May 3rd, 2015
I wake up with the sunrise and do something I’ve not done for quite a while on Sunday morning; I head to church. Ive been to many churches around the world, marvelled at the beauty and puzzled/respected the faith they inspire but I think the last time I went to a mass would have been just over 2 years ago in the Brussels Cathedral on a weekend escape from England, and that was more to practice my French than anything. Still I’ve been told the locals singing hymns and songs in Rapa Nui is a pretty special thing to witness.
I get there just in time for the 9:00 am mass and quickly grab a seat in one of the many wooden pews. When I sit down my row is empty but within five minutes I’m packed tight between six friendly locals who smile and greet me warmly. The way Catholicism was spread to Easter Island is somewhat interesting as missionaries came when the Rapa Nui society was very vulnerable. You can read more about that and more fascinating history about Easter Island here.
At any rate the service is mostly conducted in Spanish, which I follow quite well and it’s the same basic set up as an english mass with one notable twist, all the songs, of which there are many, are heartily sung in the local Rapa Nui language, everyone save few the few tourists at the service joining in in full voice with smiles plastered across their faces. It’s moving and quite energizing and I find some of the repeated parts are easy enough to pick up on the go and join them despite my awful singing ability.
After church and meeting about half of the people in the church I head back down to the ocean front for a quick dip with my snorkel in one of the small sheltered swimming areas right in town. Sadly my go pro isn’t charged up, something I’m getting worse and worse at doing.
Still the water is clean and clear (and under control- cut to acne commercial) and full of enticing breeds of tropical fish. One specific kind catches my eye, incredibly long and slender and almost translucent white with a mouth that only thins as it seems to stretch out into eternity.
I’m busy snorkelling around following one of these fish when a huge Pacific Green sea turtle swims up right beside me, scaring me half to death, though the fear is quickly replace with joy as I follow this gentle giant through the waters amazed by it’s grace. Im instantly brought back to the Galapagos Islands where turtles like these are an almost common sight and follow the amazing creature through the water, watching it feed on algae covered rocks.
Eventually I decide to let the creature be and climb out of my solitary cool drying off and carefully changing back into real clothes in the guise of a towel before heading up to the empanada restaurants alongside the soccer field settling in for a delicious lunch.
Tired after a less than fantastic sleep due to some overly enthusiastic honeymooning tent neighbours I head back to the campsite and take a quick nap, but I’m heading back into town by 2:30.
Without much of a plan I end up back at Tahai where I settle into to do some writing, trying to develop a new concept for a second Original TV show I’m working on with my writing partner back in Canada. It goes surprisingly well, the rolling waves and giant stone statues looking down on me lends itself well to inspiration.
I lose myself in the work for a few hours before looking up from my laptop screen and realizing that sunset is only perhaps an hour away, and it’s looking like it might be quite a show, so i decide to linger longer and wait for the sky to turn to a tantalizing mix of orange and red.
As I wait the grass around the many Moai’s starts to fill up a little more, maybe 50 people in total arriving to watch the sunset in this special place.
A friendly dog goes from group to group bearing a fist size rock in it’s mouth begging for fetch partners and finding more willing players than one might expect. It’s fun to watch it running until it has nothing left, catching the stone straight out of the air regularly and somehow not destroying it’s teeth. This dog is special.
But not as special as the sky is about to become, a fire roaring against the clouds as the sun slinks down towards the horizon and the entirely open ocean. The moai look on unmoved by the spectacle behind them and I find myself ideally wondering if they wish they could turn around. It seems odd to me that they are all looking in on the island instead of out towards the sea, but I’d imagine they were erected to protect against threats from the island itself, and not the vast ocean. That’s my guess though, not scientific or historical fact.
I take too many pictures undoubtedly but the setting for a sun set is hard to beat, the ocean still pounding in on the rocks and I can’t help but marvel at the entirety of the scene as the shadows grow over the Moai’s ancient faces.
Eventually the burning sun slips behind a narrow layer of clouds right at the horizon robbing us of the the final moments of the sunrise but hardly ruining the evening. I head back and have another delicious Tuna Cheese and Tomato Empanada before heading back to Tipanie Moana Campground and having a look through many of the photos in this entry and then heading to bed in my cozy tent. At the time I don’t know how special the next day is going to be, just like you don’t either… yet. Another Easter Island Entry coming soon though.
