Pablo returned safely to Valdivia, and since we have been enjoying a quiet weekend at home. 

Here are some of the final photos from Easter Island. One of the days when the seas were very rough, the crew took a break from diving and we visited Rano Kau and Orongo. It is difficult to think of a more beautiful setting... an extinct volcano filled with wildlife with the grand Pacific in the background. It is no surprise that the ancient Rapa Nui people choose this site for the Tangata manu ceremony in which men proved their worth by swimming from the coast to the small Motu island, capturing a recently laid bird egg, and racing back to the volcano's edge. 

I am back at home and Pablo is out of town. He left for France late last week and returns at the end of this week... hopefully with a suitcase full of cheese... and canard... but regardless of whatever wonderful treats he might bring me from lands afar, his absence puts me in a general sort of funk. The routine is off. The house is too quiet. No one wants to bake pies for one. I am actually starting to appreciate our bastard cat's presence... So, if you, like me, need a little rousing out of your melancholic state this Monday just watch the video below. 

The Kari Kari Ballet is a must see when in Rapa Nui. For an hour plus the dancers, singers, and band fill the room with energy, both carnal and spiritual. They share their tradition through song and dance, which was like nothing I had ever seen before. By the end of the evening my eyes were as wide as saucers, my face hurt from smiling, and I had convinced myself that I must dance. 

All in the name of science. Here are some photos from the famous guppy hunt (see previous post for more details)! 

The sunset that evening really was spectacular. Dramatic clouds and a raging sea were tinged with the golden hue of the day's end. Fishermen came in and out of port as we sat on the rocky coastal shore. The marejada from the few previous days was finally calming down, yet still, every few minutes a giant set would roll in and our friends and surrounding rocks would be doused with chilly salt spray, a reprieve for the fauna inhabiting the otherwise shrinking intertidal pools.  

I hope you are having a nice weekend! 

Today, I thought I'd share a few photos from Ahu Tongariki. The Ahu at this site displays 15 moai that site right in front of a beautiful semi-enclosed bay. To drive along the curvy Rapa Nui road and suddenly see these 15 enormous statutes looking back at you is quite impressive, I must say. Several times we all remarked that we seemingly visited the island at the perfect time of year because often there were no more than two or three other tourists around us at any given time. This left us ample space to get silly with the moai :)

While we were waiting for fishing permits to be approved, we took advantage of the downtime to explore the beautiful island.

Easter Island is most well known for the giant stone moai that were created by some of the first Rapa Nui inhabitants. As story has it, there are seven moai that face towards the ocean that serve as a symbol of the first Polynesian missionaries that were sent to colonize the island. The remaining hundreds of moai that dot the island face inland symbolizing protection, much as a parent would shield his or her child from oncoming danger.

I couldn't tell you which site is most impressive, though Rano Raraku (photos shown here) is spectacular. Rano Raraku is the ancient quarry where the moai were carved from volcanic rock. Here moai are scattered across the landscape, some even half buried in the hillside. I am hard pressed to think of a more monumental representation of human imagination and fortitude.

So why were we on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific for the past two weeks?

Erwan needed some fish... and not the delicious fresh tuna that we made into ceviche, tartar, and curry... no, the tiny little colorful endemics that can only be found in Rapa Nui. His current research project is devoted to understanding how these fish have ended up in Easter Island. So, we grit our teeth and signed up for two weeks in paradise. 

After some snafus with paperwork, permits, and the Chilean Navy, we finally sorted out the tramites so that the divers could get in the water and start hunting. Meanwhile, I (not diving due to the growing babe inside of me) made friends with fishermen and snorkeled in Hanga Roa's protected coastal pools. 

All in all, the trip was a success! Last weekend we returned to Valdivia with nice sun tans and a cooler full of frozen fish!

planning the first dive

processing the samples