Now we leave the high altitude of Peru and direct ourselves to the Polynesian paradise of Easter Island. The flight is 6 hours – it turns out most of our flying legs are between 5-7 hours, something found tolerable under the care of our excellent crew and chef.

A quick editorial note here. A wise and wide traveler, my daughter, reminded me that travel pictures are best when they include the people on the trip, and by and large I could not agree more . On this trip however, I am discovering that what we are seeing is more important than that, and for anyone reading this bog I want them to be able to experience some of what we are seeing/doing. I will include pics of those on the trip, but will lean to the “what” more than the “who”.

Landed and had yet another grand feast. Eating is fast becoming a regular event on this trip. The food is always local, fantastic, and plentiful. Willpower has officially left the building, and will be attended to on another day.

The first morning we toured the island visiting various sites of Moai statues, including a quarry where many of the statues were crafted, and where many are still in various stages of completion. Moai statues are large (25-50 ft./35-60 tons) symbols of religious and powerful figures of the past. They are craved quite literally from a mountain, and are not separated from it until completed.

It would be very easy to inundate you with the hundreds of Moai pictures I took as they are indeed captivating and inspiring but I won’t. Here are some of the pictures taken…

…including a sunrise outing to Tonga Riki, the site of 15 statues on the coast. In the 70’s (that is the 1970’s for the younger readers) there was a terrific tsunami that toppled these 15 statues. It was a national travesty, saved by the combined work of several nations and a team of experts on the Moai culture. Our guides there were the husband/wife team that led the restoration of this site, and are involved with restoration and explorative work on the island to this day.

Of course, we all know what happens when Moai drink too much…

(My apologies as I am having some difficulty in transferring all my pics from camera to pad so several pictures I would like to share I am not able to). Will see if I can fix that later on.

Before dinner of the last night on EI we were treated to a dance exhibition by an indigenous group, and yes, another feast of epic proportions.

Next we sadly depart for Samoa, and another 7 hr. flight. Sad to leave EI, but excited and ready to see another member of the Polynesian islands.