Chile

Easter Island on sale

By on 20 March 2017

My adventure with Island of Big Heads ended almost in same moment when started because… I oversleep! Finally I truly understand Kevin’s parents, because when I run from home for plane I could forget not only kid but also shoes. I jump inside uber and like in American movie shout: “Follow that car!”. In front of us street was empty, driver didn’t know what a hell I want. “To the airport, I will paid double!”. That was right password, in his eyes I saw dollars, on counter 80km/h in urban area and red lights and one way streets disappeared. I jumped inside my plane and… I went. 4 hours later and after changing hour for 2 hours more I landed on reserve landing strip for space shuttle (!!!).

On airport, when police dog checked whole backpacks, I understand why my Couchsurfing host asked me if I want to take his backpack. Why? Because whole was in white powder which looks like cocaine 😀 I asked him if he had inside drugs but I didn’t checked it!

In front of airport (one small building) are waiting people from hostels to give theirs customers flanges of flowers. Nobody gave me nothing because nobody waited for me. I went alone to village and that’s how I was unique real, homeless backpacker on island. Where I slept? I slept everywhere. Because in temples was best grass and not so many mosquitoes, ants and other bugs (that was important for me because I took only hand luggage there without tent so I slept under stars) that’s why I mostly slept there. I don’t know how they can done me because of that (cut off my head? Change in stones?) but when someone caught me there at morning and would say that I didn’t slept here (in the same time I putted my sleeping bag inside backpack). I put also inside my cocaine backpack 10 cans of tuna because I didn’t want to buy anything on expansive prizes on island. Thing is that I didn’t took any scissors and other sharp things, that’s why I needed to find way to open them. I searched 2 hours for some piece of metal and with piece of stone I could finally have my dinner. 1 can with tuna, a little of bread and bottle of juice 0 that was whole my food for day. On island I met crew from sushi bar with who I spend few nights, I made few clouds with local kids, and I met a looooot of local people. And one Princess of Easter Island! I walked across volcano and she was there with some other important I think persons. Because of rules there she shouldn’t talk with white guy, but when she asked me where I’m from (and she realize that I’m from Poland) whole distance disappeared! Her daughter have a husband from Poland, that’s why now in dynastic line on Easter Island is also polish blood 🙂 So how is that island in the middle of Polynesian heaven?

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Flowers man’s waiting for dollars. I mean for tourists.

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Princess of Easter Island. And farm – hand.

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Beautiful. I thought that I can meet there only stony heads. There is a lot of them, that’s true! And to watch theirs faces during sunset is extremely transcendental emotion. But besides that You can lost in labyrinth of underground caves with amazing caves paintings (I don’t know that is prohibited or not but I went to bottom of them 😀 ). For those who can stop to breath for 30 minutes (those who couldn’t do that can use special equipment) is waiting underwater part of national park. And beaches with crystal and boiling water and waves on which are trying to climb a lot of surfers (I saw one competition and with jaw on ground I looked what they are doing on boards. I waited to see how someone gonna iron shirt on board on top of wave). Volcanos, caves, palm trees, and high degrees. Magic! But real combo was when I saw Moai during sunset and beautiful Polynesian girl on board 🙂

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Cultural. About culture of Polynesia I knew that they have ukulele and skirt from palm trees. What a idiot! Whole theirs culture is amazing! People there are using their own language of rapa Nui which is like a grunts. I knew some words and with my grunts I surprised many people there 🙂 Whole informations are in 3 languages – Spanish, Rapa Nui, and English for gringos. When they prepared more than 800 stones heads they had enough time to learn how to do it that’s why even now in whole island You can find amazing sculptures in wood and stone. Through window, because ticket was too expansive, I saw show with local dances. I saw also (through fence) two weddings and now I know that my own I want to have here. That music! That traditions! Almost like from Lilo and Stich 😀

