Marek We are catching up. I’ll start from the end. We arrived at Hanga Roa in the evening, but fortunately the owners of the hotel were waiting for us at the airport. Mara and Diego. They welcomed us by putting necklaces of flowers and seashells on us. The latter are beautiful and we will certainly keep them. The hotel is located 3 minutes from the airport, it is small and does not resemble those we know from tourist resorts. There is no air conditioning. Instead, a fan hangs on the ceiling. In appearance, it does not inspire much confidence. But it is there and it cools down the hot and stuffy air a bit. I wonder how it will be during the day.
The first thought that came to our minds was to watch the sunrise at the foot of huge and majestic moai. Waking up at 4 a.m. was not easy. Before setting off, we had to evict a large family of cockroaches from the inside of our shoes. They did not give up easily, but in the end they went to sleep against the wall of the building. But in the end, we set off into the unknown. With a flashlight, but a bit in the dark. The road to the city was easy, although a bit bumpy in the dark. It is enough to always go where it leads down. The only light by the sea is the lighting of a small fishing port. Further along the sea, you have to walk through meadows. Strewn with shards of volcanic rock. I don’t know how it happened that we managed to reach the goal without any injuries. The most important thing is that it is. A piece of dark stone column, surrounded by total darkness.
But finally the sunrise came. You have to see it, stone platforms slowly emerge from the darkness, and on them moai, i.e. huge figures, carved in the slope of the volcano and transported to the seashore. They are huge, but not as much as it would seem when looking at them in photos or in a movie. The facial features and hands are rather symbolic, but the mystery of their creation makes us see real works of art in them. When the sun is already very high, we return to our hotel for breakfast. Prepared by Mara, I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten so good.
And the journey to Easter Island? We crossed the border with Peru quickly and without problems. These began on the way to Santiago. It turns out that the inhabitants of Chile have smuggling in their blood. Shopping in Peru is very cheap and if you only manage to transport a TV or a computer through customs, the savings are huge. At the border, they do not check very carefully. The controls start a few kilometers away. The bus we were on was stopped several times. Each time we had to go outside, take out our luggage and subject it to a thorough inspection. I don’t know how it is possible, but each time the customs officers did not notice the boxes with contraband hidden quite sloppily behind the driver’s seat.
Traveling by bus from the beautiful city of Arica is a challenge for all those who have come to the idea of saving money on the plane. We drove 2,000 km in 28 hours. On board a very comfortable bus there is a full service, like on an airplane, only cold food. Fortunately, a longer stop halfway, in the parking lot in front of a familiar bar, allowed us to replenish calories with the famous Chilean steak. Mmmmm. Finger-licking. With fried egg and fries. I don’t understand where the name “poor steak” comes from.
At the end of the 4-hour flight to Easter Island. And everything was put into question when one of the passengers felt unwell. The pilot decided to continue flying to his destination. The lady was covered with a blanket. Someone put a newspaper on her head when we landed, no one bothered to call an ambulance.