Rapa Nui, Pytheas spot of the month

Pytheas's choice Globespot of the month

Set-up

Every month, we ask somebody to be a modern Pytheas and tell us something about the most amazing place they have ever experienced, and explain why this is!

Globespot of the month: Rapa Nui or Easter Island

Leen De Temmerman is the Pytheas of this month.  As a topographer, she stayed recently on Easter Island to map specific items for an archeological survey. She didn't only come back with a large set of accurate coordinates, but also with a set of very interesting stories and great pictures of the island. Thanks a lot Leen to share this Pytheas spot with us. Here is her story....

It is not nature which comes up in your memory when one thinks again about Rapa Nui or Easter Island, but the mystic atmosphere. The first Moai you see make you think, dream, enjoy and smile. The Moai are the large statues the island is famous for.  It is still a mystery why these statues were created and why they were destroyed.  A few have been restored and are facing the island, turning their back to the vast ocean. The island is about 160 km² and 3500 km away from Chili. This makes it the most isolated island of the world.

A long time ago, Easter Island was called 'the main land' and the two very small islands nearby were 'the islands'. Every year, at spring, the men of Easter Island had to swim to the biggest of the two islands  Moto Nui. This is the island where the sea swallow breeds. The men had to descend a 100m steep cliff of the mythical volcano Rano Kau, and swim across the wild waters. The goal was to find an egg of the sea swallow and to bring it back. The first man who could bring back an egg was birdman of the year and got the power for one year.

Besides a large number of wild horses on the island, you can see also huge sea turtles along the beaches. More than 100 years ago, you could always spot sea turtles near Rapa Nui. It was also a favourite dish of the islanders. But then, they disappeared.. All of a sudden. There is a legend that explains the disappearance. Missionaries cut the hair of the last king. The turtles were very sad about this event and left the island. Luckily, they appeared again 10 years ago. Easter Island is a volcanic island. Besides the impressive Moai statues, carved from the volcanic layers, you can find here many volcanic  landforms, such as lava tubes and impressive calderas or craters as you can see on this picture.