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To sell. That island shouldn’t have a name of “Isla de Pascua” (en spanish Easter Island) but “Isla de Plata (Island of Cash). They are selling almost everything – sand, stones, shells and even rain water in bottles. You can’t take from here absolutely nothing, if You gonna try to smuggle stone You can go to jail for that. BUT if You will pay for that You can take absolutely everything – Moai also 🙂 Local people don’t like when someone is taking pictures of them because they are thinking that white man gonna sell it to newspaper and receive a lot of cash. BUT if You will give some cash for them You can take as much pictures as You want. Here almost everything have a prize. There is no factories that’s why absolutely whole things are from continent, and came on plane or ship. And prizes are high like waves on coast. Even if I slept in temples, and almost I pissed of local Gods, and I ate only tuna, and almost pissed of my stomach, I leave island with empty wallet (during last day I searched food on street 😀 ). Ticket to enter to National Park, and almost whole island is a National park, cost… 80 US DOLLARS!!! Firstly I didn’t wanted to buy it. Some young guy on control point gave me not only local joint but also informations how can I went through control points without noticed. That’s why I visited almost half of island but in one place I wanted to dance around giant head… And than some local guide asked me about ticket, she took my picture and wanted to send it to other guides. I could go to jail for that! That’s why I went quickly to buy that ticket with my dollars wet from my tears…

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Green. Almost every person here have own field of marihuana. Police are doing nothing with huge clouds of drags that’s why almost under every palm tree You can meet people with joints. On airport every bag is check by police dog. But if that is true that someone took here huge bag of cocaine from Santiago, they should give that dog to service. And it can be true because I meet a lot of people who wanted to gave ma a cocaine powder, LSD, mushrooms and other stuff which could make that stones head will start to talk. I know also that You can buy there gun in very good price! But after my adventure with guns in Paraguay I didn’t wanted to know more about that. I have some idea that that island (and it’s one from most isolated place in whole world) is something like a meeting point of whole dark business on calm water of Pacific Ocean. I didn’t been there for so long to know everything.

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You can find there houses from volcanic stones

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Caste. They are dividing very much here for “category” and that because of history. Island was truly free until 1888 when Chilean under full sails came there. Until now people of Rapa Nui are thinking about guys from Chile about occupants. On street is a lot of flags and banners on which people want to end occupation. Thing is that on island right now is living around 2 thousands of local people and 7 thousands people from Chile. That’s info which I received from local people, but it’s not compare with info from Wikipedia when You can read that now on island is living arounf  thousands and 70% of them are people from Rapa Nui. Who have right? I don’t know but I’m sure that owners of almost every supermarket, shop, restaurant are from Chile. That’s why whole cash is going directly to Santiago. So what have people from Island? Fishing, art work and permanent fight with tourists who want to touch and destroy theirs culture part of history (but also some local people don’t care about it very much, and they’re putting horses and cows to temples). I visited many places where real poverty meet rich people that what I saw here was even bigger for me. Tourists (almost everybody 50+) are fulfilled by cash, and local people who have that cash only for few seconds before they gonna give it to boss, and daily they are leaving almost without money.  Maybe that’s why they are so closed. Through 10 days I didn’t found way to reach them and I think that without living there it’s impossible. So what categories are on island?

  1. People from Rapa Nui
  2. Foreigners
  3. Chileans

Unfortunately You can feel it in contacts with them. In talk with foreigners local people are closed, maybe they see only dollars not a people?

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Flag of Rapa Nui

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Even on end of the world is wi-fi. From one antena but BIG one 🙂

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That’s me under palm tree. Always wandering if some coconut gonna hit me on head or not 🙂

It’s warth to come there? Absolutely! Beauty and secrets of Rapa Nui is amazing. But not for more than for 3 days because You will be in permanent rush and You will not see that island is one huge commercial center and interpersonal contacts are just because of cash. And do it as soon as possible! Because not only less of oxygen will be huge problem there, when finally prizes will go so high that they will destroy atmosphere there. Tsunami. Island during last 50 years received two waves, but people survive there maybe only because water hit from other side where is a little more mountains. If will hit from opposite under water will be everything – moai, dollars and Princess. Only beautiful girls on surfing will survive 🙂

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