The Dream at the End of the World 라파누이 이스터섬 칠레

Summary: Easter Island The Dream at the End of the World By EDWARD ALBEEIS it possible to get to Easter Island without traveling a very long distance No it is not If you live in New York City you will fly to Santiago Chile 11½ hours rest a day and then take another jet plane 5 hours into the Pacific to reach your goal And the planes go from Santiago only a couple of times a week The trip may be an hour shorter if you live in New Zealand but don t count on it This tiny speck of South Pacific lava can be reached by boat of course That s how the Polynesians got there around A D 700 but it s a long long trip by water It s a long long trip from anywhere by any means but is it worth it As they say in certain parts of our Middle West You bet It took me 50 years to get there from the time I first heard of it I m not certain there was any semi sensible way to get there from anywhere back then but it was on my list along with Egypt the Aztec and Mayan cultures Ayutthaya the old capital of Siam sacked by the Burmese in the 18th century the Roman cities of Sabratha and Leptis Magna on the Libyan coast and other essential destinations Now that Libya is open to us and has made available the prehistoric painted and carved art of the Fezzan Cliffs I ll get there having accomplished the others Way before the movie Planet of the Apes showed us the Statue of Liberty half buried in the sand I have felt the need to experience cultures which grew fell into decadence and vanished These are probably cautionary tales even beyond their aesthetic marvel Why did Easter Island take so long to accomplish even after it was feasible Well people looked at me as if I was crazy You re going where You re kidding For a couple of statues I got busier and busier as the years went on and so I put Easter Island on my someday list along with the Gobi Desert and Antarctica I know that last one has gotten easy As my 78th birthday approached three months after my 77th it seemed it occurred to me that unless I was planning to ask St Peter to be my travel agent I d better get cracking I found an architect friend who wanted to go with me and it was arranged and we went Was it worth it As I wrote a couple of paragraphs back You bet My five days on Easter Island have been one of the high points of my traveling life I recommend it to anyone who s willing to spend the time on the island required for a full experience A quick trip in and out even if it could be arranged would be such a waste Cruise ships do drop by on rare occasions One a round the world tour of Japanese travelers stayed two days while I was in residence letting passengers off in small groups for a six hour visit It was barely enough time for them to photograph each other photographing the wonders EASTER Island 10 miles by 15 miles was formed eons ago by three massive volcanoes rising from the sea These and lesser eruptions formed the island which except for a minor area fit for farming and living is lava with a thin layer of infertile soil Most of the island is strewn with stone with jagged cliffs for a coastline The island is also strewn with over 800 gigantic and breathtaking statues averaging over 20 feet high Only a relative few of these are upright and in original placement but many of the rest can be seen and visited half buried or prone The experience is very much like visiting a fiction we have not imagined The island was settled probably about A D 700 at least these are the newest estimates by Polynesians exploring eastward One group went northeast and found the Hawaiian Islands uninhabited of course and another group went southeast and ended up on an island bare of people but covered with huge palm trees naming it Rapa Nui it was later renamed Easter Island by the captain of a Dutch ship that arrived there on Easter Sunday in 1722 These two groups traveled in large canoe like vessels double hulled perhaps along with their small animals and fowl and grain and root vegetables The landing at Easter Island was difficult as there are only two small congenial beach areas on the entire island But it was accomplished and while further journeys may have brought new settlers no one ever left Easter Island There was no way home Shawn McLaughlin s essential book The Complete Guide to Easter Island Easter Island Foundation 2004 deals in great detail with the settlement growth and eventual almost complete depopulation of the island As well it tells of the shameful treatment of the natives by European explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries and the self destruction of their culture by the natives before the European invasions It is a sad history and you should know it before you go The book describes in clear and specific terms the construction and moving and placement of the statues moai to the vast ceremonial stands ahu around the island It is the one guide book you will need Five days are the minimum you should stay on the island to even begin to experience its extraordinary treasures not to mention the wild and beautiful landscape moonscape sometimes While there are tours of various kinds available I recommend that you go about on your own having done your homework of course You should rent a four wheel drive vehicle and explore the island as you see fit except I would strongly recommend that you not visit the huge volcanic quarry where the great figures were carved until first you ve seen them on site See the quarry on your fourth day perhaps On your first day you really should visit the small but instructive anthropological museum just a bit outside the town of Hanga Roa where you will be staying Near it is the first set of statues you should visit the Tahai complex It s an easy introduction to the wonders ahead Take your time Absorb Don t be rushed And anything you see should be seen at least twice preferably at different times of the day for the statues become different experiences in different lights And be sure to see them from all sides for the hulking backs of these stone creatures are as moving as their fronts The three essential assemblages of statues are Ahu Akivi to my mind the most beautiful on the island seven giant figures staring out over the landscape with power and serenity Ahu Tongariki with 15 giant figures staring toward the quarry where they were formed and Ahu Nau Nau located at the pleasant beach called Anakena These three must be visited but there are so many other sites that two weeks could be