters like X and Z I will dig into my photo archives for content.
Although we were tired from
a first busy day on Easter Island we had no trouble rising in plenty of time to have breakfast and prepare for a new day. After another bumpy Zodiac ride we boarded another basic bus for our trip to Orongo.
"Orongo (
Rapa Nui: Oroŋo, pronounced
[oˈɾoŋo]; Spanish pronunciation:
[oˈɾoŋgo]) is a stone village and ceremonial center at the southwestern tip of
Rapa Nui (Easter Island). It consists of a collection of low, sod-covered, windowless, round-walled buildings with even lower doors positioned on the high south-westerly tip of the large volcanic caldera called
Rano Kau. Below Orongo on one side a 300-meter barren cliff face drops down to the ocean; on the other, a more gentle but still very steep grassy slope leads down to a freshwater marsh inside the high caldera."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orongo
Prior to visiting we were absolutely clueless about this part of Easter Island's history and culture. We first stopped at a modern interpretive centre where we probably needed more time to digest all the information there. Three images from the display follow.
Our "easy" hike took us to the site of the Birdman challenge. "Between the 18th and mid-19th centuries Orongo was the centre of a
birdman cult whose defining ritual was an annual race to bring the first manutara (
sooty tern) egg back undamaged from the nearby islet of
Motu Nui to Orongo. The race was very dangerous, and hunters often fell to their deaths from the cliff face or were killed by sharks."
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| Above the cliff overlooking Motu Nui, the Birdman islet. |
We then wandered past the stone houses but were not able to access their interiors
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| Low door on Stone house |
From there our walk took us to the edge of the caldera,
Rano Kau.
Back on the bus we made our way to Vinapu which is not far from the airport on Easter Island. Note to self - visit by air next time - it's a lot quicker than a sail across the Pacific and doesn't require Zodiac rides.
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| Vinapu is also sited above the sea |
The Ahu at Vinapu has not been reconstructed so various parts of the Moais are scattered around the site.
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| The base of Ahu Vinapu |
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Head of a Moai
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| Petroglyphs |
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| Bits and pieces scattered around the site |
Back on the bus we went again heading for our last site on this tour, Ahu Akivi.
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| There was a quick stop at a local lookout, I resisted the stall selling souvenirs |
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| Beautiful landscape on the way to Ahu Akivi |
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| At Ahu Akivi the Moais face towards the sea |
"A particular feature of the seven identical moai statues is that they exactly face sunset during the
Spring Equinox and have their backs to the sunrise during the
Autumn Equinox. Such an astronomically precise feature is seen only at this location on the island."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahu_Akivi |
| Forward facing |
As we still had a few hours before our ship departed we left the tour in
Hangaroa, the main town on the island, and ambled around taking note of the available facilities.
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| At the Local Council Building |
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| A Modern Arcade |
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| Street was mostly deserted except for fellow cruisers |
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| Street Art |
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| Unfortunately the Library was closed. |
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| War Memorial |
We eventually took a shuttle back to the zodiac landing quite satisfied with our sojourn on Rapa Nui.
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| Last sighting of Easter Island as we sailed away |
