Monday March 6th, 2017
I was disappointed that the Altiplanico was so far from the centre of town. On our first afternoon we were free to do our own thing but felt too crook to walk there and back in the heat and humidity, so we felt isolated. Today, our last day, we took a taxi into Hanga Roa to explore on foot.
It was a cloudy morning with a sea breeze, and thankfully nowhere as humid as the prior sunny days when we toured the ahu and moai. But it wasn’t to last, as showers and sunshine came at lunch time, and the afternoon was humid. In the meantime we explored Hanga Roa. It was indeed very rural and “laid back”, but the people wonderfully friendly and helpful.
| Explaining hands in Hanga Roa |
We found some supermarkets – which were definitely not on the scale of Coles or Woollies, and not particularly well stocked, especially when it came to gluten-free options. To get a decent range of options it seemed one needed to shop around. Maybe somewhere else there is one that is more comprehensive. There must be, we didn’t see it! These seemed to be more general purpose stores than simply food stores. There was an air of informality, which extended to a cat I found lazing amongst packets of nibbles, or maybe pet food. There were also small street stalls selling local fruit and vegetables.
| One of the small supermarkets Cat for sale – or pet food? Local produce |
Judging from the clothing shops we looked into, and the general populace, people here love colour! This also extended to the murals we saw on several walls. There were plenty of touristy souvenir shops, which also were colourful. Some had a “new age” or alternative culture look and feel, and I suspect there may be a strong following of alternative spiritual beliefs and practices here. There also seemed to be quite a strong creative community, as there were various locally produced art works available – but these were amongst a lot of characteristic Easter Island artefacts that looked mass-produced!
A love of colour |
The following images are further street scenes from our meanderings around Hanga Roa.
     Assorted Hanga Roa street scenes |
We walked down to the waterfront, and were surprised: there’s no real beach, just a rocky foreshore with informal swimming pools and a couple of tiny sandy coves, and I mean tiny! A few boats were moored well beyond the breakers, and people were surfing off-shore, turning back when they approached the coastal rocks. Near one of the sandy coves a dread-locked guy sitting next to a sign that read “LIFEGUARD” was playing with his phone.
  Natural rock swimming pool and local life saver at work |
The water, and water sports, were clearly an important aspect of Rapa Nui life. There were several surf shops and dive centres, and scuba diving tours were available and popular. Fishing is an important aspect of island life, but I don’t think it was of major economic significance as an export industry. We had lunch at a waterside restaurant that served local fish, so there is certainly a local market for fish. There were small marinas tucked into the rocky coastline, but what boats we saw were small, mainly dinghies with an outboard. People sat around repairing or making fishing nets, or tinkering with their boats.
   Maritime activities |
A cemetery occupied a point to the east of the main waterfront centre, and nearby was a small sculpture park that featured carved statues of the various archangels. Scattered around the streets and buildings of Hanga Roa were quite a few sculptures whose style was clearly inspired by the traditional moai, and there were at least two standing moai along the coast within walking distance of the Hanga Roa waterfront.
 Even drinking glasses feature moai!   Archangel sculptures and aphorism |
There were several restaurants along the water front, either independent or associated with hotels or resorts. We chose one advertising local fresh fish (what else would you expect on a small island?) located right on the coast near a tiny sandy beach. The food was pretty good, the view excellent, both out to sea and up the coast towards our hotel.
We had every intention of walking back to the Altiplanico along the coast after lunch but over in the direction of the hotel we could see dark clouds and rain squalls heading down to the coast from the central mountain of Easter Island. We scurried back to the shops and called a taxi, and by the time we were back in the Altiplanico it was decidedly wet!
  From our restaurant: looking out to sea and up the coast – rain is coming! |
Once the squall had passed, the sun came out and the humidity quickly climbed. We spent the remainder of the day in our room, hotel lounge or pool, trying to keep cool and waiting for the time we were to be taken to the airport.
When we departed, the Altiplanico receptionist presented us with beautiful, locally made shell necklaces, reminiscent of those made by Tasmanian indigenous women. We were very touched! And at the airport, our tour guide gave us a miniature moai carved from wood, also to be worn as a necklace. However, our plane was seriously delayed and we were taken back into Hanga Roa for a meal at the airline’s expense and a brief, vicarious encounter with Hanga Roa night life.
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