profitably spent The island s being so small we managed to spend lunchtime each day at Anakena where good food grilled tuna and chicken with root vegetables is available and still be able to visit a site in the morning and another late afternoon One paved road reaches from the town of Hanga Roa to Anakena Beach and tributary dirt roads to wherever else you want to go There are several hundred free roaming horses on the island families mostly and they often share the roads with you but are thoughtful in moving aside We saw a few cows and some birds but there was no sign of the 70 000 sheep which once crowded the island In the town of Hanga Roa there are many stray dogs they are very friendly It is said that there are scorpions and black widow spiders about the latter in the tall grasses I saw none my eyes being elsewhere but long trousers and boots are a wise dress code The quarry itself is on one of the two volcanoes you must visit They are called Rano Raraku and Rano Kau The view both inward and outward from the rims of these volcanoes is spectacular Each is filled with a lake of great dimension The quarry at Rano Raraku faces south toward the sea and the extension hillside is studded with topsy turvy figures abandoned on their way down the hillside as well higher up with half completed sculptures not yet loosened from the rock There are more inside the crater where the black widow spiders are supposed to live The view from the rim of this quarry is spectacular Equally spectacular is the view from the top of Rano Kau the other volcano I mentioned The interior lake is very large and the view from the rim where the petroglyphs are straight down to the ocean is thrilling Watch out for the wind though It can be fierce up there It occurred to me that if I wasn t careful I was in danger of plunging down the craggy cliffs into the ocean but I was and so I didn t Aside from the petroglyphs you ll also find the ancient town of Orongo round stone houses from a millennium ago A few practical matters the town Hanga Roa is not large and can be easily traversed by foot There are 10 or 12 hotels including a couple of relatively expensive ones a little way out which did not impress me the most desirable one being the Hotel O TAI with lovely gardens comfortable rooms a pool good breakfast a friendly staff and reasonable rates It is also a five minute walk from what I found to be the best restaurant on the island La Taverne du Pecheur reservations required It is closed on Sundays but you might be able to persuade Raul who seems to run the Hotel Orongo in town to cook for you then The people who live on Easter Island are friendly and often very beautiful The best months to visit Easter Island are from October to mid March when the daily temperatures hover at 75 to 85 degrees An early morning rain shower is common Since you ll be spending a day in Santiago both before and after your visit to Easter Island there are a few things you should experience there There is the extraordinary Pre Colombian Museum in the center of town with quite amazing pieces from the various cultures from Central Mexico right down to Patagonia And not far from this museum is the wonderful Central Market a great wrought iron structure having in it huge Easter Island The Dream at the End of the World By EDWARD ALBEEIS it possible to get to Easter Island without traveling a very long distance No it is not If you live in New York City you will fly to Santiago Chile 11½ hours rest a day and then take another jet plane 5 hours into the Pacific to reach your goal And the planes go from Santiago only a couple of times a week The trip may be an hour shorter if you live in New Zealand but don t count on it This tiny speck of South Pacific lava can be reached by boat of course That s how the Polynesians got there around A D 700 but it s a long long trip by water It s a long long trip from anywhere by any means but is it worth it As they say in certain parts of our Middle West You bet It took me 50 years to get there from the time I first heard of it I m not certain there was any semi sensible way to get there from anywhere back then but it was on my list along with Egypt the Aztec and Mayan cultures Ayutthaya the old capital of Siam sacked by the Burmese in the 18th century the Roman cities of Sabratha and Leptis Magna on the Libyan coast and other essential destinations Now that Libya is open to us and has made available the prehistoric painted and carved art of the Fezzan Cliffs I ll get there having accomplished the others Way before the movie Planet of the Apes showed us the Statue of Liberty half buried in the sand I have felt the need to experience cultures which grew fell into decadence and vanished These are probably cautionary tales even beyond their aesthetic marvel Why did Easter Island take so long to accomplish even after it was feasible Well people looked at me as if I was crazy You re going where You re kidding For a couple of statues I got busier and busier as the years went on and so I put Easter Island on my someday list along with the Gobi Desert and Antarctica I know that last one has gotten easy As my 78th birthday approached three months after my 77th it seemed it occurred to me that unless I was planning to ask St Peter to be my travel agent I d better get cracking I found an architect friend who wanted to go with me and it was arranged and we went Was it worth it As I wrote a couple of paragraphs back You bet My five days on Easter Island have been one of the high points of my traveling life I recommend it to anyone who s willing to spend the time on the island required for a full experience A quick trip in and out even if it could be arranged would be such a waste Cruise ships do drop by on rare occasions One a round the world tour of Japanese travelers stayed two days while I was in residence letting passengers off in small groups for a six hour visit It was barely enough time for them to photograph each other photographing the wonders EASTER Island 10 miles by 15 miles was formed eons ago by three massive volcanoes rising from the sea These and lesser eruptions formed the island which except for a minor area fit for farming and living is lava with a thin layer of infertile soil Most of the island is strewn with stone with jagged cliffs for a coastline The island is also strewn with over 800 gigantic and breathtaking statues averaging over 20 feet high Only a relative few of these are upright and in original placement but many of the