Easter Island Wrap Up

Hey Everybody,
Ok...I think this will get me all caught up....finally!

In no particular order, here are a few photos from around the island:

One afternoon when I'm outside of town, walking along the coast, this caught my eye. These are the eyes of the god Maki-Maki. I also saw them carved in a cave and another place along the coast. 

Sadly, many of the Moai on the island are in this condition. A combination of clan wars, invaders, and weather have left many statues fallen and/or in pieces. 

This is a rock carving of the Birdman - a human god. There was an annual competition on the island and the winner became the birdman. 

The cave paintings at Ana Kai Tangata are still visible [although deteriorating]. 

The Moai at Ahu Akivi represent the seven explorers who discovered Easter Island. These seven Moai are looking out to sea [most of them look inland]. The explorers' homeland was thought to be in this direction.

The volcano in the background is Rano Raraku. We'll visit the volcano in a moment....

Ahu Tongariki is one of Easter Island's most popular sites - 15 Moai statues have been restored.

On to the volcano...not only were all the statues carved at Rano Raraku, but also many of them remain in various states of being. If you could only visit one place on the island I think it might be here. 

Perhaps stranger than the mystery of the Moai and how they were moved around the island... is this landscape. I have taken a second trail that leads to this.

Finally, some of you know  that LAN Airlines had some issues the week I was on Easter Island. I was "stuck" there an extra day and three days late returning to the US. One of the consequences of the delayed flights was this: 

That's it folks....thanks for being patient and for stopping by!