A dark road, flashlights, and newfound friends…
That’s how we spent our last day on Easter Island.
Teresa and Berni had rented a car the previous day and picked us up around 6am to head to Tongariki for the sunrise. We were one of the few cars on the road leading to the site, but once we arrived we were in the company of several others, flashlights in hand, to wait for the sun to awake.
It took some time, but it was well worth the wait.. and the ant bites from sitting around patiently.
Here we all are…happy and sunshine-y
After some snacks we went to see more of the island. We took Teresa and Berni to some of the sights we discovered the day before and did our best to recreate Alvaro’s tour.
Then we sought after a couple of other sites, like Vinapu
Where we tried on some of the top knots
After stopping for lunch and taking a quick break so we could pack for the evenings flight, the four of us drove through some incredibly rugged and rocky roads to explore the caves.
First, Ana Kakenga, Cave of the Two Windows
The cave entrance
One of the windows
The second window and some of the cave details
We thought the next cave would have some secret windows yet after a painstaking but hilarious shuffle through a nearly two foot high tunnel we found this…
…and decided to turn around. Fortunately, Alvaro told us later that the tunnel just got more narrow and the elusive windows were nonexistent.
Here we are after the escapade.
Some shots from the area around the cave
Sadly, the last picture was the final one for our s100. The shutter became stuck (a common glitch), so we were without a camera for the remainder of the day.
We visited another cave, Ana Te Pahu, the Cave of the Rooms, and then headed back to town for our last taste of the island’s delightful ice cream.
This was definitely a perfect last day on Easter Island and we felt so happy and blessed to have spent it with Berni and Teresa. As far away as we were from NJ, they reminded us of “home” since we had such an amazing time together sharing jokes, stories, great drinks and ice cream. After parting briefly so we could gather our luggage, we met them again at the airport and they gave us our wedding gift, a cd from a local band – such a thoughtful gesture. It was certainly sad to say good-bye, but the day was as “good” as a “bye” could get.