Easter Island big Heads

I' d been reading enough guides to know that the mean temperatures in the high' 80' are in the high' 80' and that the people of the island are growing it. Since the island is almost completely encircled by dizzying volcano rocks, I had not really counted on water sports. Clan rivalry began to build the striking sculptures as a kind of monuments of solitude.

Though much is known about the island's past - genetic tests have put an end to the dispute over the island's inhabitants' origin - the scientists still do not know why humans turned so much to sculpture. It is said that the sculptures themselves are associated with certain chieftains, but they are far too stylized to be depictions of individual beings.

That is the biggest puzzle at all: Why did the island's carvers, after developing a kind of sculpture stencil, copy it more or less a thousandfold? Another great secret is how the stone sculptures were brought from the stone pit to their hut or platform. Apart from alien help, it is assumed that the sculptures were moving on rolls of tree trunk, either lying on their backs or erect.

The latter would be the case, as explained by the myth that the sculptures "went" to their goals. In the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries the island's tree and animal life had disappeared and with it its capacity to help its people. Luckily, the situation has changed since then: The triangle island, which today belongs to Chile, has about 2,800 residents, of which over two third are living in Hanga Roa.

When the outside hemisphere - headed by archeologists in the mid-19th centuries - became interested, many of the island's sculptures were renovated, leading to a revival of the island's culture-prestige. Our first day in the morning we walked from the city to the most impressive volcanic island, Rano Kau.

For one year, the first one who returned was awarded the title of birdman - and island guide. Next day we went along the rocks, tens of meters high and so badly beaten by the waves that one wonders how long the island will still be there. On the top you can see the triangle-shaped island and - with the curiously sweeping Pacific Ocean on all sides - appreciate its impressive seclusion.

The natives of Easter Island named it "The Navel of the World". Without its old ruins it would be a breathtaking place, but this is the island's stone pit, the birth place of the statue. First, you hike through the many sculptures that puncture the external slopes of the craters. They are the celebrated "heads" of Easter Island, although most of them are giant sculptures hidden up to the neck.

You can see a dozen of partly sculpted sculptures here, most of which are still part of the vulcano. Right down the street is the other main tourist feature of the island, Ahu Tongariki, the island's main deck, on which 15 of the island's greatest mai are standing, with their backs to the seas. The majority of travel agencies are offering the island as a complement to Chilean or other destinations in the Americas.

Renting a vehicle is a good option for a days or two, as the island is too big to be explored on feet. Hanga Roa offers easy but delicious cuisine. When you go out for the night, you should have a picknick, as there is no access to fresh air and fresh air outside the city.