- This is an early group. By 8:15 am, all of us were at the table exchanging game plans for the day. Bob and Paul would check out scooters for rent and possibly head to the beach (If the scooter proves to be a good deal, Paul would keep it for our hike to Cerro Maunga Tervaka tomorrow); Natalie would check out Volcan Rano Kau/Orongo Village. As for me, my ambitious plan was to walk along the entire west coast (until Hanga Omohi), somehow make my way back and hike Volcan Rano Kau/Orongo Village in the afternoon.
- In order to stick to my plan, I started the day right after breakfast. I was aware that this trail was not the most popular route on Easter Island:(1) there are not a lot of famous moai along the way, (2) no tour agency that I am aware of cover this trail. Still, I was surprised that during the first 3 hours of my walk, I only met 1 person - an older gentleman who was making the same path and I usually see him coming in on my way out of a vista point.
- Glad I made the trip. As mentioned there were not a lot of moai, but the trail was riddled with fascinating ana (caves, mostly lava tube caves formed from the laval flow of volcanic eruptions). There are a couple 'official' caves noted on the map, but there are so many others that could be found along the path and finding/exploring them in itself was an adventure. Some known as clan caves were for living - not too deep but decently sized to house a family. Most of them though were using as shelters or hide-outs in times of war, the most famous one being Ana Kakenga (the 'Two Windows Cave'). At first I had grave doubt about going in. But with my headlight on, I squeezed myself into the really small entrance, scooted along a bit, hit my head (should have brought along my hardhat) and finally came upon the two openings in the cliff face. One branch looks south back towards town -supposingly natives would hide here from ships that would arrive and kidnap people into slavery. The other branch looks north, and as I reached the end, I found myself overlooking the beach. It was definitely a dramatic view. Later I learnt that some caves were also for burying the dead or for caching away sacred religious objects.
- As I crawled out at the other end of Ana Te Pora, one of the typical lava caves, I heard a familiar voice. There I saw Esteban standing in front of the cave opening. He mentioned yesterday he was teaching today, and he happened to be with his group of students studying archeological remains at this area. Easter Island is small.
- At the end of the driving trail was Ahu Te Peu, one of the biggest ceremonial complexes of the west coast. Thanks to Esteban´s teaching, I was able to distinguish the hare moa (chicken houses), hare vaka (boat houses) among other features. As I headed back to the trail I saw a familiar silouette - the person was none other than Natalie. Long story short, she made a wrong turn at the trail to the Volcano, and instead of turning back to the right trail, she opted for a cab ride to the west coast. The cab was to pick her up in 1.5 hrs. There couldn´t be better situation for me. We decided I would continue my walk to as far out I could (and return) within the 1.5 hrs and share the ride back to the entrance of Volcano Rano Kau, which we would then hike together. At the end, I did not get to finish the entire west coast as intended, but I did explore approximately 3/4 of it.
- We arrived at the volcano entrance at around 3, and the ascend was a relatively mild one. Rano Kau forms the southwestern headland of Easter Island. Its biggest asset is that the crater has its own micro-weather and it generates a favorable wet and light condition which helps conserve Easter Island´s native flora. After Rano Kau, we walked to the ruined ceremonial village of Orongo related to Make-Make cult and the tangata-manu competition. We got back to our guesthouse at 6, just in time for Natalie´s Reiki session.
- Paul had a crash on his scooter. Apparently his scooter was in a previous accident and the brakes were not at the best. Fortunately he had his hamlet on, was driving relatively slowly and there were no cars coming from the other direction. Still he suffered a couple bruises. Yikes.
