Here is a view of Hango Roa, the only town on the island, taken on the way to the Orongo site. In the foreground is the airport, which is one of the emergency landing sites for the Space Shuttle.
Easter Island is a nice place to visit. Here's the view from our room at the Hotel Otai, with the ocean in the background:
Most islanders are Catholic. Here's the Catholic Church in Hanga Roa:
There are a few Catholic symbols scattered around the island. Here's a Virgin Mary shrine on the South Coast Road. Note again the beautiful blue of the Pacific Ocean.
Here's a glimpse of the very colorful cemetery:
As a moai looks on silently, visitors come by air and sea. Once isolated for centuries, Easter Island is now frequently visited by outsiders.
Time will tell what this will mean to the island as tourists and immigrants make their mark, but I am concerned for the island. If present trends continue, the Polynesian natives will become a minority on their own island, due to Chilean immigration. (It's funny how anti-globalization protesters seldom seem to complain about human migration -- the globalization of people -- which has much more impact on a place like Easter Island than imports or exports.) In my view, the parks need to be better supervised (to prevent damage by clueless tourists who walk on the platforms and otherwise damage the sites). At Orongo, the only site with controlled access where you pay a fee to enter, the place wasn't even open until after 10am due to an absent park attendant. Perhaps this is why the locals have been demanding more control of the sites from the Chilean government, and will hopefully receive it.
The worst thing about Easter Island, however, is having to leave it. But leave we must, so let's head to the Chilean mainland to explore the Santiago area!
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cflaat@msn.com.
All content copyright 2003 by Christopher A. Flaat.