rest can be seen and visited half buried or prone The experience is very much like visiting a fiction we have not imagined The island was settled probably about A D 700 at least these are the newest estimates by Polynesians exploring eastward One group went northeast and found the Hawaiian Islands uninhabited of course and another group went southeast and ended up on an island bare of people but covered with huge palm trees naming it Rapa Nui it was later renamed Easter Island by the captain of a Dutch ship that arrived there on Easter Sunday in 1722 These two groups traveled in large canoe like vessels double hulled perhaps along with their small animals and fowl and grain and root vegetables The landing at Easter Island was difficult as there are only two small congenial beach areas on the entire island But it was accomplished and while further journeys may have brought new settlers no one ever left Easter Island There was no way home Shawn McLaughlin s essential book The Complete Guide to Easter Island Easter Island Foundation 2004 deals in great detail with the settlement growth and eventual almost complete depopulation of the island As well it tells of the shameful treatment of the natives by European explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries and the self destruction of their culture by the natives before the European invasions It is a sad history and you should know it before you go The book describes in clear and specific terms the construction and moving and placement of the statues moai to the vast ceremonial stands ahu around the island It is the one guide book you will need Five days are the minimum you should stay on the island to even begin to experience its extraordinary treasures not to mention the wild and beautiful landscape moonscape sometimes While there are tours of various kinds available I recommend that you go about on your own having done your homework of course You should rent a four wheel drive vehicle and explore the island as you see fit except I would strongly recommend that you not visit the huge volcanic quarry where the great figures were carved until first you ve seen them on site See the quarry on your fourth day perhaps On your first day you really should visit the small but instructive anthropological museum just a bit outside the town of Hanga Roa where you will be staying Near it is the first set of statues you should visit the Tahai complex It s an easy introduction to the wonders ahead Take your time Absorb Don t be rushed And anything you see should be seen at least twice preferably at different times of the day for the statues become different experiences in different lights And be sure to see them from all sides for the hulking backs of these stone creatures are as moving as their fronts The three essential assemblages of statues are Ahu Akivi to my mind the most beautiful on the island seven giant figures staring out over the landscape with power and serenity Ahu Tongariki with 15 giant figures staring toward the quarry where they were formed and Ahu Nau Nau located at the pleasant beach called Anakena These three must be visited but there are so many other sites that two weeks could be profitably spent The island s being so small we managed to spend lunchtime each day at Anakena where good food grilled tuna and chicken with root vegetables is available and still be able to visit a site in the morning and another late afternoon One paved road reaches from the town of Hanga Roa to Anakena Beach and tributary dirt roads to wherever else you want to go There are several hundred free roaming horses on the island families mostly and they often share the roads with you but are thoughtful in moving aside We saw a few cows and some birds but there was no sign of the 70 000 sheep which once crowded the island In the town of Hanga Roa there are many stray dogs they are very friendly It is said that there are scorpions and black widow spiders about the latter in the tall grasses I saw none my eyes being elsewhere but long trousers and boots are a wise dress code The quarry itself is on one of the two volcanoes you must visit They are called Rano Raraku and Rano Kau The view both inward and outward from the rims of these volcanoes is spectacular Each is filled with a lake of great dimension The quarry at Rano Raraku faces south toward the sea and the extension hillside is studded with topsy turvy figures abandoned on their way down the hillside as well higher up with half completed sculptures not yet loosened from the rock There are more inside the crater where the black widow spiders are supposed to live The view from the rim of this quarry is spectacular Equally spectacular is the view from the top of Rano Kau the other volcano I mentioned The interior lake is very large and the view from the rim where the petroglyphs are straight down to the ocean is thrilling Watch out for the wind though It can be fierce up there It occurred to me that if I wasn t careful I was in danger of plunging down the craggy cliffs into the ocean but I was and so I didn t Aside from the petroglyphs you ll also find the ancient town of Orongo round stone houses from a millennium ago A few practical matters the town Hanga Roa is not large and can be easily traversed by foot There are 10 or 12 hotels including a couple of relatively expensive ones a little way out which did not impress me the most desirable one being the Hotel O TAI with lovely gardens comfortable rooms a pool good breakfast a friendly staff and reasonable rates It is also a five minute walk from what I found to be the best restaurant on the island La Taverne du Pecheur reservations required It is closed on Sundays but you might be able to persuade Raul who seems to run the Hotel Orongo in town to cook for you then The people who live on Easter Island are friendly and often very beautiful The best months to visit Easter Island are from October to mid March when the daily temperatures hover at 75 to 85 degrees An early morning rain shower is common Since you ll be spending a day in Santiago both before and after your visit to Easter Island there are a few things you should experience there There is the extraordinary Pre Colombian Museum in the center of town with quite amazing pieces from the various cultures from Central Mexico right down to Patagonia And not far from this museum is the wonderful Central Market a great wrought iron structure having in it huge

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